From Madrid: Official Guided Tour to Avila and Segovia

The journey was smooth from the beginning, with an easy meeting point and a clear and polite tour guide, Ruben. We were fortunate to have a private tour due to others not showing up. Ruben's extensive knowledge and engaging answers to our questions about culture, food, and history made the hour-long drive to the castle enjoyable. Exploring the castle provided insights into the customs of Spanish kings and queens, as well as a glimpse into the armory. Afterward, during a walk, Ruben shared the rich history and traditions of Segovia. The two hours of free exploration allowed us to discover the city, and we had a delightful lunch at Asador el Bernardino, savoring local dishes, including the traditional dessert Ponche Segoviano. Ruben's punctuality and the overall experience made the entire trip a delight. I would certainly recommend it to my friends.

A great tour. The pace was good and the guide was very helpful. Our guide added a cathedral tour in Avila that was not originally included as we were a bit ahead of schedule. We chose the optional lunch in Segovia and we were very pleased. Authentic local cuisine in a nice restaurant.

The two guides were very good. Far too little time with guides. Far too much time driving and waiting.

I write this while currently on the least enjoyable tour (paid or unpaid) that I have experienced. There were numerous aspects of this tour which were problematic. 1. An “English tour” should not have 9 individuals speaking Spanish and 4 speaking English. The end result is less than half of the interaction with a guide that one would have if done in one language. The guide in Segovia (Michael) was very nice and made all efforts that he could. But he was left in a difficult spot having to do a tour in two languages. 2. I can only speculate that there was a desire to kill time when we arrived at Segovia. So the bus passed the city so that we could “take a picture” of the castle from its rear. That wasted twenty minutes. And then we waited in front of the castle so that we could “take pictures”. Lots of time allocated to “taking pictures” while in reality killing time until the guide was to arrive. 3. Departure from Segovia was expected to be 2:15 sharp. We left at 2:35. Considering how much time is spent in the van - sitting and waiting is not very helpful. 4. The guide was late for the tour of Avila. Not sure why but this delayed us again. And we were told that we would arrive in Avila and “wait” for her - perhaps another photo opportunity. 5. It was explained to us that Spanish time is flexible so these time lapses should be of less concern. I understand that - but with half of the trip driving in a van, I would not expect to have as much wasted time. 6. The “guide” with us on the van provided limited insights into - well, pretty much anything. Maybe his job was only to be a babysitter - but rather than chatting with the driver for much of the trip he could have engaged us. There is little doubt that we would have been better off to have simply taken a bus to Segovia and spent four hours in Segovia - and bussed back to Madrid. The amount of time in the van in addition to the time “killing time” resulted in an unproductive day. I envision some response to this review explaining or justifying - but the reality is this tour was, in my personal view, neither a good use of our time nor worth the price paid. That said, if one understands what they are getting - this tour may be for them.

Our tour was fantastic! We loved exploring both towns and learned a lot about the history. Our guide Ruben was wonderful, friendly and very knowledgeable. The size of the group was not too big so we got to know other people from around the world during our tour as well which was a bonus. Would highly recommend!