Top Spain Day Trips - page 3

As you would expect, there were a lot of people there. There are restaurants, gift, shops, and a small open air market with cheese, honey, and other things. I came on a tour bus from Barcelona. Our tour guide, Francisco, was very versed in the history surrounding Monserrat. Listen carefully for your meeting spots, because I couldn’t find anyone when I came out of the cathedral. The Basilica is very grand. I went to see the boys choir sing, and one of the benefits of that was that the lights for the choir made the gilded frames around the art in the chancel and apse glisten. However, the music performance is very short. From start to finish it was 14 minutes, and part of that was speaking. Since I could see it from the nave, I did not go up to see the Black Madonna. There was a continual line of people crossing in front of her above the apse which was interesting to watch. Because walking is difficult for me and it was sunny and hot, I took the Saint Joan funicular up (buy your tickets at the station) and looked at the view, but I did not take any of the hikes. The rock formations were indeed incredible.I waited in order to be in the front car for the trip down. It was worth it. This was my first Viator tour, and I feel like it was worth the expense. It helped that Francisco was personable and friendly.

This was a great tour ! You see a lot of places but especially Finesterre and Muxia . It is a very long day but well worth it especially if you understand the significance of the Camino and why so many pilgrims finish their Camino there . Our tour guide was David and he was great . The only negative is I felt we were rushed at Muxia. This is my second time doing this tour and David was a much better guide . Very informative and helpful. We went to the same place that was recommended for lunch and like before it was difficult to order our food . The staff was not particularly friendly, tho it was obvious they were overwhelmed.

We were unsure of what cities to visit outside of Madrid, but decided that these two were the most visited. I know that 12 hours seems long for a tour, but it was nicely balanced with a walking tour and free time at each place. Toledo is about 45 minutes south of the city and Segovia about 1.5 hours north. We started in Toledo and went to Segovia. Total of about 4.5 hours on the bus (45 to Toledo, 2:15 from Toledo to Segovia and 1.5 hours back to Madrid). All in all we were pleased with the tours. The bus was comfortable and the AC worked no problem. If you have a day, it is worth it to see both. If your time is limited, I would suggest Segovia over Toledo as we found it to be more charming and the castle offers amazing views.