Family-Friendly Tour to Spain and Portugal in December

We enjoyed a relaxing trip to Portugal in December 2025. Zicasso’s travel company and their team were awesome, very present, tailored the trip based on our needs, and we got to explore much of the country, given the time of the year. The itinerary suggested was wholesome, relaxing, and covered most of the sights and sounds. I would highly recommend them to friends and family.

The trip itinerary and guides provided in Barcelona, Porto, the Duoro Valley, and Madrid were excellent. They were very knowledgeable, professional and personable, and spoke excellent English.

Most of the drivers were very good, but we were surprised that some of them did not provide bottled water for half-day tours (we had to ask and stop to buy it). This was a minor nuisance, but given the price of tours and previous experiences, a simple expectation, as well as having the car cooled down and AC on during hot days when being picked up.​

The tour manager did an outstanding job overall, but could have improved on some specific requests that seemed to be either forgotten or missed regarding an electric scooter/wheelchair we rented that caused some issues during pick-up and drop-off. Otherwise, working with her was a very good experience.

Zicasso’s tour company did a fabulous job in providing us with an exceptional Portugal vacation over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday. They provided us the 24/7 coverage they promised over the holidays without a glitch, including addressing our weather-delayed arrival and multiple itinerary updates that this required without missing a step. We will be using this travel company again and recommend them without reservation.

It is hard not to be overly effusive in praise of the trip. The hotels, travel, guides, and itinerary were all wonderful. The trip was tailored to our needs and interests very well. We loved our app and Zicasso’s travel specialist checking in on us.

So what were the favorites for me? The Douro Valley, Córdoba, and Toledo. Not saying that I did not enjoy all the rest, but those were the standouts and might merit a return. I think being there during the Christmas season was special, though the crowds in Madrid were a little much for us. It was colder than we expected, but better than sweltering heat.

So what could I have lived without? The Metropol Parasol (recommended by someone else, not the travel company) was underwhelming and the Royal Palace in Madrid was not as interesting as other landmarks. The Alhambra and the Retiro Park in Madrid were more enjoyable.

That said, the travel specialist did a wonderful job accommodating our lifestyle and interests, making for a wonderful travel experience.

Zicasso’s travel agency helped us plan a 17-day, three-country tour (Morocco, Portugal, and southern Spain). We were able to enjoy all the highlights of each city we visited with a very well-paced schedule!

The travel company's staff were flexible too! Adjusting the initial itinerary for cost and sites to visit was not an issue. We cut out a leg to Barcelona and some private drivers where prudent. We also adding things back in (i.e., a sherry-tasting experience, etc., was accommodated).

During our trip was where this travel company truly excelled. The staff very conscientiously checked in on us as our tour progressed and were proactively reminding us (via a messaging tool) of meeting places and the names of guides for the next day. They stayed on top of our itinerary and continuously inquired if they could do anything else! I enlisted their help when I had trouble checking in to our flight from Casablanca to Porto. At my request, she stepped in and helped successfully check us in! Knowing of my difficulties in checking in to intra-EU flights, she then took the initiative to check us in to our next flight from Lisbon to Sevilla! I even had a scare when I forgot some valuables in the safe in our hotel in Málaga, but she was able to retrieve them and send them to me in Madrid! It was comforting to know we had someone in our corner looking out for us!

We have gone with Zicasso on many trips, but this tour operator met and far exceeded our expectations for this trip! The travel company not only saved me a great disappointment for my forgetfulness, but provided very informative private guides, courteous drivers, and exceptional personal service throughout our itinerary! This was our 43rd-anniversary trip and they provided us with wonderful memories that will last us a lifetime!

We enjoyed the trip. The guides were good, although our guide in Lisbon provided a little bit too much history. But he was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed his tours. The communication with the Zicasso company through WhatsApp was very good and they were very accommodating to upgrading our transport vehicle because our luggage was large. The food tours were good. We enjoyed all the sites that we saw. Barcelona, especially, was great.

We stayed at four hotels. Only the hotel in Porto was a disappointment. The other hotels were good and we were very comfortable. The breakfast that was served at the various accommodations varied in quality, but the breakfast buffet in Lisbon was extremely good. The hotel in Porto was definitely not a four-star facility. The local airline definitely does not have its act together. When we left Barcelona to come home, the line for the airline was about five or six times the length of every other line. I would have definitely been willing to pay a higher amount for a business class seat in order to use the very short line in the Porto airport.