Hello everyone, I wonder if I could pick the brains of you Spain-lovers, especially those who have taken the RS Best of Spain Tour. I have traveled through many parts of the world over the years, in many varied circumstances. My most recent trips have been RS tours in Italy and England, which I have enjoyed very much. These days I am traveling solo, so enjoy the group aspects of the tours, and usually spend some additional days on my own before and after the tours. My schedule is flexible, and I generally have traveled in Europe in the spring (April-May-early June) or in the fall (usually October). I have never been to Spain before, and have been looking at the RS Best of Spain Tour. For those of you who have taken that tour, what do you think? Can you compare the experience to other RS tours you know? My interests are eclectic and not unusual, and the tour seems to combine big cities, smaller cities and some smaller towns and countryside as well. Is the mix a good one? Is there a particular month you think would be the ideal for this itinerary? I assume I would fly from San Francisco into Barcelona, where the tour begins. It ends in Sevilla, have you found it best to return through Barcelona, or does another route offer better schedules or value (such as through Lisbon)? If I take the tour, I expect I will spend some extra days in or near both Barcelona and Sevilla, and will post separate questions about those areas in a while. Thanks so much!
Posted by
Midwest
2768 posts
I have not taken this (or any!) RS tour, but I have been to Spain multiple times so can comment on some of your question. I looked at the itinerary and it seems to be a nice balance of the top sites - cities and smaller towns.
As far as months go, it gets VERY hot in southern and central Spain in the summer, so I'd avoid July and August, as well as late June and early September. I've been in mid-October and liked that time of year. May, as well. I don't know if the tour runs over Easter time, but if it does that would be a consideration. Easter in much of Spain is very busy and full of religious processions and festivals. On one hand, it's a great look at the culture. On the other, it's very crowded. In general, May or October are my bets. April, if you factor Easter into your decision.
Return - either fly from Sevilla (it has a small airport, but you will connect through another big European airport - often Madrid - first). Or take the AVE train (2-3 hours) to Madrid and fly from there. It doesn't make much sense to return to Barcelona, which is very far away. If you want major international airport, Madrid is the closest. Lisbon is geographically close, but it is oddly hard to get between it and Seville.
Posted by
Spokane, WA
471 posts
Hi Larry
I did this tour several years ago when it still included Morocco. It is still a great tour. I flew into Barcelona and out of Madrid which was cheaper than RT to Barcelona. From Seville, took the fast train to Madrid which is about two hours and stayed an extra day there. I started in Barcelona a few days before the tour because I wanted to see more of the Gaudi sites and also took the train to Figueres to see the Dali Museum. Because I am a teacher, I had to go in the summer and it was really, really hot. Most days it was okay but there were a few that it did take away from what we were seeing so I would recommend spring or fall for your tour. I have taken 9 other tours and this is one of my favorites but then I have enjoyed all of them.
Hope this helps.
Posted by
Las Vegas
99 posts
We are signed up for this tour: April 18 - May 1, 2016. For the days following, we currently plan to rent a car, drive to Tarfia, walk onto the ferry for a day trip in Tangier (hire a guide for a day), drop the car off in Sevilla and take the high-speed train to Madrid to catch our flight back to the US May 4th. We are using air miles to fund the air travel, hence, we need to work around available seats and desitinations for the flights we have booked.
We will arrive in Barcelona by train after some time in Paris. There are other ways to travel, but we enjoy the convenience of EU trains - it is part of our travel experience and it avoids some of the hassle of short-hop flying. We attended a few RS classes in Edmonds this summer to get some of this planning information.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15585 posts
Like Mira, I've been to the places on the tour, but not with the tour. My two trips have been in February and the weather was pleasant, if a bit rainy on a few days out of many. It was definitely warmer and sunnier than the Bay Area in February. For that reason, I'd choose the first tour of the year, April 18, when temps are likely to be cooler. Since Easter is early in 2016, you will be there after the crowds of Holy Week and Seville's Feria.
Definitely spend time in Barcelona before the tour. There's much to see and great day trips too. After the tour, I'd spend another night or two in Seville, then 1-2 nights in Cordoba (the Mezquita is a wow) and fly back from Madrid or Seville. Cordoba is closer to Seville, but it's a 2-hour train ride from Madrid, so it's possible to get to the airport without staying overnight in Madrid, unless you have a morning flight.
Posted by
Las Vegas
99 posts
We will arrive in Barcelona a 1-2 days early. Can you recommend a "back-door" hotel to use?
Posted by
Edmonton, Alberta
796 posts
Hi Larry. I am taking this tour this fall. I fly into Nice, France where I am staying for a few nights. Next stop is Barcelona by plane, where I have 6 night before the tour. My plan is 2 nights in Girona, 1 in Tarragona and 3 in BCN. I may give up more nights to just stay in BCN. I have a few days at the end of the trip and fly back from Madrid. After I booked, I did find out I could have easily flown back from Seville.
I am near to counting down the days. The tour looks great!
Posted by
Kirkland
214 posts
Jim, since you're arriving in BCN early, to reduce the stress I'd suggest you find out which hotel will be used for the RS tour and stay there. It's going to be a good hotel, probably near Plaza Catalunya, so there's no point in creating stress for yourself having to move. Settle down in your RS hotel and enjoy your first impressions of Barcelona - you'll be the group expert when your tour mates arrive.
Posted by
Louisiana
106 posts
We are too taking this tour next spring. My brother travels a good deal and the Spain RS tour was his favorite. My travel agent suggested I either take the train or puddle jump connection from Seville to Madrid to connect back to the states. I looked into that and the flights were frequent and not expensive at all----much better timing and prices than getting back to Barcelona from Seville.
The hotel that Steves is using in Barcelona for his tour is the K & K Picasso. If it is comparable to the K & K in Paris it is very nice. Great location.
Posted by
Tucson, AZ, USA
134 posts
Hi Larry,
We took the Best of Spain Tour last year and loved it. We have been on 9 of Rick's Tours and it was right up there with our favorites. We took it the last week of Sept. and first week of Oct. It was a bit cooler than we expected (low 70's), but nice and sunny for the most part. We flew "Open Jaw" on American - into Paris and back from Madrid. The reason for flying to Paris was that we took the Eastern France Tour before the Spain Tour. We flew Vueling Airlines from Marseille to Barcelona and Iberia Airlines from Seville to Madrid. All worked perfectly! One note about the Tour: In Ronda, our guide mentioned that the trail down to the bottom of the ravine was pretty rough and he wouldn't recommend it. I had seen photos taken from there and decided to try it anyway and was amazed how easy it was. I believe I was the only one on the tour that went down and it was one of the highlights of the trip for me. If you are interested in looking at our scrapbook, it is linked with Rick's website (Theresa and William Barr).
Have a great trip! Teri
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
I haven't taken the RS Best of Spain, but having travelled extensively throughout the country, it appears to be a good and well paced itinerary. I would suggest at least 3 additional nights in Barcelona at the front end of the tour to really explore the city and make one or two excursions beyond. After you finish the tour in Sevilla I would take time to see the Mezquita in Cordoba, and then either of the following ...
1) Return to Sevilla before heading across to Portugal - Tavira, Evora, Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Mafra.
2) Continue on to Madrid by AVE train (stopover if you want more museum time), then head north to Pamplona, San Sebastian, Bilbao.