Spain's Classics

Those antigue buildings and churches are unimaginable. The food is delicious and the people were friendly. I would definitely go back and see other sites, and areas.

Tour Manager was excellent. Locations of hotels were in the center of town, easy walking to most locations. Clean bus and proffesional driver.

Sagrada familia

The tour was good moved a little fast not enough free time for shopping. The accommodation were mediocre they don’t know what 2 beds is. They were always up against each other. The breakfast for the most part were cold and the food was undercooked unless they had an omelette station. And the extended tour was a waste of time and money. The view was good but it was too far away from any activity

Worst Collette tour I have taken yet. While Spain was beautiful I would not go again My favorite part was definitely the paella in Valencia and boat tour. Our tour manager was not the best. Less than helpful.. Could barely hear him. Some of the other tour guides were not all that great.

I was disappointed with the tour guide. He didn’t seem to be very knowledgeable able the cities we were in. I made it very clear that I was rooming with my brother and that we needed separate beds and the first place we stayed had us in a room with only one bed. That was very annoying because on all correspondence and every time I called and spoke to someone at Collette I made it very clear we needed two separate beds. The dinner we paid $85.00 was not worth the price. It was a very small room and we receive one (1) piece of asparagus on our plate for a vegetable. It was not worth $85.00 and I would not recommend that dinner to anyone. I have been on many Collette trips and this one was the most disappointing.

The tour was great. I enjoyed much of if, although I personally didn't care for the Alhambra, though my travel companion loved it. The trip is underrated as a Level 3 for exertion. I had no problems with all the walking, but some in our group did. I think it should be a Level 4. Also, our plane arrived in Madrid about 5:30 AM, and we got to our hotel maybe at 8 or 8:30 AM. There was nothing to do but sit at the hotel andand wait for our rooms to be ready, many hours later. There should have been something planned, like a bus tour of the city or something. It was a total waste of a whole day. I also had a frustrating experience with the Collette customer service prior to the tour. We were interested in finding out the cost to upgrade to business class, but I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone, even after several calls, about what the cost difference would be. It was my first time to travel with Collette, and that didn't set well to make me a potential repeat customer.

Aitor, our tour manager, was outstanding in handling a very tricky medical situation while herding the remaining 40 of us thru Cordoba. His excellent management skills and winning personality make him an asset to Collette. Our local guides were also wonderful; I especially enjoyed Christian in Seville. Kudos to Fernando our driver for keeping us safe and on time. I thought the tour was a good combination of group time and free time, the hotels were good value for the money with excellent locations and the included meals were in lovely local restaurants with plenty of good food. The paella lunch in Valencia was a winner! I was skeptical about the flamingo show in Seville, but it was very entertaining and won me over. My biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed Valencia...such a beautiful combination of old and new. Thank you for a memorable trip to Spain.

Too much free time especially around meals. Not enough exposure to attractions. Not enough time in some of the attractions. We were told at one point we did not need to cover our shoulders to go into a cathedral. We got there and we needed to. I had to run down the street and buy not only myself and my daughter, a scarf but another tour member who did not have the money to do so. The farewell dinner was probably the worst meal I have ever had in my entire life

Loved the churches and walking in the cities. Local tour guides were excellent. They were very informative. Hotels were of outstanding quality and quite roomy for a foreign country.

So many beautiful things to see! Madrid was nice, but Barcelona was even better. Favorite towns were Toledo and Girona. The tour group was too large. 44 people is too many for one tour guide. The local guides were so much better! They exhibited a passion for their cities which our tour manager did not display. I stayed for the extension and was so glad that I did. There were 9 of us and what a difference over a group of 44. And of course, spending 4 days along the Mediterranean Sea was fabulous! A smaller group and a passionate tour guide would have made this a much better trip. And still, I am very glad I went!

The sites were great. Barcelona cathedral All the walking tour's were too fast. No time for pictures. Very little time to shop. A walking tour with a half hr. of free time in the middle would be a great improvement. We could shop during free time but then we were far from our walk location.

It was a great trip. I loved all of it.

The Familia Sagrada church and Sevilla were my favorites. I was disappointed I did not get to tour La Giralda.

My most memorial moment was the cathedral in Barcelona. It was awesome. The windows, the lighting, the scuptures...I wish we would have had an earlier tour so we coud have visited the gift shop.

Everything was amazing. The sights, the food, the accommodations and the personal attention of the tour manager were beyond fantastic.

There was not one memorable experience, there were many. I feel like we saw Spain! Not just a little bit, but a lot! My husband and I have shared our experience with many. Thank you!

I have absolutely nothing negative to say. Everything was perfect, hotels were centrally located, tour guide was amazing, food was good and wine was plentiful. This is my 2nd Collette Vacation and I get wait until my 3rd. I would highly recommend Collette.

I brought my family and we all had a wonderful trip. The beauty of Spain is amazing. The hotels were great & our tour guide Daniel was fun & interesting. Handled everything with ease. I can’t pick one experience because everything was an experience. Maybe Seville Cathedral, wow. I would recommend this trip to everyone.

GAudi basilica in Barcelona

Great itinerary. Good accommodations. Very large group with weak Tour manager.

Overall the tour covered a lot of key sights and provided above average accommodations. The itinerary was great as promised and activities and local guides were well done. Our experience was hampered by what I perceive as a lack of communication and engagement on the part of our tour director. We would have benefited from more written communication about each day. On other tours I've been used to a board in a common area of the hotel outlining what the day held. In fact, we encountered that on this tour from other Colette tours we intersected with. Also, there was no information of how to contact the tour director in case of a mishap or emergency, which I have been used to on other tours. The most troubling part by far is that our post tour extension was poorly coordinated. We were the only folks who signed up so we ended up being on our own for the most part with the exception of local guides. We were given no information on how we would contact anyone as it progressed, just trusting that if we showed up in the hotel lobby we would find our local guide or transportation. In addition we were on our own for getting back to our extended day at the end of the tour. One other thing that would have been very helpful is some information from the tour director at each city of things the found interesting or good places to go for dinner when we were on our own. Again, on other tours the tour director was more informative.

the flexibility was noted-great choices in food

Wo! Great tour all around! Highly recommended.

The tour was excellent in all respects--the accommodations, the restaurants and meals, the cities we visited, the sites chosen to visit, the mix of planned and free time, the information provided for options for free time, but especially the knowledge and expertise of our tour guide. I will never forget seeing Madrid spread out in front of me in all directions from the 27th floor of our hotel, of the first sight of the stained glass in the windows of Lagrada Familia glowing even on a somewhat rainy day, or the excitement of Flamenco dancing, or sharing paella we had just seen prepared.

Way too many people on tour (45) Tour guide was kind but she talked too much.

The tour and its manager were excellent. That said, it is impossible to move and experience a culture in a group of 44. We moved at the pace of a shuffle. About ten on the tour had age or body-fat mobility issues. Dinner for 44? You will not find a quality "authentic" restaurant for a group that big. We will never use Collette again.

I had good time & I enjoyed every moment. Barcelona 100 years old church. , Flemingo dance , fabulous food & entertainment. It is very hard to differentiate, every movement is worthwhile. & tour manager was very supportive & give special attention to each & everyone .

Collette Travel is the best in the business at provide experiences for travelers. My favorite experience was just immersing myself in the culture of Spain.

Loved Toledo, Valencia. Carman our tour director was great! The variety of cultures, architecture, food was wonderful. Locations of the hotels were spot on! Looking forward to France!

This tour was OK but definitely not for 85+ people as the schedule is too arduous. Secondly, the tour guide should skip the Metro subway ride, especially during the rush hour period. My wife lost a purse with all the money, credit cards, ID cards, etc.

Gaudi house. Paolo, the bus driver, drove like a surgeon.

This tour was lovely. it was well paced. The hotels were beautiful and the included meals were all wonderful. The was adequate free time for exploring on your own or shopping. All the guided tours were excellent.

Wonderful tour of Spain! Our tour manager, Luis Morales was outstanding! We have taken many tours with different tour companies, and Luis is the best we have encountered. He was very detail oriented, very organized, very knowledgeable and personable as well.

The tour was the right pace and the tour director was excellent.

For the most part it was a wonderful experience. A little hick-up on arrival the plane beat the driver to the airport. would have liked more free time at the Prado to just wander the collection. Food provided was for the most part outstanding. I felt that the tour as a whole did a very good job of introducing me to Spain. Touched on the famous spots but also on the lesser known but interesting places as well. Louis was wonderful. He went out of his way to help us and clearly wanted to show us the best of his country.

This was our first tour and it was quite good but not perfect.

Excellent tour manager, clean lovely hotels, ideally located, and many sights!

Clean, lovely hotels, wonderful tour manager, fabulous places included!

Tour was good but NOT activity level 3 . More of activity level 4+

We covered a lot of territory in Spain. Our tour manager was excellent as was the bus driver. The hotels were great and the breakfasts were amazing. Learned a lot of the history of the cities and towns we visited and got a very good feel for the culture. Food and wine in Spain are the highlights! To be honest, that was the objective of the trip for me, LOL. Enjoyed the art at the Prado and our guide was very knowledgeable which made the visit that much better. For free time (which was a lot) our tour manager made some very good suggestions for example, going to Casa Batllo in Barcelona, the beach in Valencia. Overall, a really good trip!

Favorite cities: Barcelona, Cordoba, Valencia. Walking through the historical sites throughout Spain was amazing and a memorable learning experience. Local tour guides had a wealth of knowledge--the Prado Museum, the evening walk to a tapas restaurant in the city of Granada.

The tour manager really made the tour perfect.

Good leader but not enough experiences. Too many tours of buildings

For every city we visited the sights got better and better. We did not think that possible but it happened. We saw renowned sites starting in Madrid, then headed to the south of Spain, and ended in Barcelona. Even took the option to spend some R&R on a Mediterranean beach. Beautiful! The trip hotel accommodations and the food were excellent. We loved the paella and tapas. We would highly recommend this tour. Amazing journey into Spanish culture. The Collette Tour Director Fernando was a joy to travel with. He made the trip!!!!!! Hats off to Fernando.

Not engaging enough too much walking and looking

Great accommodations, very good tour guide. Great sites to visit.

Great tour guide, great accommodations

Top professional company. Always have great experiences when using Colette

The tour guide provided a relaxed, efficient, fun and caring environment. (Exemplary given it really is at least a 2 person job for 34 travelers.) The hotels were updated, modern, new, clean and quiet while also centrally located. Something new to learn and experience everyday. Was not thrilled with some of the food choices although a couple of places exceeded my expectations.

Your manager Idalia was excellent. Bus driver Carlos also. All tours were great. Only the hotel in Barcelona needs to be removed from Collette because the rooms are very old and AC not working in some rooms.

The tour manager was professional,courteous and extremely personable. He made the trip beyond my expectations. Collette staff answered all of my pre tour questions and provided very usable travel documents

Tour manager was not representative of tour managers from prior Collette tours. He never provided any information or commentary about the country & what we were seeing. We suspect it was because his English was poor. You should not use him again .

Tour manager's English was so poor that he provided no commentary during bus rides and was unable to answer questions deferring to local guides.

Great excursions, terrific tour manager, comfortable hotels, wonderful group and safe driver.

The tour was seamless, top notch accommodations, tours, transport. Wonderful, knowledgeable guides & well organized flow of trip. Heath row airport was a problem due to 40 minute connection, which is no where near time to go through customs & get to gate.

The tour was great, and we did see the highlights of Southern Spain. I would have liked to go a bit slower to absorb more of several places. Many people in the group complained about the amount of walking, and I think if we went a bit more slowly, they would have been more comfortable & we could have absorbed more of the sites. The Sagrada Familia and the Guadi house were probably the highlights, but overall I enjoyed learning about the strong Moorish influence on Spain. The hotels were great, but we probably could have been happy with a little less awesome accommodations that reduced the costs a bit.

Everything was arranged for us, nothing to worry about from the time we left New Fairfield, CT to the airport and back. Everything was top notch and first class.

Great transportation….cities were great….our guide and bus driver were exceptional… hotels were first rate except for the one in costa brava.

Excessive free time with no Collette direction as to restaurants, attractions. Visited Barcelona on a Monday when museums were closed.

Their air travel arrangements were poor, causing me undue stress and additional travel time. I had to change airlines and flights at the last minute, dash through airports and still missed a connection. On one tour event, I was left behind and no one noticed.

Compared to prior trips on Globus or Trafalgar, very little commentary by Tour Manager; too much “free and leisure” time with no direction or suggestions as to restaurants or other possible activities. Local tour guides were good and saved the trip. Group meals were below average and some people became sick. Some scheduled. activities were worthless

A dream trip! Amazing cities, people, culture, history, food and beverages! Having Collette coordinate all the details sure made it easy for us. And, of course, having Aitor to guide us made it a home run!

Tour manager, Aitor, was fantastic as were all of the day guides. LOVED all the sites, museums, towns, churches!

Excellent travel mates — all fans/listeners of WDET-FM, 101.9, our local NPR station, which says a lot about them. Great guides — Aitor was fabulous!! Our extended days were great — 9-10 of us, a nice sized group. (We missed Aitor!) Excellent itinerary. Only complaint was the one night stay in one city — it’s exhausting to arrive, unpack, sightsee, pack up again and leave the next day. Should have at least 2 days in every stop/hotel — and 3 was heaven!!

Collette does an excellent job of planning their tours. I got a lot for my money and would have chosen each site myself.

All the local guides were excellent..the museums were wonderful...and the Sagrada Familia was a bucketlist fulfillment...

What a great way to see an unfamiliar country. I know there is so much more that we missed, but this group tour set us up to experience much much more that we would have ever seen on our own. My favorite story is about when we saw Vasquez’s masterpiece “Las Meninas” at the Prada Museum in Madrid (at the beginning of the trip) and then seeing Picasdo’s re-imagining if the painting when we visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.

Because everything was wonderful.

Perfect trip to all the sites we wished to see. Relaxed trip, no hurry ups, great local guides.

Every thing was don perfectly ,the manager was excellent,friendly,helpful trying to please everybody.the tour Gide we we very knowledgeable.the breakfas ere excellent,the food was good.I am ready to book another trip soon.

Good mix of structured/free time.

Travel, excellent, hotels very comfortable and food delicious

I was looking forward to seeing Spain and I can't imagine that it could have been any better than it was.I loved Montserrat- it was a clear day and we could see the snow on the Pyrenees.

We had a terrific guide in Wesley Glass and a wonderful driver in Paolo. Spain Classics was a great overview. I loved the UNESCO sites we visited.

The mosque cathedral of Cordoba brought us back to the time of the Moors and forward to the Christian era. The preservation of the mosque was more than an architectural artifact; it showed the value of preservation. Being there brought to mind the incredible loss of beauty and opportunities when an incoming culture destroys the work -- and the people -- who were there before.

The walking tours were excellent and the guides way above average. The dining was excellent also. Loos of the Alhambra was devastating

All it was a good experience

Told you everything on prior page.

Too much shopping lack of hot water no air

I found this trip to be much more strenuous than other Collette tours we have taken. The local guides moved much to fast and many people had difficulty keeping up. I think that not getting tickets to the Alhambra was very disappointing. You must order the tickets much earlier so your clients are not closed out.

I was disappointed that we did not get tickets to tour the inside of the Alhambra, and that this portion of our trip was deleted. The tour of the Segrada Familia should have been included as a part of our trip and not as an option on our own afterwards to our viewing the outside.

Barcelona and Valencia. Terrific!

Lisbon day i took off shopping

Waking up in Barcelona!

The tour covered all my interest areas and the tour guide bus driver hotels and eating establishments were excellent. A well thought out adventure!

Fatima, Obidos and Nazare were my favorites . Fatima was very moving. I could live in Obidos or Nazare. Beautiful cities, like a trip back in time! Loved it.

Every experience was memorable. This was a great tour. It is impossible to single out one experience, they were all so good - Madrid with the Royal Palace, Toledo with the El Greco's masterpiece, the incredible Moorish city of Cordoba, the flamenco dancing in Seville, Granada and the Alhambra, Valencia with the Museu Faller and the fun of the ninots sculptures, the paella experience and the boat ride of the canals and last but not least, Barcelona and yet another World Heritage Site including La Sagrada Familia. The architecture blew me away, it was so beautiful. And of course, the food, delightful.The people could not have been more welcoming. I could not have asked for more. Thank you Collette.

We loved the tour, our tour guide seemed very knowledgeable of the history of each of the cities we visited. The local guides were also very impressive. Our driver was a very safe and conscientious driver. He not only drove safely but he also kept us on time. With the exception with the mix up with the fast train tickets. The last hotel we stayed in wasn't as nice as the hotels we stayed in previously only because there was a vagrant who was sleeping outside our window and was seen defecating and urinating the mornings we were there.

Well planned tours, free times worked great, included dinners excellent.

We saw many cities and sites at a fast pace. We got a quick overview of many places that would help us determine where we would like to return and explore more at a later date.

The city we most wanted to tour was Barcelona, Spain because we had wanted to tour the inside of La Sagrada Familia. However, as much as Angela had tried to get us tickets, there were none available so we had to settled seeing only the exterior. That was a very big disappointment. We took this tour to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and had never been to Spain before. Although we enjoyed everything we saw, we felt the pace was a bit hectic with very little down time.

Same as above - the tour was well organized

The highlight of the tour was our visit to La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. What a stunning church!

Most sites were good, but there was not enough insights provided during extended bus trips. Visit to western-most point of continental Europe was not worth the time that was required.

1st, cons. 1.Alhambra a disappointment. We saw only Medini and gardens. Tour description stated "alhambra". maybe spend 2 mornings there to see all of the Alhambra. Also please include a tour of the "Caves". 2. please include a tour of inside the Sagrada Familia. 3. stay in Barcelona. the hotel was isolated, nearest place for food/tapas was 1-2 km away. no resturaunt in hotel. 2nd pros. 1. overall was a wonderful tour. 2. unexpected treats were the paella experience and Flaminco show. not what I was expecting. 3. Our tour director, Luis, made the trip. He's well suited to the position.

Many places we expected to see were not available, for example the Alhambra and the interior of Sagrada Familia. Dinners provided were not good. The paella lunch was very good.

The tour was perfect. The places visited and the schedule was wonderful. I enjoyed Valencia and Barcelona. I also enjoyed the Flamenco Dancing in Sevilla and the wonderful history lesson given by our amazing tour guide Angela. Our driver Paulo was super nice as well. We all got along like a family. Spain is a special place and I'm so happy that we got to experience it with Collette.

Spain Classics was an incredible trip and I will have a lot of happy memories of it. Collette is a great travel agency. They really care about the traveler.

Done very much on the cheap. a couple of really substandard hotels. Had to buy our water from the bus driver when the heat was well over 40C (we have travelled a lot -- have never had to purchase our water on the bus). Flamenco in Sevilla was high light

Great variety of cultural sites and local color!

The tour thrilled us, the local guides were excellent!

Valencia and its central park.

See my previous comments regarding Tour Guides lack of control

Our tour guides where very knowledgeable and made our time enjoyable. The one thing we really did not like was the large group of 42. Everyone is old and slowed the tours up quite a bit.

Our tour guide, David, was excellent as was our driver, Carlos.

Having lunch in Seville on our won

This was a good overview of Spain, covering highlights of 7 cities in 10 days. I enjoyed the tour. Our guides and accomodations were good. I would have preferred less free time for shopping and more information from the guides. The included dinners were expensive and served way too much food. I ate more than I wanted to and still a lot of food went back to the kitchen.

The Alhambra and Toledo are two of the most breathtaking memories of my trip.

Well done tour of Spain with an great overview of the big sites over 10 days. The large group size (45) and people with mobility issues made touring & rest stops take much longer than they should have. I suggest that smaller group tours be available. We also got conflicting information from Collette for Madrid about whether the group would tour Royal Palace or the Prado - the answer kept changing!

Everything was well planned and was on time. I enjoy the history

This tour was memorable. Our guide Rui was amazing. He watched out for us and cared about our experience. We definitely became a family.

Spain is a beautiful country. The one problem is it is not handicap friendly.

Did not think the city guides were very good and we had them in each city and then we had to tip them. This tour was expensive for us and we were not happy about tipping not only our main guide Luis and the driver but also these other inadequate Tour guides. We think Luis doing the entire tour would have been so much better. Also 44 people were too many. It was a long trip with a flu like illness being passed around. Moving seats everyday is not a good idea as more people each day got sick. They had 102 degree temps and a terrible cough that went on for days.

Would have liked to spend more time in Madrid and Sevilla, but overall it was good. Our tour manager, Luis, was outstanding.

I travel with collette exclusively...while there are hits/misses with every trip, I always walk away from the tour looking forward to my next adventure!!

All the different cities and sites were wonderful. I especially liked the tour of Seville

See text in item above. Thanks.

thensights and hotels were well chosen and everything ran on time.

The tour was great with the variety of activities and the cities included in the tour. Our favorite activity was the paella dinner with the boat ride after. Close seconds were the beautiful cathedrals and the visit to Obidos.

Valencia was beautiful and interesting with it's varied culture.

Great visits, ample rest stops.

Montserrat and Barcelona were my favorites.

Carmen, our tour guide was fantastic! I loved all the places we visited and though the lace was fast, it was totally worth it to see all that we did! As usual, people who pick Collette are friendly and it was great meeting new people from around the US. The extra excursions were definitely priced too high for the value we received.would have liked rooms with a small terrace or balcony.

Our tour manager was awesome. He loves Spain and it showed through in all of his explanations and history of Spain he shared with us. The most memorable experience was standing in the same room where Queen Isabella gave Christopher Columbus the money for his voyage to the new world!! The only thing I would suggest is to make certain people were aware of the physical stamina needed for this trip. Lots of stairs!! Even for the restrooms at the bus stops!!! Many stairs had no railings which made it much more difficult.

Well planned and executed tour.

Toledo was fabulous and not that far from Madrid!

I would give Collette tours a 4.75 rating. The tour guide was outstanding and could not have been better. My only criticism would be that on two of the tours, they did not do the complete description promised. In Valencia, with the Lladro museum tour, it did not include the science museum. as promised in description. In Barcelona, for the optional night tour, it did not include seeing segrada familia at night.

I did love the tour guides from Spain. They were fabulous. Our tour guide talked too much.

covered everything. felt very safe

Tour was a "tour" Too many miles and days just riding the tour bus. Tour consisted of over 1500 miles by bus, therefore cutting off travel experiences. Tour should be just one country, not 2.

I really enjoyed the cities and some of the factories that we visited especially the LLADRO factory. It would have been nice to visit an olive processing plant and learn about the process. I really enjoyed the trip to the fishing village.

Too much bus time and too many palaces. Not enough time in Fatima.

Montserrat. Peaceful. Time for prayer

Again, it all comes down to the tour manager.

My wife and I both enjoyed the culture lessons. The local tour guides were friendly and knowledgable.

Very reasonable, tours were good .

As I have said, far too much bus riding. Some days we rode all day and then for lunches stopped at truck stops. The Portugal portion of the trip was very enjoyable. In Spain we saw Sagrada in Barcelona and I think that was optional BUT the best part of the trip. The trip should have included olive processing, winery and grape production and something on cork production BUT to do that the time on the bus has to be limited. What about the high speed train for travel. The tour guide was "good" but he really did not seem to be "involved" our interested.

The highlight of the trip was seeing Sagrada in Barcelona and the small towns in Portugal. The trip should have included a winery, grape production, olive processing and cork harvesting.

Wesley was great. Very knowledgeable and attentive. Locations and local guides were excellent. All hotels and restaurants were super

Couldn’t have asked for a more perfect itinerary

I loved that local guides were used to enhance our experience in different locations.

Again, the tour was so well planned and our guide, Jo and her local guides were very knowledgeable and accommodating.

La Sacrada Familia was outstanding.

Es un tour muy costoso aunque buena calidad en los servicios. Los Tours de noche opcionales en Madrid y Barcelona muy caros. Euros 100 por una comida (cena) y el transporte es demasiado. Me gustaría comprar otro tour que sea más cómodo y adecuado para personas mayores. La Tour manager muy bien preparada con la información proporcionada a los viajeros. Gracias por su atención.

Yes again they planned for us so very well. The side tours were very well thought out. Optional tours were a bit expensive but the local guides were well chosen.

Same as Spain , it was swell.

My favorites were the Mezquita in Córdoba and the cathedral in Sevilla.

Tour guides were very good. Some hotel were good, others not so good (Barcelona). Breakfasts were good ad all hotels. Other meals nothing special. Paella lunch in Seville was nothing special (also we all got soaked from the rain and had to walk in ankle deep water; the proprietors need to install a walkway). The prepaid diner at the wharf in Barcelona was terrible and certainly not worth $99 per person. Bus and driver were very good.

The cities we went to were extraordinary but my favorite was Córdoba and the ancient mosque with the basilica in the center. Unbelievable architecture and Arab influence. The Alhambra was also magnificent!

I would actually rate this tour 4.5 but don't have that opportunity. The tour overall was great and our guide Ricardo was one of the best! Our group of 6 had such a fun time. However, we did not anticipate spending 9 hours on a bus from Lisbon to Madrid. Granted we stopped every 2-3 hours, but Collette should consider making this a train ride, OR stop somewhere between Lisbon and Portugal for the night. It was a wasted day. I would still recommend the tour, just with a warning about the time on the bus to each city. Hotels were wonderful and all but one was city center. Guides were very knowledgeable.

Valencia. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The tour hit all of the major cities and the excursions were very interesting. The tour guides were very knowledgable and informative.

I liked the historic sites we visited and especially liked seeing the Calatrava artichitecture in Valencia. I wish there had been time to do the 3 hour tour of his and other unique buildings there. I especially liked seeing La Segrada Familia - although we didn't get to go inside of it. Overall the food was wonderful.

I saw a number of places that wre on my list to see. The main mosque in the Alhambra was not included. Big disappointment, nor was the cathedral in Barcelona, just the outside.

We were stranded at the Madrid airport as our plane was late in arriving. No one from Collette was there to meet us. We called the US to get help, argued for 15 minutes with them until they agreed to get us transportation to the hotel. The tour guide was not very helpful and was preoccupied the whole time with personal matters like a graduate paper due that week. The tour did not fulfill what was written in their descriptions. You did not go into the palace at the Alahambra, you just toured the gardens. Everything was rushed. The quality of food and hotels was not 4star quality. I would not use Collette again. Customer service was not good also.

Explained complaint previously. Sites were great, tour manager lacking. We are very glad we added to beginning of trip on our own so we were able to explore the Lisbon area more. Also glad we took most of the optional tours especially Monserrat. Our expensive added tour of Madrid at night was not worth it however. There was just the drive from the restaurant back to the hotel - not as advertised, but this could have been the manager’s fault.

Trip needs to have at least two days added for mor free time. Trip pace was hectic at times. Tour guide could have provided mor information along route .

The tour was very poorly paced. There was never time to enjoy an area or shop. There was no entrance to the interiors of the two most visited sites in Spain. My favorite experience was the tour I booked independently where I visited the inside of the Sagrada Familia.

Cities visited was a great representation of Spanish and Portugese architecture.

Loved Cordoba, Alhambra Gardens, anything Gaudi

Tour was good overall but some of the hotels did not live up to expectations despite some of the hotels having 5-star designation. Also Collette put us in a Marriott Courtyard in Madrid; surely there were better alternatives? The tour would benefit from being a couple of days longer, with extra days in Madrid and Barcelona. Also it would have been nice to have had a least one day (two would have been good) without an early morning departure. The itinerary contains a couple of items that did not turn out as expected. Many in the group expected the visit to Sagrada Familia to include the interior (which it didn't). Also the itinerary for Valencia included the wording 'explore the impressive City of Arts & Science...' This didn't happen - the 'exploration' was driving by it in the coach - disappointing. The Alhambra visit was not as expected. We were emailed prior to the visit to inform us that Collette were unable to obtain tickets to the Alhambra for our day in Granada so we organised our own Alhambra tour. Arriving on tour the group was informed that Collette had managed to obtain tickets for the group for the Alhambra on the day following that originally scheduled. However the tickets obtained by Collette did not include entrance to the Nasrid Palaces, by far the most impressive part of the Alhambra complex. We were fortunate in having seen the Nasrid Palaces on our separately organised tour the previous day, but the group missed seeing the most impressive part of the Alhambra.

The group was too big. Most memorable experience was the Nazarid Palace in the Alhambra (not included in the general tour).

All costs were comparable with other companies, but your house to house pick up and delivery is totally awesome

Good tour, excellent hotel location.

It was interesting seeing Spain through the eyes of my 18 year old grandson. We enjoyed seeing the mosques in Spain. Enjoyed seeing my grandson eat a 2nd helping of paella in Valencia.

It was 'OK' but I really wish we'd chosen to go somewhere else. Several things about the tour made it less than we'd hoped. First day out we were taken to a place in Portugal where we were expected to pay for the restroom. I'm on 2 diuretics (was on a third, but begged my Dr. before leaving home to tell me which one I could best do without for a few weeks,...) So having to deal with blackmail to use the WC TWICE while we stopped, plus twice for my husband,..... set things off to a bad start. (The gypsies at the site there were not REALLY an issue,... they were persistent, but almost entertainingly so) Our tour director (Jim) In trying to praise the tour company,..... told a whopper about 2 days into the tour. Instead of benefitting the company with his statement,.... He told a lie. He stated that "other tour companies lock the on-board restroom,.... so you have to ASK for it to be un-locked,.... to get to use it,........" He then added "Collette NEVER locks the on-board restroom(s) " It wasn't 30 minutes later before one of the ladies needed to go to the restroom, discovered it locked,.... then in humiliation had to make her way forward, in the moving bus, and request the door be unlocked like a child needing to raise her hand to go, so everyone on the bus knew,...... We were sitting in the front, and heard her mumble "I was TRYING to get-in-under-the-radar,...... I did NOT want to come up front and have to ASK !!!! like a child." Before Jim could have the door unlocked, I asked him why the red light symbols for a man and a woman up over his head, were lit ? He looked embarrassed and didn't reply, just told her to go on back, (when the light was turned off) that the WC was unlocked, now. As per his earlier statement though,... re. "other Tour Companies",.... locking the WC door. ? We have been with several other tour companies over the last 25 years and we have NEVER been on one where the WC door was locked,..... until Last year, May of 2017 ,... a COLLETTE tour,.... That was THE MOST HUMILIATEING thing,.... to have to holler over the bus, to request the bathroom door be unlocked , interrupting the tour directors running commentary only when we had waited for a break in it, and could not wait any longer (Or walk to the front in the moving bus, and interrupt him/her to ask ) No real shopping time in Toledo. We'd chosen this tour for specialized shopping lists,.... we never really got a proper chance,.... we had a few minutes in one place only, and I rushed and was able to get the main thing on our list, in those few minutes, but no other opportunity to shop in that beautiful city. We had ONE stop for restrooms, where we had about 30 min. to shop the few merchants,.... but the rest of the trip was a bust in that regards

Jim Clark was fabulous, and very knowledgeable.

Again, the speed of the tour was a bit of a problem. The daily tour guides were knowledgable and personable, but I would have preferred a little more free time within the walking tours to shop and take photos.

Mosque cathedral; Fatima;

Some of the hotel locations were not convenient (although the hotels were very gong) to shopping or eating and we were not accommodated to be able to go back to the restaurant areas. We could not find satisfactory eating . Optional dinner at waterfront was horrible...crowded, noisy, food terrible and thrown at us.

Mosque cathedral was my favorite.

We loved the two countries and we had a great tour director and driver.

Our tour manager was very good, both coordinating everything and his knowledge of Portugal and Spain

All our needs were taken care of-all you have to do is pack your suitcase-door to door service. You see many points of interest, great guides and local guides. a wide type of sites are visited. All you need to do is relax and enjoy

Bad customer service. I called their guest relation dept 1 week ago and they have not called me back. Mediocre tours, not worth what we paid $9800.

The tour was wonderful, however, the terrain was a little difficult and the manager was not knowledgeable about wheelchair accessibility in certain places.

The sites visited were what I had expected and I really enjoyed them!!! The accommodations were all wonderful and I would happily visit stay in any of them again. When we had longer travel periods and stopped for lunch along the way, the food was very poor. It would have been nice to stop elsewhere. The food in the cities visited was excellent. With other tour companies, the tour manager shared a lot of information about the country, economy, lifestyle and history etc., especially on days with longer bus rides between cities. On this tour, we primarily just rode for hours with little communication. Part of the reason I chose a tour company is for that added opportunity to learn about the places I am visiting.

The paella lunch was great. The tour of the Sagrada Familia was unforgettable. Montserrat was also great. The local guides historical accounts of the sites and churches were very interesting as well.

The optional tour to Monserrat cost $81 and was not worth that amount of money - very disappointing

Alhambra was nice Valencia paella was ok not great. Should have been the traditional seafood paella. Probably Collette wouldn’t spend the money

Tour of Fatima and Valencia great restaurants and pretty good hotels in each city.

So much time, over 45 %, was spent on the bus, not a very comfortable bus. Very little time to actually see sites we stopped at. In most instances about an hour, which was nowhere near enough time to see anything Stops at highway service stations for lunch were miserable. At two dinners which were included on the tour we didn't even have time to finish dessert and coffee as the tour guide announced we had to leave.

Prices a bit high. Agenda good.

The tour guides in Madrid (Toledo) and Seville were excellent

La Familia Sagrada was why I took tour. Every cathedral took my breath away. Loved total experience.

See above comments on last 4 nites stays in two different hotels

The tour was comprehensive and that is what we signed up for. The only issue was that in order to see everything it required a great deal of time on the bus. The bus was comfortable and had wi if which was wonderful but we would have enjoyed more free time. And yes, I realize that with the amount of traveling that we did bus travel was essential. Maybe expend the tours by a couple of days.

flamenco was the best part

Inside the Gaudi Church. Had seen the outside before, but the inside is amazing. Plus Al Hambra palace.

Poor ground transportation on arrival and departure.

There is always room for improvement. Organization of ground transportation very poor, especially in a foreign country.

places visited were great and tour guides were excellent

Enjoyed Valencia and Seville. Enjoyed learning the history and having free time in the cities.

I was disappointed that we were unable to go to Barcelona, but I appreciate Collette's concern with our safety.

This tour offered the opportunity to see 5 of Spain's primary cities, to see the country from the northern territory to the southern city of Seville, to the eastern sea cities of Valencia and Barcelona. While there were many attractions to see and tour on the trip, the favorite experiences were the cathedrals, esp. La Sagrada Familla.

Everything we saw was amazing.

The Alhambra anddinners were great

The tours were organized, all tour guides were very knowledgeable and the sites were awesome! I recommend this company and this tour.

Can’t wait until we decide on our next tour with Collette, every detail was though out and executed to perfection, also what a fantastic tour guide Angela definitely one of the best we have ever had! Great Job Collette!

All of the hotels were top of the line and in locations that were easily accessible to main attractions for free time, the meals and wine were out of this world!

The level of difficulty ( a 3) was harder for the majority of the bus and exhaustion set in for many. My favorite places were mostly in Portugal and the Fado evening was the best.

The cities, service etc were wonderful, it was the time on the bus that I disliked.

from hotels, to cities visited, weather, etc. Food was outstanding

Too little free time. Rushed. Way too many cathedral tours.

Our bucket list over-flowed

We enjoyed all of our destinations, great food, great overall experience.

The outstanding meals everywhere we ate!!!

Loved Barcelona, Valencia. Beautiful country

The tour is excellent except the time needed to drive from city to city; the longest took 8 hours.

Tours were great but too much time spent in a bus. Also the food options were mostly iffy although Paella meal was great.

Loved Toledo, Valencia, and the country paella tour with the bot ride

******* was excellent being there seeing the procession and mass outside celebrating the 100th year. Toledo was beautiful. The scenery driving to Montserrat, would have liked to ride the funicular. Paella experience. Alhambra. Boat ride in Madrid. Architecture of Gaude. Walking in Barri Gottic on our own Valencia the Science Park and architecture. Need more authentic shopping experience, not tourist tacky merchandise.

The cities were far apart and there were 2 and a half day of just riding.

We saw so many amazing sites. Loved the Paella Experience in Valencia. I recommend staying an additional day in Barcelona to see more of the Gaudi sites-- that's what we did and really enjoyed the extra day. Collette arranged for us to stay in the same hotel.

I thought some of the meals could have been shorter, in other words, I just don't need 7 course meal. The bus could have been kept cleaner. Windows were greasy!

This is our 3rd time to use Collette and once again they proved it was worth our well to use them!!!

We enjoyed the tour and hotels. Favorite parts of the tour were in Madrid. The tour manager and bus driver were very good.

The most memorable experience was going to Alhambra. That was why we signed up for the tour.

Good and would recommend!

Montserrat was wonderful. Too much packing and unpacking. Would have preferred more in depth tours in Madrid and Barcelona.

Have reviewed and indicated my thoughts on the previous page

For me the highlight of the tour was Valencia; the Arts and Science buildings. They were amazing, futuristic and forward thinking.

Every detail taken care of giving us a carefree experience. The hotels, restaurants, and tours were exceptional. We could not planned and found these on our own without pre trip stress!!! Love touring with Collette!!

As already stated, the itinerary was really great. I had never heard of Gaudi before this tour and found his creations in Barcelona (Guell Park and the Sagrada Familia) so amazingly awesome. And the extra side trip to Monserrat was breathtakingly beautiful. Experiencing paella at the source was delicious as well.

I actually prefer our free days because my husband and I are active travelers and we can cover a lot of ground pretty quickly. On the other hand, we would probably not have seen so much on our own because we didn't know the region well and we appreciated our excellent tour guide and local guides.

Cannot choose any specific tour. All were wonderful.

Area was very clean. Cities were beautiful. Local guides were excellent. It was nice having "the Whispers".

Loved Seville. But everything was my favorite. Couldn't have been more enjoyable

Visit to Granada and Valencia

Toledo - The old buildings, the narrow streets, the beautiful places of worship - and the friendly people as well as the great wine

Done already in previous box

la Alhambra was the best tour...and the flamingo dancers...

Valencia paella and boat ride! BEst paella! yum!

Loved the trip hope we don't have to go through Newark Airport again

Outstanding tour guide and bus driver. Local guides and activities were excellent, almost all of the expected highlights and so much more. Missing the Alhambra was a huge disappointment but not Collette's fault in any way. The boat tour and huge paella in Valencia were fantastic after all the cathedrals!

loved the blend of old and new -- from Al Hambra, Moorish mosque, and other sights to Gaudi's Barcelona treasures..... with time on our own for the modern buildings from the aquarium to opera house in Valencia

refer to above comments. Inexperienced Tour Manager even though knowledgeable of Spain. Hotel Colon was excellent--definitely a high point especially since we extended for 3 days in Barcelona

See previous comments in Your Customer Experience

La Alhambra in Granada, also dinner in Madrid and Seville sights and dinner. Madrid Prado we did on our own-a must. Old cities of Toledo, Cordoba and Valencia.

Spain Classics hit all the right notes all of the stops were great but Valencia and Barcelona were my favorites.

This was an overall fantastic experience. The included sites were wonderful, and there was time to explore independently. Hotel locations were excellent. This is a great tour for those who enjoy art, history, culture, and having a good time! It is a busy tour because travelers are exposed to so many places and experiences. Spain is a big country, and we were able to see so much of it on this tour. Our tour manager facilitated and orchestrated the trip very well. She really provided a top quality experience that we could not replicate on our own. Collette takes the worry out of logistics so that you can really enjoy your trip.

Our tour guide was remarkable. Dealt easily with several serious health issues w/o missing a step with the rest of the tour. Adapted our itinerary quickly to accommodate closure of one of the highlight locations we all wanted to see. More than made up for that closure. Ernesto was the best!

As previously stated, a bit disappointed in the quality of the accommodations and the included meals. Also, it would be reasonable to expect to know the available additional excursions more than 7 days prior to departure.

I meant to do 5 stars but could not redo--- tours were very good

My previous review is sufficient. Fatima rates very high on my favourite memories; also would be Obidos. On both these stops we spent most of the tours on our own. Alhambra ranks right up there. Our tour of th Lladro factory and the Paella experience are two of my favourites as well.

Too many to mention loved the cities visited and all the attractions in all the cities we spent time in.

As stated above, good overall tour. The Flamenco evening was memorable, as was the tour of the Cathedral/Mosque in Cordoba, was great.

This should have been rated 5 because of all the walking, up and down hills.

See above for more specific tour comments. Most enjoyable times for us were walking around Seville and Valencia, beautiful cities. Also, a tour of the Seville bullfighting museum was a highlight and not a part of the tour. Not including the heritage of Spain in the tour would be like skipping the Civil War battlefields in the USA. We understand that bullfighting is not politically correct and controversial but part of their culture in the past and still occurs in many places.

Variety and organisation all done efficiently and smoothly

Optional excursions were overpriced. Made relatively few personal purchases while on tour other than nominal gifts to bring to people back home.

Granada, Toledo, Barcelona streets.

The tour was very nice and the guests were very congenial. I most enjoyed the Sagarada Familia in Barcelona.

First class tour manager and coach driver took us to a good variety of must see sights. Favourite was the interior of the non-scheduled Segrada Familia in Barcelona. Otherwise the Mesquito in Cordova. You should include this!

All of it. It was a wonderful tour and are guide was excellent and caring.

Since this was the first time in Spain and Portugal I didn't know what to expect. The countries were amazing while different from some of the other European cities I've visited. I really enjoyed getting to see the countryside and the excursions taken outside the large cities. One complaint was not being able to go to Al Hambra. I was really looking forward to it. But Collette and the guide did an excellent job on making up for the mistake. As well, I was really disappointed in the extra excursion I paid for - the night tour of Barcelona. While the dinner was good, what I really paid for was the tour of Barcelona at night. But we never got the tour. The bus driver drove us around pretty much where we had already been that day, and it seemed like all we did was drive around and around the tunnels. I was pretty disappointed and in the future will not pay for any extra excursions ahead of time but will make the decision while on the trip.

I would love to go back to Sevilla and spend the whole day at Plaza de Espana.

The tour group was too large.

Outstanding leader. Very professional and friendly.

Great experience, loved Barcelona, and all tours during trip. Had wonderful weather, which was a pleasant surprise.

Loved Lisbon and Barcelona, Alhambra was amazing

Felt their was too much time on a bus and not enough diversity in what we were taken to when off the bus.

Notice should be given in the travel documents that the hotels in Spain do not provide wash cloths so you would know to pack your own. The Montserrat optional excursion was outstanding.

Well organized and good pace for tours and sites, competent and knowledgeable tour manager, mostly good hotels in good locations Toledo and Cordoba city tours were the highlight for us since we had previously visited Barcelona Air travel from Toronto via Philadelphia to Lisbon works well because we cleared US customs before boarding in Toronto and our luggage was sent through and we didn't have to re-enter security before boarding the international flight to Lisbon. Very different story returning to Toronto from Barcelona via Philadelphia as we had to clear US customs, reclaim our luggage and re-enter departures and clear security again...very crowded, nearly missed our flight to Toronto, our luggage didn't make it and had to be delivered to our home a day later. Collette should have arranged direct flights from/to Toronto which were available. Corinthia hotel in Lisbon was outstanding, hotel meals were excellent quality and moderate prices. Melia Galgos hotel in Madrid leaves a lot to be desired. Because of the short time in Madrid, a better hotel outside the city centre would not be a problem because there was no advantage to being near the city centre.

the only problem was we arrived early in the morning after 9 hours on planes and had to sit for 5 hours to get into our rooms. either get a later flight or reserve some rooms for those who arrive early. alsoneed more shopping time.

I think that the tour covered the highlights of Spain very well. However, we would have liked to spend a little more "free time" in Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo. The two extra days that we spent in Barcelona were well worth the additional time. It should be noted that the tour of Cordoba is a relatively strenuous "walk" for some of the older people that we had on our tour....that should be rated as a "4" and not a 3. The tour of the Lladro factory should perhaps be an "extra: and not necessarily included in the tour.

This is a fairly intensive tour, with lots of places visited and a couple of long bus rides. Several people had trouble with the substantial amount of walking, some of it uphill over broken pavement. The tour manager helped them use taxis to avoid the worst parts and yet not miss anything of the tour. Madrid is a large modern city, not much different from any other large modern city but with lots of monuments and some world-class art museums. We knew we had most of the day we arrived in Madrid to ourselves, so we used the time to visit the Prado, and that was great (get tickets in advance online!). Toledo, Cordoba, and Granada have impressive remnants from the Moorish occupation and the Catholic reconquest, but Collette is right to not schedule a lot of time there. Seville and Valencia were enjoyable to visit, but the various cathedrals do start to look alike. The final stop was Barcelona, which I think was everyone's favorite. The architecture of even the most pedestrian buildings, the extensive park areas, the Gaudi buildings, and the cheerfulness and helpfulness of the people really made it stand out. Nowhere in Spain did we encounter hostility or indifference, but we had quite a bit of free time in Barcelona and our interactions with the locals were always memorable. The highly-publicized Las Ramblas was wall-to-wall tourists, and the side streets were largely empty. The markets were fun to walk through. One mistake we made was to use tapas as a substitute for a normal meal, thinking that this would let us try a wide variety of dishes. Tapas, though, is the equivalent of pub food, and it does not provide the same experience as sitting down for a standard three-course restaurant meal. Eating food that is different from what we eat at home is an important part of the travel experience for us. Our final meal on our own in Barcelona in an ordinary restaurant was excellent and came to about $100 for the two of us. We did not go on any of the optional trips. Our experience has been that dinner-and-nightime-tour options are not as enjoyable as walking around the city and making our own dinner arrangements, and they are expensive. We feel that all of the included meals are prepared and served for quick service to a horde of people, people who might not enjoy truly "native" cuisine. The local guides were a mixed bag; they sometimes added to our enjoyment, but often they just recited a long list of names and dates that went in one ear and out the other. We had brought euros, but we did most of our spending using our US chip-and-signature/no foreign fee credit card, and never had a problem. The hotels were very nice with one one-night exception (which we all told Collette about!), and the included meals were OK with the exception of one dinner where the food was very simply prepared and poorly served (a lot of us told Collette about that, too). As we expected, we had excellent weather throughout the trip, important when you spend a lot of time outside. Most places were crowded with tourists, although May is considered pre-season; Barcelona was particularly overrun because several cruise ships were in port. Bottom line: this was a very enjoyable trip, and Collette is a reliable provider of packaged tours.

More of a variety is needed on this tour. Entirely too many churches included as part of the tour.

We did not have to second guess anything because everything was taken care of for us.

Tour to be recommended if you want to visit and learn about some of Spain's cities. Favourite place was Valencia.

Most memorable? How does one choose?? However, I loved Gaudi in Barcelona and Montserrat. Also, LIsbon is a fascinating city.

The tour manager was great! Although there was lots of walking, I expected it and the sights were marvelous. Could have used one more day in Barcelona. Nice balance of tours and time on our own. Local guides were very good, except Yvonne needs more practice. She had a lot of dead air - she could have told us lots of trivia and it would have added to the experience.

We enjoyed the city tours in Obidos , Madrid and Lisbon tours.

I would not do the Barcelona by Night Tour. You can' see anything from the bus. Loved all the cities, just wish there was more time to visit some of the art museum.

The best part of our tour was, by far, our tour guide, Jo! She was knowledgeable, funny, kind, informative and took great care of us.

Each city we visited had a unique beauty which made it special.

Favorite meal was the paella in Valencia . OMG it was delicious along with watching it made. I loved the fanfare when it was brought into the dining room.

The picture post card view of Toledo and the Alhambra tour in Granada.

The tour was good and the tour guide was great! The hotels were varied..some were good but, small..some were better. The meals provided neede improvement in most cases. Some thought should be given to making bus rides shorter so that a whole day isn't limited to a day on the bus...maybe high speed trains? More time to explore Madrid and a more centrally located hotel...the town's center should be a reasonable walking distance.