High-Speed Train Tour: Madrid, Cordoba & Seville

My husband and I returned from a 19-day trip to Spain and Portugal on September 22nd and would highly recommend our travel agency, arranged through Zicasso Travel.

Our travel agent customized a trip, taking into account our budget and incorporating visits to Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Málaga, Granada, Seville, and Ronda in Spain, and the Algarve coast, Évora, and Lisbon in Portugal.

We easily communicated via emails, phone calls and zoom, and after four drafts we agreed to a final itinerary that met out interests, along with his excellent recommendations. Our agent was always gracious and understanding to the changes we wanted to make. He also included some down time on a few half days of tours to do some sightseeing on our own along with his recommendations.

Having planned two trips abroad ourselves in the past, and being older, it was so reassuring to have a competent and knowledgeable travel agent to take care of all train reservations, tickets, hotels, private drivers and tour guides. It was also reassuring to know if we encountered any problem during the course of our trip we could contact someone at a 24/7 emergency number. The train transportation arranged between a few cities went smoothly in the comfort of first class, our private drivers were pleasant, professional and informative and our individual tour guides that were arranged to meet us were prompt and so knowledgeable which made each tour all the more memorable. Lastly, our agent was able to provide the resources for us to meet some personal needs at each hotel where we stayed.

We just returned from two fantastic weeks in Andalucia. Zicasso's travel designer listened carefully to our travel preferences, provided important advice, helped with the logistics, and selected excellent guides for us in Seville and Córdoba. The most memorable part of our travel was when he guided us through the Alhambra.

The owners of Zicasso’s tour company were amazing from start to finish. They curated a custom trip for us to Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Málaga, Toledo, and Granada. They listened to our requests and came up with a brilliant itinerary that included personal drivers, hotels, dining recommendations, and tour guides. They were also so quick to respond to our questions and pivot our plans when needed. This was a very special 30th-anniversary trip for us and they knocked it out of the park.

I know we worked together on content, so none of the activities or the schedule were a surprise. We enjoyed every activity and just loved Spain. Our trip was worry-free and we were in the country during the power outage. We were not able to visit a cathedral due to the power outage, but were able to do a different tour. Our guide was enthusiastic and we barely noticed any inconvenience.

Each guide was on time and personable. We had a couple of substitutes and that was not noticeable at all. In general, each guide was knowledgeable and we learned so much. 

Our first guide, in Madrid, was so kind when he realized jet lag was going to cut our tour short – not his fault. He was the best choice for our first tour. He was so knowledgeable and helped to orient us to Madrid. It was so great to have a personal guide so we could ask questions. 

Toledo was fantastic. We loved the guide and the city. The train ride was our first and we had to navigate the train station, but we did just fine after a few wrong turns. We took the bus to the station. The bus worked great. We were exhausted from our day in Toledo, but still walked from the train station. The information on how to get to the station was accurate and it was a lovely walk.

Sevilla was magical. We were surprised when our driver drove through a public square to let us out to walk to the hotel!  We loved our tour, really liked the hotel, and had great meals in the restaurant. We got to know the bartender and she helped us experiment with local wines. 

Our trip to Ronda was beautiful and our guide and driver were both excellent, especially our driver, who had to work around a running and walking event going on that meant our meeting spot was inaccessible. But he was on time and close, and we made it work! 

Our trip to the olive oil museum was great, but we were part of a group and some of the people in the group were just stupid. I am allergic to olive trees and my allergies completely kicked up. We enjoyed the tour and bought olive oil, but I just couldn’t understand why some people on the tour were so rude.

The wine tasting also got us a spontaneous flamenco demonstration, which was fantastic. We stayed and did a wine tasting with the owner. We could have stayed all afternoon. She was lovely and interesting, and we enjoyed our time there very much.

Málaga was a joy and it was there we had the power outage. We had a great tour with our guide, who took so many pictures of us and slowed down to compensate for my tired legs. Touring was catching up with me. The Picasso Museum was open and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We loved our hotel and were very grateful there was a good restaurant with an excellent bar, and we took advantage of that! 

Granada was worth a visit and our trip to the Alhambra was amazing; our guide was five-star.

We were very happy to be matched with Zicasso’s travel consultant to arrange our travel plans. His expertise and thoughtfulness were obvious through every detail, and his suggestions proved to be the right ones in nearly every case. The transfers made the travel stress-free and smooth. The drivers were professional and most engaging, with only one slight mix-up on the location when departing Mallorca, but this caused no issue.

We returned to Zicasso because of our wonderful experience they arranged for our trip to Italy a few years ago, and this experience was equally fantastic. It was very assuring for my wife and I to receive the notices and updates from our travel consultant while our travel was in progress. He was prompt and detailed from start to finish. My wife speaks Spanish very well and loved the opportunity to interact and rebuild her vocabulary.

All hotels selected were excellent. The service quality was a standout at the hotel on Plaza de las Cortes in Madrid and the resort on Carrer de les Molins in Mallorca, in particular. The accommodation in Granada was beautiful, although just for feedback, the room location was not so good, having a full window wall at nearly ground level looking at people at a cafe — which meant keeping the blackout drapes pulled the entire time — and, consequently, a little noisy. That is just meant as a note if you book this hotel in the future. The lower levels at the back of the hotel should be avoided. That probably had more to do with what was available at check-in time, but just a note.

As we mentioned to our travel consultant during the trip, all four private tour guides we had were wonderful and very knowledgeable. The day trip to Toledo was a standout, as was the Alhambra in Granada. The horse show at the Spanish riding school fulfilled my wife's wish over many years and it didn't disappoint. Our guide in Granada stayed with us nearly an hour beyond her time (even though we mentioned the time to her). She replied that she enjoyed spending time with those who appreciated her city – and we did. We enjoyed her historical perspective very much and she seemed to enjoy it too. Our other guides were all terrific and it was evident they all enjoy their work and are proud of their cities and heritage.

We loved the horseback riding at the ranch with our guide in Mallorca. The staff there went above and beyond when my wife lost a bracelet on the trail (unknown where or when). We were nearly back at the hotel when we got a call that one of their staff had found the bracelet. The manager offered and dropped off the bracelet at the hotel that night on her way home, before we left for Barcelona. Great people!

The crowning point was ending our travel at the Sagrada Família at sunset — awe-inspiring! We really don't have any complaints or things we would change. There is much we would add, however, had we had more time (and money).

Thank you, Zicasso, and Zicasso’s travel company, for helping make a great memory for my wife and me.

This was a perfect tour. We stayed in fine hotels in great locations. Our tour guides in Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Córdoba, Ronda, and Granada were outstanding in every way. The restaurant choices provided were spot-on. We enjoyed dining in the restaurants we selected from the lists provided. The food and wine in Spain are excellent.

We were able to meet the owner of Zicasso’s tour company and he was kind, knowledgeable, and a thorough professional. We are glad we found his company to manage our Spain tour and will look to book with his agency for a tour of northern Spain soon.

Also, the private drivers we rode with were nice and professional. The trains in Spain are clean and run on time, with very comfortable seats in first class.

For anyone who would like to tour Spain, we strongly recommend our travel company. We had a good pace to the schedule and experienced so much in a short, 10-day trip. The plan was thoughtful and thorough. We just had to show up at the airport and the rest was easy. As an older couple, and having traveled a lot in Europe the last three years, we know the difference a wonderful travel agency can make versus a bus tour, river cruise, or planning the trip ourselves. The best way to see Spain, in our view, is to use a high-quality agency. We appreciated all that our agent and his team did for us, including the 24/7 emergency contact numbers, and feel visiting Spain is best by employing this travel company. It truly was far superior to the other travel methods we have used in Europe.

Working with the company was easy. Zoom, phone calls, emails, etc., were all methods of communication. The collaboration was excellent. 

As noted, we will plan to work with this team again and look forward to our next journey with them.