Illuminating Tour of Portugal’s Historic & Cultural Roots

Zicasso’s travel company took care of all our needs and if we needed to make changes or find reservations at great restaurants, they responded quickly and set us up in some fantastic restaurants.

The guides and drivers were all super-knowledgeable and nice. We would definitely use the travel company again for trips to Portugal and Spain, and also use Zicasso to help us find tour companies in other countries.

Zicasso’s travel company designed a fabulous 17-day Spain and Portugal tour for us. It was a pleasure to work with our travel specialist during the entire design process. First, the travel specialist spent time talking to us over the phone so she could get to know what each of us wanted to get out of the trip. Armed with that information, she was able to come up with a recommended agenda. We went back and forth a few times until she designed a trip that suited both of our interests. This trip turned out to be the perfect balance between learning about the history of the area, experiencing the culture, and enjoying our surroundings in rural and urban environments.

The week before we left on the tour, we reviewed our entire trip with the travel specialist over the phone. She wanted to answer any questions we may have had and to make sure we understood how to use our trip app. The trip app made it easy to see what we were doing each day. It contained descriptions of each tour and what was significant about the sites we were visiting. We had access to all our tickets through the app. There were Google Map links, so we could easily navigate to the location we needed to be. Recommendations for various restaurants and other things to do in the area were also included in the app.

The travel specialist provided her contact information and back-up contacts in case we needed anything during our trip. She made it clear to us that if our guide or driver was more than five minutes late to contact her. The travel company was there to support us 24/7.

The travel specialist pays attention to details. I highly recommend the travel company for designing a trip to Spain and Portugal.

It is hard not to be overly effusive in praise of the trip. The hotels, travel, guides, and itinerary were all wonderful. The trip was tailored to our needs and interests very well. We loved our app and Zicasso’s travel specialist checking in on us.

So what were the favorites for me? The Douro Valley, Córdoba, and Toledo. Not saying that I did not enjoy all the rest, but those were the standouts and might merit a return. I think being there during the Christmas season was special, though the crowds in Madrid were a little much for us. It was colder than we expected, but better than sweltering heat.

So what could I have lived without? The Metropol Parasol (recommended by someone else, not the travel company) was underwhelming and the Royal Palace in Madrid was not as interesting as other landmarks. The Alhambra and the Retiro Park in Madrid were more enjoyable.

That said, the travel specialist did a wonderful job accommodating our lifestyle and interests, making for a wonderful travel experience.

We had one of the best trips. We never expected so much attention from any travel agency, from the beginning to departure.

We loved our trip to Spain and Portugal! We enjoyed each of our private tours with our tour guides in the various cities we experienced. They went above and beyond to share their knowledge of the planned sites, plus they added in individual unique sites and information along our walking route.

Zicasso’s tour company took all of our requested activities, venues, and interests to customize a trip that fit us well. They were in communication with us during our trip when a planned site was not available due to construction. Our tour guide provided us with other possible replacement options and let us choose what was of interest to us rather than them making the decision.

We tremendously enjoyed all of the cities, Madrid, Toledo, Granada, and Seville in Spain and Lisbon and Porto in Portugal. Our trip went smoothly and the activities were scheduled at a good pace for us! An extra bonus for us was seeing King Felipe VI by being in the right place at the right time near the opera house in Madrid while we were on our walking tour. We highly recommend Zicasso and the tour company.

Zicasso’s travel specialist was a class act, very responsive and reliable, and able to adjust on the fly when we needed. She was generous and an absolute class act. We asked for a more spacious room for part of the trip and she delivered, and, I believe, paid out of pocket for the upgrade (which we didn't expect and offered to pay). We were needy at times and she handled it all with professionalism and grace. Well done. I highly recommend the travel company!