Madrid Tours and Trips

The itinerary was excellent and included many of Spain and Portugal's notable cities. I learned a great deal about the history of the two countries, their struggles against the Moors, Spain and Portugal's autocratic leaders and their affect on the countries. Everything we saw was then through that lens. Some notable highlights of the tour included a dinner with singing waiters and waitresses in Madrid, our visit to the walled city of Toledo including the impressive Toledo Cathedral, the Fado evening dinner in Lisbon, and the tours of architectural, historical, and cultural sites like the Roman Aquaducts in Segovia, the visit to Gibraltar, the impressive Alhambra Palace in Granada, The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, and the Guell Park in Barcelona. Seeing the towering Sagara Familia, with its sculptures built into its whimsical structure and its beautiful stained glass, lifted my soul! While cathedrals are monuments to history and contain arts and treasures, a wider variety of sites to visit would have been welcomed, such as the Royal Palace and Retiro Park in Madrid, a high quality wine tasting tour featuring highly rates vineyards producing Rioja or Ribera wines, visits to the buildings that make up the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia (such as the highly regarded Aquarium), and the famous Mosque/Cathedral of Cordoba].

The Itinerary is excellent however travellers should note that whilst Insight state this is a 15 day tour it is actually only 13 days with the remaining 2 days being a welcome & dinner on Day 1 evening and a departure to the airport on Day 15.

It is a good balance between going to major attractions in larger cities and visiting some smaller, lesser known places that are just lovely. Our tour guide, Brad, knows so much about both countries, as well as Gibraltar, that I learned so much while thoroughly enjoying this vacation.

The hotel chosen in Madrid was not up to standard. Our luggage was delivered to the wrong room and not found for 11/11/2 hours. Just got sorted and they had to change our room because air con wasn’t working. Also there was not enough food at the dinner buffet on the last night. Those of us at the end of the line faced empty dishes that were not replaced. I ended up with soup and cheese and biscuits and some vegetables. Definitely not up to Insight standards.

I loved all the places we visited. Each of them had a unique flair that when put together and viewed as a whole give you a taste of the truly amazing Spain and Portugal.

Great trip….however it would be better to end in Lisbon and not spend a day on a coach traveling from Lisbon back to Madrid. The optional experiences made the trip extra special and wish they were included in the price.