Reviews
Roella
Portugal and Galicia
"Dear Ramon, alive and well, gradually returning to Los Angeles time, but not rushing the body. Seems jetlag recovery takes a bit longer the older I am. The trip was lovely and for the most part, relaxing, as we had the driver/guides to shuttle us about. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the various sites and venues. The Hotel in Lisbon was very nice, and new with a large room and bath decorated tiles that make Lisbon so uni ...great breakfast and helpful staff. The second hotel was dramatic, DRAMATIC and THEATRICAL..., stage lighting, flowing curtains...new and modern. They seemed to go overboard with the DRAMA .great location. In Santiago, we had a taste of "old charm and character" marked by a lovely terrace with a view of Santiago de Compestela....had it not been raining, we would have enjoyed cocktails on the terrace each night. All hotels were very nicely located for us to walk around and discover restaurants. Our guides were very good...Lisbon, he took us to the Museum of Tiles at my request, where we spent a good amount of time< Guide in Porto, Pedro very nice and Patricia in Galicia very knowledgeable. The three gave us a good feeling and sense of where we were, past and present. Thank you for, once again, for making our trip so enjoyable."
Nick
Rioja
"Hi Ramon, thank you for a truly brilliant time in your homeland last weekend. It was even more beautiful than I expected in every way with the mountains, the farmlands, hill top towns and the vineyards & wineries. The cycling was perfect, really something to shout about with excellent terrain, views and weather. Loved mountain biking off road through the vineyards and along the river and road biking along the quiet rolling country roads and up by the “sleeping lion” (is that what it’s called?). The food was delicious and the tapas in Logrono great fun."
Natalie Schwartz
Leaders In Travel Ltd. – A Branch of Tzell Travel Group
Barcelona and Andalucia
"Hi Ramon, they did love their trip. They enjoyed each place they visited and enjoyed all the guides. They usually don’t say too much unless there is a problem and they didn’t seem to have any problems so I really do thank you for making their time in Spain informative, comfortable and exciting for them. Hopefully, will be in touch again shortly with other clients that will visit Spain. Thank you for your help and your recommendations. I appreciate it."
John and Judy Manzi
Madrid-Seville-Cordoba-Ronda-Granada-Barcelona
"We traveled to Spain for three weeks from May 30 to June 20, staying in Madrid for six nights, Sevilla for four nights, Granada for two nights and Barcelona for eight nights. All arrangements for the trip were made by Ramon Ramirez at The Unique Traveller, contact information:
Ramon Ramirez
Director
The Unique Traveller
[email protected]
I gave the company a list of sites we wanted to see, our travel dates, our requirements for transfers, guides and the level of accommodations we expected, as well as personal preferences for food ( my wife is a vegetarian),in country travel, and areas of each city in which we wanted to be located. Overall, we could not be more pleased with the service provided by the Unique Traveller. Transfers went smoothly, in country air and train travel was well arranged and easily accomplished, accommodations were excellent. Each hotel was perfectly located, with excellent service and very helpful staffs. Ramon arranged upgrades in each hotel and because we were celebrating an anniversary and birthday, our hotel stays were greeted with champagne (Cava), chocolate and fruit. Perhaps the best things about the arrangements that were made for us were the guides. In each city our local guides were just perfect. Very knowledgeable, very competent and very personable. We skipped the line at all the major sites and were quickly immersed into the history and importance of each site. The guides were all helpful in recommending things to do on our own, and restaurants and shops that were off the tourist track, that were worth a visit. In summary, our trip, which was pretty extensive and just crammed with activities, was very well arranged by The Unique Traveller. It went off without a hitch and provided everything we expected and more. All at a considerable savings than what I could have arranged on my own. If you are planning custom travel, you could not do better than this company. We recommend them highly and without reservation."
Jana
Andalucia
"Ramon, we are back from Spain and I just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time. Our driver, Pablo was fantastic. He was very personable, friendly and provided us with much information about sights along the way as well as recommendations for dinner in the evening. He was always on time in the morning but was adaptable to our interests during the course of the day. He went above and beyond in helping us resolve some luggage issues. Our guides in Ronda, Granada, and for the olive oil and winery tour were outstanding. I believe that all of us would agree that the best meal provided was the lunch in Montilla. Eating in a small local restaurant was delightful. Carlos, the owner, greeted us at the door, and served us wonderful food and wine through out the meal. Once again thank you for your assistance in making this a great vacation."
James & Maureen
Madrid and Barcelona
"Hi Ramon, trust all is well with you and thank you again for taking time-out to meet me for lunch at Notting hill Gate. Back this Monday from our week on Mallorca at Fornalutx, which was brilliant way to finish-up our Spain holiday. We had electric powered bikes plus a yacht at Port Soller, to get around the island. Having said that our week in Catalan, Madrid and surrounds with Gloria and Maria was our absolute best holiday ever! Your organisation was perfect, 10/10, with airport pick-ups and drop-offs, hotel selections and actual day-to-day tours exceeded our wildest of expectations. We have fallen in love with (your) Spain! Gloria and Maria were charming, professional, personable and we learnt so much on this one-to-one basis. We felt they were like our best friends. Thank you, thank you. You did mention that you also do wine tours of La Rioja. In 12 months we could be interested and wondered if you have any dates set at this stage and what an itinerary could look like? Please pass on our sincere thanks and best wishes to Gloria and Maria. You may upload this ‘thank you’ to your website if you wish."
Scott and Cindy Smith
Barcelona-Rioja-Madrid-Seville-Andalucia
"Hi Ramon, we are home from a wonderful trip to Spain and just wanted to write a quick email to thank you for all you did to make our travel seamless 🙂 We enjoyed the country as much this time around as we did seven years ago and were happy to see some new places and things as well as revisit some of the places we'd been before. We enjoyed our time on every private tour and the guides for each one (Gloria, Maria, and Carmen) and we were especially happy to meet up with Alberto again in Rioja. We loved the accommodations in La Guardia and Javea and the charm of the place we stayed in Seville. We also were so happy with your suggestion to stop in Mojacar for lunch on our drive up the coast. It was an incredible place and we had one of the best views and best meals (at Napoli) ever there! They were kind enough to serve us even though they had just closed for siesta. We had many special memories and, in spite of too much rain during the trip, enjoyed every minute! Thank you again Ramon. We will refer people to you whenever we have an opportunity. You are truly an expert on travel in Espana!"
Doug Welsch
Barcelona-Priorat-Rioja-Ribera del Duero
"Hi, the trip went really well. Most of the hotels and wineries had previous contact with you, which told me that you had some experience at this. I also liked your selection of hotels and their proximity to the attractions that we were visiting, especially in Barcelona & Gratallops. The tours also went very well. Many were private tours, some with the winemaker or owner, which I particularly appreciated. The trip was outstanding."
David and Darci and Abbi and Maia
Andalucia
"Hello Ramon, yesterday we returned home from our amazing Spain adventure. I wanted to thank you for putting together a great itinerary for us. The kids loved Spain and we hope to go back again sooner than later. I thought I would share some highlights and feedback. Hopefully it is helpful for you. All of our guides were wonderful! Thank you. We especially liked Maria in Granada and Andres in Grazalema, but again, all were great. The transportation was a good mix of train (to Sevilla), rental car (all around Andalucia) and plane (Granda to Barcelona). We were glad we did it that way. One of the highlights of the entire trip for all of us was the cooking class in Sevilla. Maria was amazing and our chef was great. (Photo attached). This weekend a home we will already be cooking our own Salmoreja and maybe Paella. Zahara de los Atunes was another highlight. Splitting the trip with a few days at the beach/pool was great. We could have stayed another day. We tried to schedule a little too much going from Zahara de los Atunes to Grazalema to Ronda all in one day so we missed the bike ride. We regretted that mostly because we really loved our guide, Andres who took us Kayaking and around Zahara de la Sierra. It would have been very fun to visit his village. Ronda was Darci's favorite city. We ended up spending most of the day there before heading to Granada. We were glad we rented a car for this part of the trip. I loved the Alhambra. Even with the long tour, the kids did really well. Our guide, another Maria, was great. Thanks again for putting together an amazing trip for us. The kids loved it. Darci and I had an amazing time. We truly had a great time and look forward to visiting Spain again. I will gladly recommend you to future friends planning their Spain adventure."
Mar & Richard
Madrid+Rioja+San Sebastian
"Hello Ramon, sorry this email reply is so late. I wanted to respond to you with Richard and Sundays are the only days we don't work and can sit at the computer together... We had a terrific time in Spain. Thank you so much for making the trip so special and memorable. Our group has given us very positive feedback and they continue to send pictures and wonderful comments. We have a get-together to talk about the trip on the 31st at Ken and Sheri's house and only one of the travelers won't be able to make it because she lives in Iowa now. Everyone is telling us they want to come on our next trip to Spain. We are thinking of sometime in 2017. You will have to tell us what itinerary you recommend. If you want to want to talk on the phone, I will be available tomorrow morning from 7:30am to 8:30am (3:30pm to 4:30pm UK time). I will also be available on Tuesday morning from 6:30am to 7:30am (1:30pm to 3:30pm UK time). Thank you!"