Royal Monastery of El Escorial + Toledo Half Day Afternoon Tour

Beautiful but disappointed

Disappointed that the tour was bilingual vs English only. Tour guide had a heavy accent and difficult to understand especially thru the headsets. Was long with no refreshment break. Ended up paying to postpone the Toledo portion to another day.

Family day Escorial & Toledo

Best use of time to get to El Escorial and tour Toledo, both in the same day. We were picked up at our Hotel and had a pleasant family day!

Half day tour to Toledo, Madrid

This tour was exceptional, Manuel was the driver and did a good job. Robert was the tour guide and he was fantastic, full of knowledge and very helpful. Again dual language was needed and he did a great job. Well done.

Must see tour

Beautiful doesn’t do it justice! We had amazing tour guides Robert, Andrea, & Fernando made that easy. Robert was our English tour guide. There are no photo’s allowed to be taken inside the buildings. This is a must see your! There are stairs in the monastery. So people who have trouble walking will be directed a different way. We had one lady with a cane that couldn’t do the up & down of stairs. The tour guides are very knowledgeable of the area & History. The bus we ride in was very comfy.

Escorial excellent, Toledo okay

We really were impressed with the monetary! Well worth the visit and tour. Toledo was decent but the highlight that was shown was a visit to the sword factory, which they no longer do.

Culture overload

If you love culture and history this trip is for you! The sites are beautiful, and you learn so much. There were 2 guides in the morning which was great because the group split (English and Spanish) for the visit of the Monastery. As it was Sunday morning, we weren't able to access the Basilica unfortunately. Toledo in the afternoon was very well structured and we saw a lot in half a day. The group in the afternoon was quite big (38 people) so be prepared for moving with a crowd. Wear comfortable shoes - there is quite a bit of walking (and free time to do some shopping).

Missed it, the first half anyway.

Okay, the tour may have been great. We wouldn't know. We missed the departure time for the morning trip. Yes, it was our fault. Good old Google Maps told us the distance to the departure area from our hotel was ten minutes and we did get an Uber about 30 minutes before the departure time, but the Uber driver drove around in circles for 40 minutes, apologizing along the way, but by the time we finely got to the tour place, the bus had left, 10 minutes earlier.. Viator's answer? Too bad. I get it. I'm sure this happens all the time and the people working for tour guide agency has more important things to do than fret over wayward Uber drivers or clients. Anyway, the 2nd half of the tour, the one to Toledo, was on a different bus that left in the afternoon. We camped out at the departure point for several hours to be sure not to miss it (there were several delightful street cafes within view of the departure site, so we were comfortable). The 2nd half was magnificent. Toledo was beautiful. The guide charming, funny and informative. This would have gotten our highest 5 star review except for the missed bus in the morning and the I don't give a darn attitude of the tour clerk.

Royal Monastery El Escorial + Toledo half day

There is much could be explored for Toledo as full day, instead of half day tour. Also, not much time given for shopping...i believed there are much to know about the culture during the 13th century in this ancient city Toledo.

Well worth seeing the monestary

I was pleasantly surprised by this tour although it helped to have a professional guide take us and explain all aspects of the monastery and its history. To take in all that history was almost overwhelming at times but well worth the visit.

Great visit

I was not really expecting this to be such a beautiful place, I was just researching this for a project, until I visited, this place is amazing.

Both locations are fantastic but in...

<p>Both locations are fantastic but in future I would do the tours separately. Toledo is a gorgeous BUT it is a quite<br/> a challenge to climb it especially when you are trying to keep up with the guide.<br/> I was really impressed with the way the local ground operator, Julia Travel, handled all the people meeting at the<br/> office at the same time for various tours. <br/> Lunch was included in our tour, in-between the two tours. It was a nice little restaurant and the food was good, <br/> only wish we had had enough to time to enjoy it. We had to rush through it and constantly remind our servers that<br/> we had a tour to catch. Luckily the office was just down the block, but we still barely made it.</p>

Although it is essentially 2...

<p>Although it is essentially 2 separate trips undertaken in one day, a long day, we enjoyed the day very much and felt it well worth it. We were blessed with beautiful weather and saw El Escorial at it's very best. A really interesting building being both a palace and a church. There are some lovely original paintings that have not yet been removed, I am thinking particularly of a stunning Titian in a small chapel. I found the Royal Family's apartments especially interesting. <br/> The Valley of the Fallen was a revelation, especially the church, I felt I was walking through the Channel Tunnel! It is beautifully situated with a panoramic view.<br/> Toledo is not to be missed, a lovely old town with narrow steep streets and lots of interesting buildings. There is a wonderful El Greco painted on a church wall.<br/> We had a different guide for each trip. I would like to mention the gentleman who led the Toledo trip, Manuel, he was knowledgeable and good humoured and was especially helpful and attentive to all.</p>

Very nice excursion, worth it. The...

<p>Very nice excursion, worth it. The guides were very knowledgeable and helpful. I would not include lunch next time, very poor food choice and quality. You do not have much time between 1 excursion and another, but it is better to have a quick sandwich than the lunch provided.</p>

Both morning and afternoon trips...

<p>Both morning and afternoon trips went well. The morning English guide was very nice, she spoke clear English and always willing to help and explain. As for afternoon trip to Toledo, we didn't expect spending so much time on the road for shopping including waiting for others returned, the shopping agenda wasn't listed in the trip instruction, we don't like that.</p>

A wonderful tour but a very moody...

<p>A wonderful tour but a very moody and rude guide. She even engaged in a confrontation with a tourist from another group. Don't let this discourage you. This trip is worth every penny.</p>

the places were good the tour director...

<p>the places were good the tour director was just okay</p>

Guide was very well informed. Bus...

<p>Guide was very well informed. Bus trips were comfortable. Opted for lunch included and it was delicious.</p>

The morning started off poorly. We...

<p>The morning started off poorly. We were supposed to meet at the Julia travel office in Madrid by 7am. We were there at 6:45. We were a party of 3 with a senior citizen. There were staff inside the office, but they would have rather we waited outside in the cold and in the dark. They simply refused to let us warm up in their office. We really didnt understand why as we had to be leaving their office 15 minutes later.<br/> The morning tours at El Escorial Monastery started OK. The female guide made an effort to explain things in English despite having a predominately Spanish speaking tour group.<br/> The lunch included in between the tours was actually quite good. There we met another senior couple from Venezuela who were kind enough to translate on our behalf. The gentlemen was 87 years old. <br/> The afternoon tour at Toledo was when it all fell apart. This guide was different than during the morning tour. Whilst still having a predominately Spanish speaking tour group, when explaining things, he almost never translated anything back into English. The task was left to the Venezuelan gentlemen to explain to us what was said.<br/> But this isnt the worst of it. Whilst walking around in Toledo, the guide would walk quickly from point to point. At this time I had 2 seniors with me. My own 68 year old mother, and the 87 year old gentlemen. The guide would be rushing us, and at one point went on ahead and left the group of 5 of us behind. Only after 15 minutes he came back to look for us when he walked ahead with the rest of the group back towards the bus. Come on, you know you have a couple of seniors in tow, at least slow down a bit for them. If we cant make it to the metal carving factory then so be it.<br/> Although I had a good experience with Julia tour services in Barcelona, their Madrid personnel were down right unprofessional. I really dont remember the guides name who took us to Toledo, but Viator really needs to vet their tour operators a little better.</p>

The trip was amazing, I liked it...

<p>The trip was amazing, I liked it very much and the guide was very good. Really I enjoyed this day. but Toledo part was with limited time that we didn't take our time to enjoy this amazing city.</p>

The places are fantastic especially...

<p>The places are fantastic especially Toledo and must to visit when you are in Madrid. Both El Escorial Monastery morning and Toledo afternoon trip were handled by different tour guides. The morning trip tour guide is not really friendly and won't care about the guest. The afternoon one is good - friendly and really care about us. I took the package included lunch and lunch served is good, just had it in the restaurant nearby the travel agent office.</p>

The excursion was very interesting...

<p>The excursion was very interesting and quite informative. But half of the day is not enough for Toledo, in my opinion.</p>

Absolutely terrible tour !!!<br...

<p>Absolutely terrible tour !!!<br/> In the morning people were confused and didn't know we're to go <br/> Guides were boring , very little knowledge not interested in subject more like robots <br/> They tried to avoid questions and we felt very rushed <br/> Lunch was disgusting !!!<br/> We didn't know that it will be 3 lingual tour<br/> What a waste of time ... Will not recommend this tour to nobody !!!!</p>

The trip to the El Escorial...

<p>The trip to the El Escorial Monastery and the Valley of the Fallen was amazing. No-one who visits Spain should miss seeing the monument built by Franco to honour the fallen of the Spanish Civil War and his own ego The half day walking tour of Toledo gives a great overview of the city. The guides were excellent - enough detail to be interesting, without overloading you with facts. All in all, money well spent</p>

The tour attraction is great, the...

<p>The tour attraction is great, the scenery is fabulous. Just beware, Toledo have many interchange between street and many others tour also. We got lost in Toledo and could not find the tour leader. We end up calling the Julien Travel to locate the tour guide. Luckily, the tour guide still there, we were to meet her up again at designated place suggested.</p>

El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen...

<p>El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen was an excellent tour. The guide was very good and Spanish Royalty made it easy to be interesting. The Valley of the Fallen was amazing. No guide needed. The Toledo day trip left something to be desired. The guide was very hard to hear and the places we saw were somewhat superficial including a video show. We weren't able to go in the Basilica. I might recommend the all day tour except that it was 41C.</p> <p>I will add last one comment. It's a zoo first thing in the morning when all the tours are going out. The guides do a very poor job organizing their tours. There are no signs and they aren't very loud. God forbid you go into the coffee shop to get a drink while you wait for the guide to show up.</p>

Escorial is very okay....Valley of...

<p>Escorial is very okay....Valley of the Fallen is more interesting. Toledo should be covered in a whole day trip.....many picture-postcard sights are not covered in the half day tour. One does not get time to absorb the subtleties in just half a day.</p>

Very informative and friendly guides...

<p>Very informative and friendly guides on both parts of the tour. You get to see a lot in one day.</p>

I'd not recommend this tour for two...

<p>I'd not recommend this tour for two reasons: we went in the morning to El Escorial then came back to Madrid for lunch. At 3pm we left Madrid again for Toledo. The selected restaurant in Madrid was not very good. We didn't eat much. Coming back to Madrid was the waste of time. I wish that we could continue to Toledo and had lunch at Toledo so that we could have more time in Toledo. The second issue is that the tour guide for El Escorial was terrible, unfriendly, and you could tell he didn't like his job.</p>

The guide for El Escorial Monastery...

<p>The guide for El Escorial Monastery, Nuria, was very knowledgeable about the place, I would say the same for Ana at Toledo. Both had very good English . Both places were wonderful, a must to visit while in Madrid. I wish they could give you a little more time at la Cruz de los caidos and Toledo. The lunch was not so good though. The office organization at the beginning of the tour is a little bit chaotic and crowded. Be aware of that.</p>

The tour was for an English speaking...

<p>The tour was for an English speaking guide but this was not a good experience as the translation was missing a lot of information. Luckily for me I spoke spanish but many of the travelers were confused. <br/> The monastery is an excellent trip and experience.</p>

A good but fast tour of three...

<p>A good but fast tour of three interesting places. We left Madrid 30 minutes late to wait for one person and that set us back for the entire day. Valley of the Fallen was interesting but I didn't feel they properly addressed the circumstances under which it was built. Beautiful places, rushed tour</p>

Felt completely rushed, very...

<p>Felt completely rushed, very impersonal. Not at all what I expected based on the description.</p>

The places are amazing. However, the...

<p>The places are amazing. However, the tour guide Isabel had a bad attitude. Plus this tour agency, doesn't use radios for this tours and the groups are too big.</p>

It was everything it promised. We...

<p>It was everything it promised. We purchased the lunch, and we were pleasantly surprised! Yum!</p>

Great day with just the right amount of...

<p>Great day with just the right amount of time. Both guides were very good, especially Nuria.</p>

The large group arrangement by a big...

<p>The large group arrangement by a big bus is not good. We asked for an English tour but ended up in a group with 3 different lauguages, a very confusing situation and lots of time waisted.<br/> No morning pick up from the hotel is not convenient.<br/> The tour guide in the morning does not know English very well and her pace was very slow. She also was not considerate to her customers in arrangng for rest room/toilet stops. The wait at the tour office and the group call was very confusing.<br/> The tour guide in the afternoon for Toledo did a much better job. He is very professional, paid attention to the customers and very knowledgeable.</p>

The tour guides were excellent...

<p>The tour guides were excellent. Pacing of tour and information presented was to the point, and extremely interesting. Both guides were approachable for questions.</p>

The trip was nice. Due the large group...

<p>The trip was nice. Due the large group sometimes was hard to listen to and follow the guide.</p>

Impressed by the monuments both at...

<p>Impressed by the monuments both at El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen. Magnificent views from the Valley of the Fallen Monument. interesting tour of Toledo, a medieval city with a lot of walking on cobbled streets. Good guides.</p>

I enjoyed the tour, but would have...

<p>I enjoyed the tour, but would have loved to spend more time in Toledo. On our particular tour we visited El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos first, then headed back to Madrid and had about an hour down time for lunch before visiting Toledo. However, by the time you get to Toledo, there is just enough time to go on the guided tour before night falls and you are taken back to Madrid. Toledo is beautiful and has so much more to see than could really be appreciated in the short time there. Perhaps starting the day in Toledo and allowing more time to explore the city would be great!</p>

Worst trip we've done with aviator...

<p>Worst trip we've done with aviator. Badly organised. Poorly thought through as regard to the route and when Viator was advised their response was "oh well, bad luck"! The free walking tour was much better.</p>

The timing was kind of "rush...

<p>The timing was kind of "rush" through Toledo. The guide and staff should have some consideration for those who are having a hard time walking through those streets.</p>

Very kind and courteous staff...

<p>Very kind and courteous staff. Always punctual and ensured that they did their best to ensure our comfort. The lunch was good as well ! All in all a good experience.</p>

Unfortunately you take a gamble on...

<p>Unfortunately you take a gamble on how many languages are going to be given on each bus trip.Morning half day Monastery very good.(Only 2) Toledo half day afternoon had 3 languages, too many. Poor guide!! (And us!!) Time she finished 3 times explaining everything we had to move on. OK for first language to have a look around afterwards!! Also some people had to taxi back from last stop to bus, as they could not make it back. A rating of moderate or extreme walking should appear on every trip description to give people an idea. The use of earphone system would also improve your tours greatly.</p>

Toledo is a beautiful...

<p>Toledo is a beautiful place!<br/> But the group "shopping time" at the workshop seems wasting time, I prefer spend more time in Toledo.</p>

The tour itself was okay but the...

<p>The tour itself was okay but the guide was terrible. People should be warned of the amount of walking that is involved.</p>

Elscorial trip was good, though...

<p>Elscorial trip was good, though little time for looking inside the church. Valley of the Fallen tour was too quick to appreciate the site, which looked to be quite interesting. Suggest more equal time for both.<br/> Lunch at Madrid restaurant was awful: too restricted as far as menu.</p> <p>Trip to Toledo could start earlier. Modern house tour was a waste of time. Cathedral should be a highlight. Church where the El Greco painting hangs was ignored due to time I suppose. The restroom/shopping/demonstration of jewelery making was a waste of time. Fell like I really did not to explore Toledo.</p> <p>First tour guide was not very friendly but she perhaps was not well. Second guide, Carmen, was much better.</p>

Partly due to me not reading the...

<p>Partly due to me not reading the information properly and partly due to the way the information was presented, this tour is not in fact an all day tour. There is a large break in the middle of the day - 1 1/2 hours - designed I'm told so we can all have lunch. Fellow travellers from the morning were none the wiser. The tour states an English guide all the way however I was dropped at a restaurant, given a Spanish menu - which I cant read - and no one spoke English at the restaurant - disappointing as the two tours themselves were very good - particularly Toledo. Staff at the office not very helpful but tours are fine. The morning one didn't leave until 20 minutes late. Wouldn't bother with the lunch again - it wasn't worth it apart from the language issue but the two tours worthwhile.</p>

Too short the Toledo tour.No time for...

<p>Too short the Toledo tour.No time for buying some specific products.No visit into Cathedral</p>

Good value ! but if want to spend more...

<p>Good value ! but if want to spend more time in Toledo take a separate tour</p>