Classic Spain
About the tour. Holidays and rest are always good! Our tour was called "Magnificent Spain" (period of 8 days from 23.10. 06 to 30.10. 06. ). The meeting party is the Spanish tour operator "TERRAMAR-TOUR" S. L.
Meeting. So. . . The plane landed safely in Barcelona. We were sorted into buses and taken to settle. And we immediately got the first trouble: we rode the bus for several hours late at night in search of our hotel. To our natural question - why is this so, we received a worthy answer: ". . . I only meet... these questions are not for me... we always have new drivers and they are not required to know the location of all the hotels in Barcelona... ". This night trip was for us instead of program singing fountains and dinner at the hotel! At 4-30 it is clear that no one is having dinner and has been watching happy dreams about singing fountains for a long time. But at least as a courtesy, the host could remember to carry out the program of the first noon of the tour. And about some kind of compensation (neither in the moral, nor in the material sense... ) no one remembered until the end of the tour.
Program. There is nothing bad to say about the program itself. She's just too busy. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other, not so good. A little more and this tour could be called "Spain from the window of your bus"... Although, when choosing a tour, I think that many people looked at the map and were mentally ready for long kilometers. The second minus was that there were 60 people on the bus (58 tourists + 1 guide + 1 driver)! And this is not a group, but a crowd. Although, to my great surprise, this crowd distinguished themselves on the tour with the highest organization. And I think that the cost of the tour and the comfort of the group for our tour operator did not even intersect anywhere (if somehow the group was suddenly reduced to a reasonable number of people).
Guides. In the advertising program of the tour operator, a heart is drawn and the text to it: “We love our customers! ”. Although in relation to our group there was such an impression that the tour operator “loves only money” for its tourists. The second heart in the advertisement has the text: "Professional Terramar guide on the bus throughout the route! " Yes. Our route guide (Elena 689060702) is a professional, but far from being kind person. I got the impression that she organically hates tourists. And our presence on the bus just annoys her. Indeed, there is no other way to qualify her inappropriate behavior (if the guide says that he will call the police to “protect” himself from tourists or... just leave the bus! ) The third heart said: “Local guides are at the sites! ”. Indeed, “local” guides appeared at some sites, and Elena even introduced them to us. But for some reason they all spoke English or Spanish. We never received a clear answer (why are there no Russian-speaking guides? ). Just the work of these silent guides was taken over by our guide from the bus. Then it is not entirely clear: why did the program talk about some kind of “local” guides, if all were replaced by one (text from the program) “. . . a professional Terramar guide on the bus along the entire route! ”? Surely here again the cost of the tour and the comfort of the group are in conflict. But it is known that in Europe the reservation of guide services at visited sites fluctuates around $100/hour! In this regard, I dare to remind you again that no one even thought to offer us to compensate for the non-fulfillment of the program somehow morally or financially.
Hotels. All tourist class hotels are divided into: good, normal and hotels, for the stay in which the hotel should simply pay extra for the guest. Such one was provided to us in Granada. The cracks on the ceiling in the room were such that it seemed that you had to walk quietly, otherwise all this plaster would collapse. The size of a double room is slightly larger than the Khrushchev kitchen. I passed between the headboard and the wall, but the suitcase did not pass. I think it's because someone has very large suitcases? Under our balcony there was an extract from the kitchen. And all this spirit went straight to our room. The unfortunate neighbors from our group say that they woke up cheerfully early in the morning when they began to cook food in the kitchen. It was like a kitchen in an Odessa communal apartment, only in Spanish. To our natural feelings, the guide replied: "Tyu... just one night" Like - what's the problem ?!
Flamenco. Surely each of us, at least once, saw this dance on TV. To be in Spain and not see it live is just a crime in front of you. And what was our disappointment when we were brought to a small courtyard in a narrow street of Granada where a performance was going on at the same time in some two undersized sheds. Parisian "Moulin Rouge" is just relaxing! Such a bright and incendiary dance immediately turns into a cheap gypsy hack worth 35 euros.
Departure. Nothing unexpected happened. At the set time, the group checked out of the rooms and one hour from the appointed time on the suitcases in the hotel lobby was waiting for the bus with the accompanying person. When the mourner appeared and people tried to make some claims to him, he replied that he was only the mourner (that is, he is not responsible for anything! ). This guide told us about free time in Barcelona and said that the bus would arrive at the indicated place for transfer to the airport only at 15:00 and 19:00. Our flight is at 23-55 and, you see, I didn’t really want to hang out at the airport for 5 hours instead of a beautiful city. We tried to argue that it was too early for us, but immediately received a prepared answer: “. . . you can leave your luggage on the bus while walking around the city... the driver's working day ends at 19-00?... later no one will come. . . "!!!?? ? One of the tourists, when getting off the bus, bitterly quipped: “Thank you that at least they didn’t give suitcases for a walk around Barcelona... ”
Country Spain. There can be no doubt about the fact that you need to visit this beautiful country! This is a very beautiful and colorful country. Its history and culture are interesting not only in the tourist concept. I think that our group was just unlucky with the tour operator.
Tour operator. By and large, the calculation of "TERRAMAR-TOUR" S. L. simple: the groups are large and diverse (all Russian speakers from the former USSR) and it is unlikely that some troubles on the tour can respond to mass discontent in the groups.
Morality. The last time I got into a bad tour like this was about 20 years ago. And it's not just about luck. I just didn't have as much experience back then as I do now. Hence (again from experience) advice: take a closer look at the choice of your future tour operator. This time I just relaxed and hoped for the Russian "maybe" by choosing the Spanish tour operator "TERRAMAR-TOUR" S. L. There are many travel forums on the Internet, stories from friends, and so on. There are more chances to get a normal vacation if you go with a well-known (already proven in the market for these services) domestic tour operator. Love yourself. After all, the euro is the same in the hands of a Russian or a German, an American or a Frenchman. Remember - this is YOUR vacation!