Off the Beaten Path in Spain & Portugal: Marvelous December Tour

The trip was great. Zicasso’s travel specialist and her crew put together a great itinerary and left us plenty of downtime, so we were not exhausted each evening. The drivers were good and, although not guides, offered plenty of history along the way. All the guides were exceptional.

We loved all the hotels, especially our hotel in the mountains. That was very special.

The travel specialist had obviously passed along the note that we did not want to go shopping, like sometimes happens with the guides.

The food and restaurant suggestions were all good.

Overall, it was a very well-planned and articulated agenda. The software that they use to keep in contact worked very well once I understood it! Lol.

My only comment was that on trips in the past, the beginning of the trip started with a personal stop at our hotel by a representative from the company. I understood later that their headquarters is in a more remote area. But if I was a new traveler, I would have enjoyed putting a face with the name. Fortunately, the package they left at the hotel did indeed have all our tickets and passes.

I would definitely recommend this travel company and would use them again.

I went on a two-week trip through France and Spain, and my experience with Zicasso’s travel specialist was amazing! She was incredibly responsive and communicative, and made sure my trip went as smoothly as possible.

It was a fantastic trip. Great activities were planned. It was seamlessly executed.

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.

Flawless doesn't begin to describe how incredible and meticulous the planning and taste that went into designing our Spain and Morocco trip. I reached out to Zicasso’s travel specialist far in advance, describing a dream vacation for my husband and me that included a near-impossible amount of locations to cover through both countries in only two weeks. We had tried coming up with an itinerary with another planner prior to meeting the travel specialist, but it did not work out. When we shared our vision with the travel specialist, he materialized it on paper in a way that made sense and even made adjustments that fit within our budget. We got to see every location with enough time to savor each.

The order of travel from Barcelona to Andalucía to Morocco was an intricate weave that told a story of cross-cultural exchange. We started off with Gaudí architecture and the Sagrada Família, sunsets at the Puente Nuevo, Alhambra, and Córdoba, marveled at the grandeur of the mosque cathedral, savored seafood paella and Picasso art in Málaga. We finished off road-tripping in Morocco, starting from the blue city of Chefchaouhen, continuing our journey through Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains. It was nothing short of magical.

We will never forget the beauty of the sun rising above the Atlas Mountains, private candlelit dinners on our private terrace in the riads, the colors of the souks, and the hospitality of our Moroccan hosts. Each riad was carefully selected and far exceeded our expectations. And of course, our driver in Morocco was an absolute delight and went above and beyond. Besides providing transportation, he acted as a friend who showed us the ins and outs, helping us see Morocco in a way that we would not have if we went in a large group or had chosen to come alone. Overall, my husband and I cannot recommend our travel specialist enough.

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.