DIY travel vs. expert-planned trip in Spain?

 

DIY travel hassles  vs. Expert-planned Trip in Spain?    

Experience more on a custom tour in Spain... the Mediterranean passion, Spanish culture, wines, tapas & history, tapas cuisine, beauty, fiestas, romantic hotels, meet Spaniards, medieval villages, flamenco, wines, style, islands, horses,castles, beaches, hunting, gardens, olive oil, & yoga.....our join our Spain small group Andalucia tour

One cold snowy day in Chicago, George Westwood and his family decided to reconnect with with old university friends and their kids in Spain.  Realizing that the travel planning was a time consuming task, they considered going through an agency but decided to save money let his unemployed brother-in-law, Jorge who is bilingual plan it.

So dozens of internet hours and phone calls later they were all set and arrived bleary eyed to Madrid. But little did thay know that saving some $$$ on the front end could cost them a lot of valuable vacation time, frustration & wasted opportunities later in Spain. ( Note the names have been changed)

The frustration began on arrival to Madrid´s Barajas airport. George Westwood's plan was to take 2 taxis to their "charming hotel in central Madrid" where their friends the Olivers where waiting.  But so did everyone else it seemed and the taxi line was a mile long. After waiting bleary-eyed for an hour in the taxi line, they are forced to get three taxis as their luggage did not fit in the trunk. So the taxi drivers wanted a lot more money  +  a fee for the luggage  + a tip. That was to be only the first of many frustrating energy-sapping time-wasting surprises to come. As someone once said, cheap can become expensive once it is implemented.


The next surprise was that the "charming hotel in central Madrid" was actually in the new modern part of town in front of a shiny American style shopping mall.  It was like being in any American city except few spoke English. Meanwhile the cabbies were happy as the charming old town was a 15+ minute taxi ride away.The shakedown was on.

Now it was not all bad. The Westwoods and the Olivers are foodies and they had a few good albeit expensive meals. But they were often dissapointed by expensive slick tourist traps with super-slow service and bad attitudes. This often happens once a place gets very popular on Trip Advisor and demand skyrockets and the boss gets a little greedy or lazy.  If they had only know just blocks away there were much better options where we take our guest and meet the chef.

 Later they wanted to explore Seville, Cordoba and Granada so signed up for guided tours only to discover it was a big bus tour with 37 folks + commentary in 5 languages, short stops and long bathroom and entrance lines. So as you can imagine, the Westwoods were unable to experience a number of things they had wanted to do in Spain. To top it off some of guides had terrible English pronounciation and took kick backs from the "suggested gift shops".  All in all, many less than ideal memories to look back on.


 So how is the MagicalSpain.com experience different?----- Here are four examples:

1) Memorable private touring with fun knowledgeable service-minded guides hand-picked by us. Our guides adapt to your style, interest and pace and add more of what you like each day. This means you enjoy and experience more of what interest you each day.

2) Curated food & wine options in local restaurants, tapas bars and wineries. We are passionate foodies but also practical people who know when a splurge is orth it and when it is better to go to that delicious local hole-in-the-wall that is thankfully not in the Rick Steves or Fodor guide books

3) Peace-of-Mind of Seamless Transport Logistics:  Our customers enjoy the stress-free chauffeured airport transfers and other transport like high speed bullet trains, Spanish regional flights, taxis, boats or helicopters as needed while with our guides generally half day.

4)  Hand-picked deluxe hotels often near the action in the historic areas of each stop. This means you get more bang for your buck + save time and your guided and free-time is more memorable.  After all a cheaper hotel in front of modern shopping center is not why you traveled to Europe, no?

So now you know and the choice is yours....You can decide to avoid the missed opportunities that became the theme of the Westwood's 10 days of vacation in Spain. Wasted time and energy + frustration were to be the daily price they paid for risking their hard earned vacation time in the hands of a well meaning amateur travel planner and brother-in-law Jorge who had never even been to Spain.

George's wife later told him "Honey this is why you don't ask a novice to do your taxes
or design our house"

So this is why at MagicalSpain.com, we specialize in helping you experience & enjoy
the most quality time with your favorite people based on your style and interest. We also
help you avoid the frustrations and hassles that DIY travelers will often face:

Private trip for your passions & style    vs.        Mass market or DIY

Authentic Tapas bars                              vs.                Mediocre tourist trap

Private guided touring at your pace       vs.       Big bus touring in 5 languages + 37 persons

Taste wine with a winemaker                 vs.       Mediocre sugary sangria

Authentic paella with a Spanish family     vs.    Frozen commercial paella


Intimate flamenco show + class option       vs.           Bus tour commercial show

Hidden cultural traditions                             vs                 Hidden cost on your bill

Emerging regions                                       vs                Follow the American guide book trail

Authentic Roman mosiacs                       vs                 Made-in-China Spanish touristy gift shopping

Secret Seville patios                                vs                  Secrets of parking tickets

Medieval village walks                         vs                    Getting lost with rental car

Artisan cooking class                              vs                Fast food +  tourist traps

Fitness & sports options                          vs              No sports or fitness options

Maximize your time                                vs.             waste time on vacation logistics

Enjoy the moments                             vs.                    Vacation stress and uncertainty

Clear English                                      vs                    Hard-to-understand-accents

Service with a smile                               vs                      Siesta-first mentality

Unforgettable memories                        vs                    Not bad, but glad to get home

Experience more on a custom tour in Spain... the Mediterranean passion, Spanish culture, wines, tapas & history, tapas cuisine, beauty, fiestas, romantic hotels, meet Spaniards, medieval villages, flamenco, wines, style, islands, horses,castles, beaches, hunting, gardens, olive oil, & yoga.....our join our Spain small group Andalucia tour



MagicalSpain.com   " USAs #1 Spain Travel Experts....  Siesta-Free since 1998"