Andalucia & Toledo, 5 days on Tuesdays

Traveler Reviews

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  Rebekah3.0•September 2026
  I'm going to start with the positives. First, the locations you do get to see are beautiful and interesting and...
  I'm going to start with the positives. First, the locations you do get to see are beautiful and interesting and definitely worth visiting. The optional flamenco show in Sevilla was incredible and I highly recommend adding this experience. There were a lot of other tourists there who were very disrespectful, but the performance was amazing and beautiful. The fact that transportation and accommodation are included is a strong point in favor. Not having to worry about booking individual hotels at each location is convenient. The bus was air-conditioned and comfortable. The fact that some meals were also included was helpful, though the food was not always good, but more on that later. The local tour guides at each location were wonderful. They were professional and knowledgeable and fluent in both English and Spanish. I learned lots of interesting things from them. Which brings me to negative number one: the guide you have through the whole trip. I specifically asked that the tour be in English. I speak enough Spanish to get by and I understand more than I can speak, but others in my party did not and I wanted to be able to relax and enjoy and not worry about whether I could understand the language. The tour turned out to be bilingual, which would have been fine if the guide had actually been fluent in both languages. As it happened she spoke mostly in Spanish with a bit of English. The English she did speak was not very good at all. It is obvious that she is learning English which is commendable. However, just as I would not dream of leading a group in Spanish since I am not fluent, she should not have been leading a tour group in English because she could not communicate in that language. One example was during our visit to Sevilla where she said that lunch would be "free". What she meant to say was that lunch was during free time and would be on us. This caused confusion among English speakers on the tour because in English when you say something is "free" you mean it costs nothing. There were many more other examples of her using inappropriate English words. In sum, the guide needs to have more than just a few words of a language; they need to be fluent. That just wasn't the case here and it affected the experience negatively. Do not assign guides to bilingual tours if they are not in fact bilingual. There were other issues with the guide and with the overall organization as well. The guide was over an hour late at the meeting point to start the tour. She said it was because the company communicated the wrong location to her. This just came across as unprofessional as she works for the company. It was just as much her responsibility to know where she was supposed to be and when. She then lectured us later on the importance of punctuality. She also allowed a party of Spanish-speakers in our group to basically dominate her attention the whole time. She spent more time chatting with them than attending to the whole group. Overall she was very friendly, but inexperienced and not very knowledgeable which, added to her inability to speak good English, negatively impacted the experience. You book a tour like this because you expect to receive an experience with insightful guides, that you wouldn't be able to do on your own. The information she provided was like the Google or Wikipedia version, which I could have looked up myself. No amount of smiling and laughing and joking a lot is going to make up for that lack of knowledge and experience. The hotel accommodations were not always great. Especially at Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol. There was a lot of loud noise from the pool area and we had a bad smell in our room. The food went progressively downhill after the hotel in Sevilla. The last lunch in Toledo was actually pretty terrible. One in my party even found an insect in their food! Another major issue I had was in regard to the visit to the Alhambra. The itinerary and other information I received from the tour company mentioned that entrance to the Alhambra was included. If you look at the Alhambra official website, a general admission ticket includes timed entry to the Nasrid Palace with the Court of the Lions. When it came to the day before the visit, I asked our guide about when our timed entry would be so that I would not miss it. I was then dismissively told that it was not included. When I tried to explain that it should be since we had general admission tickets to the site and I asked if I could go on my own if the group was not planning to, I was told I'd have to purchase a ticket even though I already had one through the tour! The Alhambra sells out months on advance. There was no way I was going to be able to buy a ticket one day in advance and I should not have had to anyway since the ticket I had through the tour should have included this. Again, was dismissed and told it was not included and, I repeat, nowhere in the information that I received was this made known to me in advance. I will say that the parts of the Alhambra we did see were beautiful and definitely worth it and the local guide was great, but the Nasrid Palace is not just another pretty palace. It is the heart of the Alhambra. Almost every picture you see of the interior of the Alhambra is of this area and I was very much looking forward to seeing it. So this was a huge disappointment for me. If you are expecting to see the whole of the Alhambra, know that this is not possible on this tour. You would be better off seeing Granada and the Alhambra on your own. If you have no expectations, like others in my group, and do not know what you are missing, then this may not be an issue for you. Importantly, the tour company needs to provide a detailed itinerary to its customers. All I ever received was a vague itinerary basically just listing the cities we would visit, but no details about time spent at each spot. What would be much more helpful is a detailed time table showing the length of tours and when the free time would be. When were dropped off for our tour in Sevilla, we were only then told that the bus would not be picking us up after the tour and we'd have to find our own way back to the hotel. This on a day when the Vuelta de España, a big cycling race like the Tour de France, was coming through the city and many roads were blocked so getting a taxi was next to impossible. I ended up taking the metro as far as I could and then walking in the blazing heat back the hotel. Lack of communication about this free time also meant that I missed out on other sites like the Royal Alcázar because of timed entry tickets. If I had been given information ahead of time, even if just approximate times, I could have planned ahead and purchase a timed ticket in advance and could have been prepared with a plan for transportation back the hotel. I think many in our group missed out on seeing more of Sevilla because they were too worried about how to get back the hotel. There were several other things that were not great, such as the terrible organization at our stop in Toledo which led to our local guide having to cut the tour short, and our free time being reduced to 15 minutes. In general, I won't say not to book this tour if it seems right to you, but know what you are getting into. Your experience will likely be better if you just want the bare minimum highlights of each city and have no expectations about the things you want to see. Also, you'll do better if you are a fluent Spanish speaker. For myself, I think I would have been better off planning much of this on my own and taking more time at each site and probably skipping Torremolinos all together as it was a very tourist trap kind of beach town and there are other coastal towns that are nicer. This was my first trip to Spain so I lacked the confidence to do the planning myself which is why I booked this tour. I have learned much from this experience and will do better next time.Show more
  Traveled in September 2026
  

  Reply from: VPT Tours

  Thank you very much for taking the time to provide us with such a detailed account of your experience. We sincerely appreciate both your positive comments and the constructive criticism, as they allow us to review the different aspects of the tour and identify areas where we can improve. We are pleased to know that you enjoyed many of the destinations visited, the local guides, the transportation and accommodation included in the programme, as well as the flamenco show in Seville. In particular, we are very happy to hear that you found the local guides knowledgeable and professional and that their explanations contributed positively to your experience. Regarding the accompanying guide, we have reviewed your comments with her. She acknowledges that English is not her native language and that, although she has been studying and using English for many years and considers herself able to communicate effectively with international groups, she may have made mistakes or used expressions that were not sufficiently clear on some occasions. We understand your concern, particularly as you specifically requested an English-language tour, and we regret that you felt that the level of communication was not what you expected. The accompanying guide's role is primarily to coordinate the group throughout the journey, assist with logistics, coordinate the visits with the local guides and provide general information and orientation at each destination. The detailed historical and cultural explanations of the cities and monuments are provided by the official local guides, who are specifically assigned for this purpose. Nevertheless, we understand that the accompanying guide also plays an important role in the overall experience, and we will take your comments into consideration when assigning guides to future bilingual or English-speaking departures. With regard to the late arrival at the initial meeting point, the guide has confirmed that she arrived at approximately 8:00 a.m. rather than the scheduled 7:30 a.m. This was partly due to an internal communication error concerning the meeting arrangements, although she also acknowledges that she should have checked the recipient and details of the message more carefully. We sincerely regret this inconvenience and have noted the incident internally so that greater care is taken with this type of operational communication. Regarding the use of Spanish during the tour, the guide has explained that whenever information was provided to Spanish-speaking passengers, she subsequently translated the relevant information into English. However, we understand your perception that the Spanish-speaking passengers may at times have received more direct attention, and we regret that this made you feel less attended to as an English-speaking passenger. We would also like to clarify the comments regarding the information provided during the journey. The accompanying guide is not intended to replace the specialist local guides in each destination. Her role is to provide general orientation and information while coordinating the tour, whereas the included guided visits are specifically designed to provide the more detailed historical and cultural content. Nevertheless, we acknowledge your comments regarding the level of information you expected from the accompanying guide. Regarding the Alhambra, we have carefully noted your comments, particularly concerning the Nasrid Palaces. The programme included the Alhambra visit as specified in the itinerary, but the Nasrid Palaces were not included in the visit contracted for this departure. We understand, however, that this distinction was not sufficiently clear to you before or during the tour, and we regret the disappointment this caused. We also regret that the explanation you received from the guide did not resolve your concern satisfactorily. Your comments regarding the itinerary and the lack of detailed information about approximate timings and free time are also very valuable. We understand that, particularly in destinations such as Seville, having clearer information in advance would have allowed you to organise your personal time and optional visits more effectively. We will review how we communicate these operational details to passengers so that expectations are clearer before and during the tour. We have also taken note of your comments regarding the hotel in Torremolinos, the meals, the situation in Toledo and the arrangements for returning to the hotel after the Seville visit. These comments will be shared with our Operations Department and the corresponding suppliers so that the different aspects can be reviewed. We are particularly sorry to hear that the combination of these circumstances affected your overall impression of your first trip to Spain. Our intention is that passengers travelling with VPT can enjoy the convenience of a guided circuit while also having the opportunity to discover the destinations with the support of professional local guides and our tour coordination team. At the same time, we appreciate your recognition of the positive aspects of the programme and, especially, your comments regarding the local guides and the destinations themselves. Please accept our sincere apologies for the aspects of the experience that did not meet your expectations. Your feedback has been carefully noted and will be taken into consideration by our Operations Department when reviewing both the organisation of future departures and the communication of programme details to our passengers. Thank you again for sharing your experience with us. Kind regards, Laura Goyoaga VPT – Reservations Department

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• MS

  Marcus2.0•June 2026
  Meeting point in Madrid was unorganized. VPT tour office was closed. They adverised meeting point being a bus...
  Meeting point in Madrid was unorganized. VPT tour office was closed. They adverised meeting point being a bus terminal. There was no bus terminal. Nobody to welcome you. A nervous gentleman finally showed showed, did not introduce himself and started calling names from a list. We were expecting a comfortable motor coach, but a small 18 person Mercedes tourbus showed up. We then had to drive 30 minutes to another hotel to pick up more guest. The tourbus was horrible. Suspension was a joke, the bus was shaking a lot at every rough spot on the surface of the road. Worst, the A/C was not working. We mentioned this and wouldn't get it fixed. The tourguide should retire. Unorganized. Had arranged for tickets and rransport to a flamenco show. Taxi didn't show up on time. Didn't give proper address/name. Frantically called for Uber. When we got dropped off Uber driver said he needed to get paid.whereas transport was included. Tourguide didn't care about his customers. Did not give give us a itinerary at start of trip, was self-centered and never smiled in 5 days while chain smoking off the bus. The positive about the trip, the hotels were excellent and the sights we visited were all worthwhile to see and educated us about Spains history.Show more
  Traveled in June 2026
• AG

  Abier4.0•June 2026
  The reason I didn’t give this trip 5 stars is that we didn’t actually visit Elhambra palace, just the gardens and...
  The reason I didn’t give this trip 5 stars is that we didn’t actually visit Elhambra palace, just the gardens and other buildings. Also, the bus was very old and full of noises and we couldn’t see anything from the window and the airconditioning would loose effect when it gets hot. Also, when we tried arranging a flamenco night with the guide, he failed to get us taxies and we kept standing in the street. Finally, I had specifically informed you that I didn’t eat pork. However, in Granada I was treated rudely by the waiter and was provided with plain pasta that I left untouched.Show more
  Traveled in June 2026
  

  Reply from: VPT Tours

  Dear Customer, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your recent tour. We are pleased to know that, overall, you enjoyed the trip. However, we would like to address the points you mentioned. Regarding the Alhambra visit, we would like to clarify that access to the Nasrid Palaces was not included in the tour. Due to the extremely limited availability of tickets, it is often almost impossible to guarantee admission in advance. Our brochure clearly states that the tour includes a visit to the spectacular monumental complex of the Alhambra and Generalife, but it does not mention admission to the Nasrid Palaces. With respect to your dietary requirements, we sincerely regret that your preference not to eat pork was not taken into consideration appropriately in Granada. Nevertheless, we understand that an alternative dish was provided by the restaurant. We are sorry if the service you received did not meet your expectations and will share your comments with our local suppliers for review. Regarding the coach and the taxi arrangements for the flamenco evening, we appreciate your comments and will pass them on to the relevant departments so they can be taken into consideration as part of our ongoing efforts to improve our services. Thank you again for your feedback, which helps us continue improving the experience we provide to our guests. Kind regards, Laura VPT TEAM

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  Stephen4.0•May 2026
  This was a fun trip but be ready for full days with lots of walking. The tour manager Valeria and driver Oscar did...
  This was a fun trip but be ready for full days with lots of walking. The tour manager Valeria and driver Oscar did excellent jobs getting everyone where they need to be and filling us in about the areas we were visiting. Valeria was very helpful in answering questions as well. It covered a lot of ground and the stops along the way were all top notch! The main reason for 4 star instead of 5 is that a few of the tours felt a little rushed, especially the one in Toledo. I think the individual tour guides at each stop did great jobs (sorry I don’t remember every name!) I just think there was enough time allowed. If I had the chance to do again I would and I still recommend this trip!Show more
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  Traveled in May 2026
  

  Reply from: VPT Tours

  Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a review of our tour. We’re delighted that you enjoyed it; there are so many places to visit in such a short time that we can’t spend as much time as we’d like at each one, but we’ll take your comments on board when adjusting the tour’s duration. We appreciate your constructive feedback, which helps us to improve every day. Best regards Laura

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• JW

  Jennifer4.0•May 2026
  It was a great tour as far as the itinerary was concerned with all the highlights of Andalusia covered. The main...
  It was a great tour as far as the itinerary was concerned with all the highlights of Andalusia covered. The main deficit was communication. For example there was no information regarding pick up from Hotel Praga so we took a taxi to the starting point! We also needed info about the norms surrounding tipping the local guides who were excellent. It would help if we had more structure on our free time with a handout on highlights and transport options especially in Granada. Inez was a pleasant and competent bilingual guide. Sometimes however, the noise within the mini bus made it difficult to catch everything she said.Show more
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  Traveled in May 2026
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  Alvaro5.0•May 2026
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  The excursion was very complete, Inés was a very good guide and coordinator, as was Raquel as a driver. The hotels...
  The excursion was very complete, Inés was a very good guide and coordinator, as was Raquel as a driver. The hotels and food were excellent.Show more
  Traveled in May 2026
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  Aarti3.0•April 2026
  Good tour for Spanish speaking travelers. For English speaking it is a challenge.
  Traveled in April 2026
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  Erin5.0•April 2026
  Loved this tour! Valeria was a great guide; she was organized and helpful, and conducted the entire tour in both...
  Loved this tour! Valeria was a great guide; she was organized and helpful, and conducted the entire tour in both Spanish and English. The itinerary was thorough and used the time well. There were a few small complaints about the hotels, but nothing major or trip defining.Show more
  Traveled in April 2026
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  Mahes4.0•March 2026
  Nice tour with good hotels and lovely driver. Visited many sites and travelled in comfort
  Traveled in March 2026
  

  Reply from: VPT Tours

  Thank you for your feedback. We're glad to hear you enjoyed your trip. We hope you'll choose us again for your next trip.

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• RG

  roslyn5.0•March 2026
  Great cities to visit Excellent hotels and meals Great guides in the towns Comfortable vehicles
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  Traveled in March 2026
  

  Reply from: VPT Tours

  Thank you very much for your comments. We are glad that you enjoyed the tour. We hope you choose us again for your next trip. Best regards, Laura Goyoaga

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