A kaleidoscopic adventure that takes you from some of Europe's most cosmopolitan cities, in autumn, winter or spring, to an exotic and vivid land of medinas and minarets.
Transfers leave Madrid Airport for your hotel at 9 am, 11 am, 1:30 pm and 4 pm. Join your Travel Director at 6 pm for a delicious Welcome Dinner and the chance to get to know your fellow travelers.
With your Local Expert travel down the beautiful boulevards to the Cibeles Fountain on the wide Paseo de la Castellana. Cross the Puerta del Sol and see the monument to Cervantes in the Plaza de España. A sure highlight is when you join an art historian to explore the Prado Museum, a magnificent palace housing works by Velazquez, Goya, Rubens and other masters. Journey past the walls of Ávila en route to Salamanca, with its honey-colored cathedral and 16th-century university buildings.
Journey to Seville to join your Local Expert for a tour of the immense Seville Cathedral, burial place of Christopher Columbus. See the slender Giralda Tower, the former minaret of the Great Mosque and now the cathedral's bell tower. Continue your exploration through the labyrinthine narrow streets and shady squares of the Santa Cruz Quarter, emerging beside the great walls of the Alcazar.
This day is yours to completely relax or continue exploring this fascinating city. Perhaps join an Optional Experience to Cordoba and visit the magnificent Mezquita, an 8th-century mosque with a Christian cathedral built inside it. Enjoy an evening of food and wine while you are entertained by throbbing guitars, lamenting solos, colorful dancers and the rhythmic stomp of flamenco.
Set sail across the Straits of Gibraltar to reach Morocco—a land of musky spices and colorful souks. Your travels continue to Fes, Morocco’s most ancient imperial city.
Your Local Expert will guide you through the ancient Medina. Explore this walled city of hidden courtyards, mosques and workshops. Walk through the souks and pass one of the world’s oldest universities. Learn about the ancient craft of carpet making and gain an insight into the motifs and colors used in the designs. Then you are at leisure to continue exploring as you wish, or perhaps cool off with a dip in the pool at your hotel.
Journey to the west coast of Africa to reach Casablanca. Discover if Humphrey Bogart really did say 'Play it again Sam' during sightseeing with your Local Expert. You will also see Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in the country and the très chic seaside strip, known as the Corniche, lined with trendy restaurants and cafés.
Enjoy the following day at leisure on the sun-drenched Costa del Sol. Relax by the blue Mediterranean waters, stroll along the promenade, savor the specialties in the local restaurants or consider exploring Malaga, the birth city of Picasso.
Travel to the oldest olive grove in the region and stop at the rural mill-factory of Almazara to taste a selection of different oils with locally made farmer bread. Continue to Alfarnatejo, a quiet town with a population of just 500 people and surrounded by stunning mountainous landscape. Walk the town center to see the 18th-century Iglesia del Santo Cristo de Cabrilla. In small groups, you are invited into the home of a local family to join them for a delicious Highlight Lunch made of fresh, local produce with flavors typical of the region. Continue to Granada, where overlooking the town stands one of the most remarkable fortresses ever built, the Alhambra. Led by your Local Expert, explore this exquisite palace built as a citadel by the Moors in the 13th century—a fantasy of arabesque gardens, fountains and stone cut like lace. Stroll through the elegant, exotic water gardens of the Generalife, the royal summer residence.
Your journey continues to the north, through countryside immortalized by Cervantes fictional hero, Don Quixote. On return to Madrid, toast your travels with your newfound friends during a lively Celebration Dinner of delicious food and wine at a local restaurant.
Departure transfers arrive at Madrid Airport at 7 am, 9 am and 11 am.
Airport Transfers: On arrival at Madrid Airport transfers operate at 9 am, 11 am, 1:30 pm and 4 pm. Return transfers on the last travel day arrive at Madrid Airport at 7 am, 9 am and 11 am.
16 Breakfasts, 1 Lunch with Wine, 4 Dinners, 3 Dinners with Wine, all with tea or coffee.
Service rating : The tour was a very comprehensive exposure to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. The guide, Daniel Ferguson from Insight, was very knowledgable and accommodating to all guests, even those with challenging personalities. The coach was extremely comfortable with great drivers. I would recommend this tour to all.
It's fantastic to hear you enjoyed your tour of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Thank you for your positive comments. We hope you will think of us the next time you want to plan and book a guided vacation.
Vacation : Great tour and reasonable cost.
Service rating : The description of our tour was exactly what we experienced plus additional surprises and adventures that enhanced our tour. We had clear expectations that were completely met, providing us with an amazing travel experience. Each person with whom we communicated at GETours was knowledgeable and helpful. No question or concern was treated as trivial - in fact, details were clearly presented and explained as needed. We always felt as if we were the most important person during conversations.
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed your trip to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. It's our pleasure to assist you in any way we can to make your travels worry-free. Thank you so much for taking the time to write. All the best!
Vacation : This tour was exactly what we wanted - the description met the actual travel. The tour director, Jorge, was incredibly organized and knowledgeable, who focused on providing us with the best experience possible. The local guides enhanced the specific locations. The extra legroom on the coach and the seating rotation provided comfort and encouraged friendships. The advice, expectations and itinerary made every day special! We travel to learn about culture, people, history, etc. The experiences were amazing!
Service rating : The booking experience was fine, after having to apply a bit of pressure to get the single supplement we requested. At first we were told that we would have to keep calling back day by day to determine if it was available, and that there was no way to keep a record that we had requested an extra room if available. I found that a bit ridiculous; fortunately they were able to help us.
Service rating : Dinners ranged between exceptionally bad and okay. When paying $60 + for a meal, it should be better than average. Hotels were mediocre, one had stained bed linens, a second had the shower knob fall off, a third lacked a/c, etc. Local guides raced through tours so that there was never time for photos. The tour leader talked so much, we stopped listening and missed important information.
We appreciate your honest feedback and apologize for your disappointment. We will be sure to share your comments with our team and Insight Vacations and request immediate review.
Vacation : Lower price your operators used the same hotels and went to the same plces. Going with Insight is a high waste of money.
Service rating : While the tour guide was great, the local guides for Morocco were terrible! And I should have been advised that there were so many "factory tours" on this trip. I have been on many tours with many companies, but THREE in one day is too much. When i get up at 6:30AM I don't want to spend 3-4 hours listening to sales pitches I am partly to blame as an "optional tour" may include a factory tour. But overall, there were way too many factory tours on this trip. Factory tours are tours of rug, leather or textile factories and the like where no locals are ever there to buy anything. They are only for the tour trade. They are marked by benches and a free cup of tea or liquor and negotiated prices. The local guides pressure you to buy overpriced goods as their commission depends upon it. And while these things are common on many tours, there were just more on this tour than I can handle. I am now looking at other forms of touring. The sights were the kind of sights you see on these tours, that is cathedrals, old castles, palaces and the like. The people on our tour, our fellow travellers, were exceptional. The tour guide was terrific.
We appreciate your feedback and suggestions and will be sure to share them with our operations team. We are glad that overall you enjoyed your trip and thank you for writing.
Vacation : While the tour guide was great, the local guides for Morocco were terrible! And I should have been advised that there were so many "factory tours" on this trip. I have been on many tours with many companies, but THREE in one day is too much. When i get up at 6:30AM I don't want to spend 3-4 hours listening to sales pitches I am partly to blame as an "optional tour" may include a factory tour. But overall, there were way too many factory tours on this trip. Factory tours are tours of rug, leather or textile factories and the like where no locals are ever there to buy anything. They are only for the tour trade. They are marked by benches and a free cup of tea or liquor and negotiated prices. The local guides pressure you to buy overpriced goods as their commission depends upon it. And while these things are common on many tours, there were just more on this tour than I can handle. I am now looking at other forms of touring. The sights were the kind of sights you see on these tours, that is cathedrals, old castles, palaces and the like. The people on our tour, our fellow travellers, were exceptional. The tour guide was terrific.
Service rating : When we called to book a trip, they explained the difference between several trips to help us feel confident about the one we chose. They were also very helpful with booking our hotel and air fare to accommodate our arriving in Madrid one day before the tour started.
Vacation : The main thing about the tour that I didn't like was the amount of time spent at the rug, leather, and textile factories in Fes. Since I wasn't interested in purchasing items from any of these places, it would have been nice to have another option for spending those several hours.
Thank you for your review. We are delighted to hear your received excellent service from our team and that you enjoyed your vacation to Spain, Portugal & Morocco. We will pass along your suggestion to our product team.
Service rating : Tour Director and Coach Driver were knowledgeable, courteous and above all kept us safe while attending to every detail. I’ve already booked my next trip with GET.
Vacation : Excellent service, accommodations, itenary and tour director.
Service rating : I was given information concerning the pick up, time, but when we got there, I found later that we were suppose to be a different terminal then the one flew into. Because of this we missed the bus and had a pay for a cab to get to the hotel. Also we were not informed about any extra trips while on the tour. We were luckly to be able to sign up on the trip. Not of this information was provided to us. We talked to others that were on the trip and they said, and showed us, all the information that we didn't get. My trip was arranged thru the Portland office. Now we are looking at another trip but not sure if we want to used Grand European Travel.
We do have very detailed instructions to make sure everyone is at the correct meeting point. Since we cannot control which Terminal your flight arrives in, we do try to simplify those instructions as much as possible and have one central meeting place. We are sorry for any confusion and added stress that the pick instructions may have caused.
Vacation : Didn't get all the information that I should have gotten.
Service rating : Everything was first class, guide was excellent, bus drivers excellent, hotels, food and extra travel experiences offered where great and well thought out. Safety was top priority. Places selected for this trip was well done. First time travel with Grand European Travel.
Vacation : We recommend this tour to everyone. Got the experience we were looking for. Saw into this part of the world areas I would have not traveled on our own. Got to view things I learned in School as a young person.
Service rating : Grand European booked our flights, but our return flight was too early to use the coach to eh airport and we had to hire a taxi at our own expense. Grand European should have paid for the taxi.
Service rating : The company was Insight Travel - under the umbrella of Grand European. Really well planned. Outstanding guides. Special restaurants and experiences that only well organized and traveled guides can provide. Excellent bus drivers made us confident and safe.
Vacation : Should be described as more walking than 1-2 miles/day. Apple watches told a more active story. Suggest canes for anyone with any mobility challenges - sure liked mine. Would have liked another night and beach time in Costa del Sol. First hotel in Madrid was not well situated and had cramped rooms with no view. Other hotels great. Hotel in Tangiers had cold food both dinner and breakfast.
Service rating : We had "royal treatment" all the way. The coach, the guide and the extra trips were great. Juan Marchena did a wonderful job juggling times of arrival with times of other guides, plus keeping us confortable.
Vacation : As a whole, the vacation was a good one. I did not like the visit to the homes in Morocco; I thought those were intrusions into the private life of poor people. I am sure they were paid but to me it felt humiliating to them. I did not like the guide assigned to us, not because he did not know what he was talking about but because of his lack of compassion toward those poor people he made us visit. If he wanted to show us the caves, he could have done so with any of the empty ones. I would have liked better a day longer in Portugal (Porto or Coimbra) and one day less in Morocco.
Service rating : All went well. Steve took good care of us. Some of the buffet dinners were so-so. Nothing to write home about.
Vacation : Saw many new sights. Had a good time.
Service rating : Actually we were on Insight not GET. So cannot rate.
Vacation : Confusion from beginning to end. Too many shopping events. Not enough meeting of local people.
Service rating : We booked our tour thru Grand European Travel but the tour itself was contracted to Insight Vacations. The contact we had with GET prior to our tour was very good and the actual tour was excellent.
Vacation : The trip was very fast paced but was very well organized and Insight Vacations took very good care of us.
Service rating : The Insight Vacations company with whom GET collaborates is great. I toured with them through GET the Treasures of Turkey in 2014 and the Treasures of Spain, Portugal and Morocco this year, and I was very satisfied. I intened to use GET and Insight Vacation in the future and I advertize both companies, especially among my aging friends.
Vacation : The tour was fabulous, although the rules that recently regulate the crossing of the Moroccan-Spanish border (participants have to personally carry all the luggage through the screaning twice) should be made known ahead of time. Also, I very much preferred Cem Tas as a passionate and knowledgeable Turkish guide over the local guides we had during this tour. They were just "delivering the script." Steven and Fillipe, our Portuguese director and driver did a good job.
Service rating : Appreciate receiving the print out of the online itinerary one of your representatives sent to me prior to my departure.
Vacation : The theft of my hand luggage containing travel documents, medicine, cell phone, camera charger, jewelry, electricity converter, makeup, etc. while it was on the under side of the bus in the luggage hold on the first day of the trip took the wind out of my sails. The guide told me later he saw Gypsies in that area while the bus was being loaded. I wish security had been increased at that point -- perhaps with personnel from the Ambassador Hotel in Madrid. Or even ask some of the male travelers to help to keep an eye on things until the luggage hold was locked. That loss greatly diminished my enjoyment of the trip.
Service rating : GET has a good service, well organized and has special discounts for frequent customers.
Vacation : It's a wonderful and friendly trip. Tour guides and drivers are good and nice.
Service rating : Amazing service provided by staff, tour guides, bus drivers, optional experiences.
Vacation : This was a trip of a lifetime.
Service rating : Whenever I called with questions concerning the details of our trip, I thought your customer service people at Grand European Travel were poorly informed. On the positive side when I requested king and queen beds they did write a letter requesting that accommodation be available whenever possible.
Service rating : Needed information that US. dollars could not be used,Euro dollars only. Picture of electrical plug for 220 would be helpful.
Service rating : Would have liked information earlier prior to departure date. Also needed to know that none of these countries would accept US $'s so we could have exchanged money at the airport. This was a problem for us. A list of the names of travelers would help get to know people faster. A photo of electric plug in info would be helpful.
Vacation : Tour guide, Juan, was excellent. Very well organized and helpful. There was a LOT of walking involved. This should be stressed more in brochure. Hotels were clean and comfortable. Too many "optionals" added a lot to the cost of the trip.
Service rating : I did not book this so have no comment.
Vacation : I felt we were given little time to explore on our own, next time I'll be more selective in booking optional tours.
Vacation : Excellent superior tour guide, helpful, knowledgeable, going the extra mile to make the vacation special. Great choice of places to visit, very comfortable bus with panoramic windows, good choice of hotels.
Service rating : Very helpful in moving our departure date ahead so we could spend 3 days in barcelona which was not part of the tour.
Vacation : On 4 different times when we walked through Markets or guided tour, the guides for that session started walking before all of us were off the bus. This caused the passengers in the rear of the bus to scramble to catch up and we missed a lot. Remember, the steps were steep and not all of us were nemble.
Service rating : guide was caring and good. Hotel in Madrid was very poor.3 hotels were very good out of 10.Breakfasts were good.
Service rating : GET continues to be all that I look for in a tour company. Spain, Portugal, Morocco was a fabulous tour. Insight Vacations tour guide Steve Thacker was all he could have been! Our group was large, 41 travelers, and he took the best of care of us and we had no problems what so ever. Moroccan travel can't be easy for tour guides, but Steve kept us safe and still showed us places where there were no other tourists. He's an expert!
Vacation : GET has always mailed a list of travelers and their hometowns ahead of time. I really missed having that information to help me get to know people more easily. I also wish we had been given a little more time to decide on optional choices for much later on in the tour. Insight Vacations was great and the foot room on our wonder tour bus was fantastic! The drivers were perfect!
Service rating : THE TRIP WENT OFF WITHOUT A PROBLEM. WE WERE MET IN A TIMELY FASHION. ACCOMMODATIONS WERE FINE. WE HAVE TRAVELED TO MANY DESTINATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD OVER THE YEARS AND FEEL THAT GRAND EUROPEAN TRAVEL DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB!
Vacation : WE WERE FORTUNATE TO HAVE THE SERVICES OF JACKIE PANGBORN AS OUR TOUR DIRECTOR. SHE WAS MARVELOUS! SHE WAS VERY THOROUGH IN HER PLANNING. SHE WAS KNOWLEDGEABLE OF THE AREAS WE VISITED AND WAS VERY INTERESTING IN THE WAY THAT SHE SHARED WITH US. SHE IS THE BEST TOUR GUIDE WE HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. AS FOR THE TOUR ITSELF- WE VERY MUCH ENJOYED THE MANY VENUES WE VISITED BUT WOULD HAVE ENJOYED HAVING MORE TIME AT FATIMA AND GIBRALTER WITH A PASS THROUGH OF CASABLANCA--MAYBE FOR LUNCH. WE LOOK FORWARD TO TRAVELING WITH GRAND EUROPEAN AGAIN.
Service rating : Very professional.
Vacation : Well planned. Worth the cost.