Tanger and Iberian Peninsula

Distance covered by road: 280 km.
 
Landscapes:  Amazing views over the cliffs and Straits. Pleasant scenery of white villages in Andalusia. WARNING: Remember to keep your passport handy. 

PLEASE NOTE:  The ferry departure time varies depending on the season. Please, check with Europamundo before starting the tour.  Border formalities may involve delays. Entering to Spain, you will have to put your clocks forward by 1 or 2 hours (depending on time of year). Your guide will advise you about the change. 



Welcome to Europamundo. At about  11:00 hrs  (variable.  Please, check with Europamundo the meeting point and the exact time of departure) , we shall depart from our meeting point, Hotel Hilton Garden Inn Tangier City Center, to the port of Tangier. Boarding formalities. Each traveller must carry their bags and hand luggage, as required by the Spanish national security authorities. Crossing of approximately one hour. We suggest having lunch on the ferry. Arrival in Algeciras/Tarifa. Our journey continues through beautiful white villages.  
 
20.30 hrs Seville . -Arrival. 


IMPORTANT -  IF YOU REQUESTED ADDITIONAL NIGHTS on arrival at the hotel you will have your booking made but the guide of your trip will normally not arrive until the start of the included activities. YOUR TIME BEFORE THIS MOMENT IS THEREFORE FREE. At your hotel they can help you with all the information you need.  

NB:   The schedules you will find in this itinerary are approximate. The guide, depending on the situation and in order to improve the development of the circuit, may adjust the schedules.   

Highlights:   Guided visit with local expert in Seville.  Boat trip along the river Guadalquivir.   Evening transfer.


After breakfast, a local expert guides you through a scenic visit of Sevilla (if the English-speaking group is fewer than fifteen people, the tour can be conducted in both English and Spanish). Lasting one hour and a half featuring the Cathedral and the Giralda, Plaza de España, the beautiful banks of the river Guadalquivir, the Golden Tower, the districts of Santa Cruz and Triana, the Maestranza Bullring, and Cartuja Island. After the tour, we will include a  boat trip along the river Guadalquivir , enjoying the panoramic views from the boat. Enjoy leisure time straight afterwards or the tours to the Cathedral or the Flamenco Show that will be offered  as optionals by your guide. 

At the end of the afternoon, we will go to the historic city centre area ( calle Alfonso XII) where many different restaurants can be found. You can choose your favorite cuisine: Indian, Halal, Chinese, Spanish, International and so on.  Return to the hotel.

Total distance: 495km  
Scenery: : Attractive landscapes of white villages, mountain ranges, castles en route. 
Note: In Portugal we must set our watches back one hour.   

08.30 hrs.- Seville- – departure-. We travel to the west of Andalusia. Pleasant landscapes en route.
 
10.00 hrs.- Rabida Monastery – We visit ( entrance included) this Franciscan monastery  where Christopher Columbus got help to start his journey. We will know the monastery.  After the monastery we will visit the Caravels Museum, an open air museum located in Palos de la Frontera, the port from where he embarked on his voyage, where there are replicas of the caravels with which Columbus left for the Americas.

12.15 hrs.- Palos de la Frontera. We leave Andalusia to set out for Portugal. We enter the Algarve region and continue between mountains towards the interior of the country.
  13.15 (14.15h. in Spain)- Mertola . We stop in this picturesque white city, old Muslim population. Its present church was once a mosque. Time for lunch.

14.45 hrs.- Mertola. Departure. We travel through the Alentejo region.
16.30 hrs. - Évora. – Arrival. To the capital of the Alentejo, one of the oldest cities in Portugal with its wide streets, its Renaissance policies and its cathedral, a city declared by Unesco World Heritage. We include entrance to the Chapel of the Bones built with 5000 skeletons.

18.30 hrs. - Évora. -departure. 
20.00 hrs. – Lisbon. Arrival.

Highlights-  Comprehensive tour of Lisbon. Night transfer to Restauradores Square.

09:00h. - Start of our  tour with a local guide  (explanations may be given by our guide if the group has fewer than 12 people). We visit traditional neighborhoods, which take in the Belem district, which is the birthplace of the great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the fifteen century.  We shall look round the Monument to the Discoveries, Belem Tower and to the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
The afternoon is free so that you can explore this great city independently.


18:00h.- At the end of the afternoon, we include transportation to  Restauradores Square  , full of atmosphere with its bars and cafes from where you can take the "Elevador da Gloria" (not included) that brings you to the Upper district and its viewpoint of San Pedro with beautiful views over Lisbon and the Bairro Alto. Return to hotel.

Total distance: 695 km.
 
Scenery:  F orests, small mountains, walled villages


Note:   There is an hour difference between Spain and Portugal. When in Portugal is 11 hrs in Spain is 12 hrs.

07:30 hrs. - Lisboa – departure. We Travel to the north of Portugal.
09:15 hrs. - Fátima  – Time to know this important Sanctuary. 
 
10:30 hrs. - Fátima – Departure. We will continue on our way through the Green lands of the centre, passing into Spain and over the grasslands we cross the north of Extremadura region.
Lunch included  en route in a regional food restaurant. Continuation to  MADRID. 

20.30 hrs.- Madrid,  arrival. We include  transportation to Plaza Mayo r where you can enjoy at some typical taverns. 

Highlights: Guided tour and stroll through Retiro Park. Visit to Las Ventas Bullring (admission included) and transfer to Plaza del Oriente.   

The day starts about 08.30 hrs with a comprehensive tour through the centre of Madrid including Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá,  Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor. 

Visit to Retiro Park , an oasis in the city centre, where we will see the lake and the Glass Palace. Admission to Las Ventas Bullring included . This is one of the most famous bullrings in the world where we will learn about the tradition of “corridas” in the Bullfighting Museum. 

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon.


At sunset we provide a transfer to Plaza de Oriente , opposite the Royal Palace, an elegant and bustling area with many restaurants serving different exquisite cuisines (Indian, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Spanish, International)  in which to enjoy a pleasant dinner. Return to hotel.

Total distance:  450 km 
Scenery: The plains of La Mancha with the shadow of some mills and the great extensions of olive groves in the province of Jaén.
N ote: i f the group of English-speaking travelers is fewer than 10, they will share the trip to Granada with Spanish-speaking passengers).

08:00 hrs. - Madrid – departure. We travel to the South.  We stop at PUERTO LÁPICE, a beautiful town of La Mancha plain evoking the figure of Don Quixote de la Mancha. 

13:45 hrs. - GRANADA  – Arrival at the hotel.  Lunch included.   After lunch, we head to the Alhambra to visit the palace and the gardens of the Generalife;  Reservation, local guide and entrance included.

19.00 hrs.- Enjoy an  evening transfer to the Albaicín of Granada , a World Heritage site along with the Alhambra, where you can enjoy dinner in a restaurant  in the narrow winding streets of this captivating Medieval Moorish quarter. Return to hotel. Tonight you have the option to attend a flamenco dance show and the traditional neighborhood of Sac­ramonte.


Note : In the Alhmabra complex, the Nazari palaces allow a limited number of people in at a time. Sometimes your visit may be in the afternoon, depending on the timetables in which we are allowed in. In the highly improbable case of not being able to visit this area of the Alhambra, a visit to the Alcázares, which have similar architecture and features,  will be included in Seville

Distance travelled: 260 km.
 
Landscapes:  We follow the Costa del Sol with views over the Mediterranean Sea and cross the Straits of Gibraltar. 
PLEASE NOTE:  The ferry departure time varies depending on the season.
INSTRUCTIONS:  Do not forget your passport, you will need it at the border. Depending on the time of year, the time in Morocco is 1 or 2 hours behind Spain. Your guide will tell you when to change the time, and will confirm the time difference. 
Please note:  During the crossing between Spain and Morocco, you must carry your own luggage.


07:30 hrs  Granada. Departure. Stunning views over the Mediterranean. 
11:45 hrs  Algeciras-Tarifa -Arrival-. We board a ferry and cross the Straits of Gibraltar, crossing into Africa on a modern boat. The crossing takes approximately 1.5 hours . Arrival in the port of Tangiers. Customs and border procedures (there are sometimes delays). We continue to Tangier about 13.00 hrs. End of our services.-