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GET-AWAYS WITH YOUR PRIVATE GUIDE
Art and Nature in
the Pyrenees Empordà County Tarragona
Fields Central
Catalonia Imagine escaping from the rush and the noise of the city and staying some days in the countryside, in an area rich in cultural and natural heritage. Imagine having at your disposal a private guide that can advice where to go, how to get there, what to see. That knows the best places where to eat, and tells you what’s the best local food you must try. That can suggest what to buy, what to do at night? And that makes your reservations for museums or monuments, as well as restaurants. Choose among three get-away areas and its
many leisure options and I’ll create your customized program. Spend 3 to 5 days (2 to 4 nights) in the area
of Catalonia of your choice, optimizing your time to the maximum thanks to
the full time personalized assistance of your private guide. Check out the special terms and conditions. Art and nature in the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees mountains sheltered the Christian communities when they had to run away from the attack of the Muslims one thousand years ago. Noblemen who fought in the Reconquest thanked God for their successes by building Romanesque churches up in the mountains. Now some of these buildings have been declared World Heritage by the UNESCO. We can visit:
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ELEGANT:
El Castell de Ciutat (Seu d’Urgell). Torre
del Remei (Bolvir de Cerdanya). -
RURAL: Vall del Cadí (Seu d’Urgell).
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COZY:
Hotel Pessets
(Sort). Hotel Andria (Seu d’Urgell).
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MEDIUM: Parador
de la Seu d’Urgell (Seu d’Urgell). Solana del Ter
(Ripoll). Empordà County
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The
northern county of Catalonia, near the border with France and at the shore of
the Costa Brava seaside. Its main attractions include:
Medieval Girona and its Jewish Quarter.
Figueres: Dalí Museum
and Sant Ferran
fortress.
Archaeological sites: pre-historian Iberian Ullastret and greek-roman Empúries.
Beach and fortress of Roses.
Cadaqués
fishermen village and Dalí house of
Portlligat.
Medieval village of Pals and underwater
reserve of the Medes Islands (ride in crystal-bottom boat).
And many charming medieval
settlements only known by the locals!
More activities: beach, crystal bottom
boats, scuba diving and snorkeling, sea kayak excursions, golf, visits to local
wineries and craft workshops, Michelin Star Restaurants…
Recommended hosting:
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ELEGANT:
Hostal la Gavina (S’Agaró). Mas del Torrent (Torrent).
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RURAL:
Can Mas (Sant Pere Pescador). Mas Salvi (Pals).
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COZY: Mas Sicars (Castell d’Aro). El convent (Begur). Mas Pau (Figueres)
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MEDIUM: Parador d’Aiguablava
(Begur). Hotel Duran (Figueres). Hotel Port Bo (Calella
de Palafrugell).
Tarragona
and Southern Lleida fields
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The
southern limit of Catalonia offers a great variety of landscapes and cultures
to discover. You can choose from:
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Poblet (Photo Album) |
Quiet villages (Photo Album) |
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ELEGANT: Parador
de Tortosa (Tortosa). Ra Beach Hotel & Spa (El Vendrell). -
RURAL: Cal Porrerà
(Porrera). L’Hort de l’Àvia
(Banyeres del Penedès). -
COZY: Mas Passamanent (La
Selva del Camp). Masia del Cadet
(L’Espluga de Francolí). Gran Claustre
(Altafulla). -
MEDIUM: Port Vinyols
(Vinyols i els Arcs). Hotel Monestir (L’Espluga de Francolí). |
Wine country (Photo Album) |
Montblanc (Photo Album) |
Central Catalonia
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Montserrat (Photo Album) |
A
still-to-be-discovered area that hides many treasures. There are lots of
places to discover:
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Terrassa (Photo Album) |
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ELEGANT:
Parador de Cardona (Cardona). -
RURAL:
Cal Cabreta (Cardona).Vilars
Rurals (Cardona). -
COZY:
Torre Martí (Sant Julià de
Vilatorta). Can Bonastre Wine Spa
Resort (Masquefa). -
MEDIUM:
Hostal del Camp (Sallent). |
SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Availability Tour Length and
Fees Payment Transportation Entrances
Food
and Accommodation
Availability
To ensure
availability, reservations must be made at least 2 months in advance.
A Now you can check out my
availability here: 
Tour length and 2009 fees
My fees are based on the minimum fees
established by the Professional Association of Barcelona Tour Guides. They
cover all explanations, guiding, reservation of restaurants or monuments, and
assistance you might need during the tour or while planning it. However, they
do not include entrances to museums or
monuments, transportation, food and accommodation, nor taxes.
The minimum length of a Get-Away is 3 days (2
nights), and the total price for the full time guide service and assistance is
900 euro.
The price per each extra day is 275 euro.
If you require assistance to reserve transportation and accommodation,
add an extra 50 euro for the TOUR MANAGEMENT SERVICE. Please,
note that this service is EXCLUSIVELY offered to those booking a Get-Away.
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO BOOK THE TOUR MANAGEMENT SERVICE:
Data required for bookings:
personal data such as your credit card number and its expiration date, your
passport or ID card number, driving license info, number of people and age of
children, if any, are required to make the bookings. I’ll provide a safe fax
number or cell phone to send them (please, for your own safety DO NOT
use e-mail to send these data).
Cancellations: By sending me
your data to proceed with the booking, you agree to the fact that in case of
cancellation, the hotel, the car company or both might use your credit card
info to retrieve a cancellation fee, and you wave me from any responsibility in
this respect.
Payment
Securing your service: once your tour
request has been accepted, you will be asked to transfer 30% of the total
amount. The transfer must be sent at least 30 days before the tour date,
otherwise your reservation will be cancelled. The remaining amount will be paid
cash in Euros at the end of the tour. No check payment accepted.
Cancellations: Reservation deposits
will not be returned in case of cancellation of the tour. A service can be
cancelled until 24h before the scheduled time to start the tour, with no extra
charge. If the tour is cancelled less than 24h before the tour starts, the
client must pay the amount of a minimum service (156 euro in 2005) as
cancellation fee.
Transportation
The Official Barcelona Guide Fees do not include
transportation. If you need assistance reserving transportation
means, hire the TOUR MANAGEMENT SERVICE.
I suggest two possible transportation options
for Get-Aways:
Your own car, or one you rented. A good
idea to move around while out of town, although in most tourist places you must
be prepared to pay for parking and possible tolls.
Why won’t I drive? For three main reasons:
1.
LAW.
In Spain is illegal working as a driver without a specific professional driving
license, which I don’t have.
2. SAFETY. Unfortunately, I don’t
consider my driving skills good enough to be able to drive you around and still
keeping a nice conversation with you and answering your questions.
3. QUALITY SERVICE. If I don’t need to
care about the traffic, I can dedicate all my attention to you. I can answer
questions, talk about the history of the city or the next monument we are going
to visit, recommend you restaurants or things to do during the rest of your
stay, point at interesting things we might see passing by, use a map to show
you how much what are we covering in our tour...
Car or minivan with private driver. A
luxury option. Their prices include parking, tolls and the driver lunch and a set
number of kilometers covering the area you wish to visit. Let me recommend the
best companies in town, offering up-skilled vehicles and reliable drivers: Blai Limousines, Barcelona Golden Wheels and Abaser.
Please, note that if you choose this option, you will have to provide food and
accommodation for the driver as well.
Entrances to museums or monuments
I give you
completely freedom to decide in which monuments or museums you wish to spend
your money paying an entrance fee. I can recommend you the best options and
tell you beforehand what are you going to see inside if you decide to pay, and
then it is up to you to decide if that can be of you interest or not. Be sure
that if we go in, I’ll make your visit more than worthy. And if you decide to
just see it from outside… we’ll have a lot of fun as well taking pictures from
the best spots and I’ll also show you details you might not have noticed on
your own!
Food and Accomodation
Food and accommodation are not included in the
Get-Away service, as my philosophy is to let my clients be in control of their
budgets. If you need assistance in the reservations, hire the TOUR MANAGEMENT SERVICE. Also, please note
that:
The clients must provide breakfast, lunch and
dinner to the guide, but they have the right to choose the time and place. I
can recommend you many places depending on your favorite food: Spanish tapas,
fine cuisine, local food or even just some sandwiches to go. Use meals to enjoy
our gastronomy and feel free to keep asking questions!
The customers have to provide also
single-room accommodation for the guide during the whole length of the
Get-Away. For accessibility reasons, the guide must stay in the same venue
where the clients are. Remember that if you are hiring a private driver, you
must provide him with another single room.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Availability Tour Length
and Fees Payment Transportation Entrances Food and Accommodation
Art and Nature in the Pyrenees Empordà County Tarragona Fields Central Catalonia
BARCELONA AND
CATALONIA PRIVATE GUIDED TOURS WITH OFFICIAL GUIDE
