Hi all,

Anyone going on the Grand Tour of Spain April 9th to the 23rd with Cosmos?

i know some of the cosmos tour in spain, you will have a great time, be prepared to walk and explore, the guides working out there are very good, hope you enjoy it!

leon . .. .. . we're looking at doing the tour late in September. Will you be posting when you return? Would lole to hear how you lilke it, etc. Is there a way I can send you my email address without posting it for the world to see?

Hi All,

Just back from the Grand Tour of Spain with Cosmos and I thought I'd write a review of my experience.

First the hotels. The hotels were much better than expected. I would describe them as typical tourist class hotels that I would compare to a Courtyard Marriott in the States. Some were better than others. The rooms were small, but comfortable with a nice bath. All the hotels had a restaurant, a bar, and a lobby, nothing to brag about, but OK. I would say the number of stars rating that the hotels state are a little too high and I would subtract a star from the rating for a comparison to a Liberty Travel rating. Most importantly the hotels were centrally located. Some were right inside the historic district while others were a short walk to the historic district. One notable exception is the Praga Hotel in Madrid which is not walking distance from central Madrid. Fortunately, there is a bus stop right outside the hotel and you can get to the Plaza Mayor for 1 Euro. The taxi ride back to the hotel will cost you about 6 Euro. I would recommend seeing the Palace Real in Madrid the day you arrive because you will not have time to see it later. There will be an opportunity to see the Prado Museum your last day of the tour. A lot of people didn't bother going to Madrid their first day because they were tired from their travels, I highly recommend going.

The tour director and driver - Our driver was Jose and the Tour Director was David Nadal. Both were exceptional and if they are a sampling of Cosmos employees than you have nothing to worry about. The T.D. gave interesting insight not only on Spanish history, but also on local culture.

The included meals - Truly the included meals were absolutely nothing to write home about. They generally consisted of a very simple entree and a side dish such as baked chicken or pork with a side of vegetable. Some of the meals included wine for no charge. If you want to get the most out of your vacation, I recommend skipping at least some of the included meals and going out to dinner. You will still get a great value from the price of the trip even if you skip the meals and go out for a nice dinner. One thing to note is that Spaniards generally don't start eating dinner until 9:00 p.m. and the fashionable eating hour is at 10:30 p.m.. . You may want to go out for a few drinks and tapas before heading to the restaurant or you'll be there alone.

The optional excurions - Some of the optional excursions were fabulous and a great value while some others I recommend skipping and spending the money on a nice dinner out. I did nearly all of them and some were definintely a much better choice than others.

The ones I recommend:

Excursion to Monstserrat (fabulous Monastary on the top of a mountain)
Pamplona Walking tour with tapas & dinner (fun but pricey)
Flamenco evening (worth seeing, but a little touristy)
Excursion to Toledo (don't miss it, great little town)

The ones I don't recommend:

Valencia - Blue lagoon and dinner (not very interesting and quite long. spend the money on a dinner out for two at the best restaurant in Valencia)

Seville - City Sightseeing (Everything you will see on this tour is walking distance from your hotel and you would probably wind up seeing it on your own any way. See it on your own and save the money for a nice dinner out)

Andalusian Night - (Consisted of an unremarkable cruise up and down the river followed by an unremarkable dinner. Spend the money on a nice dinner out)

The structure - These kinds of tours are definitely very structured so be prepared. I have never done a bus tour like this before and have always rented a car and done things at my own pace. On the plus side you will definitely get to see more of Spain than if you were doing it on your own, on the down side you may feel a little rushed. Here is a typical day:

7:00 a.m. wake up call
7:30 a.m. bags out the door
8:30 a.m. on the bus
10:30 a.m. stop for a first comfort stop for 20 minutes.
1:00 p.m. arrive at a tourist destination (usually small town) You have two hours to eat lunch and see the town. If lunch takes an hour than you only have 1 hour to see the town.
3:00 p.m. back on the bus heading for the night's stop
5:30 p.m. arrive at night's destination. You have 3 hours to see the town if this is a one night stop, more if this is a two night.
8:30 p.m. included dinner (I recommend skipping)
10:00 p.m. most people gather in the bar for coffees or brandy

Safety - If you are considering doing a driving tour of Spain and are undecided weather to do the bus tour or a driving tour - be aware that car break-ins occur quite often in Spain. I stayed in Spain for 4 days after my Cosmos tour ended and had a rental car. I spend two nights in Toledo and one in Cuenca without a problem. My last night I spend at a fairly upscale hotel near the airport in Madrid. My car window was broken and the stereo was stolen. The hotel staff said this has happened before. This also often happens in public parking lots where you may stop to visit a museum or cathedral for a few hours. They can break the window and take your luggage out of the trunk. My Frommer's travel book warned of this and two people on my bus tour experienced this on a prior trip, not to mention that it happened to me. (incidentally, I had a very unremarkable rental car with nothing of any value showing in plain sight) This appears to be quite commonplace so I would highly recommend taking a bus tour instead of renting a car.

Value - Truly an incredible value when you consider what this same trip would cost you if you had to rent a car, pay for gas, parking, car insurance, hotels on your own, breakfast on your own, admissions on your own, etc. Overall, I do recommend this tour. To make the most of it I would advise to skip some of the included dinners and some of the optional excursions and eat out on your own.

Any questions please e-mail me

Leon Liss

leonliss@verizon.net

Here's an e-mail I answered that you may find useful:

Hi XXXXX,

Thanks for the nice compliment about my review. Breakfast was a typical hotel style breakfast buffet: some cold cuts, poached eggs, bacon, serrano ham, muffins and bread, jam, and cheese. Some of the better hotels also had nova lox in the buffet. The hotels had carafes of coffee which is going to be the only place in Spain where you can get an American size mug of coffee. If you are a coffee drinker, be advised that when you order coffee anywhere in Spain you will get a tiny cup of espresso. If you want a larger cup you have to ask for an Americano, which is basically a tea cup with hot water added to espresso. I was thrilled to find a Starbucks in Madrid and had me a big old 20 ounce cup of Joe.
I absolutely had the need for laundry as I was in Spain for a grand total of three weeks (I came 2 days prior and left 5 days after the tour). . However, I did not want to spend any part of my vacation at a laundry and just bought clothes in Spain when I ran out. About half way through the tour, the TD will tell you where there is a laundry located near the hotel. My advice is bring a really big suit case and don't bother with the laundry. You may also want to bring some dressier outfits for the evening. Regretfully, I only brought casual and felt a little out of place at some restaurants. All the comfort stops along the way have clean restroom facilities along with food, coffee, snacks, water, wine, etc. The rest stops have to be large enough to accomodate a bus and they're usually very large, modern facilities. There will be no shortage of markets, small and large. The local products generally consist of serrano ham (which is a leg of ham complete with a hoof hanging in every bar, tasca, cerverceria, and restaurant), local cheese, fruits and vegetables, olives, wine, sherry, and olive oil. Each town you visit will have easily a half dozen stores carrying such items. You can buy post cards everywhere. You buy stamps at a tobacco shop.

Here's some more information you may find useful:

Every town and city has a Plaza Mayor which is basically the center square. There will be many cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating on the Plaza Mayor. It is a lovely place to get a drink, but be aware that tapas and entrees will probably run you at least twice what they would a block away. I suggest have a drink on the Plaza and elsewhere for tapas or dinner.

Tipping is generally 5% to a max of 10% of the bill. Just round up to the nearest even amount. Incidentally, many restaurants won't accept a credit card for less than 20 Euros and you can't ever put a tip on a credit card. Try to carry cash.

You can get cash out of any ATM machine at the best rates going. You get a much, much better exchange rate from ATM machines than by going to a bureau de change which will charge you a premium exchange rate as well as a fee. Bring as little cash as possible, you will find ATM's everywhere.

If you take a taxi, be sure they use the meter. If they don't, remind them or you'll pay twice what you need to. Never take an unlicensed cab. (cab without a meter)

If you're taking a digital camera, be sure to bring a European converter along with the extension to charge it. I brought just a converter and had a hard time finding an extension. The hotels lend me their UK converter/extension at no charge. There is no need to buy additional memory cards as you can burn all your images onto a CD at many available photo shops for about 2 euros.

Hope you enjoy your trip. Feel free to e-mail if you need anything else.

Leon Liss



----- Original Message -----
From: "XXXXXXXXXXXXX>
To: <leonliss@verizon.net>
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 12:03 PM
Subject: Grand tour spain


> I'm taking the grand tour of Spain in June, your review of the trip was
> great and full of good information. I have a few questions, if you
> wouldn't mind answering. What was available for breakfast? Did you have
> need and find a laundry along the way? Did the comfort stops have
> supplies and food available for sale, soda, snacks, etc.? Did you have
> access to markets?
>
>
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>