Spain Day Tours??

[welovewengen]

We recently took 3 shore excursions with Spain Day Tours and highly recommend them. From Cadiz we went  on to Arcos de la Frontera, Jerez, as well as a tour of Cadiz. Our guide, Fran, was very knowledgeable and interesting. The group was small, the minibus was very comfortable, and the tour had the perfect balance of guided tour plus free time. Communication with Spain Day Tours was excellent.

and our guide got us back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

Our next excursion with Spain Day Tours was a full-day tour of Palma, Mallorca, where we had an awesome guided tour of the Cathedral by our guide, Gabriel, who was great. We also visited the village of Valdemossa, where we went to a monestary and even heard a short Chopin piano concert. Again, there was free time to eat or shop, and we were back to ship early.

 

Our third excursion was in Barcelona, where we disembarked. Our amazing guide, Marta, picked us up at the port (with our luggage) and we went to Montserrat, toured the church with the Black Madonna, then had free time. My husband and I chose to hike after that, but others explored the monestary complex. We then went on a guided tour of Park Guell, followed by a detailked tour of the Sagrada Familia exterior, past other Gaudi buildings, followed by a visit to Montjuic. Marta was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the sites. We were then dropped near our hotel with our luggage. Others on the excursion were dropped off right at the ship.

 

We also missed 2 other ports on our cruise due to high winds, but Spain Day Tours promptly refunded our money. Spain Day Tours is a quality company with very high caliber guides. We will absolutely use them again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[barbiedoll68]

We recently did a tour with Spain Day Tours while in Alicante and I can’t say how pleased we were at the end of the day! Communication with Emilia when we booked was simple and very friendly. Our guide was fabulous… knowledgeable and very patient. I wouldn’t hesitate in using them again for our future tours while in Spain! 

[kochleffel]

I've toured with them in Barcelona and Palma, and will use them again. The tour guides were excellent and all of the people involved were happy to work my request to visit a place not on the tour route (they couldn't take me there, but helped me to get there on my own after their tour). In Barcelona, the tour had a mix of people coming from and returning to the ship, disembarking with luggage and going to a hotel after the tour, and joining the tour from a hotel and being dropped off at the ship for embarkation.

 

Twice they sent me incorrect confirmations, but corrected them promptly and on the tour days everything was right.

[victory2020]

19 hours ago, kochleffel said:

I've toured with them in Barcelona and Palma, and will use them again. The tour guides were excellent and all of the people involved were happy to work my request to visit a place not on the tour route (they couldn't take me there, but helped me to get there on my own after their tour). In Barcelona, the tour had a mix of people coming from and returning to the ship, disembarking with luggage and going to a hotel after the tour, and joining the tour from a hotel and being dropped off at the ship for embarkation.

 

Twice they sent me incorrect confirmations, but corrected them promptly and on the tour days everything was right.

You can join a larger tour? I am on my own & would like to do a quick tour either right before the cruise (with drop off at the ship) or right after with drop off at airport

[JCH77]

 We toured Alhambra and Grenada off our cruise ship this week.
Both our guides were outstanding. They shared just the right amount of information and the pace was perfect.
Debbie even got us all tables, drink orders, and correct bills in Grenada. The city was packed full of locals and tourists so it was beyond helpful of her to stay with us in the bar.
We will use them again and recommend them to anyone.

[Barricruiser]

We used Spain Day Tours in Palma de Mallorca and it was an absolutely wonderful experience.  It was well organized and provided the perfect balance of guided tour and free time.  The guide and driver were very professional, friendly and helpful.  Highly recommend this company and will use them again when visiting Spain.

[Elipete]

A wonderful half day tour in Valencia, Spain with Spain Day Tours.
Our guide, James, was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. James covered all the highlights of the beautiful city of Valencia. We were a small group, therefore, easy to manage. Easy walk. Comfortable van for transportation. I highly recommend this tour. 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Elipete

[labindy]

We used Spain Day Tours for a trip to Ronda.  The escort was very good and the trip was very enjoyable

[aztravels]

We used Spain Day Tours for 3 of our ports (Valencia, Cartagena, and Palma de Mallorca)on our recent cruise. We had great tour guides each day and really enjoyed their services would use them again on a return trip to Spain.

 

[carolroad]

We recently went on a transatlantic cruise and took 5 small group tours in the Spain ports visited.  We also took a wonderful semi-private tour from Madrid to Avila to Segovia.  We highly recommend this company.  Their communications before our trip and all the guides were great.

[Outdoor Enthusiast]

On a recent transatlantic cruise, we used Spain Day Tours for tours in 3 ports;  Malaga (tour to Granada/Alhambra), Cartagena (tour of Murcia and Cartagena), and Palma de Mallorca.   All 3 of our Spain Day Tours were wonderful!   The guides were outstanding!  The transportation was comfortable and spacious and the Drivers were great.  The content of the tours was excellent!   

Booking was easy.  Spain Day Tours communicates well, is extremely responsive, and was very accommodating to all my requests.   

I couldn't be happier.  I will use Spain Day Tours every chance I get!

 

[NattilyAttired]

My wife and I just returned from a 12-day cruise with three other couples on Oceania Nautica from Lisbon to Rome, April 23 through May 5. I contracted with Spain Day Tours for full-day private tours in both Seville and Malaga. We could not have been happier with the service and attention we received. The Nautica is a small enough ship that we were able to dock right in the heart of Seville, unlike larger ships that dock in Cadiz. Our guide Fran met us about 100 yards from the ship and walked us across the street to the Plaza de España where we began our tour. Fran was a fun and knowledgeable guide and made sure we had an amazing experience, We eventually picked up audio guide devices so we could hear him in the busier parts of town, and a van met us to give us a riding tour of the bigger city, before dropping us at the Alcazar. Fran took us on a wonderful tour of this amazing palace and garden. We later spent some free time for lunch and sightseeing in the center of town, before meeting the van to take us back to the ship. 

 

Three days later we met our SDT guide Debbie and another van at the pier in Malaga. I had arranged a tour out to Puerto Banus and Marbella, followed by a journey up in the hills to Mijas, and then back to Malaga to see the Alcazaba. At every step of the way Debbie provided history, local insights, and knowledge about the Costa del Sol. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Mijas, even on a misty day. And the tour of the Alcazaba was a great workout with some amazing views of the city below. At the end the van delivered us back to our ship.

 

Dealing with Emilia at SDT to organize the tours was extremely easy, and she made thoughtful suggestions to enhance the trips. We enjoyed being on private tours during this time of Covid, and having the flexibility to adjust each day due to our whims, which you can't do on a ship tour. Finally, the total cost for our tours was about half what it would have cost to do excursions through the ship. Having our own built-in group certainly made it easy.

 

I cannot recommend Spain Day Tours highly enough.

 

KvB

[lindaandjohn2]

Five stars for Spain Day tours.  Easy to book, great guides, comfortable buses and everything happens in accordance with promises.  Would recommend their tours to anyone. Great experience.

[joycee23]

We just returned from a Carnival Pride cruise departing from Barcelona.  We used Spain Day Tours for 2 excursions.  The first was the Lisbon, Sintra, Estoril full day group tour and the second was the Malaga to Ronda & Mijas full day group tour.  Both were excellent and well organized and fun.  Having just a small group is much more enjoyable than a large 50 person tour bus.  I highly recommend Spain Day Tours.

[Mah Jongg]

We just returned from 23 days of cruising where we used Spain Day Tours for Palma de Mallorca tour to Valldemossa. Our tour was well planned and the sights were spectacular. We have used Spain Day Tours in the past and they always have a great tour. Easy to communicate with and always on time. You can't go wrong with them.

[Drexel445]

We just returned from our TA and 8 -day Western Mediterranean cruises.  We used Spain Day Tours for   Tenerife, Valencia and Sagunto, Ibiza, Cartagena and Murcia.  Spain Day Tours did not disappoint us.  Their tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly; the sights were amazing and tour buses were very clean and comfortable.  We have used them before and will not hesitate to book from them again.  

[elliekate]

For those who have done Park Guell, did you find it to be too strenuous for walking as well as climbing stairs? SpainDayTours suggested that because we are 70ish, it may be too difficult for us! I think I am still young even though my years indicate otherwise!  They made me feel OLD!

[May B]

9 minutes ago, CoconutJo said:

For those who have done Park Guell, did you find it to be too strenuous for walking as well as climbing stairs? SpainDayTours suggested that because we are 70ish, it may be too difficult for us! I think I am still young even though my years indicate otherwise!  They made me feel OLD!

Congrats on your first post here at Cruise Critic, Jo!

 

When Mr. B and I did Park Guell, he was 69 and I was almost 68. I didn’t think it was strenuous at all. Do you sometimes go out for a one hour walk? Do you often take a few flights of stairs onboard a cruise ship? Then I think you’ll be fine!

 

I’m 75 now and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it. 

[elliekate]

Thank you for making me feel better! I usually get in 7-8K steps a day and I do take stairs whenever I can! The house we have lived in for the past two years  is one level but our previous house had stairs that I used to run up several times a day just for the exercise! Perhaps SpainDayTours has had problems with ‘elderly” people having issues at Park Guell. With all of that being said, do you think it is a “must do”?

 

Thanks for your help!

[May B]

On 5/27/2022 at 8:08 AM, CoconutJo said:

Thank you for making me feel better! I usually get in 7-8K steps a day and I do take stairs whenever I can! The house we have lived in for the past two years  is one level but our previous house had stairs that I used to run up several times a day just for the exercise! Perhaps SpainDayTours has had problems with ‘elderly” people having issues at Park Guell. With all of that being said, do you think it is a “must do”?

 

Thanks for your help!

You sound ready!

 

I loved Park Guell. I think I’d call it a must-do, along with Sagrada Familia. Another wonderful place is the Palau de Musica. They offer guided tours in English, which sell out. We had to do that on our second trip, b/c it wasn’t available, the first time. We also booked a performance there, which I wouldn’t hesitate to do again, if we were going to be in Barcelona more than one night.

 

I guess if I had to rank my sightseeing in order of how much I loved them, I’d say Park Guell was #1! Palau de Musica was #2, Sagrada Familia, #3; and Picasso Museum was #4 … and I loved that! We were at three of those places in 2014. Now, I think more has been done at Sagrada Familia, and is there an entrance fee at Park Guell? There wasn’t, when we were there. We went by city bus, so we entered through the side gate and strolled down to the actual entrance. On our way back up, there were those guys selling stuff, all displayed on the ground on a cloth, and evidently they got word of police approaching. In the blink of an eye, they had all their things gathered up into the cloth and they were outta there!

 

There may be more of Park Guell than we saw. I just asked Mr B, and he ranked Sagrada Familia as #1, Park Guell as #2 and Palau de Musica, #3.

 

It certainly helped, that we had a beautiful sunny day for Park Guell.

 

Great city. Great food. 

[radarcruiser]

Glad to see good reviews of Spain Day Tours.  Would have like to be able to write some as well, but we won’t get the chance.

 

Tried to book a tour of Palma only to get the notice that not enough people had signed up yet and they would get back with me.  They never contacted me again, but did send an email to someone else on our ship saying not enough people had signed up and offered them a private tour for about 700 euros.

 

I also tried to book a Montserrat tour, but was told that they don’t do that tour anymore.  It’s still on their website.

[elliekate]

2 hours ago, radarcruiser said:

Glad to see good reviews of Spain Day Tours.  Would have like to be able to write some as well, but we won’t get the chance.

 

Tried to book a tour of Palma only to get the notice that not enough people had signed up yet and they would get back with me.  They never contacted me again, but did send an email to someone else on our ship saying not enough people had signed up and offered them a private tour for about 700 euros.

 

I also tried to book a Montserrat tour, but was told that they don’t do that tour anymore.  It’s still on their website.

That’s interesting! I just booked a Barcelona/Monserrat tour yesterday for late October.  I will have to say that the communication hasn’t been quite what I expected given the previous reviews about wonderful communication.  After initially contacting them and requesting that particular tour as well as the Girona/Dali tour two days after, they sent our itinerary for a half day tour of Barcelona with no mention of Monserrat. That’s when they suggested we may just want to go sit in a cafe across the street while others toured Parc Guell. I assume they based that on our ages (61-73 for the four of us). I wrote back again yesterday and they added Monserrat to our tour.  They requested a deposit and/or full payment but I had to ask for the exact itinerary as it was not clear exactly for what I was paying.  Now I am wondering what’s really going on! Will they tell us the day of the tour that Monserrat is not available? I paid the minimal deposit which was for the purchase of the tickets to Parc Guell. The balance due will have to be paid in cash with Euros.  That’s a red flag as well as we usually just use credit cards when traveling abroad. I am thinking we need to be looking elsewhere for reputable tour companies!

[elliekate]

On 5/28/2022 at 8:55 AM, May B said:

You sound ready!

 

I loved Park Guell. I think I’d call it a must-do, along with Sagrada Familia. Another wonderful place is the Palau de Musica. They offer guided tours in English, which sell out. We had to do that on our second trip, b/c it wasn’t available, the first time. We also booked a performance there, which I wouldn’t hesitate to do again, if we were going to be in Barcelona more than one night.

 

I guess if I had to rank my sightseeing in order of how much I loved them, I’d say Park Guell was #1! Palau de Musica was #2, Sagrada Familia, #3; and Picasso Museum was #4 … and I loved that! We were at three of those places in 2014. Now, I think more has been done at Sagrada Familia, and is there an entrance fee at Park Guell? There wasn’t, when we were there. We went by city bus, so we entered through the side gate and strolled down to the actual entrance. On our way back up, there were those guys selling stuff, all displayed on the ground on a cloth, and evidently they got word of police approaching. In the blink of an eye, they had all their things gathered up into the cloth and they were outta there!

 

There may be more of Park Guell than we saw. I just asked Mr B, and he ranked Sagrada Familia as #1, Park Guell as #2 and Palau de Musica, #3.

 

It certainly helped, that we had a beautiful sunny day for Park Guell.

 

Great city. Great food. 

Thank you for your input on tours! It appears you did not use a tour company and I am beginning to think that is the best way to go!

[GottaKnowWhen]

3 hours ago, CoconutJo said:

That’s interesting! I just booked a Barcelona/Monserrat tour yesterday for late October.  I will have to say that the communication hasn’t been quite what I expected given the previous reviews about wonderful communication.  After initially contacting them and requesting that particular tour as well as the Girona/Dali tour two days after, they sent our itinerary for a half day tour of Barcelona with no mention of Monserrat. That’s when they suggested we may just want to go sit in a cafe across the street while others toured Parc Guell. I assume they based that on our ages (61-73 for the four of us). I wrote back again yesterday and they added Monserrat to our tour.  They requested a deposit and/or full payment but I had to ask for the exact itinerary as it was not clear exactly for what I was paying.  Now I am wondering what’s really going on! Will they tell us the day of the tour that Monserrat is not available? I paid the minimal deposit which was for the purchase of the tickets to Parc Guell. The balance due will have to be paid in cash with Euros.  That’s a red flag as well as we usually just use credit cards when traveling abroad. I am thinking we need to be looking elsewhere for reputable tour companies!

We used them several times in several parts of Spain. Large groups I had arranged and just 2-4 of us. When I had to start canceling in 2020 due to the pandemic, they were quick to refund. They may not be back running smoothly yet, but I would book through them again if I were back in their neighborhood.

[May B]

3 hours ago, CoconutJo said:

Thank you for your input on tours! It appears you did not use a tour company and I am beginning to think that is the best way to go!

We often tour on our own, with a heavy dose of Rick Steves walking tours. I can see now why you’re hesitant to go with Spain Day Tours. Enjoy, whatever you decide!