Client Trip Spotlight: A family of four in Portugal & Spain

By David Barclay | August 9, 2023

Thank you for reading my inaugural Client Trip Spotlight blog post.  To help prospective clients better understand the planning and implementation of trips with Barclay & Company Travel, I will periodically highlight a recent client trip.  The trip summary will cover the planning of the trip, a high-level summary of the itinerary, and my clients’ travel experiences and trip feedback.  For each spotlight, I will have permission from my clients to post about their trip but will remove any personal information to protect their privacy. 

I hope these trip spotlights help you understand what it is like to work with Barclay & Company Travel and provide some thought starters for your future trips.

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This inaugural spotlight outlines a trip I planned for a family of four looking to visit Portugal and Spain after a 2-year delay caused by COVID.  While these clients had initially thought they would plan the trip themselves, after two years of delays and understanding the challenges of international travel post COVID, they decided to enlist professional help.

Trip Planning

These clients reach out to me looking for assistance with a roughly 9-day trip to Portugal and Spain.  No one in the family had previously visited either country and prior to contacting me they had conducted only minor research themselves, so they were open to discussing which cities would be the best to visit during their trip.  During our Discover call, we discussed the family’s interests, including historical sites, food/cooking, and seeing the highlights of each city they would visit.  Their sons were 16yrs and 18yrs old, which meant the family could participate in a wide range of activities and tours.  One of the sons had a request to visit a beach while on the trip, so we added that to the list of desired activities.  Although they are an active family, they asked for a mix of activities and time on their own to explore (or just to have some downtime).  They also wanted something planned for most evenings (either a dinner reservation or evening activity).  They had hoped to visit four different cities/regions if it was possible to do so while keeping their trip length to nine nights.  For locations to visit we discussed Lisbon, the Algarve (the southern region of Portugal on the Atlantic known for great beaches), Seville, and either Barcelona or Madrid.  After discussing the experiences visitors can have in Barcelona and Madrid, my clients decided that Madrid sounded more interesting, so we had our list of 4 potential stops for their vacation.

After the Discover call, I immediately knew which of my Spanish partners would be a great fit for this family and sent that partner a trip brief so we could start working on an initial itinerary.  Within a few days, my partner shared an initial draft itinerary based on the trip brief.  I reviewed and felt the pace might be a little too fast paced for what my clients desired.  I contacted my clients to see if we could remove a 2-night stop in the Algarve to give them more time in the cities.  I promised we’d find a way to incorporate some beach time into the itinerary and my clients agreed to remove this stop.  My partner and I reworked the number of nights in each city, and identified two places we could add beach time, one on a day trip out of Lisbon and one during the transfer from Lisbon to Seville.

I shared the initial itinerary with my clients and they were thrilled with the overall flow, hotels, and activities.  The only concerns my clients had centered on a private sunset cruise in Lisbon Harbor, as they were worried about family members getting seasick.  I suggested we could substitute an activity that kept them on land and proposed a food tour based on their interest in food and cooking.  My partner and I quickly updated the itinerary to substitute the food tour and the clients gave their approval to proceed with the trip.

The Itinerary

My clients started their trip in Lisbon, staying there for 3 nights, then transferred to Seville for 3 nights, and wrapped up their trip with 3 nights in Madrid.

The hotels we selected were all 4- or 5-star hotels.  In Lisbon, we reserved two deluxe rooms the lovely One Palacio de Anunciada.  In Seville, we were able to find a family suite at the wonderful and centrally located Gran Melia Colon.  In Madrid, we were also able to secure a family suite, at the Heritage Hotel (part of the Relais & Châteaux hotel collection).  Due to our strong relationships with these hotels, we were able to add on extra small amenities including complimentary breakfast each morning.

The itinerary didn’t just include excellent accommodation, we also ensured the activities were just as bespoke.  In Lisbon, for their first full day we planned a private highlights tour of the city.  I like including 3-4 hour highlights tours when my clients are visiting a new city, as it allows them to get a first taste of the city and I think makes their unscheduled time more productive.  We also scheduled the private walking food tour which took the place of their dinner.  The activity for their second day in Lisbon was a full day trip out of the city to visit Sintra and Cascais.  In the afternoon we included a stop at a beach near Cascais so the younger son could get some of the beach time he desired.  This is one of the benefits of private tours, we can tailor the activities to deliver exactly what my clients want based on their specific interests.  The next day, it was time for them to travel to Seville.  Since there isn’t a good option to travel by train between Lisbon and Seville, we arranged a private car transfer.  And to break up the drive, we scheduled a stop at one of the seaside towns in the Algarve.  So, while we removed an overnight stay there, my clients were still able to visit this beautiful part of Portugal before starting their adventures in Spain.  That evening in Seville, they were treated to a Flamenco show and then a private tapas tasting tour.  The next morning, they saw the highlights of Seville on a private walking tour, with the rest of the day open to explore Seville on their own.  Their final full day in Seville, they took a day trip out to see some of the famous White Villages.  For their transfer between Seville and Madrid, we arranged for them to travel by high-speed train, with private transfers between the train stations and hotels.  During their two days in Madrid, my clients explored the city on a highlights tour and took a private Spanish cooking class with a master chef.

My Spanish partner also provided a list of recommended restaurants and secured reservations for most evenings, so my clients could have everything planned in advance. 

If you would like to view the entire itinerary, you can access a copy here.  While that’s a PDF printout of the itinerary, all of my clients receive an online digital itinerary though a service I used called Axus.  Axus allows my clients to access their itineraries online and through an app on their phone.  They are also able to view documents attached to their itinerary, including restaurant recommendations, travel guides, and any tickets/vouchers they need for their trip.

Trip Cost

I’m sure many of you reading this blog post are intrigued by this itinerary, but also wondering how much it would cost for you to take a similar trip and whether it would fit within your travel budget.  Since every trip I plan is tailored to my clients wishes, I can adjust accommodations and activities to achieve a desired travel budget.  We can also look at potential travel dates if you have flexibility for when you travel, as trip costs can vary based on the time of year (traveling in the shoulder seasons will be less than during peak summer travel months).  Last, since most of my European partners price trips in euros, the current exchange rate can also impact the cost in USD$.  While I can’t control exchange rates, if exchange rates are favorable vs. historic averages, as they are right now for the USD vs. euro, it might mean taking the trip now would be less expensive than waiting a few years.  But roughly, a trip similar to this one for 4 travelers would be in the range of €16,000 – €20,000 for 9 nights.

The Clients’ Feedback

I always try to schedule a Share call with my clients when they return from their trips, so I can gather feedback on how the trip went.  I want to learn if the trip met their expectations, both what they had envisioned for the trip at the start of the planning process and based on their expectations after reviewing the final itinerary.  This feedback helps me better understand what each of my clients want from their trips and helps me improve on the experience for future trips.

For this trip, my clients’ feedback was glowing for me, my Spanish partner, and their guides/drivers.  They said they had a wonderful time and would love to go back to every city they visited.  In fact, they enjoyed the trip so much that they wished they had more time in each city, though they knew with only nine days to travel that wasn’t possible.  They said they also thought the pace of the trip was exactly right for their family, they saw a lot of things, but weren’t exhausted by the trip due to the many partial days where they had unplanned time to relax. 

I always enjoy hearing that my clients enjoyed their trip, and it delivered exactly what they wanted, as it means my planning process has once again been successful at identifying and delivering an excellent vacation.