When we decided to vacation in Spain, the first thing we knew was that we did NOT want to be one of fifty tourists on a big bus, wearing headsets and struggling to keep up with a tour guide.  While that might be a good idea for some, we wanted to be able to see the sites that are most interesting to us, and to have the freedom to set our own itinerary. Not knowing when, or if, we might return to Spain, we really wanted to be able to maximize our time there without running ourselves ragged.  We also wanted to “get off the beaten path” a bit.    We did quite a bit of research, and had a general plan of where and when we wanted to go.  But organizing it all, including all the connections and finding good, local guides, was somewhat intimidating.

And then we found Tailormade Andalucia.

I returned home last night after 2 days in London. I cannot thank you enough for all you did to make our trip such a success. Apart from the weather which was ‘variable’ it was pretty well perfect.

We enjoyed our hotels specially Hotel Las Casas de la Juderia in Córdoba which was truly luxurious with both showers & baths… We were very happy in Ladron de Agua but it was good to go there first as we were spoiled in Cordoba & might have been disappointed if it had been the other way round.

Our guides were excellent & the restaurants you chose offered delicious food & wine. To go through our programme. We loved our walk in the Albaycin & our dinner that night was memorable with the view of the floodlit Alhambra in the distance. The Alhambra needs no write up from me. It is so utterly beautiful & somehow so peaceful. We loved our guide!

Francisco y Sam (now known by our family as SamFrancisco)

Thanks for organising a brilliant holiday for us. It was the little things that touched us, you both contacted us during the trip, the package you supplied was the best we have had in a long time. All the hotels and trips were "estependo" they all had their own charm, beauty and character. The drivers and the guides were very pleasant and knowledgeable people. Places like the Alhambra and the Mizquita in Cordoba left lasting impressions on us as did a lot of places on the trip. When we saw the Grand Canyon at sunset many years ago we felt exactly the same. You cant describe them well enough in words you have to see them. Do you do other parts of Spain? Tailormade Andalucia seems very specific. We normally take a holiday in February or March each year. Looking for the good weather we have tended to go for the southern hemisphere which is getting too far to travel these days.

Once again thanks

Querido Sam gracias a Dios por el momento de serendipia que nos hizo descubrir a Mi querida España de nuevo y regalarme vistas rejuvenedoras de gentes y maneras de ser humanas casi olvidadas. Como recuerdos del pasado nostálgico puestos en una caja de zapatos y creer no volver a ver. Dios que encuentro tan vivificante, multisapido ,oloroso, texturizado en la seda acariciante en cada bocado de Tapas , vino y Noche azaharina. Tejido de mil años en historias y anécdotas todas REALES, que fluían de las miradas y bocas generosas de nuestros guías todos maestros, cada uno a su manera magistral o manejando o acompañando....MAGICO. Gracias Sam a ti y a todos ...lamento y me doy mordiscos al codo por desbocado y No me llevé una Pantoja...quizas pronto lo hare. Te gustaron los chocolates? Una vez más reciban todos un inmenso abrazo desde aqui San Diego tambien pedacito de tus afectos.

Be well and in Health

Hello Sam

Thought it time we contacted you and Francisco to express our appreciation for planning our recent tour in Spain. Everything went like clockwork, (the exception being Richard's brief illness...!), the hotels were all lovely in different ways, the mix of visits & leisure, city & country were all ideal. I think your guides were wonderful...the personal contact with them and the locals they introduced us to added a very memorable dimension to out trip. Now back in NZ, the brain is still processing .....Many thanks for a great tour.

Please don't hesitate to be in touch if (or when) you come to N Z. We would love to have you stay if you wanted to spend time in the Marlborough Sounds!

Kind regards

We felt very well looked after. James made us feel very special throughout the whole process and we really felt he cared and wasn’t trying to just get ‘another booking.

The itinerary worked very well and all the various arrangements you made clicked into place with no problems to us whatsoever.

Sam and Fran arranged our whole trip, covering internal flights, airport hotel transfers, hotels and a number of private tours, everything was incredibly well organized, on time and all of the personnel they used were very professional and helpful in every way. The guides were amazing and certainly gave us an insight into the localities and landmarks we visited. It really enhanced our experience and we felt we were visitors rather than tourists.

I would not hesitate to recommend Sam and his team to other travelers.

Recently my husband and I were fortunate to travel to South Spain. We were recommended Tailormade Andalucia Tours by our local travel agent in New Zealand to help plan our tour.

We found the company friendly, very professional to deal with and nothing was ever a problem to sort out to make our trip a fabulous adventure to remember. They went that extra mile!

We would absolutley recommend Tailormade Andalucía and will certainly use them in the future if we ever visit Spain again.

We cannot recommend Sam Lister and Tailormade Andalucia highly enough! We have used him on two different trips to Spain and each time, the tours he arranged were the highlights of our trip!

Whether you are looking for someone to plan one day or your whole trip, Sam is your guy! We only hope we return to Spain again soon so we can use his services again!

We have just returned from an excellent trip to Andalucia, organised by Sam at Tailormade Andalucia.

We would never have been able to organise so much on our own and can thoroughly recommend the skills of this company, remaining friendly, approachable and patient at all times. The guides they provided were knowledgeable and interesting, each injecting their own personalities into our tours. First class – thank you!

Sam, Fran and their collaborators at Tailormade Andalucía made us see what a fascinating country Spain is – and in particular Andalucia. The service provided by Tailomade Andalucia was impeccable – great choice of hotels, very knowledgeable guides, and since the first contact, Sam paid attention to all the details, provided extensive information about the itinerary, and made as many changes as needed to make this a perfect trip.

Sam, thank you for the amazing vacation that you and your team planned for us in Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Cadiz and Granada. You took great care to understand our interests, time we had on vacation, kids ages etc., to plan an amazing trip that we will never forget. From the smallest of details, to the comfort that as non-Spanish speaking people, wherever we went, you had arranged an English speaking guide, who was a local and could give us an insider's view of the city and attractions. The guides were very knowledgeable.

Hi Sam and Fran,
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you very much for coordinating our trip in an outstanding manner. We really appreciate, how you and your team, did such a wonderful job at every step of the way. There were too many highlights to single out a particular one.
Sam, thank you very much, from all of us, for meeting us at Triana and your gifts. That was extremely unprecedented and so thoughtful.

Sam is a quick study!

His travel company was recommended by friends who loved his itinerary, but our lifestyle and interests were entirely different than our friends - but Sam listened carefully and nailed it perfectly.

We couldn't have been happier with the variety and insider touches that he provided.

I will complete the survey but at the end of the week as I will be up to my ears in work. We really enjoyed our guides - all different, all knowledgeable, all very patient, all lots of fun. I shouldn't say so but we had a particularly good tour with Jaime in Seville as he knew so much about all the things we wanted to find out about. We're only sorry that we had such a short time with all our guides as the time went by incredibly quickly and it was hard to believe we'd been together for two or three hours.

“We used to think that ‘Guided holidays’ were for people who needed looking after. Not any more!

The five days we spent with Sam were brilliant. He definitely gets five stars for organisation, content, knowledge and charisma!

You see and learn so much more when a visit is planned andorganised for you, involving people with specialist and local knowledge to show you around. We can’t wait for the next one!"

I can thoroughly recommend Sam Lister and Tailormade Andalucia. From my first contact with Sam to discuss a possible visit to Seville, I was impressed with his enthusiasm, his quick understanding of the type of holiday I was looking for and his exciting ideas for the trip.

We all hope to return to Spain and experience another Tailormade Andalucia holiday.

Want to thank you, again, for your help and work in setting up our tours in the Andalucia region.  They were all fantastic and the group enjoyed all the tour guides.  We still are talking about our tapas and wine tour that you took us on.  Again, many thanks and I would have no problem and would enjoy the opportunity to recommend you and your company to others touring the Andalucia area of Spain.  Peace and blessings.

Tailormade Andalucia is a superb custom touring partner for Andalucia.

I have had the pleasure of partnering with Sam Lister for two small-group guided tours in this magical region of Spain and I can honestly say that Sam consistently exceeded my expectations, which are high!  Andalucia is a region that is packed with relatively easy to access treasures, but also one that is packed with remarkable small restaurants, small-scale winemakers, food artisans, cultural artisans, off-the-radar shopping gems, historic sites and so much more that an ‘insider’ can find and share.

From the initial phone call with Sam to the final farewell, Tailormade provided my students and I a professional and personalized experience as we explored Andalucía. My fear of tour groups was put to rest as we were introduced to the authentic culture of southern Spain by visiting amazing locations both on and off the beaten path. The students, the adult chaperones, and I, were genuinely engaged in every activity and location that Tailormade included in our customized itinerary. Sam and the other incredible guides were so personable, knowledgeable, and attentive, that everyone in our group viewed them as our new, foreign friends rather than simply our guides.

Thank you so much Sam for helping Spain come alive for us. We have enjoyed our 3 weeks here and it has lived up to all expectations and more. You have done a fantastic job. Good luck for the future.

One can only say, how thrilled we were with our week in Spain, thanks to Sam Lister. Before leaving New Zealand, every “I” was dotted and “T” crossed. In organising our trip to the other side of the world, quick answers were a must.

The options regarding the tour planning, the choice of hotels to suit our budget from Barcelona to San Sebastion – absolutely faultless.

Words are inadequate to express all of the delights that you have shared with us over the past 10 days. This was a wonderful experience and will be with us always!

First thanks for organising another great holiday (once again better than expected) We had a wonderful time.  Sam Lister did a great job and kept in touch with me all the way through which was very reassuring.

He also met up with us on our last day in Seville.  What a really nice young guy he is.  Our drivers and guides were really good particularly BB ........ and what a laugh he was we had some very hilarious conversations...

We had such an amazing European trip it is hard to think of just one or two things to rate above all else.  Spain was our favourite destination by a long margin. The guides in each city and town were exceptional and brought alive the traditions of Spanish life.

Etruscan Pleasures (Italia) Ltd and Sam from Tailormade Andalucia in Seville, designed our itinerary perfectly to our needs and our dreams came true.  The itinerary was relaxing, informative and fun.  We would highly recommend travellers to use their exceptional services they have accumulated after many years of experience as travel consultants.