8-Day Spring Vacation to Spain for Families

Working with Zicasso’s trip planner was nothing short of incredible. From the moment I submitted my trip request to a check-in upon our return home, the personal service and help was unbelievable. Emails and questions were responded to in a timely manner, phone calls were helpful and informational, and everything we planned was seamless.

We arrived in Barcelona and our driver was waiting for us with my name on a sign. Our travel agent gave us several hotels to choose from in Barcelona and the one we chose was absolutely perfect. It was in the middle of many cafés, shops, and high-end stores.

Upon check-in there was a package waiting for us with tickets to all of our tours, as well as confirmed times to meet guides (these were also located within the app). We felt safe the entire time. The hotel was clean, right on the main road, with easy access. Everything was wonderful.

We did a few tours in Barcelona. The tour guides were right on time, highly educated, and fun for my husband, me, and the kids, aged eight and 10. Because the tours were private, we were able to go at our own pace, ask any questions we wanted, and stop for photos wherever we wanted. We toured the Gothic Quarter, Park Guell, and La Sagrada Familia. We got to try our tour guide's favorite churros in the city and got to see the Cathedral of Barcelona and the government buildings.

After four days in Barcelona, we flew to Mallorca for a week. Our agent suggested a rental car in Mallorca as the airport was 50 minutes from the resort I had chosen and because the excursions we chose were driving distances from our resort. Again, everything was arranged perfectly for us. We got a beautiful rental car with little wait time, the resort was beautiful and clean, and again, we were within walking distance to many shops and a supermarket. We also had direct access to the beach and a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea from our room!

Our agent offered many options for cooking classes, wine tastings, and dinners. My family chose to do a tour of the Mallorcan countryside by Andalusian horses. This was a three-hour horseback ride through the countryside with an unbelievable private guide.

Our final tour was a four-hour private boat trip on a traditional Spanish boat with a skipper and his mate. We got to see parts of the island that you can only get to by boat, as well as some caves. We spent some time swimming at a beach and had a delicious traditional Mallorcan lunch on the boat. We spent the rest of the days on the beach at the resort, which was also absolutely amazing.

Our agent and her co-workers were available by text throughout our trip and checked in to ensure everything was going smoothly. We will most definitely use their company again. Thank you for everything!

Everything was really excellent. Russ and the rest of the tour company were very helpful in all the detailed planning. The only couple items & it's really very minor; our itinerary had us going to Montserrat on a Sun. which is the busiest day. The roads were EXTREMELY crowded & of course the Monastery itself. Also a day tour was set up on Barcelona's state holiday so most places were closed & our itinerary had to be changed. The protest throughout Barcelona were really a neat experience . We weren't real impressed with Llorett De Mar other than our wonderful accommodations. We would have preferred to stay in Tossa which was our first choice. Tossa had a lot more charm, good restaurants & not so touristy.

This travel company organized a 3 week trip through Spain and Portugal for my wife and me in late September and early October. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

We started in Barcelona (side trip to Montserrát) and worked our way to San Sebastián (and Bilbao), Madrid (and Toledo), Granada, Málaga, Ronda, Sevilla, and then to Lisbon (and Sintra, Casçais, Estoril). Our travel company arranged 4 star accommodations and activities for us at each destination. The hotels were mostly boutique style - smallish and well appointed, with excellent service and very nice rooms in great locations.

Each stop included a private guide for 3-5 hours, longer for the day trip excursions. These proved to be the difference maker. The private guide experience has so many intangible benefits. It allowed us not only to see the sights but to learn about history and culture and people in a more intimate way. The guides were all high integrity people — punctual, professional, thoughtful, and knowledgeable — and most of them were born and raised in the city or region we were visiting. They looked out for us and took their time to ensure we were having a great experience. They offered recommendations on how to spend the rest of our time in the city and places to eat. We never felt rushed or burdensome. Our stupid questions were met with patience. We laughed a lot and learned a lot. 

It was clear that our travel agency was staying on top of our travels and reconfirming arrangements with service providers ahead of us as the trip unfolded. With the dozens and dozens of detailed arrangements, pretty much everything came off without a hitch. That said, you can often tell the character of a company in how they deal with things that go wrong. We had one minor hiccup in Sevilla when a service provider failed to arrange a horse carriage ride for us. The provider was incredibly apologetic and offered us a meal in the way of making amends, which we accepted. I emailed out travel agency that evening to make them aware and was surprised the next day when our travel agency had booked another carriage ride for us. This minor incident spoke volumes about this company and the quality of the providers they do business with. 

We are eternally grateful to our travel agency and team for making this a trip of a lifetime. Thanks!

Our Trip to Spain

In brief, our Spain travel agency did an exceptional, outstanding job.

From the outset of our planning we presented numerous challenges to to this agency.   We initially were a group of seven (subsequently reduced to three couples) located in four different states and four different time zones with as much as 12 hours difference from Madrid.   Our group had little knowledge of Spain and less experience in dealing with a travel agency.   Our requirements included dealing with mobility impairment, religious restrictions, differing interests and ultimately two different itineraries.

We started working with our agent at the company who provided a first set of information recommendations which were later refined with the great help from another agent.  In addition, this agent patiently answered question after question on all topics.  But, most important the arrangements made by this company were uniformly excellent.

We started our trip in Barcelona, and as planned our ground transportation was there waiting for us.  The selected hotel was very clean, roomy and perfectly located with pleasant helpful, English speaking staff.  Even better was the guide hired by our travel agency who for a day and half, was, knowledgeable, charming and verysolicitous in dealing with our physical limitations.  Thanks to our guide we enjoyed even  more superb food, the great beauty of the exquisite city of Barcelona and the fascinating Monttserrat.

We flew from Barcelona to Bilbao.  Again we were delighted by the cleanliness and roominess of our hotel room.   The location could not have been better and the staff were most helpful.   Our guide for a half day walking tour was excellent and gave us an appreciation for the city while answering question after question.

Admission, bus and train tickets for Barcelona and Bilbao as well as for side trips were all taken care of by our travel agency and all of the provided drivers and transfers were punctual an courteous;   including a 5 am ride to Bilbao airport.

Finally, we are particularly grateful to our agent for her attention to all details and even trying to help us rearrange on schedule on the fly during a side trip to San Sebastien.

WELL DONE!

My family had a great vacation o Barcelona and Mallorca.  My travel agency helped me plan a vacation that included both some historic sites and fun beach locations for the kids.