Barcelona Itineraries & Vacation Packages

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.

Zicasso.com connected us with this agent and her company and from the start things could not have gone better.  After submitting an itinerary, our agent called me and discussed the proposed trip to Spain for 6 people.  She helped me narrow down the cities to visit to something manageable and relaxing rather than something hurried and rushed.  We decided on Madrid (4 nights), Barcelona (5 nights) and Donostia-San Sebastian (3 nights).  We stayed in large, modern, well-appointed apartments in very central areas of each city each time.  Our agent also arranged tours for us to various places, including the Prado museum (saw Velazquez' 1656 Las Meninas considered by many to be the best example of composition in painting ever), the Royal Palace and a side trip to Segovia.  Our tour guide was great, with degrees in art history and over 30 years experience, she educated us beyond our expectations.  We went to the Reina Sofia (saw Picasso's Guernica) and the Thyssen (private collection spanning many decades) museums on our own.  Our tour guide in Barcelona also was great, showing us and educating us about La Rambla, the Picasso museum (where we saw paintings from his blue period, cubism and 57 sketches of Las Meninas which he studied meticulously), the Gothic quarter and Gaudi's masterpieces including La Sagrada Familia (which is still not finished, but is supposed to be in 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death).  Lastly Donostia-San Sebastian was a beautiful town, sandwiched between La Concha beach and the mountains.  We hiked Monte Urgull and saw the Sacre Couer and ate pinxtos at the best places, introduced to us by our lovely guide.  A side trip to the Guggenheim in Bilbao was probably not worth an entire day of leaving town for, however. 

We outlined our desires to visit the Basque region of Spain and Portugal's Douro River Valley, with an emphasis on the culture, food, and wine of the two regions. We are in our mid-70s, so we asked that activities be designed at a pace appropriate for our age.

The itinerary designed by Zicasso’s travel team met all of these requests. Our guides/drivers were superbly prepared to explain the culture and culinary milieu throughout our trip. The guides were also universally punctual, open, and affable.

We were especially pleased with the excellent locations of our hotels. In San Sebastian, we had a really excellent pintxos restaurant across the street. The owner was exceptionally helpful in choosing items from the menu, as well as local beers. And in Porto, the hotel staff recommended a small, relaxed restaurant with excellent local cuisine just half a block away.

Our walking food tours of the two cities were excellent, both in the quality of the tastings offered and the pace through the cities. And our wine tours complemented our tastes perfectly. We could not have asked for more.

Our travel agency did an exceptional job on our custom trip from Barcelona, Spain, up to Rioja, then to Bilbao and San Sebastian, Spain, then to Bordeaux and finally Paris.  This was a trip all about food and wine and our travel agency ensured a flawless trip.  Our travel specialists worked very hard to find us the best hotels, a very balanced selection of dining, from exceptional Michelin star dining to various Tapas Crawls in Spain.  Our travel agency arranged all of our transportation needs, again with perfect timing.  Our private tours were all made with personable English speaking guides, and we were able to get into some very excellent vineyards.  Overall, I highly recommend this company to customize an awesome trip that takes the worry out of traveling overseas.