Review of our Tauck tours in Spain and Portugal

My wife and I took two back-to-back Tauck tours, "Paradors of Northern Spain" followed by "Spain and Portugal" last May. We had absolutely wonderful experience! So many great sights, fun foods, friendly people, lasting memories. All with the organization and quality that Tauck is known for.

I thought it might be helpful to post the details of our trip for anyone who is considering either one of these tours.
"Paradors of Northern Spain": http://www.1mpages.com/ReviewTauckParadorsNorthernSpain.html
"Spain and Portugal": http://www.1mpages.com/ReviewTauckSpainPortugal.html

We took lots of photos, and hope to get them posted eventually (when I figure out how to squeeze an extra day into the week).

If you are thinking about going, but aren't quite sure, I'll help you out: Go. GO! You will not be disappointed.

Comments

  • We are going on the Paradors tour next month and are really enjoying reading and re-reading your narrative. Thank you.
    At the moment I have one question. While in La Seu d'Urgell did anybody make a side trip to Andorra?
  • No, nobody went to Andorra. We were told that Tauck tried including it in the past, but it did not get very high reviews from guests. Apparently there really isn't a lot to do or see there, and people were happier spending the time seeing Spain instead of Andorra.
  • Thank you so very much for your WONDERFUL and extensive review of both trips. I'm sure they will be helpful to a lot of people. Well done!
  • I finally posted some of the photos we took on our two Spain/Portugal tours.

    I added links to the photo galleries into my reviews (see my post above), in the day-by-day descriptions.
    Or you can go directly to the photo gallery menu here:
    www.1mpages.com/SpainPhotos/index.html

    Hopefully this will give you a little teaser of what you might see when you go on these great tours!

  • edited June 2013
    Oh gosh, Peregrinator! I just had a very quick look at your Barcelona shots. You have a wonderful eye and some stunning and delightfully quirky pics. Did you use a SLR or smaller digital camera? And particular thanks for the picture of the prettiest loo I've ever seen. I presume it wasn't an exibit? ;)))))

    Thanks so much for sharing. Now I have to go!

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • Jan, we carry two cameras on our travels; a Nikon D200 SLR (which my wife usually commandeers), and a small Canon PowerShot S95 camera (which I usually get). The point-and-shoot actually takes impressive photos indoors in low light settings, and also takes good video clips. The SLR is sharper, and has a better zoom lens.

    The porcelain loo was in the Palau Güell, one of Gaudi's mansions in Barcelona. So I guess it is "for your eyes only"! We visited a few of Gaudi's buildings on our own during the extra pre-tour days we scheduled. I knew from my reading that they were worth seeing, and they ended up being much better than I expected.
  • edited June 2013
    Well, thanks for sharing. I have had my eye on these two trips for a while, and like you, I'd prefer to do them back to back. I've looked at the dates for next year, but at this stage with just the first release dates available, back to back doesn't look possible for my preferred month. I'll keep working on it and with the help of your blog ... (I am so impressed! How do you find the time to do all this?) I know when I do get to Barcelona, typically well before tour departure date, I will know just where to go. ;) Gaudi .... gotta luv 'im!

    I promise to work my way through all your stunning photos! Inspiration for my future travels. Thanks.

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • I finally posted some of the photos we took on our two Spain/Portugal tours.

    I added links to the photo galleries into my reviews (see my post above), in the day-by-day descriptions.
    Or you can go directly to the photo gallery menu here:
    www.1mpages.com/SpainPhotos/index.html

    Hopefully this will give you a little teaser of what you might see when you go on these great tours!
    Thanks so much for the pictures. I had printed your travelog several months ago and this evening got a start on looking at the pictures----and I thought my husband takes a lot of pictures!
    We've done southern Portugal and Spain four years ago and are now looking forward to Northern Spain on the Sept 6th trip. Your suggestions for Barcelona will be a big help for us as we are going a day ahead.
    Ann and Tom from Georgia
This discussion has been closed.