Iberian Inspiration

Quality of hotels, tours and transport was very good

Interesting locations and very informative.

I already have. Now you ask the same questions again

We got to see most of the elements of Andalusian history that you would want to see on such a tour – except for the closure of the Alhambra in Granada for an EU meeting. Madrid, Cordoba, Seville and Ronda were all fascinating, as was Tio Pepe and the Iberico ham visit. The festival day at Grazalema was an unexpected plus, and Christina's palace at Estremoz was rather special!

The balance of organised guided visits with ample time to 'fly' solo and do your own exploring.

I liked the two nights in three cities. Not too much freeway travelling

At the time of purchase I thought the tour was expensive. When on the tour itself I realised that the hotels we stayed in were 4-5 stars and the guide had booked us in for specific things that were expensive. The tour cost was worth it.

As a first time experience of Spain this was a stunning introduction to the country and some of its splendours. A new wonder almost every day

value for money; a good introduction to southern Spain.

Poor accommodation choice in Seville.. Great to go to smaller villages

As mentioned already, done included meals were very low standard and under catered.
Tour guide was the best.

Great itinerary, good experiences

Every thing when well bus was comfortable.

Had an issue with 2 hotels but Georgina sorted them out immediately

All tours & guides were very good

Excellent tour of southern Spain and the Andalusia area as well as the small towns in the vicinity of Lisbon. The local city orientation tours were well done and not too rushed. It would've been useful at the end to have one more day in Lisbon to get a feel for that city before the end of the tour.

A simple purchase on-line

Great trip and Vanessa was a great guide

Great tour guide, good driver, comfortable vehicle, time to do the important things in each destination visited.

The places visited were interesting and we got to experience a diverse range of authentic activities.

Great choice of locations to visit. Tour group got on well.

Everything went well except for a brief bus breakdown which was addressed quickly and without fuss or inconvenience to the group. Overall a pleasant experience.

The price is more expensive than some tours but the group is smaller. This makes the dynamic of a group traveling more personal.

It’s a well organised professional tour with enthusiastic guide and great bus driver.

Great tour with an exceptional guide.

Was wonderful in every aspect

Overpriced for what we got. Included meals were third rate. We saw a LOT of churches and could have done with fewer of them. The craft-like experiences were good but not outstanding. Backroads has an important role in keeping artisan activities alive, but need to work with providers to ensure that they make their talks engaging and the experience wonderful.

Great all round experience. Loved the small towns we visited. 80% of hotels were excellent. 20% only fair.

Interesting story of how the hams are treated

We loved Letti, our tour guide.

On reading tour description in brochure details appeared to be comprehensive but in reality lacked considerable detail. e.g. descriptions of sites to be visited, amount of walking required and terrain. In reading the tour details we were under the impression (this of course was our interpretation) that the tour would give us an overall view of southern Spain and partly Portugal while in reality it had a major emphasis on churches, mosques and synagogues which in my opinion did not reflect the tour title of “Iberian Inspiration”.

‘In tour’ communication was very haphazard and at times quiet confusing. Frequently information needed to be asked for rather than being supplied.
Lack of organisation and confusion with regards to the movement of suitcases in and out of accomodation and unclear departure times and a lack of clear, precise information/instructions.

While travelling in the bus a lack of commentary about the surrounding countryside and points of interest was noticeably missing. I believe the responsibility lay not only with the tour leader but also with the lack of information supplied by the company.
Specific local guides were excellent. Informative, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.

Accommodation varied from excellent to acceptable, breakfasts were excellent, the three included evening meals ranged from poor to OK to a fantastic farewell dinner. The included “lunches” should not be described as lunch but rather as a snack or similar.

Content and route was good

All smooth and hassle free.

Fantastic tour guide and driver

14 days - well thought out itinerary - organised half day walks & exploring for yourself time. Itinerary included several two day stops to allow more time to explore.

Great locations and overall excellent accommodation some of the tour meals could improve

It was great had a wonderful experience

The tour covered good areas, but was not that different to a large group tour. Tour leader was fun, but the bus driver (and bus) was poor. The start (Madrid) and end (Lisbon) of the tour were lacking. Two of the three provided dinners were poor, with the one in Ronda inedible. Hotel rooms generally good.

Very well communicated and planned, we knew what to expect before we went

Very unhappy with our guide. I found her rude at times, discriminating towards some of us older travellers, she pandered to the younger ones her age. A good example has yesterday at Bom Jesus site she exited the bus without explaining details of how we reaching the bottom. 3 of us remained on the bus because of lack of knowledge and missed the tour.. yesterday we were asked to meet at 2-20pm, we stood around till 2-45pm while Sonya shopped with her friends. We set off late some mornings and returned most afternoons. Spent a lot of time standing around doing nothing just waiting. No roatition of seats, never sat in front seat at all and would not use What’s App. Last night at 4-45pm we has to ask what time our dinner was this happened all trip.

Overall the tour was good. Spain is a magical country full of history and culture. The hotels were good to above average. The coach was comfortable but for some taller men the seats were too small so uncomfortable.
The driver very good and helpful even without English!!
Vanessa the guide was a,ways helpfully and always willing to give assistance when asked.

Everything excellent, with the exception of the admission to the Alhambra. Stress free, comfortable tour of Iberia.

The tour was excellent and visited the locations I was interested in.

There was some confusion when trying to pay for the trip.

Please refer to previous comments

Bus was way too small, disappoint that fellow travelers were all from Australia, like to meet people from other countries

Pretty much expressed in “Customer Experience” ahead

The tour was a great coverage of southern Spain & some of Portugal. We covered many of the important historical sites with local guides who were very knowledgeable. Also we had enough free time to explore ourselves which was good.
A CAUTIONERY NOTE: On one day we visited an Iberian Black Pig Farm which was NOT on the itinerary. You may not be aware that any visit to a farm overseas, particularly to a pig farm, must be declared to Australian Quarantine Authorities on return to Australia (because of pig swine disease which does not exist in Australia). SEVERE PENALTIES CAN APPLY IF NOT DECLARED.
Obviously long delays are experienced on return to Australia. IT IS IMPORTANT IN THE FUTURE THAT AUSTRALIAN CLIENTS ARE ADVISED OF THIS & ALLOWED TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION ON WHETHER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS ACTIVITY. I think this may also apply to New Zealand clients. My opinion would be to eliminate this excursion from your itinerary.

Great trip,tour guide small size of group

Spain is spectacular. So many OMG and jaw dropping moments

The guide was superlative. Nothing was too much trouble. He recommended restaurants and often accompanied us

Good value, well planned and always friendly

Iberia - wow! I loved the tour, appreciated the small group size, the accommodation (wow!), meals & beverages pack (although I don't drink alcohol I did not feel I was missing out), English speaking guide (Maria is a gem), super superb smooth driver, local guides in each town/village and of course using the back roads to see a side of Iberian the bigger coaches don't see.