Overview
Tour highlights include a guided visit to Toledo, a treasure chest of art and historical architecture. In Granada, enjoy an included visit to the fascinating Alhambra complex*, built in the 13th century by Moorish kings. read more In Avila—a UNESCO World Heritage Site and fascinating walled city founded in the 11th century, you’ll visit St. Theresa's Convent, the birthplace of St. Teresa. Admire the Moorish architecture in the historical city centers of Cordoba and Seville, both gems of Andalusia, and get to know Madrid, the elegant capital city of Spain, built on a plateau in the heart of the country.
In Portugal, visit Lisbon with a Local Guide and see the Belem Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built to commemorate the expedition of Vasco de Gama, and Porto's cathedral, built on a panoramic terrace overlooking the port wine cellars on the banks of the Douro River. Enjoy guided sightseeing in the cities of Toledo, Granada, Seville, Madrid, Cordoba, Lisbon, and Porto. Local Guides - experts in the cities' histories and cultures - will highlight the unique sights and tell you about local culture and history.
All of this and more—including an olive oil farm visit with tastings—await you on this fabulous and affordable Spain and Portugal tour designed for value-minded travel lovers.
Classic
3 - 3.5 Star
Affordable
5-99 Years
47
Fully Guided
6820
Itinerary
Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is for you to relax or start exploring Madrid, taking advantage of the CosmosGO app. Tonight, meet your Tour Director and travel companions.
Drive south to Toledo. Spectacularly situated on a granite hill surrounded by a loop of the Tagus River, the ancient Castilian capital is a treasure-chest of masterpieces. Visit the walled Old Town with a Local Guide and marvel at the 12th-century Church of St. Tomé, known for its large painting by El Greco of The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.
Later, cross the Guadalquivir River and head for the olive and orange groves that dot the rolling Andalusian hills. Overnight in history-steeped Granada at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. Today's Distance: 298 mi/ 480 km (B/D)
Granada was the Moors' most treasured city, and they still mourn its loss in their prayers. With a Local Guide, visit the Alhambra Complex*, built by Moorish kings. On the way to Cordoba, enjoy more idyllic scenery as we reach an olive farm, to learn about olives and enjoy a local olive oil tasting. Today's Distance: 118 mi/ 190 km (B/D)
Please Note: *Alhambra complex: Entrance to Nasrid Palace is not guaranteed.
With a Local Guide visit the magnificent Mezquita, famous for its 850 pillars of porphyry, marble, and jasper. The Mosque-Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage site since 1984) is arguably the most significant monument in the western Muslim world and an amazing building in its own right. The complete evolution of the Omeyan style in Spain can be seen in different sections, alongside the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles of the Christian part.
On to vibrant, festive Seville. During an optional outing to a fascinating Flamenco Show, feel the passion and pride of Seville with every click of the heels and castanets. Today's Distance: 93 mi/ 150 km (B/D)
Get to know Seville on the included city tour. The sunny capital of Andalusia has much to offer: the cathedral, the beautiful La Giralda minaret tower, a symbol of Seville; and the Real Alcázar palace, with its extravagant Moorish architecture and opulent gardens. Fun fact: the Palace of the Kingdom of Naboo, from Star Wars, and the Palace of the Kingdom of Dorne, from Game of Thrones, were filmed in Plaza de España and the Royal Alcazar of Seville. (B)
Enjoy the scenery of the Sierra de Aracena before crossing into Portugal and the fertile plains of the Alentejo. Admire the forest of cork trees and make a stop to visit Evora, a delightfully attractive city. Among the highlights are the architecture of the white houses, tiles, and balconies. The city, designated UNESCO World Heritage site, inspired the style in which some Brazilian cities, such as Salvador de Bahia, were built. Continue to Lisbon. Today's Distance: 295 mi/ 475 km (B)
Henry the Navigator made Lisbon the 15th-century “Mistress of the Seas.” You'll see his monument, the Belem Tower, the Moorish Citadel, and other highlights on the guided sightseeing tour. Spend the afternoon at leisure in the Alfama's tile-decorated streets or take an optional excursion to the scenic Portuguese Riviera, head to the coast to immerse yourself in the picturesque countryside and coastline outside Lisbon. You'll be all the richer with sights of elegant villas, palaces, and manor houses. (B)
Stop in Fátima to visit the world-famous Sanctuary, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Continue to Coimbra, known for its university, one of the oldest in Europe, and to Porto on the northern bank of the Douro River. For the perfect way to round out your day, join an optional evening excursion, with a leisurely cruise on the Douro River, followed by a hearty traditional Portuguese dinner. Today's Distance: 224 mi/ 360 km (B)
On your included sightseeing tour of Porto, a local guide will show you the highlights of the city. Look out for the painted tiles decorating the city, the colorful houses along the riverbanks, the cheerful souvenir shops, and much more. Later, visit a Port wine cellar along the banks of the Douro River, for a Port wine tasting. This afternoon, go medieval on an optional excursion to Guimarães, called the “cradle” of Portugal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (B)
Enjoy the plentiful woodlands and mountains on your return to Spain via the scenic Douro Valley. Reach the ancient and beautiful university town of Salamanca in the early evening, the best time to take a stroll in the Plaza Mayor. Today's Distance: 236 mi/ 380 km (B)
Journey to fortified Ávila with its many towers and visit St. Theresa's Convent before continuing to Segovia, a medieval town picturesquely set on a rocky hill and famous for its impressive Roman Aqueduct. Some say that the beautiful castle inspired Disney's “Cinderella.” Enjoy some free time exploring the old town before crossing the historic boundary between new and old Castile to arrive in Madrid. Today's Distance: 193 mi/ 310 km (B)
Built 2180 feet above sea level, Madrid, capital of Spain, is the nearest thing to Heaven, according to Spaniards. Discover the main highlights of this aristocratic city on the included guided tour. (B)
Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)
Trip Inclusions
- Guided sightseeing in Toledo, featuring a visit to St. Thomas Church
- Guided visit to Granada's Alhambra complex
- Lunch at a traditional olive farm with olive oil tasting
- Guided visit of the Mezquita in Córdoba
- Guided sightseeing in Seville
- Orientation tour of Évora
- Guided sightseeing in Lisbon
- Visit to the Sanctuary of Fátima
- Orientation tour of Coimbra
- Guided sightseeing in Porto on the Douro River
- Scenic drive along the Douro Valley
- Orientation tour of Salamanca, including Plaza Mayor
- Orientation tour of Ávila, including a visit to St. Theresa's Convent
- Orientation tour of Segovia
- Guided sightseeing in Madrid
- The world is within reach with everything you need for perfectly affordable touring. Cosmos includes hand-selected accommodations, guided sightseeing, and seamless transportation between destinations—with value-minded travel lovers in mind. Explore with expert Cosmos Tour Directors and Local Guides, complimentary headsets, private, first-class, air-conditioned motorcoach with free Wi-Fi.
- Buffet breakfasts daily, 3 Dinners
- Madrid: Praga (Superior Tourist-Class)
- Granada: Don Juan (Superior Tourist-Class)
- Cordoba: Exe Las Adelfas (Moderate First-Class)
- Seville: Don Paco (Superior Tourist-Class)
- Lisbon: Roma (Superior Tourist-Class)
- Porto: Legendary Porto (First-Class)
- Salamanca: Sercotel Artheus Carmelitas Salamanca (Superior Tourist-Class)
- Airport transfers at your arrival and departure destination are not included in the price of the tour.
- Itinerary and inclusions subject to change.
- Price is for land, cruise and specified internal flights. International flights not included.
- Entrance to the Nasrid Palace of the Alhambra Complex is not guaranteed.
- The Alhambra complex is wheelchair accessible, but the entrance and route differ from those of the included guided visit.
Operator
Enjoy inside visits to Europe's the must-see sites with a great mix of included excursions, free time and affordable value. Read more
Cosmos build free time into every one of their vacations, so you can eat, shop, and explore the way you want. Read more
Cosmos' easy going, fun-filled and multilingual Tour Directors and Local Guides love exploring as much as you do. Read more
Trip Reviews (15)
Being a solo traveller I chose to pay the single supplement. With the exception of one hotel, I was very happy that I wasn't given a tiny room every night. The hotels were of a good standard and the included breakfasts were varied and plentiful. It was nice porterage was included at the hotels. The hotels were all quite well situated, except for two, but they were very close to public transport. The included dinners were reasonably good but the one in Porto was excellent.
I chose two optional tours , Cascais and Sintra, which was good as you got to see something more than the city. The other was the Douro River cruise. This was a nice way to end the day and the meal was quite good also. Other travellers really enjoyed the Flamenco Show and the Fado night. If you take the Madrid optional tour it doesn't leave you any free time to explore the city unless you stay on after the tour ends. Some travellers complained of this. On the whole the the included excursions were very good however the Generalife Gardens at the Alhambra were quite rushed. I would have liked more time here as, to me, it was the highlight of the tour. I didn't really like the city tour of Lisbon or Madrid as you mainly just drove around looking out the window of the bus. You could go back but there wasn't really enough time.
Our tour group were a great mix of Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, Americans and a few Indians. Everyone got on fantastically and it made it a wonderful and memorable holiday. Many thanks to Hannah at Global Journeys for all her help and organisation. I will definitely use Global Journeys and Cosmos again when I travel.
The tour group were almost all retirees aged 65 plus. This meant that walking tours were slow going. Something to keep in mind for younger travellers. All the local experts we had on our walking/city tours and the bus driver were fantastic. However, the tour director could have been more informative of the towns we were visiting by giving us more detailed and accurate information, providing recommendations on restaurants and memorable or unique experiences we could have. I was also concerned by the fact that the tour director wrote our names on the gratuities envelope we gave her at the end of the tour.
I enjoyed all the stops at the towns in Spain and Portugal but found we had to choose between seeing the town and having a relaxing lunch. There wasn’t time to do both - only 1.5-2 hours at each town we visited. My biggest disappointment of the tour was that the included visit to Alhambra did not in fact include seeing the Palaces which are the main part of Alhambra. We were simply taken around the Alhambra grounds and gardens and I felt this was highly misleading of Cosmos to claim this as an included visit. I would have preferred to pay to experience Alhambra the way it should be.
The towns of Cordoba and Seville were lovely with a good amount of free time. The optional Flamenco show in Seville was also amazing. In Lisbon, the guided tour was mostly on the bus with two small photo stops at Belem Tower and another monument. The optional dinner and Fado show was average. For almost $90 (57 euro) whilst the music was beautiful the dinner was average - vegetable soup, cod, and only a slice of pineapple for dessert. Not worth the money paid.
Also the optional excursion to Sintra meant that we had very little time to see Lisbon properly. And this brings me to the second biggest disappointment of the tour - the excursion to Cascais and Sintra. Sintra is a picturesque town but with only two hours in the town we did a guided tour of the medieval palace and had a small amount of free time. We were not taken to Pena Palace which is supposed to be the most beautiful palace in Portugal and the one on all the postcards for Sintra. There is also a Forest in Sintra which has the ruins of a Moorish castle, something the tour guide did not explain at all. We had stopped at Cascais for lunch but with very little to see and do here, this time could have been better spent at Sintra.
In Porto, the guided walk and included Porto tastings was great. I skipped the optional tour to Guimareas to spend more time in Porto and I’m glad I did. Porto is a beautiful little town. The optional river cruise and dinner were also exceptional and a definite highlight of the tour. Overall, I will not choose Cosmos again. I have done five budget coach tours before with other companies and this was disappointing in comparison.
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Cosmos Europe (2026)
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