Southern Spain Tour: Malaga, Costa del Sol, Granada, Cordoba, Seville & Ronda

We had a really great vacation in spain.  We are active group  of 4 60 somethings from the US. We selected our itinerary with our Spain travel agent's help.  We had 2 wk and we wanted to "see" and "taste" spain.. appreciating its culture, history, art.  We wanted a well organized tour, customized around our interests. 

We landed in Barcelona, were met w/ our driver at the airport, had guides for walking tours of the cities and 2 for eating tours in Sevilla and San Sebastien. They were wonderful.. informative and an oppty to talk about life in Spain today .   We traveled by plane over big distances ( barcelona to grenada; sevilla to bilbao) and train from san sebastian to madrid.. a relaxing 5 hr view of the country .   We used audioguides for most museums, but would have preferred  a guide especially for the Prado which is enormous and confusing in layout. . The city guides were well educated  locals for the most part.. the food guides were especially helpful and fun and let us to tastes and places we could not find on our own.   We rented a car to explore the countryside in the north, but it proved to be a very bad idea ( which i take responsiblity for).. GPS was not much help when all the names are foreign and the maps do not extend across borders.. so if you rent a car, bring detailed maps and a navigator ( not the driver). Or get a driver which is what our agent recommended and we declined, thinking it would be a way of saving $$.

Based on our budget  we had nice charming hotels centrally located that included breakfast.  One meal a day was generally included in very good restaurants that simply brought us food ( we rarely ordered off the menu)The food and wines were excellent..all were unique--in some it was their charm, in others the food and in others the view.  We did not have a bad meal in spain.. and when it was less than great, it was usually our doing.

Invariably in a such a trip there are a few mishaps.. but they were addressed by our travel agency's most helpful staff member--- who made himself available full time by cell phone.  Our final interary with tickets were to arrive at our first apt .. but were delayed a few days.. Our agent was on it and the courier co. was made aware of the urgency and came thru and no harm or delays resulted

 One restaurant misunderstood about our prepaid arrangements,  and sat us in their restaurant instead of the bar ( it was supposed to be tapas).. once we paid the bill and i contacted our agent,  the restaurant refunded the $$ we paid and accepted the prepaid price and apologized. 

The only concern i had up front turned out to be unfounded.  I was worried about dealing with a foreign travel company and paying for the trip in cash in full 60 prior .  It was helpful to me to talk to another American couple who had just returned from their trip,  and they provided the reassurance I needed.   We are happy to provide such similar references if needed. 

We can't say enough good things about our Spain travel agency.. they read us completely correctly and they delivered on the tour we wanted.. our expectations were exceeded in almost every aspect of the trip and we'd do it again this company.

The trip worked out quite well, all the reservations; hotels, trains, tours and events all worked with no problem.

The hotels were what we asked for; in-town, walkable to sites we wanted, boutiques (no crowds or bus tours)

A little hard to use restaurant suggestions, map/directions might have helped

If you want to see Spain the right way, do not hesitate to contact this travel company...they are the premiere travel agency in Spain, and they were absolutely wonderful to work with.    The 18 day trip they planned for my husband and me was 5 star all the way.   Totally seamless. Everything went right.   The travel package and travel app they provided were terrific.  The hotels they selected were top notch.  The itinerary they recommended was varied, hit all the highlights, and catered to our personal needs.   The private tour guides they hired for us were the best tour guides we have ever had....great storytellers, extremely knowledgeable, fun to be with, they made each city attraction, museum, piece of sculpture come alive with fascinating facts about the history behind the building or piece of art.  The restaurant recommendations and recommendations for day at leisure activities were all excellent..   We could have made any one of these guides personal friends, and, in fact, have their email addresses and vowed to stay in touch.   The drivers were professional, on time, their vehicles fastidiously clean - all Mercedes Benz.   The travel company responded immediately to any questions or requests we made during the trip.   We requested a 4 day stay at the end of our trip at a resort where we could enjoy some real R&R, and the hotel that they selected in Marbella -- is a place we will come back to again and again.  It was the perfect finale to a vacation that we could only grade as "perfecto"!  

The trip was very relaxing, just how I wanted it to be. The hotel that the operator suggested is highly recommended due to quality and its location. The private transfers were impressive due to the luxury vans, prompt and friendly drivers. I just wish the drivers could act like guides to, where they can give some info about the place were at. 

Our agent was very helpful and patient since I didn´t exactly know where to go, she continuously gave suggestions and changed the itinerary according to my desire. 

The tour company was PERFECT!!! We only had to provide what kind of activities we were interested in, and they curated a perfect schedule that fit our liking. The schedule provided enough activities to keep us busy while allowing for enough downtime to enjoy and explore the cities on our own. Furthermore, all the activities chosen were outstanding, with the best and most knowledgable tour guides available. The hotels booked for us were also absolutely divine. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our vacation, and we would 100% recommend the tour company and Zicasso. 

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.