Spanish Fiesta - Student Travel Tour

Spanish Fiesta (2012)

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ITINERARY AT A GLANCE

DAY 1 - FLIGHT

Overnight flight

Overnight flight
Board your overnight flight, bound for Europe.

DAY 2 - MADRID

Arrive in Madrid

Arrive in Madrid
Welcome to Madrid, Spain's capital. Madrid is famous for its world-class art museums, its live music scene, and especially its nightlife (it seems people never sleep here). Rich in Spanish tradition, Madrid is a city that definitely knows how to have fun. After clearing customs, you’ll meet your full-time tour director and the rest of your group.

Walking tour of Madrid

Walking tour of Madrid
Your tour director will walk you around Madrid. Get your bearings, learn a bit about the local history, and get a feel for the friendly vibe put out by the madrileños hanging out in the cafés, markets, and tascas. Madrid is known for its easygoing social atmosphere.

Prado Museum

Prado Museum
The world-class museum is home to famous works of art collected by the Spanish monarchy. Highlights include Las Meninas by Velázquez and Goya’s controversial pair The Clothed Maja and The Naked Maja.

DAY 3 - MADRID

Sightseeing tour of Madrid (local guide)

Sightseeing tour of Madrid (local guide)
A local guide will bring Madrid into focus. Pass through the Puerta del Sol, the geographical center of the city and a popular meeting point. Head into the Plaza Mayor, the Renaissance hub that witnessed everything from bullfights to weddings to public executions. Then it's on to the Plaza de Oriente, Madrid's largest square.

Royal Palace

Royal Palace
This massive palace was built by Bourbon King Phillip V and has more than 2,000 rooms. You’ll see a few of them, and you can’t help but be impressed by the marble staircase, the golden Throne Room and the priceless frescoes and chandeliers.

Free time in Madrid (day)

Free time in Madrid (day)
Top 5 free time suggestions:
1. Bullfight – Witness the classic, if bloody, Spanish sporting tradition (not for the faint of heart).
2. Shopping on Gran Via – This popular shopping avenue is a prime place to buy clothes, shoes, jewelry, and handcrafted goods from all over Spain.
3. Parque del Buen Retiro – Musicians, vendors and families fill this beautiful park; you can even rent a rowboat.
4. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza – Check out one of the largest private art collections in the world.
5. Alcalá de Henares – Take a half-hour train ride to this scenic university town, birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes.

For more ideas and details, see our Lonely Planet city guide for Madrid.

Welcome dinner

Welcome dinner
Get to know the other travelers in your group over tonight's included dinner.

DAY 4 - CÓRDOBA • SEVILLE

Travel via Córdoba

Travel via Córdoba
Drive south and stop in Córdoba, once one of Europe’s most important cultural centers. Today it blends its rich history with a fun restaurant and nightlife scene.

Sightseeing tour of Córdoba (local guide)

Sightseeing tour of Córdoba (local guide)
A local guide will show you the sights of Córdoba. The undisputed highlight is the 8th-century Mezquita, a cathedral held up by 850 columns that look like candy canes. You'll get a guided tour of the very impressive interior.

Arrive in Seville

Arrive in Seville
Continue on down to Seville, the capital of Spain’s Andalucia region, and its biggest city. Seville is known as having the region’s best tapas bars, best nightlife, and best narrow winding streets to get lost on. It’s also known for its fun, friendly, laid-back atmosphere.

Optional Flamenco Evening (extra cost)

Optional Flamenco Evening ($55 pre-booked)
The Flamenco is a quintessential Spanish experience, something you just can't appreciate until you see it. In this completely unique art form evolved from Indian, Moorish, Arabian and gypsy influences, passionate performers tap into strong emotions through guitar playing, singing, chanting, dancing, and hand clapping. Sit back and experience the soul of Spain. One drink is included.

DAY 5 - SEVILLE • COSTA DEL SOL

Sightseeing tour of Seville (local guide)

Sightseeing tour of Seville (local guide)
See the highlights of Seville with a local guide. Pass some impressive sights, including the Old Tobacco Factory and the Plaza de Toros, one of Spain's most famous bullrings. Visit the Moorish Alcazar, which was built in the 14th century for a king named Pedro the Cruel. Also go inside the Seville Cathedral, home of Christopher Columbus's grave. You can climb the tower for amazing city views.

Walking tour of Seville

Walking tour of Seville
See more of the city with your tour director. Meet at the Giralda Tower, Seville’s best-known symbol, and head toward the 12th-century Torre del Oro (The Golden Tower). Then go inside the famous Plaza de Toros bullring and sit in one of its 14,000 seats.

Travel to the Costa del Sol

Travel to the Costa del Sol
Continue on to the aptly named Sun Coast, a collection of Spanish resort towns on the Mediterranean. The Costa del Sol is all about seaside tourism—rich-and-famous and regular people have been vacationing here for decades.

DAY 6 - COSTA DEL SOL

Optional excursion to Morocco (extra cost)

Optional excursion to Morocco ($140 pre-booked)
Take a day trip across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco. Immerse yourself in an exotic country of mosques, camels, snake charmers and markets. Travel to Tetouan, a quiet North African town, and get a feel for the Andalusian and Islamic-influenced architecture as a local guide leads you through the medina. Hear a presentation at a carpet bazaar and a spice shop before eating a lunch of traditional Moroccan cuisine.

Free time on Costa del Sol (night)

Free time on Costa del Sol (night)
Top 5 nightlife suggestions:
1. 24 Hour Square – Located on the way down to the port in Benalmádena, this is where you'll find the most clubs in town.
2. El Granaino – Enjoy the typical Granada custom of a free tapa with each drink at this Fuengirola bar.
3. Fun Beach – With seven floors of dancing, this is the biggest club in Europe.
4. La Cubana – It’s all about salsa dancing and mojitos at this hip spot.
5. Da Pino – Treat yourself to a special Italian dinner at this upscale pizzeria in Marbella.

DAY 7 - GRANADA

Travel to Granada

Travel to Granada
Drive on to Granada. Known mostly for its Alhambra palace, Granada is a city full of young people, with all the buzz and nightlife you’d expect. There’s no shortage of tapas bars, clubs and hidden flamenco places.

Sightseeing tour of Granada (local guide)

Sightseeing tour of Granada (local guide)
A local guide will introduce you to the sights of Granada. There’s a heavy Moorish influence here (North African culture), and you’ll see it all around you in the city’s winding streets. The highlight is the world-famous Alhambra, one of Europe's most impressive palaces. Over the centuries, the Alhambra has been home to many princes and their harems.

DAY 8 - VALENCIA

Travel to Valencia

Travel to Valencia
Continue north, past local orange and vegetable groves, to Valencia. Not far from Barcelona, Valencia shows a sort of hybrid of different influences. It’s famous for its nightlife, its big fiestas, and its beaches.

DAY 9 - VALENCIA • BARCELONA

Sightseeing tour of Valencia (EFCB Tour Director)

Sightseeing tour of Valencia (EFCB Tour Director)
Your tour director will show you around town. You’ll get a feel for the city and learn some of the local legends. They say the town’s cathedral was the home of the Holy Grail in the 15th century.

Aquarium

Aquarium
At the sprawling City of Arts and Sciences complex on the city outskirts, the "L'Oceanografic" aquarium has 20 acres of underwater worlds to explore, and more than 45,000 sea animals.

Travel to Barcelona

Travel to Barcelona
Continue on to Barcelona, one of Europe’s most talked-about cities. The Catalan capital is known for its food, its fashion, its nightlife, its music, its beaches, its architecture, and on and on. Bottom line, there’s a lot happening in Barcelona.

DAY 10 - BARCELONA

Sightseeing tour of Barcelona (local guide)

Sightseeing tour of Barcelona (local guide)
A local guide will introduce you to Barcelona. See the Sagrada Familia, an unfinished church designed by Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí’s architecture is all over the city, and people love its dream-like style. You’ll also go to the top of Montjuïc; many of the 1992 Olympic events took place here, and it has amazing views of the harbor below.

Parque Guell

Parque Guell
Designed by Gaudí, this is probably the most surreal public park you’ll ever walk through. Visit the Room of a Hundred Columns, a covered market with 84 pillars, and see the Casa-Museu, where Gaudí lived from 1906 to 1926. There are also great city views up here.

Walking tour of Barcelona

Walking tour of Barcelona
Your tour director will lead you around town. The highlight will definitely be Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s famous boulevard that always has plenty going on. People from all over the world come to Las Ramblas to shop, eat, drink, watch street performers, and just hang out.

Farewell drink

Farewell drink
Share some last laughs (and maybe shed a few tears) over a farewell drink with the group.

DAY 11 - FLIGHT

Fly home

Fly home
It's time to say your goodbyes. Head to the airport for your flight back home.

11 DAYS STARTING AT $1,785

Restrictions Apply

Price is valid on specific departure date and standard (triple/quad) rooming. Change and cancellation fees of up to the total price may apply. Applicable airline baggage fees are not included and can be found at efcollegebreak.com/baggage.
Prices may be subject to change.

DEPARTURES

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EFCB PROGRAM FEE: DEPARTURE FEE:

TOTAL PRICE:

Change and cancellation fees of up to the total price will apply. Applicable airline baggage fees are not included and can be found at efcollegebreak.com/baggage.

To view EF’s Booking Conditions, visit efcollegebreak.com/pdf/2012_booking_conditions.pdf.

Current departure fees include taxes and surcharges levied by governments and airlines and may be subject to change prior to final payment.

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PRICE THIS TRIP

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•Round-trip airfare
•Hotels

•Travel between cities
•Welcome dinner
•Breakfast daily
•Farewell drink
•Full-time tour director
•Walking tours
•Sightseeing tours
•Entrance to select attractions

• MoroccoTake a day trip across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco. Immerse yourself in an exotic country of mosques, camels, snake charmers and markets. Travel to Tetouan, a quiet North African town, and get a feel for the Andalusian and Islamic-influenced architecture as a local guide leads you through the medina. Hear a presentation at a carpet bazaar and a spice shop before eating a lunch of traditional Moroccan cuisine.

• Flamenco Evening (Seville)The Flamenco is a quintessential Spanish experience, something you just can't appreciate until you see it. In this completely unique art form evolved from Indian, Moorish, Arabian and gypsy influences, passionate performers evoke strong emotions through guitar playing, singing, chanting, dancing, and hand clapping. Sit back and experience the soul of Spain. One drink is included.