Moorish Andalucia

This is a tour I had wanted to do for a long time, and it was worth the wait. There was so much more than the Alhambra in Granada. Malaga was a surprise with its museum offer. Rhonda and its surrounds were a great way to see the mountains. After the walk down into the gorge to see the bridge, climbing the church tower to see over the rooftops of Rhonda was a lovely contrast. It's also worth visiting the Rhonda museum in Mondragon Palace, and if you want a great view of the Roman bridge find the hidden viewpoint at the Arab baths (it's after the garden). The olive oil tour and tasting was fantastic. It's definitely worth buying some to take home (if weight allowance allows) or paying for it to be shipped. There is so much to do in Seville and Cordoba that I hope to take a short break out there in the future to either see what we didn't have time for or to spend longer in some places. Standouts in both places for me were the Alcazar in Seville and Mezquita in Cordoba. The highlights in Granada were the Alhambra and the flamenco. Top tip is to be able to use your mobile abroad as lots of the optional places to visit have downloadable audio guides (bring headphones/ earpods). Many locations do offer wifi, but it seemed to be much quicker if you already had data to use. Also, for the group meals bring Euros as many places struggled to produce separate bills. It became easier to work the bill out ourselves and pay in Euros. It was very hot in June, so if you are impacted by the heat consider the trip in a different month.

The trip was very interesting. The group lead and the expert guides at the major sites were excellent. The transport between sites was good, the hotels and breakfasts good. There is a lot of walking. The trip gets a lot packed in. The trip itinerary should visit the Madinat al-Zahra (Medina Azahara) as this is a major site of Moorish Spain and is very close to Cordoba. I really enjoyed the trip.

Itinerary should provide a visit to Madinat Al Zahra. Currently it is not on the itinerary and there is not enough time in Cordoba to visit it

The trip was wonderful. Just the right length, and variety. Accommodations were fine, breakfasts were very good, and the transportation was excellent. Explore does a good job of covering all necessary aspects of a trip. Our group leader, Siri, was superior in every way. She went out of her way to ensure an excellent trip. She was friendly, approachable, kind, considerate, and fun to be with. Above all, she showed great enthusiasm for her home country of Spain, and this was reflected in her orientations to the cities we visited, as well as recommendations for restaurants and our free time. She gets an A+ for her abilities as a tour guide.

A lot was packed into 10 days and our excellent tour leader, Siri, made sure that we visited the most beautiful, iconic and mesmerizing places in the time available. She also looked after our individual interests and well-being very well.

Our leader, Siri, did a fantastic job showing us the sights and sounds of Andalusia. The best part was when she had us explore her favorite area of Grenada. Absolutely amazing. Thanks Siri!!

An extra day in Cordoba would be nice 👍

Lovely holiday apart from the huge disappointment of not getting into the Alhambra Palace. I'm hoping there will be a refund of the tickets not purchased. Excellent itinerary and tour leader. Would have preferred a self guided tour of the Generalife gardens.

Interesting 10day break visiting the principal cities of Islamic Spain. Of particular note was the nearly 800 year duration that the Moorish civilisation flourished during which there were significant scientific and cultural advances which are evidenced by the buildings that were left behind.

The tour is interesting overall, but we were told about a week before the trip that we would not be going to the Alhambra. This was a big disappointment and I felt let down by Explore over this. We did visit the gardens but this did not really compensate. I find it odd that tickets were not available - as it seems clear the previous tour did visit the palace. The tour leader was very nice & very helpful but not as informative as those on previous tours. The arranged group meals were nice overall but it was frustrating that this tour leader (unlike others) insisted that we paid in cash for nearly all of these. (& others) had planned to use mainly credit cards for this. If is to be the case it should be made clear ahead.

This was my first guided tour and I thought it was excellent! The organization and accommodations were outstanding and our tour guides were superb (we had one main guide plus two other guides for the Cordoba Mosque and Granada Alhambra tours). An unexpected incident occurred during our trip and Explore was able to step in with additional resources so that the tour continued smoothly. We were very pleased with the trip.

A fabulous trip around Andalusia. In the main great hotels. A group of 15 people, so not too big. Would highly recommend.