Ralph and Karen's Tours

The new day dawned clear and warm – temperatures are averaging in the mid 30s during the early afternoon so early morning I g excursions are appreciated. We berthed at the lovely river side town of Regua which is the unofficial capital of the Douro Region and the little town was heaving ! They have … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Nine – Continuing down the Douro Valley

Just like putting on a pair of your favourite old shoes, the experience of sailing on one of APT’s magnificent River ships is always a welcoming time. This ship – the MS Douro Estrela was launched in October 2024 so it hasn’t had enough time on the water to even get a scratch on it. … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Eight – Cruising the Douro Valley

After a really enjoyable drive from Granada to Madrid which didn’t seem like 4.5hrs we had the usual kerfuffle returning the hire car. Standard process which ended up being resolved – sort of haha. We had one night in Madrid before joining the APT River Cruise journey from Madrid ending in Porto, Portugal. We stayed … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Seven – Madrid to Portugal, onto the Douro

The further we head south, the more ruggedly beautiful the landscape becomes.  Flat lands become hilly countryside with mountains looming in the distance. Olive trees as far as the eye can see. Millions and millions of them. The small town of Jaen is considered the heart of the Olive business in Spain, with over 60 … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Six – Granada via Ronda

Another really enjoyable 2 hour drive from Cordoba to Sevilla away from the main highway and journeying along secondary roads and tiny towns. So much farming through here, with Olives and Oranges the primary crops. And solar farms 😬 Again, our accommodation is inside the Old Town with no vehicular traffic or parking so we … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Five – Sevilla

The drive onwards to the Southern city of Cordoba is a really nice, easy and scenic route. We had two options – straight down the autovias for 2 hrs and 30 mins or a nice detour which takes 3 hours. We took option B. Within 15 minutes we were out of Ciudad Real and motoring … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Four – Cordoba

Time to say goodbye to Madrid after a few fantastic days. We walked out of our apartment to be greeted with a sea of pink ! A women’s half marathon to celebrate Mothers Day. Fantastic. Eventually into our hire car and away we set heading south for our first stop at the gorgeous hilltop walled … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Three – On the road to Toledo and Ciudad Real

Hola ! Well after a couple of fun filled, crazy days in Bangkok we had an early start today to get to the airport for our 6:45am flight to Madrid via Istanbul. That meant a 3:00am cab from our hotel 🤦‍♂️ All good though as the traffic was light and we arrived right on time … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Two Madrid

After returning from our fantastic Vietnam and Cambodia trip in late 2025 we had to put on our thinking caps to decide where to head in 2026. Our friends at APT Travel Group came up with a fabulous option which we had not previously considered – a River Cruise down the Douro River from Madrid … More Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part One Bangkok Stopover