SPAIN, MOROCCO AND PORTUGAL

• Color outside the lines on this unforgettable encounter with the intoxicating lands of Spain, Morocco, and Portugal.
• Kick off your unforgettable journey in the fiery Spanish capital of Madrid.
• This evening, explore the city’s vibrant streets, before joining your fellow travelers and Travel Director for a Welcome Dinner and orientation drive.

Arrival Transfer: Depart Madrid-Barajas airport at 10:30, 13:00, 15:30

Included Experience: Madrid Orientation

• Witness the influence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews that has spanned centuries in the imperial city of Toledo.
• Join your Local Specialist for a walking tour, during which you’ll visit the Church of Santo Tomé, home to El Greco’s most famous painting – ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’.
• Then, visit the synagogue of Santa Maria La Blanca, believed to be the oldest one still standing in Europe.
• Celebrate the tradition of steel and Damascene manufacturing and molding as you Dive Into Culture at a local workshop.
• Your journey continues through the soul-stirring Andalusian landscape to Granada, where we’ll spend the night.

Included Experience: Discover the forging of quality steel in Toledo and Toledo City Tour

• Tread in the footsteps of Spain’s last emirs and admire the impressive Alhambra – a collection of palaces and fortresses dating from the 12th century.
• We join a Local Specialist to explore its intricate designs, tranquil gardens, and colossal walls, believed to have been inspired by poetry and reflecting the description of paradise found in Islamic verse.
• Later, we leave this ‘paradise on earth’ behind and continue to the Costa del Sol.

Included Experience: Alhambra Palace in Granada

Optional Experience: Jet-set Marbella: Puerto Banús & Mediterranean Dinner / Mijas Andalusian Hilltown & Mediterranean Dinner

• We travel along the sun-kissed shores of the Mediterranean and cross to North Africa by ferry.
• A memorable drive past the Rif Mountains brings us to Fes, a storied hub of traditional craftsmanship and our home for the next two nights.

• Join a Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour through the cultural and spiritual center of Morocco.
• Stroll through the Medina of Fes, view its fortifications and Royal Palace, and admire traditional Moroccan handiwork during a visit to a carpet cooperative.
• Spend the rest of your afternoon at leisure.
• Tonight, maybe join an Optional Experience Arabian dinner in a traditional riad – a night of heartfelt local entertainment, including belly dancing, awaits.

Included Experience: Fes City Tour

Optional Experience: Bhalil Revealed / Arabian Dinner and Entertainment in a Riad

• Departing Fes, we journey west through the golden landscape which turns to rusty red, bound for vibrant Marrakesh.
• Past and present collide in the world-famous Jemaa el-Fnaa Square.
• Embrace the unrivaled energy of this cultural and economic hub.

Optional Experience: The Square at Night and Traditional Dinner

• Visit the elegant Dar El Basha Palace during your walking tour with a Local Specialist.
• See Jemaa el-Fnaa Square in the Old Quarter with its palm-readers, storytellers, and snake charmers.
• Visit a traditional Moroccan pharmacy and Dive Into Culture, gaining insights into the blending of creams and cosmetics using regional ingredients.
• The rest of the day is yours to explore.
• Don’t miss the chance to shop for bargains in the souks (markets) and bazaars, or perhaps visit a local Berber village.

Included Experience: Explore a Moroccan pharmacy and Marrakesh City Tour

Optional Experience: Ourika Valley And Berber Village Home Visit

• We journey north to Casablanca and enjoy views of the Hassan II Mosque, with the world’s tallest minaret, before arriving in the country’s capital city.
• Continue to Rabat where you will spend the night.

Included Experience: See the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

• Today, you explore Rabat with your local specialist, stop at the opulent Mohammed V Mausoleum and admire Rabat’s cityscape, its historic and modern centers traversed by the Bou Regreg River below.
• Later, we continue to Tangier, a gateway between Africa and Europe as prominent today as in Phoenician times.
• Our unique Stays With Stories this evening is the sumptuous El Minzah, an icon of the city overlooking the Bay of Tangiers and the sparkling Mediterranean beyond.
• The grand property, built in the Spanish-Moorish style in 1930, has welcomed the rich and famous over the past century.
• You’ll get to experience its warm hospitality for yourself as you contemplate the building’s colorful history.

Included Experience: El Minzah Hôtel Tangier

Trafalgar Difference: Stays With Stories

• Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by ferry, we return to Spain and journey past the region of Jerez, renowned as the origin of Spanish sherry.
• We drive through Andalucía and arrive in Seville.
• What better way to experience this lively city than witnessing the passion of flamenco?
• Immerse yourself in the spectacle of colorful swirling skirts and fervent rhythm of castanets during an unforgettable optional Flamenco performance this evening.

Optional Experience: Discover The Origin Of Tapas & Evening In Old Seville / Discover The Origin Of Tapas & Evening In Old Seville / Flamenco, the Best Show in Town With a Three-Course Dinner

• Join your Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour which will take you past the iconic Giralda Bell Tower.
• Admire the tiled fountains and pavilions in the Maria Luisa Park, the showcase for the Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929, and see the imposing Plaza de España.
• Visit the ornate tomb of Christopher Columbus in the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world, then enjoy a walk through the lovely historic Jewish Quarter.

Included Experience: Meliá Lebreros Seville

Optional Experience: The Moorish Alcázar and Plaza América

• Leaving the zesty scents of Seville behind, we head to the golden landscapes of the Alentejo, where the Brito Paes family await our arrival for a special lunch on their traditional stud ranch, which has been rearing Lusitano horses since the 18th century.
• This Be My Guest experience takes place in the home of their ancestors before we continue to Évora for a guided sightseeing tour.
• With a Local Specialist, we will visit Évora’s cathedral, Roman temple, and Chapel of Bones.
• Tonight, enjoy dinner at our hotel.

Included Experience: Lunch with Tiago and Vera in beautiful Alentejo and Évora City Tour

• We arrive in the seafaring Portuguese capital of Lisbon this afternoon, where we’ll join a Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour.
• A particular highlight of this afternoon is an opportunity to Dive Into Culture at the UNESCO-listed Hieronymite Monastery, an exquisite testament to 16th-century Manueline architecture and art.

Included Experience: Discover the Hieronymite Monastery and Lisbon City Tour

Optional Experience: Seafood Dinner By The Tagus River / Gourmet Dinner, Parliament, Exclusive Estrela and Evening Orientation

• Enjoy the day sauntering through Lisbon’s grand shopping boulevards and the narrow lanes of Bairro Alto or consider joining an Optional Experience to the historic towns of Cascais and Sintra.
• This evening, we enjoy a Farewell Dinner with newfound friends and our Travel Director, toasting to an epic Iberian holiday.

Optional Experience: The Golden Triangle: Sintra, Cascais & The Estoril Coast

• Our journey through Spain and Portugal has come to an end. All that’s left is to say a fond adeus at the end of an unforgettable holiday.