Tours in Malaga and Lisbon

[BenLynn]

We're on the Brillance of the Seas 4/28/06 transatlantic stopping in Maderia, Malaga and Lisbon. Can someone recommend private tour operators or drivers in each of those locations.

[DEL67]

We just were on the Brilliance fall transatlantic.

 

I struck out in terms of private tours in Malaga. All the vendors I could find were very expensive (600 Euros or more) so we hired a local taxi for the day to go to Ronda and Mijas. The driver was not very informative, but I had done my homework and it cost less than 200 Euros.

 

However, we had a great experience in Lisbon. I hired a car and driver from Tours for You (http://www.toursforyou.pt]) and had a great time. They provided a comfortable minvan for the 3 of us which could have sat 5 or 6 people. The driver was not only extremely knowledgeable and interesting, he also insisted on pushing my husband's wheelchair. In the 7 hours available to us we toured Lisbon by car and went to Estoril and Sintra and even had time to shop at a store that sold artisan glassware and cearmics in Sintra. I highly recomend them!

[jeannejj]

BenLynn, I will be on the Brilliance the same time. I'm anxious to see what kind of responses you get. I checked out the Lisbon company that was recommended, but didn't see any prices.

 

Have you checked out the tours offered by the cruise line?

 

Jeanne

[Queenk2]

I would love the information on the Malaga guide. Please E mail it to me at Queenk2@aol.com.

Thanks,

Karen

[MGC]

Tours for You offers both private and non-private tours.

 

We did a full-day tour (9 hours) with Tours For You as a private tour to Evora (with one other couple) for 300 Euros. That was the price per tour, not per person, and I think the limit was 6 people for a private tour. We didn't do this as a shore excursion, but during a post-cruise stay. Joana, our tour guide for Evora, was fantastic, visiting everything with us and even finding a small village's local food and craft fair for us to visit. She said they do quite a few tours as shore excursions, and are very willing to tailor their private tours to fit what you want to see.

 

The non-private 1/2 day tour to Sintra/Cascais/Estoril Coast was 60 Euros per person (Nov 2005). The day we did this, my husband and I were the only ones on the tour, so it ended up being a private tour anyway. But we just lucked out with that, there's no guarantee that you'll have the same experience on a shared tour. We got caught in a traffic jam outside of Lisbon that ate about an hour of the tour, so our guide Christina simply adjusted some of the time in the tour allocated to shopping to give us more time elsewhere.

 

If you contact them using the link provided on their website (under 'Reservations'), they will send a PDF file with tours and prices. Response was very prompt.

[DEL67]

Tours for You replies quickly to emails. Our private tour was 280 Euros for 8 hours. There were just 3 of us, but as I mentioned, our van could have sat 2 or 3 more people.

[BenLynn]

BenLynn, I will be on the Brilliance the same time. I'm anxious to see what kind of responses you get. I checked out the Lisbon company that was recommended, but didn't see any prices.

 

Have you checked out the tours offered by the cruise line?

 

Jeanne

 

Jeanne,

I've found that the private tours are cheaper and better. Since we don't have a lot of time in Lisbon ,my wife and I may take a half day tour . Are you interested in joining so that we can try to arrange a private tour? You can email me aat bgoldman@ssd.co.

Regards,

Ben

[MGC]

Tours for You offers both private and non-private tours.

 

We did a full-day tour (9 hours) with Tours For You as a private tour to Evora (with one other couple) for 300 Euros. That was the price per tour, not per person, and I think the limit was 6 people for a private tour.

 

Now that I'm at home and can check the literature they sent, the full-day to Evora and Arraioles (9 hours) for a private tour was 300 Euros for 1 - 4 people, and 350 for 6 - 8 people. Half-day (5 hours) private tours for Sintra / Estoril run 200 Euros for 1 - 4 people and 250 for 6 - 8 people; 1/2 day private tours to Fatima were priced at 220 / 250 Euros. Again, these were the 2005 prices that they quoted me.

[billyjp]

I would love the information on the Malaga guide. Please E mail it to me at Queenk2@aol.com.

Thanks,

Karen

 

would you have any information for malaga for cars tours,vans etc for april

maybe you have names & e-mails for them

thanks

billyjp

billyjp@tampabay.rr.com

[ClaudiaF]

Check out the tours offered by

Http://www.spanish-fiestas.com

they offer them all over Spain too;)

[Queenk2]

Iwould also like tour info on Malaga... Queenk2@aol.com

[fern]

Is it tours of Malaga itself or the surrounding area you are lookin for?. Malaga itself is easy to see on the opentop bus and amny places can be easily reached by bus.

Trips to Ronda are fairly expensive as it is a long, winding road from Malaga. Ronda is worth seeing. Mijas is, to me , a very touristy town.

Sorry, we live out here so perhaps we look at things differently.

The caves at Nerja are well worth a visit and are one of the most visited sites in Spàin. Also near Malaga at Rincon de la Victoria at Cala del Moral are the cuevas del tesoros very different to Nerja's but only about 20 to 30minutes from Malaga by taxi.

All thes places can be reached by bus. Have a look at the Malaga tourist office site.(Oficina de turismo).

 

If you want any specific info please ask.

 

Enjoy your visit.:)

 

Hasta la vista

[martyap]

Is it tours of Malaga itself or the surrounding area you are lookin for?. Malaga itself is easy to see on the opentop bus and amny places can be easily reached by bus.

Trips to Ronda are fairly expensive as it is a long, winding road from Malaga. Ronda is worth seeing. Mijas is, to me , a very touristy town.

Sorry, we live out here so perhaps we look at things differently.

The caves at Nerja are well worth a visit and are one of the most visited sites in Spàin. Also near Malaga at Rincon de la Victoria at Cala del Moral are the cuevas del tesoros very different to Nerja's but only about 20 to 30minutes from Malaga by taxi.

All thes places can be reached by bus. Have a look at the Malaga tourist office site.(Oficina de turismo).

 

If you want any specific info please ask.

 

Enjoy your visit.:)

 

Hasta la vista

 

Malaga is a difficult port because the real Spanish cities are two hour drives from the Costa del Sol. Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba are all beautiful but too far to visit in just one day off a cruise ship. Ronda or Nerja (different directions) are beautiful but not worth hundreds of euros on any tour. Mijas, as Fern has indicated, is close but very commercialized and touristy. I would agree to spend a few hours in Malaga or if possible Marbella which is about 45 minutes away. We rented a car for the two weeks on a recent trip. From what I remember taxis from Malaga to Marbella were very $$$$$. I believe there is a bus along the coast but not certain how reliable it is. I'm going to check with some Spanish friends and will post their replies.

 

Marty

[martyap]

Here is a little info from someone who lives in Malaga:

 

The port is within walking distance to Calle Larios, the main street downtown. You do not need a taxi. Just follow the park that will lead you there. Almost everyonw who arrives on a cruise ship just walks to downtown. You can also see the nearby Cathedral and the Picasso Museum.

If you have only a few hours in port, I would not try to take the bus to Nerja or Marbella because those are long rides and you may not be able to reach your ship back on time. I think that there are enough things to see downtown.

 

Marty

[burrma]

Thanks for taking the time to reply; excellent information.

[hazeleyes]

Here is a little info from someone who lives in Malaga:

 

The port is within walking distance to Calle Larios, the main street downtown. You do not need a taxi. Just follow the park that will lead you there. Almost everyonw who arrives on a cruise ship just walks to downtown. You can also see the nearby Cathedral and the Picasso Museum.

If you have only a few hours in port, I would not try to take the bus to Nerja or Marbella because those are long rides and you may not be able to reach your ship back on time. I think that there are enough things to see downtown.

 

Marty

 

Thank you for your post as I'm trying to find information on all the ports I will be visiting while on my Transatlantic cruise. I really appreicate it.

[GrandmaHofmann]

The port is within walking distance to Calle Larios, the main street downtown. You do not need a taxi. Just follow the park that will lead you there. Almost everyonw who arrives on a cruise ship just walks to downtown. You can also see the nearby Cathedral and the Picasso Museum.

 

Hi, Marty, I have very bad arthritis of the knee. Can you tell me how long it takes to walk into the main area of Malaga? Is it uphill? Are there taxis at the port? Thank you. (Ewan72403@aol.com