Portugal/Spain - March/April 2025
Hi, my wife and I are taking our first Tauck tour later this month. Just a couple questions.
- Do the guides offer dining and attraction suggestions to fill in the free time? We have been doing research but it’s always helpful to hear suggestions from the experts.
- For the guide and driver “tips” do you need cash or can they accept a credit card or other form of electronic payment?
- In Marbella there is a lot of free time and we’re thinking of a 2-4 hour boat tour. There seem to be a few good options. Anyone familiar with any of these companies?
Thanks!
Dave and Marci
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In my experience, the tour directors always give suggestions for dining and attractions in the free time. You do need cash for the tips. I can't answer your third question.
Hello David. We tend to call the person leading the tour the Tour director, and the local people who lead the local tours as the tour guides. So I’m thinking you mean tipping the Tour director. It is most usual to pay them in cash and Tauck says in dollars. The Local guides are tipped by Tauck. Sometimes the tips for bus drivers are also covered by Tauck, especially when there are different drivers throughout the tour. This will be explained in your final documents, you will see whether the driver is included or not.
The Tour directors almost always give suggestions for restaurants and attractions but it’s best to Google ‘ Things to see and do in….fill in the blanks, before you go incase you need to buy tickets on lime in advance.
Yes the tour director will often give restaurant recommendations. They will usually be fairly nice restaurants which is great if that's what you want on the nights you need to find your own dinner. We prefer to go lighter on those nights as the Tauck provided dinners are extensive - starter, main, and dessert. After a few days eating like that a simple salad starts sounding pretty good. I use google to locate restaurants within easy walking of the hotel. Type in the name of the hotel, click on the small map that should pop up next to other info on the hotel, then on the left side of the screen click on the Nearby button and enter what you're looking for. These days, most restaurants have online menus so you can see if it's what you're interested in.
The concierge at the hotel is also a good source of restaurant advice.
Dave and Marci,
You picked a fabulous tour for your first Tauck journey! It is our favorite of the European land tours taken with Tauck.
Regarding Marbella, Hotel Don Pepe sits right on the Mediterranean and offers many dining options, as well as the opportunity to swim or just relax poolside. I can't offer assistance with boat tours since we chose to walk to the nearby old town area then returned to the hotel to take advantage of all its amenities.
Yes, the tour director—hopefully, you will have Patrica H.—will hand out dining suggestions ranging from fine dining to reasonably priced 'mom and pop' eateries offering regional cuisine.
The food on this tour was always plentiful and the wine free-flowing. If you wish, I will be happy to offer some suggestions for things to do and/or places to dine at in the other cities you will visit. Just let me know.
Thank you all for your replies. We are looking forward to our upcoming adventure.
To kfnknfzk and anyone who has been on this tour: I’m going solo on this tour at the end of April. I noticed in Evora, they don’t mention going into the city itself. For those who have taken this trip, is there time to see the Old Town and Cathedral, since the resort in out on it’s own? Also, I agree with the comments of researching local restaurants, since Tauck does tend to recommend the “dinner experience” type restaurants. In Madrid, how much time is spent at the Prado and did you go to the Palace? I’d appreciate any suggestions.
If it is like most Tauck museum visits, it will be just highlights. We were actually visiting the Prado years ago when a Tauck group walked in! We spent many hours there, you really need a lot of time there to do it justice. The fun part was being able to stand right next to the painting of the Mona Lisa, supposedly attributed to one of his apprentices..
HeidiFielding,
We took this specific tour in 2015 and some aspects of the itinerary have changed. We stayed at Convento do Espinheiro and did not enter the city; instead, we visited some ancient ruins.
Regarding restaurants suggested by Tauck, you will be given an assortment of choices. The locals, particularly the Spaniards, eat dinner late—typically at 2100 or 2200. My recommendation in Madrid is to have tapas in the early afternoon. The Plaza Mayor area is a good place to wander and eat. Botin is excellent but reservations are required since it is very popular with the locals. In Lisbon, I prefer to eat at 'mom and pop' eateries focusing on regional cuisine. I find the Alfama district best for this.
Regarding the Prado, I have been there many times so I opted to go with the group but then went off on my own. Since there was free time after the group's visit, I lingered at the Prado since our hotel—The Westin Palace—was very close by. The group probably spent about two hours there, but I'm sure they also had the option of remaining because of the planned free time afterwards.
The Palace was included in 2015. I do not know if it is now.
The palace is not included, but I think I’d prefer the Thyssen and Reina Sofia Art Museums. I would imagine that you had less crowds in 2015. What was the Old Town like outside of Marbella?
I forgot to mention that Tauck gave us tickets to the Thyssen the same day we went to the Prado. It always seems to be crowded but the docents/guides know how to maneuver around the throngs of people. The other two museums always seem to be manageable.
Marbella's old town area is small and a delightful place to stroll. I remember sitting at an outdoor café enjoying a glass of wine. Although not a hectic tour overall—I was younger then—it was so nice to relax at the beautiful hotel and have an entire day free. All Tauck guests were given a room with a view overlooking the Mediterranean.
If you are staying at the Palace Hotel in Madrid and have a pre-or-post stay on a Sunday, they have/had a phenomenal brunch that we enjoyed very much. Reservations were mandatory and preference was given to the locals because it is was so popular. It was refreshing to see multigenerational families dressed in their Sunday best enjoying the company of their loved ones. We enjoyed conversing with some of the children, extremely well behaved children.
Thanks, good to know.
Have a wonderful time and please consider posting about your experiences after your return. Are you adding pre/post tour days?
We are taking this tour in October, and are extending it to spend 4 days in Barcelona. Look forward to reading a trip report.
Pre- Lisbon (Looking forward to eating a few Pastel de Natas!)
Dave and Marci,I wish you both a very safe and enjoyable trip, we are scheduled later this year. It’s always very helpful to hear from fellow travelers about their experiences and recommendations for restaurants, walking tours and things to do when there’s free time. It would be great if you and anyone else taking this tour could post trip reports that can assist in making plans. Thanks to all, happy travels.
HeidiFielding - They are delicious. Avoid eating them in the hotel unless you are staying at the Four Seasons Ritz, which I believe Tauck has switched back to for this tour. I find the ones in the Alfama district to be the best. More than likely your tour director (hopefully Patricia H) will pass some out as you take the orientation tour of the city.
If you are staying at the Ritz, be sure to view the mini art galleries on each floor. The hotel showcases local artists. All the best to you as you embark on an incredible journey.
We did this trip last May….. it was a great trip. We stayed at the Ritz in Lisbon along with Taylor Swift. Security everywhere but not too intrusive. We did see Swift and her entourage leaving hotel to her concert. Although not a “Swiftie” it was a fun perk!
On our first stay at the Ritz, we shared an elevator with Burt Wolf (of 'Travels and Traditions' fame). He was very gracious and seemed truly delighted when we complimented him on his show.
I digress again...years ago Matt Damon (sp?) shoved his way past me in a NYC hotel lobby. He was angry about something and using profanities. No apology was offered, but someone from his entourage approached me and did apologize. He also had some very choice words for Damon's behavior and character.
My tour is staying at the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade. May not be as elegant(?), but I think it’s closer walking distance to the Alfama and Bairro Alto areas.
Eleanore, how was the weather in May?
The weather was absolutely gorgeous throughout the 14 day trip….pleasant temps plenty of sunshine.
The Tivoli is on a great street. I only looked inside into the lobby. The Avenida has wide pedestrian walkways and yes, you can walk along it all the way down to the water. The small, limestone tiles form beautiful patterns. They can be treacherous to walk on if wet, however.
In my opinion, the Tivoli is in a much better location than the Ritz...but I do love the Ritz.
Thanks, here’s hoping for good weather!
Here are some pictures. One shows the tiles in the walkway. I agree that you need to be careful even when it's not raining. It your shoes do not have good enough non-slip soles you can fall just by turning quickly.
The other is the wall hanging of the four seasons in the four seasons hotel.
We are also doing this trip, starting April 15. Our first Tauck trip! Does anybody have any book recommendations (history and/or historical fiction) about the area, It would be nice to get a little better background information before we leave.
'Iberia' by James Michener is an excellent read in my opinion. Tauck usually offers a reading list for each tour. Check their website, find this tour and scroll down to the reading list. I have not found their suggestions to be very representative of the regions I have traveled to. Merely my opinion. I do not know what they recommend for this tour.
I just looked at the reading list and it is marvelous! Check it out.
Not too impressed with the Tivoli Lisboa in 2023.
Tauck used this hotel for A week in Portugal. The service was cold. The lobby was crowded. No access to the executive lounge. Did get a balcony room on the first floor. All I got was hearing all the noises from the buses, trams and Friday night party crowd until 2-3 in the morning. All the near by restaurants are very touristy and prententious.
Remember these photos are taken in 2012. Now is 2025.
Generally speaking, the hotel rooms you will be assigned on a Tauck tour will not include access to the executive/club lounge. The only way to get in would be if you have status with that particular hotel chain or if you pay out of pocket to upgrade. The one exception I recall is on the Grand Australia/New Zealand trip, where we had club level rooms at one of the InterContinental hotels, but if I remember correctly, that lounge was mediocre at best.
Some of those tiled walkways date back to the fourteenth century. The patterns and how they are repaired by Portuguese artisans are history lessons in themselves. Same for the azulejos (blue tiles).
Tauck did include a reading list on the website. Besides those books, I found a fiction book called. “Two nights in Lisbon” in my Library. It involves an American couple on a Honeymoon, Business trip and the husband gets kidnapped. The wife proceeds to travel all around Lisbon trying to get the police, the embassy, eventually the CIA to help her. I followed her destinations with a map so I could get a feel for the places I want to visit, ie, The Time Out Market. The plot has a lot of twists. Fast read, for fun.