Payment of bespoke tour program of Spain. 18th – 23rd of December 2021. 5pax
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Description and schedule of services
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18th of December. Introduction to Seville through its World Heritage sites and through a flamenco and tapas evening.
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9:30am: be met by your personal local guide at your hotel in Seville (as long as it is located in Seville old town. Otherwise a central meeting point will be agreed upon) to start a private walking tour that will take you to visit its impressive World Heritages Sites (the Alcazar, the Cathedral with its Giralda tower and the Archive of the Indies) and to the quarter of Santa Cruz.
You will start your discovery journey by visiting the Alcazar, which is a massive complex of palaces erected in different periods and of breath-taking gardens of different styles. The Alcazar has stunning historical constructions featuring a very particular crossover between Hispanic-Muslim and Christian architecture styles, called Mudejar. This style became very fashionable in Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries amongst the Christian nobility and it reached its maximum splendour in Seville. Another essential part of the Alcazar is the famous house of Trade, which once hosted the offices from where all the commerce with the new world was managed. After enjoying these inner areas, you will be taken to the gardens, which are an exquisite sample of European landscaping from the 16th until the 20th centuries.
Then you will be taken to visit the Cathedral, which is the largest gothic temple in the World and where Christopher Columbus is buried. The Cathedral of Seville was built on a vast extension of land where previously a Mosque had been erected. An important part of the Mosque was preserved and it is now a part of the Cathedral. This makes it a unique construction featuring styles as diverse as Hispanic-Muslim, Gothic, Renaissance, Neoclassical and Baroque. A most important part of the Cathedral is its bell tower known as la Giralda. During your tour you will be taken to the top in order to enjoy the wonderful views of Seville that one can admire from there.
To finish you will visit the Archive of the Indies and the quarter of Santa Cruz. The Archive of the Indies is an iconic neoclassical building erected to keep invaluable documents from all those commercial expeditions that took place between Seville and the New World. Learning about it will uncover probably the most glorious period of the history of Seville and how it connects to the American continent.
The quarter of Santa Cruz is a delightful part of town with countless quaint corners, narrow streets, cosy squares, houses of traditional Southern Spanish architecture and Moorish urban planning. It is in this quarter where an important part of the Jewish Sephardic community of Seville lived in the medieval times and you will learn about what life in the quarter was like then and how it has evolved until becoming what it is today.
1pm: after your tour, you may want to be escorted back to your hotel or be given some orientation to enjoy lunch at leisure before your evening flamenco and tapas tour.
6pm: reconnect with your personal local host by the reception desk of your hotel (as long as it is located in Seville old town. Otherwise a central meeting spot will be agreed upon) to start a guided walk towards a selected flamenco venue, aimed at learning about the origins of flamenco music in South West Spain and also about its evolution throughout the centuries. This will set the context for (and enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of) the flamenco performance in a small and intimate venue that will follow, with 4 people on stage (one singer, one guitarist and two dancers).
7pm: start of the flamenco performance.
8pm: after your flamenco performance, enjoy a tapas tasting tour through Seville old town. Along the journey, you will learn about and enjoy this genuinely Spanish approach to enjoying a meal. Your tour will take you to 2 – 3 selected tapas bars where locals like to gather with family and friends and where you will taste a selection of 6 – 9 local dishes to share and up to 4 drinks per person (wine, beer, refreshments, water).
10pm: after your tapas and wines adventure, be escorted back to your hotel stopping along the way for a sweet local treat.
10:30pm: arrival to your hotel and end of services for the day.
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19th of December. Cycling and savouring rural Andalusia. Day trip from Seville.
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9:30am: be met by your personal local host and a dedicated driver at your hotel in Seville and be transferred in a modern and comfortable Mercedes minivan to the start of your cycling route in the Southern Spanish countryside.
11am: arrival to the start of the cycling route and delivery of bikes and helmets for everybody (one tandem bike for you or your husband and your youngest son) to start a picturesque 20km cycling route going slightly downhill along a former railway. Your personal host (an experienced local touring cyclist) will accompany you along the journey to show you the way and to provide you with water and some small bites for the adventure. You will cross farms, tunnels, bridges and olive groves for approximately 2 or 2,5 hours before arriving to your destination where you will drop off your bikes and meet your driver again.
1:30pm: private transfer from the end of the cycling route to a selected local restaurant in the area for lunch.
2pm: arrival to the restaurant and lunch.
3:15pm: end of lunch and private transfer back to Seville.
4:30pm: arrival to Seville and end of services for the day.
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20th of December. Jamón jamón, a day trip from Seville to the land of the most famous Spanish delicacy.
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9am: meet your personal local host at your accommodation in Seville and be transferred in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle with a dedicated driver to the natural park of Aracena, home of the best Iberian Ham in the world. Along the way, you will be given some explanations about the geography, landscape, economy, culture, agriculture and farming of South West Spain.
10:30am: upon arrival to the natural park of Aracena, visit a private extension of dehesa forest with an expert, to learn about the habitat where free range, acorn-fed, Iberian pigs live and about the animals themselves. Dehesa is a unique type of ecosystem ideal to raise Iberian pigs for the production of top-quality Iberian ham. During your visit you will discover the particularities of this ecosystem and about its connection to the breeding of Iberian pigs.
11:30am: after your visit to the dehesa and with all the knowledge acquired there, be transferred to the facilities where the Iberian ham of this farm is cured.
11:45am: upon arrival to the curing cellars, you will be taken on a private tour aimed at learning about the very specific artisanal treatments and particular humidity and temperature conditions to cure Iberian pig meats. This will be followed by a guided tasting of Iberian ham, which will make a great end to your discovery journey of the most iconic food from South West Spain.
1pm: after your visit to the Iberian ham farm, be transferred to the whitewashed village of Aracena for lunch.
1:30pm: arrival to Aracena and lunch in a selected local restaurant specialised in traditional recipes cooked with fresh local produce from the natural park of Aracena.
3pm: after lunch, you may want to take a stroll around Aracena to enjoy its picturesque streets and traditional architecture and to maybe try its local sweets.
4pm: end of your visit to Aracena and private transfer back to Seville.
5:30pm: arrival to Seville and end of services for the day.
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21st of December. From Seville to Granada via the whitewashed clifftop town of Ronda.
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9am: be met by your private driver by the reception desk of your hotel and be transferred in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle to the town of Ronda.
10:45am: upon arrival to Ronda, meet your personal local guide to take a walking tour of the old town with a special focus on its most important landmarks, history, architecture and traditions.
This private walking tour of Ronda old town will also give you an excellent overview of the Hispanic-Muslim origins of the city and of the transformations that it started to experience in 1485 when it was conquered by Christians. It was then when many wealthy military orders settled down in Ronda in order to defend its strategic location near the straits of Gibraltar and very well connected to the main Southern Spanish cities.
These new inhabitants erected many noble residences and funded the construction of impressive religious constructions too. In the 18th century Ronda experienced a time of maximum splendour and its main landmarks were built: the bullring (the oldest in Spain) and the majestic New Bridge both of which you will also visit during your tour.
Ronda has also stunning nature in its surroundings and your tour will take you to the best viewpoints so that you understand why this whitewashed gem atracted so many romantic travellers in the 19th century.
1:30pm: end of your tour and free time for lunch at leisure. Recommendations will be given and a table will be booked for you if you wish.
3pm: reconnect with your driver and be transferred to your hotel in Granada.
5:15pm: arrival to Granada and end of services for the day.
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22nd of December. The Alhambra and el Generalife in Granada.
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9:30am: be met by your personal local host at your hotel to start a private walking tour of the Alhambra, which is the most exquisite example of the Hispanic-Muslim architecture. The Alhambra was the city where the Hispanic-Muslim sultans used to live with their army, their court and some selected artisans. Because of this, it has several parts, all of which you will get to visit during your tour while you understand the role that each of them had.
Later you will visit the summer palace or Generalife. This is the place where the sultans would go to escape from the hustle and bustle of the Alhambra. It was a place designed for relax and contemplation and because of this, it has the most beautiful gardens and some of the nicest views that the city of Granada has to offer.
12:30pm: end of your tour.
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23rd of December. Introductory history, architecture and art tour of Madrid including the Prado Museum.
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9:30am: meet your personal guide at your hotel to go on an introductory tour of Madrid old town aimed at setting the context for your stay in the city. Your tour will take you through the oldest quarters of the city in order for you to understand where Madrid has its roots and from where it has evolved until becoming the vibrant and cosmopolitan city it is today.
A highlight of your walk will be the iconic Plaza Mayor where you will be explained about the important historical events that have happened there over the past 400 years and their importance in the history of Madrid and of Spain.
Your introductory tour of Madrid will finish at its most iconic museum: The Prado. There your guide will take you on a private tour that will allow you to travel through Spanish history of art while you enjoy the remarkable works of Spanish master painters such as Velazquez, Goya and El Greco amongst others. This will allow you to understand how different historical periods shaped the artistic creation at each time and how much of Spain’s culture and sentiment is expressed in the works of its main artists.
1:30pm: end of your tour and rest of the day at leisure.
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Pricing
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The price of this bespoke trip for a private group of 5 people is 4340 Euros.
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This price includes
– Personal local host from Genuine Andalusia for every tour as per mentioned above (a knowledgeable, personable, kind, flexible and fully licensed guide by the Spanish government).
– All entrance tickets and admissions for every of the sites and museum included in your tours.
– Tickets for a selected flamenco performance in Seville in a small and intimate venue and with 4 people onstage (2 dancers, 1 guitarist and 1 singer).
– A selection of 6 – 9 dishes to share and up to 4 drinks per person (beer, wine, refreshments and water) during your evening tapas journey of Seville.
– Private transportation in a modern and comfortable Mercedes minivan with a dedicated uniformed driver for the cycling day trip, for the Jamón day trip and for the transfer from Seville to Granada vía Ronda.
– Rental of bikes and helmets for every member of the family for the cycling tour (a tandem bike for your husband and your young son).
– Water, nuts, chocolate and fruits for the bike ride.
– A private visit to an Iberian ham farm including a visit to both the forest where the pigs live free and the the facilities where the hams and other meats are cured, including a comprehensive tasting of Iberian ham at the end.
– All taxes.
– All expenses of your driver and your guides.
– Recommendations of things to do and see and of places to eat in each of the places you will visit including also Córdoba.
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This price excludes
– Accommodation
– Any meals not mentioned right above.
– Anything else not mentioned right above.
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Confirmation and payments
In order to confirm this tour program we require a 30% deposit of the grand total no later than the 25th of October 2021 via credit/debit card. The remaining 70% must be paid via the same method no later than 30 days prior to the start of the tour program.
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Grand total of this tour program: 4340 Euros.
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30% deposit needed no later than the 25th of October to confirm the tour program: 1302 Euros.
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Final 70% needed no later than 30 days prior to the start of the 1st tour to fully pay the tour program: 3038 Euros.
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Cancellation policy
*If the travel restrictions related to the pandemic didn’t allow for the tour program to happen, we’d give you a full refund.
**Please note that the travel restrictions we would take as official would be the ones imposed by the corresponding government/s for the general vaccinated adult traveler traveling to Spain from the US and not your specific personal circumstances.
– If you cancelled your tour program more than 30 days prior to its start: we’d charge the 30% deposit only.
– If you cancelled your tour program between 30 and 10 days prior to its start: we’d charge 50% of the full cost of the tour program.
– If you cancelled your tour program between 10 and 3 days prior to its start: we’d charge 75% of the full cost of the tour program.
