Hi, I'll be in Madrid in Seprember. Can anyone recommend a good tour, say to Toledo, Segovia,
etc. How much does it cost? Any tips on places to see (non-touristy)? Cheers, Marl

Hi Marl,

Julía Tours and Pullmantur are a couple of the tour companies that will take you on coach trips to cities around Madrid, like Segovia, Toledo, El Escorial, and Avila.
Juliatours
Madrid phone 91 571 53 00
Fax. 91 571 04 66 / 91 571 89 19
E-mail: medismad@juliatours.es Juliatours
Pullmantur
Madrid Phone 91 418 87 00 / 91 556 32 13
Fax. 91 555 13 19
E-mail: servicios@pullmantur.com Pullmantur
Bravo Tours have a toll free number you can call for more information on Julia and Pullmantur: 1-800-272-8674

You can also call American Express in Madrid 91-322 5424 for their tours.

Hope this is helpful in planning your trip.

Just a quick correction to the URL for Julia Tours.

You can find them on this:- Julia Tours

David

Thanks a lot Booklady y DavidB! Much appreciated! I will definitely contact the tour agencies. Info on Spain is limited in South Africa, so I really appreciate the help.

If you want to see a list of sightseeing tours for Madrid and surrounding area, look at the Grey Line Tours site - http://www1.etix.com/travel/servlet/onlineSale?action=viewTours&franchise_id=43 .
This will give you a idea of the types of tours and prices offered by commercial tour operators in Madrid.

You might consider doing Toledo and Segovia on your own by bus or train. The fares are very reasonable (around 8 euros round trip, I think), and since you have to walk around both cities to see the sights anyway, a tour bus is really just transportation there and back. I think the bus is more convenient for Segovia since the rail station is farther away from the area you want to visit. We took the train to Toledo because the buses were on strike, and it was easy to take the local bus from the station up the hill to the Alcazar.

Of course with a tour you have a guide, but having tried both, we prefer wandering at our own pace and using our Michelin Green Guide for information about what we're seeing.

GG2

Isn't it interesting that Gray Line Tours "farms out" its Madrid Tours page to etix.com AND the email information link is GENERAL@TRAPSATUR.COM

From what I understand, Gray Line is just a large "umbrella" organization that has contracted with local tour companies in various cities to provide tours, transfers and other services. I'm not really familiar with tours in Madrid, but in Paris the Gray Line operator is Cityrama, one of the two major sightseeing tour companies there, and in London it's Frames Rickards, also a major operator. Since it's possible to buy sightseeing tours with either Cityrama or Frames locally in those cities, I thought that by looking at the Gray Line site people could get some idea of the types and costs of tours offered in Madrid by both the Gray Line affiliated company and probably several others.

Can I recommend a couple of good daytrips (not organized exactly as tours...)?

Go to Aranjuez on the strawberry train (actually, by Sept. that might not run)--Aranjuez is a wonderful town, and the strawberry train is an old steam train (the cars used to be used in coastal areas in the early 30s and 40s and have wooden benches). Once you get there, RENFE has tour guides that take you around the town (includes beautiful botanic gardens, a naval museum, and a castle). When we went in April they served us DELICIOUS strawberries. Yum. :p

Go to Alcalá de Henares on the Cervantes train. Modern train, but the tour guides are dressed inperiod costumes and perform plays both on the train and during the tour of Alcalá (which is the birthplace of Cervantes).

Both these tours run on weekends only. They cost between €20-25 and include snacks on the train as well as the guided tours (and any entrance fees required). Lunches are on you, both towns have a variety of restaurants.

Did you notice that I seem to focus on food... hmmmm. Wonder why?

and a p.s.

Toledo on your own costs €5 roundtrip. It's an easy town to discover on your own. There's a bus from the train station to the town entrance--it's a walkable place. DO spend the whole day there and explore lots of the side streets.