Payment of bespoke tour program of Spain. 25th – 27th of April 2022. 7pax
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Description and schedule of services
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25th of April (Morning): Seville World Heritage Sites and Jewish quarter
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10am: be met by your personal local guide at your accommodation in Seville to start a private walking tour that will take you to the most impressive World Heritages Sites of the city (the Alcazar and the Cathedral with its Giralda tower) 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 quarter of Santa Cruz, with its 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.
1:30pm: after your tour, you may want to be escorted back to your hotel or be given some orientation to enjoy lunch at leisure.
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25th of April (Evening): Seville flamenco and tapas tour
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6pm: reconnect with your personal local host at your accommodation to start a guided walk towards a selected flamenco venue. This walk is 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 7 – 10 local dishes to share and up to 3 drinks per person (refreshments, water).
10pm: after your tapas adventure, be escorted back to your hotel stopping along the way for a sweet local treat.
10:30pm: arrival to your accommodation and end of services for the day.
Overnight in Seville. (Not booked through Genuine Andalusia).
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26th of April: from Seville to Ronda, tour of Ronda upon arrival, from Ronda to Córdoba to see the Great Mosque and from Córdoba old town to Córdoba train station.
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8:30am: meet your personal driver at your accommodation and be transferred in a modern and comfortable minibus to Ronda old town.
10:15am: upon arrival to Ronda, meet your personal local host and enjoy a private guided tour of its bullring (the oldest in Spain). This tour will allow you to learn about the origins and evolution of bullfighting in Spain, while you see the different sections of the bullring, from the pens where the bulls are kept before the fight, to the arena where the actual fight takes place, from the chapel where the matadors say their prayers before the fight, to the areas where the audience and the bullring authorities sit. You will also be explained about brave bull breeding and about how different bullrings choose different bulls with different characteristics for their fights.
After your tour of the bullring, enjoy a private walking tour of Ronda old town with a special focus on its history, most representative landmarks, viewpoints and picturesque locations. This private walking tour of Ronda old town will 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 landmark was built: the majestic New Bridge, which you will visit during your tour.
Ronda has also stunning nature in its surroundings and your tour will take you to the best viewpoints. This will allow you to understand why this whitewashed gem attracted so many romantic travellers in the 19th century during their Grand Tour and the impact that their written, drawn and painted portraits of Andalusia had in the international perception of Spain in the following decades until today.
1pm: end of your tour of Ronda and free time for lunch at leisure (we will give you recommendations of places to eat in Ronda).
2:30pm: reconnect with your driver and be transferred to Córdoba old town.
4:45pm: upon arrival to Córdoba old town, be met by your personal local host to go on a discovery journey of its most important landmark: the Great Mosque Cathedral.
A UNESCO site since 1994, Córdoba is an inspirational city, which during the Middle Ages, saw a peaceful interaction between the three great Mediterranean cultures. Jews, Muslims and Christians coexisted then in the city turning it into a unique intellectual hub that gave birth to very renowned philosophers, poets, scientists and doctors. This also resulted in the construction of unique buildings of remarkable historical significance, being the great Mosque – Cathedral the most representative one.
The Great Mosque-Cathedral is probably the most thought-provoking building in Spain and your personal local host will uncover all its beauty and complexity for you. You will understand its origins, its different enlargements and the role that the building has played in the culture and social fabric of the city throughout the centuries.
6:45pm: after your tour of the Great Mosque – Cathedral reconnect with your driver and be transferred to Córdoba train station.
7:05pm: arrival to Córdoba train station on time to catch your high-speed train to Madrid at 7:27pm.
Overnight in Madrid. (Not booked through Genuine Andalusia).
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27th of April: Day trip to Toledo from Madrid
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9am: meet your personal driver at your accommodation and be transferred in a modern and comfortable minivan to Toledo old town.
10am: upon arrival to Toledo, meet your personal local host to start a private walking tour of the city with a special focus on its Jewish history, from its origins and maximum splendor under the Hispanic-Muslim rule until the Christian conquest of the city. Along your tour you will visit the synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, which is an extraordinary example of the Jewish-Sephardic heritage of the city.
Your tour will also take you to see some remarkable evidences of the presence of the Hispanic-Muslim culture in the city, such as the former Mosque of el Cristo de la Luz. Halfway along your tour, you will take a stop to sample the local marzipan and get some energy to keep discovering the city.
You will then visit the former church of San Román which is the most exquisite example of the interaction between the three great Mediterranean cultures that took place in Toledo. This is especially present in the architecture and iconographic program of the church which features some impressive frescoes from the Middle ages.
Finally, to top up your tour you will visit the Cathedral of Toledo, which is one of the most important ones ever erected in Spain.
1:30pm: end of your private walking tour of Toledo and free time for lunch at leisure before your return to Madrid.
4:30pm: private transfer in a modern and comfortable Mercedes minivan with dedicated driver from Toledo back to your hotel in Madrid stopping along the way at mirador del valle for excellent panoramic views of the city.
5:45pm: arrival to your accommodation in Madrid and rest of the day at leisure.
Overnight in Madrid. (Not booked through Genuine Andalusia).
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Pricing
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The price of this bespoke tour program for a private group of 7 people is 3306 Euros.
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This price includes
– Private transportation in a modern and comfortable minibus with a dedicated driver on day 2 from your departure from Seville until your arrival to Córdoba train station.
– Private morning transfer from your accommodation in Madrid to Toledo old town on day 3 in a modern and comfortable Mercedes minivan with a dedicated driver.
– Private afternoon transfer from Toledo old town to your accommodation in Madrid on day 3 in a modern and comfortable Mercedes minivan with a dedicated driver.
– Personal local host from Genuine Andalusia (a fully licensed, knowledgeable, personable, flexible and interactive guide) for your 2 tours of Seville, for your tour of Ronda, for your tour of Córdoba and for your tour of Toledo.
– All entrance tickets and admissions for all your guided tours (Alcazar and Cathedral in Seville, bullring Ronda, Great Mosque in Córdoba and Cathedral, Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, Mosque of El Cristo de la Luz and Church of San Román in Toledo).
– Access to a selected flamenco performance in a small and intimate venue in Seville with 4 people onstage (2 dancers, 1 guitar player and 1 singer).
– A tapas dinner in Seville through 2 – 3 selected tapas bars including a selection of 7 – 10 local dishes to share and up to 3 drinks per person (refreshments / water) and a sweet local treat to finish.
– All taxes.
– All expenses of your drivers and of your guides.
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This price excludes
– Accommodation.
– Train tickets.
– Lunch in Ronda (we will give you recommendations of places to eat and will book a table for you if you wish).
– Lunch in Toledo (we will give you recommendations of places to eat and will book a table for you if you wish).
– Any other meals not mentioned in the section “this price includes”.
– Anything else not mentioned in the section “this price includes”.
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Confirmation and payments
In order to confirm this tour program we require a 20% deposit of the grand total no later than the 10th of February 2022 via credit/debit card. The final 70% must be paid via the same method no later than 10 days prior to the start of the tour program.
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Grand total of this tour program: 3306 Euros.
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20% deposit needed no later than the 10th of January to confirm the program: 661,2 Euros.
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Final 80% needed no later than 10 days prior to the star of the program: 2644,8 Euros.
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Cancellation policy
If the travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic didn’t allow for the tour program to happen we’ll give you a full refund. Please note that the travel restrictions we’ll take as official will be the ones imposed by the corresponding government/s on the general vaccinated traveller coming to Spain from the US and not your specific personal circumstances.
– If you cancel your tour program more than 10 days prior to scheduled departure, we’ll charge the 20% deposit only.
– If you cancel your tour program between 10 and 7 days prior to scheduled departure we’ll charge 50% of the full cost of the tour program.
– If you cancel your tour program between 6 and 3 days prior to scheduled departure, we’ll charge 75% of the full cost of the tour program.
– If you cancel your tour program 2 days or less prior to scheduled departure, we’ll charge 100% of the full cost of the tour program.
(*) Please note that partial cancellation won’t result in partial refunds.
