Spain Museum gallery visits Trips

This was an outstanding trip. The scenery was varied and gorgeous. Cycling on mostly rural roads and paths between perfectly preserved medieval villages was amazing. I did not find the distances or the elevations excessive, although it does pay to be in shape. Europe was in a heat wave the week we were there (first part of June), so we tried to get our riding started early in the day and took some shortcuts to be out of the heat of the day by 3:00 pm. The route later reaches the Costa Brava and the coastal towns, which have a different topography, and finally on the last day past an amazing nature preserve at Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park. You can't actually bike through the Park, so we altered our itinerary the last day to spend more time walking through it, since our son is an avid birdwatcher (320 species to see!). Bring mosquito protection for the Park. The guide app was easy to use and directions always clear. If you strayed off the route it temporarily lost you, but as long as you returned to the route, it picked right back up. The hotels were varied and interesting with universally helpful and accommodating hosts. We did the self-guided trip with two 30-year-olds on regular bikes and two 70-year-olds on e-bikes, which worked perfectly. Personnel were very helpful up front and they do have an in-country representative for emergencies (only had to call him once). You really need to read all of their instructions, including downloading the guide app before you go. I also recommend installing WhatsApp and learning how to use it. Everyone in Spain - including restaurants (if trying to make or confirm a reservation), the in-country bike provider, taxi drivers trying to find you, hotel hosts and anyone else you might need to communicate with - exclusively use WhatsApp. (Super easy to use.) Some of the really small towns close all of their restaurants on Tuesdays (or Mondays), but if arranged ahead of time with your host, you can get a taxi to the next bigger town for dinner or ride your bike another 5 km in the evening (not recommended after trying their delicious local house vermouths). We loved this trip and this area of Spain!

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.

Our trip went so smoothly thanks to our Travel Director, Helder. He was very organized and went over and above to make sure we were comfortable having fun and on schedule. The trip included some great options that I’ll never forget. A special thank you to Helder and Marco our driver.

The itinerary was well thought out and balanced. Lots of places to visit! We were busy but totally engaged. Each day was different , and the optional tours gave us choices to stay back and explore the area around the hotel on our own or enjoy the local tours - and I was always glad I opted for the optional tours! Hotels were very nice and located in desirable areas. Even the bus rides were comfortable and pleasant. We loved it all!

It was a well-rounded itinerary that allowed for many stops, but wasn’t overwhelming. One can choose all or none of the optional experiences. I would recommend the optional meals if one needed to reduce the amount of optional experiences they purchased. Overall, a wonderful trip.