nlond

We booked Spain Day Tours for 2 half day tours from our Royal Caribbean Cruise ship. The first 1/2 day tour was in Lisbon, Portugal. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and we had an interesting time touring Lisbon. It's not the cleanest City but there are some beautiful overlooks that our guide took us to.

The second 1/2 day tour was in Vigo, Spain. This is a beautiful place to visit and we would go back. Our tour guide was excellent! They used a taxi van here so all his attention was on giving us info. His name was Dario and I would highly recommend him.

All was on time and they were very helpful to my mom who is 86 and tires easily.

We booked the half day tour and requested Daniel in advance - we were glad we did. He was fantastic. We handled all the reservations on line. He met us right off the ship's pier at the designated time. There were 6 of us in his very comfortable and new taxi. My parents are in their 80's and Daniel made every effort to accommodate their needs and drove as close as possible to all the sites. He recommended that we visit the basket ride first to avoid the lines and he was right - no wait at all. We did not go with a plan or list of sites just asked him to show us what he thought we would enjoy the most. He obviously loves the City he lives in and we had a fabulous time. He charged 140 EU for 6 - we paid him 150 EU since we had such a great time.

We just returned from the TA on the Mariner. I had a group of eight and reserved Daniel Maderia Tours. http://www.danielmadeirataxis.com/ It was a home run!! I highly recommend them. This is what we did.

• Monte – one of Funchal’s suburbs, it’s a pleasant place, with lots of plants and flowers. The well known Cable Car and Toboggan rides are based there. Our Lady of Monte’s Church is also of interest to visit.
  
• Pico dos Barcelos – offers a most amazing view, spread out over all the suburban area.
  
• Eira do Serrado – the viewpoint for Curral das Freiras (Nun’s Valley) village and surroundings.
  
• Camara de Lobos – a small and quaint fishing town. The Fishermen’s Chapel is well worth a visit.
  
• Cabo Girao – the glass bottom belvedere on top of a 580m high sea cliff.
  

I reconfirm the price of 20 EUR per person. The cable car and toboggan rides are totally optional and paid extra and cost 10 EUR per person and 15 EUR per person sharing, respectivelly.

 

Have a great time. This was one of my favorite ports!!

 

Angie

Angie - can you tell me if Daniel was your driver?

We did the ship excursion instead of a private tour for that very reason, even though it was more expensive. The next port was 600 miles away in the Madeira Islands, so we thought the extra money was well worth it to make sure that we either wouldn't get left behind or, if we were, that HAL would get us to Funchal at their expense.

Hi - we will be going to the Madeira Islands in October. What would you recommend doing there? Thanks!

We just returned from the TA on the Mariner. I had a group of eight and reserved Daniel Maderia Tours. http://www.danielmadeirataxis.com/ It was a home run!! I highly recommend them. This is what we did.

• Monte – one of Funchal’s suburbs, it’s a pleasant place, with lots of plants and flowers. The well known Cable Car and Toboggan rides are based there. Our Lady of Monte’s Church is also of interest to visit.
  
• Pico dos Barcelos – offers a most amazing view, spread out over all the suburban area.
  
• Eira do Serrado – the viewpoint for Curral das Freiras (Nun’s Valley) village and surroundings.
  
• Camara de Lobos – a small and quaint fishing town. The Fishermen’s Chapel is well worth a visit.
  
• Cabo Girao – the glass bottom belvedere on top of a 580m high sea cliff.
  

I reconfirm the price of 20 EUR per person. The cable car and toboggan rides are totally optional and paid extra and cost 10 EUR per person and 15 EUR per person sharing, respectivelly.

 

Have a great time. This was one of my favorite ports!!

 

Angie

Hi Angie - Can you tell me how long this tour took? I will also be in Funchal in October on the Norwegian Spirit - there will be 6 of us. My parents are active 80+, would you recommend this itinerary for them?

Thanks, Nancy

Returned a week ago from our trip. Viking does a great job. I will work on preparing comments and suggestions but if anyone has a question I will try to answer it. You will have a fabulous time!

Thank you all for so much information. I will pass it along to my parents.

Hi all - my parents - ages 84 & 80 are thinking about taking this trip from the US. They have traveled extensively - have never been to China and would love to have that experience. They are concerned that it might be too strenuous for them. Any thought would be appreciated. Thanks, Nancy