Fantastic trip with the help of Raquel and he...
Spain
|
Apr 28 - May 17, 2025
Fantastic trip with the help of Raquel and her colleagues. We had many moving parts with friends joining and leaving our trip at different points. Everyone came together seamlessly!😊
There was a wonderfully informative walking tour of Lisbon with Alix. The driver from Lisbon to Porto included wonderful sights like the town of Obidos, the surfing museum at Nazarre, and a lovely and tasty lunch spot.
Porto was great, starting with a Port tasting our first night. The Douro Valley tour with Gustavo was amazing. We had a walking tour of vineyards and sights with Carlos who really made the area come alive. Gustavo made sure to learn what we like to eat and took us to just the right restaurant, and then on to a wonderful winery tour and tasting.
We had a wonderful tour of French Basque Country with Jaime, even getting to see the town in which he grew up. A walking tour with Geza in Madrid hit the highlights-there’s so much to see! And a guided tour of Toledo was incredible. Such an interesting city so near to Madrid nd so different. Plus our guide provided great shopping opportunities!
Rounding it all out was an amazing Flamenco show our last night. Our agent thought if so many experiences we would never have thought of ourselves. We have taken several other trips to Europe in the last few years. We often schedule excursions once we get there using various apps and websites. Kimkim’s variety and quality of experience far surpassed what we’ve put together ourselves.
Hotel Reviews
This is a lovely boutique hotel on the edge of the Baixa and the Old City. The staff is very helpful and friendly. They made me feel special, and tracked me down in the breakfast room when I was late for an excursion pickup (my fault). The breakfast was delicious and very fresh. At night the bar was a good place to have a glass of wine and chat with other guests. I would definitely stay here again!
This is right off the Gran Via but it doesn’t feel that way. It has the look of an old property that has been tastefully updated with flare. Rooms are good-sized. Very clean. Wonderful breakfast and good bar serving drinks and lights fare in the evening. A relaxed and sophisticated atmosphere.
Activity Review
Gustavo was a great driver and made sure to take good care of us. He asked what we wanted to see, foods we liked so he could get the right lunch reservation, and told us about the valley, the river, villages, and more. He worked well with our hiking guide as far as timing and drop off and pickup. When we took a little long in the hike, he easily adjusted so we got to lunch in time. Our hike with Carlos was astounding. Hiking down from the top of a hill through vineyards hundreds of years old is an incredible experience. There are beautiful old stone walls, slate supports for the vines, twists of plant material to secure the vines,. These are things we would have missed completely from a car. We walked by shelters for the workers to take their siestas-which they need working from dawn to dark. We were so glad we did this. The vineyard visit at the end of the day was great. It’s one of the few that still crushes some grapes by foot. It was fun to see the granite vats where that’s done. And the wine, of course, was incomparable. This was one of those perfect days from beginning to end. At the restaurant we even ran into a group celebrating a 65th birthday. They shared champagne with us and we sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girl.
Hola Kate! Thank you so much for taking the time to share the feedback of your trip to Spain & Portugal. I am glad to know that you had a great time and that the trip exceeded your expectations😊 . It was a pleasure creating this experience for you and your group and hopefully, we get in touch again for future adventures. All the best, Raquel