Best of Barcelona Itinerary in Seven Days

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.

Our trip itinerary was titled “Memorable Trip to Spain” by our travel company representative Ana.  Her planning and coordination of our excursions, car rental, hotels and some meals were flawless.  Everything was planned perfectly and went like clockwork.  The excursion guides were local to the area and were extremely knowledgeable about the history, customs, and interesting facts of the area we were in.   Being local allowed us to see sites far beyond the normal tourists.  For example, at a winery in St. Emilion, France we were able to have a private tour in one of the oldest wineries in the area with the owner of the vineyard.  After the tour he also showed us through his house. 

Ana and her team were able to answer questions we had immediately.  We questioned how to drop the rental car off in Barcelona and not only did they send directions, but they also sent a picture of the facility.  While driving from San Sebastian to Alquezar we asked for lunch stop recommendations and they directed us to a beautiful location on a lake for lunch, something we would have never found on our own.

After our initial contact with Ana, we emailed and talked on the phone.  We established a budget, a rough itinerary of stops, a rough duration, and the class of hotels we wanted.  From there Ana put together a list of excursions at each stop and a list of 3 or 4 hotels that we could choose from.  Once everything was decided on, she also gave us a list of recommended restaurants we could review and make reservations for our evening meals that were on our account.   Finally, about a week before our trip she called to go over the itinerary and answer any questions we had.  The entire process was simple and easy thanks to Ana and her team.

Finally, if you have not already noticed, we had a fantastic and memorable time on out trip to France and Spain.  Thank you again for putting this together for us.

I cannot speak highly enough about our 3 week trip to Spain and the services provided by this travel company.  Everything was seamless. The private guides were interesting and knowledgable.  We felt that they were more than just guides.  It was like we had a friend in each city.  They gave us restaurant tips as well as tips on sights we should see on our days of leisure and on entertainment ideas. We were made to feel like honored guests at various activities.  There were so many highlights.  We had an insider's flamenco experience where a gypsy family and friends explained each facet of flamenco and then performed it for us in a tiny theater.  We had a wine tasting in Ronda with the owner of the winery.  We sat under an avocado tree and met the owner's daughter and a Hungarian couple and a few other people.  The wine was flowing and cheeses and iberico ham was served.  We never opened our wallets for the various activities.  In Barcelona the wonderful guide got us in ahead of the long lines.  This was true with all the guides in all the cities.  In this way we made the most of our time as we did not have to wait in long lines.  We enjoyed two tapas tours in Madrid on our first night and in Seville.  The tapas are different in the two cities justifying two tours.  We then went back on our own to the tapas places which we never would have found on our own. We thoroughly enjoyed a cooking class in Barcelona that began at 9:30 am with a shopping tour at La Boqueria market to buy ingredients for gazpacho and seafood paella.  We were there until 3pm.  We enjoyed the teacher, the food, the wine, the other members of the class. Private drivers arrived early in upscale immaculate cars.  In the Ronda area we had a driver and a guide.  You need a very skilled driver to navigate the very narrow streets.  The hotels were fabulous, some with beautiful courtyards.  We were upgraded to a junior suite in a beach resort in Marbella.  We have had private guides in the past through other travel agents who were not as excellent as the guides provided by this travel agency.  This trip exceeded out expectations in every way.

I worked with this travel agent and he planned a fabulous trip for myself, my husband and our 2 kids (12 and 16)!  It was a perfect combination of museums and churches, outdoorsy (hiking in Montserrat) and gastronomy (a food tour in Barcelona) and of big cities and small towns. Everything was taken care of in advance so we didn't have to worry, and even once we got to Spain and wanted to make some last minute changes to our itinerary, he couldn't have been more accommodating. 

I would like to start by saying that this was the best travel experience I have ever had, which is an amazing accomplishment given the short notice (booked ~1 mo prior) and a pregnant wife and barely ambulatory 83 year old wife. My agent was flexible and accommodating and created a varied, interesting trip that all of us enjoyed. The impetus for trip was for my wife's grandmother to see Spain before she was too frail or immobile to do so. And what better time than while our soon to be baby boy is still incubating.

Our trip began in Barcelona. Upon arrival, it became clear how pampered we were as we were picked up with our private driver in a Mercedes SUV arranged by our agent. And this turned out to be true throughout trip as we had transportation set up throughout entire trip along with privately guided tours...and the price was better than comparison trips either through Zicasso or independent. Our first full day was spent at Gaudi's Casa Battlö and the Barri Gotic. Our private tour guide was phenomenal. I've never had a private you before, but it was personal, interesting and she pointed out little details that were so interesting. I found a lot of tourists leaning towards us to catch her discussions on art, architecture or history. She was also accommodating, taking taxis or using wheelchairs for grandma where appropriate.

The next day was a longer day that included private guided tours of Sagrada Familia and Picasso museum. Again this was a private guided tour. Phenomenal!

The third day was a trip through another tour company, setup by our agent, to see Salvador Dali's museum in Figueras and his hometown of Cadaques. It was clear how good our travel company's guides were compared to this guide. Although good, she was not as fluent in Spanish and her recommendations weren't as spot on. Despite this, we had a great time, especially because we are a phenomenal lunch at traditional Catalan restaurant, Casa Anita, in Cadaques.

The next morning, we explored La Bocqueria with a cooking class, set up by our agent, based on my request. This was another fun and very informative session. Didn't hurt that this was best paella I've ever had!

The next portion of our trip was Madrid. Here we had privately guided tours of Real Pallacio, the Prado and tapas experience. Again, the guide was phenomenal!

The final day was in Toledo with another very good private tour. This included tours of the city and the amazing cathedral. She tailored it to show us the art within the cathedral which I was interested in.

Lodging: 

-Hotel in Barcelona was large suite with two rooms. Comfortable and great location with awesome and helpful staff.

- Hotel in Madrid was a great location with an amazing breakfast (included), but triple rooms were small and cramped, but nice.

I would give the company 5 stars because the trip worked out wonderfully. However, Nuria, the original Spain travel agent I dealt with, was on maternity leave when I went to do my final details including recommendations where to eat dinner, hotel questions, etc. I worked with Patricia on the reservation andAntonio on the dinner arrangements and both turned out to be very good but I felt that Nuria should have told me she was going on maternity leave and that Iwould be working with Patricia. It was not until I had sent 3 emails to Nuria that Patricia answered back.Also, I found that the 5 star hotel in Bilbao was definitely not a 5 star (i.e. no evening turndown, small rooms - finally got the room we wanted after the third try, no doorman at the door when we arrived). I think they should have suggested the other 5 star hotel even though it was very modern and I prefer old world because of the amenities. On the other hand, the hotel in San Sebastian, the 5 star was closed for renovation so we stayed at the 4 star Villa Soro,was more than a 4 star and the people were wonderful. The hotel in Barcelona, Casa Fuster, was excellent.The drivers were all on time and the guides we had were very good especially in Figueres/Girona, San Sebastian and Bilbao. The driver who took us fromSan Sebastian to Bilbao along the coast road and spent the day with us was wonderful. He had also driven into the Basque country the day before. I emailed the company he works for to tell him so.