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Spain Day Tours??

spinsbabe

By spinsbabe,
in Spain and Portugal Ports

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jkbartist

jkbartist

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We loved our tour to the Alhambra.  Our guide on the bus was amazing she was a wealth of knowledge and very cheerful.  Our Alhambra guide was Xavier We loved how passionate he is.  He told stories and histories and pointed out something special in many of the rooms or gardens.  The quiet boxes were such an easy way to listen and keep up with the presentation and also take photos.  First rate all around

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TexasTraveler18

TexasTraveler18

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Just returned from NCL Getaway Aug 8-17/23.  We were excited to have 3 stops in Spain - Bilbao, La Coruna and Vigo.  We chose Spain Day Tours (SDT) based on reviews here on CC.  They did not disappoint!!!  We prefer private tours mainly to control size of group - which ultimately means you hear better, see more and almost alway save money.  Our only concern was getting enough people to confirm each tour.  We simply also booked excursions through NCL that we cancelled as each SDT tour was confirmed so we had no real risk.

SDT is a family run business so customer satisfaction makes or breaks them.  They were on top of pick up from the ports, had AMAZING guides who were passionate about their cities (our Bilbao guide was the BEST guide we have had in 35 years of cruising and touring) and we never sweated for 1 minute about the ability to get back on time.  The transportation was very clean, looked new and very comfortable (reclining seats, foot rests, seatbelts and a microphone that ensured we heard everything easily no matter where we sat.)

So from personal experience I can easily recommend this private tour company for port calls in Spain - and I would not hesitate to use them in any city they provide services in.  

Thank you SDT for making our Spanish ports of call so wonderful!

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

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23 minutes ago, TexasTraveler18 said:

Just returned from NCL Getaway Aug 8-17/23.  We were excited to have 3 stops in Spain - Bilbao, La Coruna and Vigo.  We chose Spain Day Tours (SDT) based on reviews here on CC.  They did not disappoint!!!  We prefer private tours mainly to control size of group - which ultimately means you hear better, see more and almost alway save money.  Our only concern was getting enough people to confirm each tour.  We simply also booked excursions through NCL that we cancelled as each SDT tour was confirmed so we had no real risk.

SDT is a family run business so customer satisfaction makes or breaks them.  They were on top of pick up from the ports, had AMAZING guides who were passionate about their cities (our Bilbao guide was the BEST guide we have had in 35 years of cruising and touring) and we never sweated for 1 minute about the ability to get back on time.  The transportation was very clean, looked new and very comfortable (reclining seats, foot rests, seatbelts and a microphone that ensured we heard everything easily no matter where we sat.)

So from personal experience I can easily recommend this private tour company for port calls in Spain - and I would not hesitate to use them in any city they provide services in.  

Thank you SDT for making our Spanish ports of call so wonderful!

We leave in two weeks on the Celebrity Apex and we have booked 6 of our 8 shore excursions with SDT. They were all organized by one person on our Roll Call and we filled all the minimum required seat in less than a month. In Lisbon Portugal we booked a totally private tour for the 4 in our group with SDT and it was $69 less pp than the same big bus tour on Celebrity.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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7 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We leave in two weeks on the Celebrity Apex and we have booked 6 of our 8 shore excursions with SDT. They were all organized by one person on our Roll Call and we filled all the minimum required seat in less than a month. In Lisbon Portugal we booked a totally private tour for the 4 in our group with SDT and it was $69 less pp than the same big bus tour on Celebrity.

Are you going to Sintra on that or just staying in Lisbon? I did Spain Day tours (not private) in Lisbon and we had an an amazing time.

 

I definitely would choose SDT on my next trip.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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7 hours ago, TexasTraveler18 said:

Just returned from NCL Getaway Aug 8-17/23.  We were excited to have 3 stops in Spain - Bilbao, La Coruna and Vigo.  We chose Spain Day Tours (SDT) based on reviews here on CC.  

 

Thank you SDT for making our Spanish ports of call so wonderful!

I did 3 including Bilbao, La Corona and then Lisbon with them. I agree about the tour guides. They were amazing. And the buses were super comfortable.

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

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1 hour ago, Coral said:

Are you going to Sintra on that or just staying in Lisbon? I did Spain Day tours (not private) in Lisbon and we had an an amazing time.

 

I definitely would choose SDT on my next trip.

Yes we are doing Sintra with them for just the 4 of us.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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21 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Yes we are doing Sintra with them for just the 4 of us.

You are going to have a great time! I did ask if we could stop for a Portuguese tart in Lisbon. So good! Have a great time! I had 3 full buses on my roll call. We had 3 different guides (obviously) and everyone raved about their tour.

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

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22 minutes ago, Coral said:

You are going to have a great time! I did ask if we could stop for a Portuguese tart in Lisbon. So good! Have a great time! I had 3 full buses on my roll call. We had 3 different guides (obviously) and everyone raved about their tour.

We asked for a stop at a place to sample some Port. In La Rochelle France we are doing a private tour that includes a cognac tasting and education.  We are to the point that we no longer will do any ship sponsored tours, all private and smaller. Last year in Italy, Croatia, Turkey and Greece we did some amazing private tours.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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8 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We asked for a stop at a place to sample some Port. In La Rochelle France we are doing a private tour that includes a cognac tasting and education.  We are to the point that we no longer will do any ship sponsored tours, all private and smaller. Last year in Italy, Croatia, Turkey and Greece we did some amazing private tours.

I also try to do private tours. I think we had 11-14 people on our Spain Day tours. Private tours are definitely ideal.

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

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12 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I was hoping to get a SDT excursion to Seville from Cadiz, but they and I were unable to get enough people to make it a go. But at least they notified me in plenty of time so that I could plan something else.  Communication was good.

 

We had one person on our Apex cruise roll call organize the tours with SDT and he got enough people on the RC to make everyone of our tours. Did you try this with your Roll Call?

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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10 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I was hoping to get a SDT excursion to Seville from Cadiz, but they and I were unable to get enough people to make it a go. But at least they notified me in plenty of time so that I could plan something else.  Communication was good.

 

I agree about your roll call. I had planned to go with them for 2 tours in 2 cities out of 3 cities. One tour in the 3rd city, didn't have enough people so I cancelled the ship's tour and joined the SDT so that it would be a go. I am glad I did.

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Lesley Styles

Lesley Styles

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We used Spain Day Tours just over a week ago - Cadiz to Seville.

Thoroughly recommend them.

Pick up was simple and punctual.

Coach was very comfortable and the guides were great, supplying us with a lot of information, but not talking all the time so that we were overloaded with facts!
The price we paid was very fair and a lot more reasonable than Princess prices.

Communication before the trip was excellent.

Would definitely use them again.

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JerseyBird

JerseyBird

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Hi！　I just got a quote back from SDP for a trip from Malaga to Granada.  

 

I was very surprised that the price is about 30% higher than the NCL offered. From the descriptions, they are pretty much identical. The only difference I can think of is assume NCL's is a big bus, bigger group, vs we are a 10-person group, you will get a better TLC.

 

In the past (before Covid), when we book with a local tour operator, it is always cheaper, a lot cheaper than the price cruise line offered. Has things changed lately?

 

What are your experience and your advices? 

 

Thanks a lot!

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Alimars

Alimars

Posted
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On 8/27/2023 at 9:55 PM, terrydtx said:

We asked for a stop at a place to sample some Port. In La Rochelle France we are doing a private tour that includes a cognac tasting and education.  We are to the point that we no longer will do any ship sponsored tours, all private and smaller. Last year in Italy, Croatia, Turkey and Greece we did some amazing private tours.

 

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cabincop

cabincop

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4 hours ago, JerseyBird said:

I am currently in communication with SDT.  It took them 2-3 days to get back to you in email.

 

Is that the case with you too?

 

Just got little anxious... 

 

Between time change & Im sure they amount of email they get it’s understandable. Usually get a return email within 2 to 3 days.

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