El Escorial And Valley Of The Fallen Half Day Trip From Madrid

We liked the trip a lot. Silvia our guide was very knowledgeable in the Escorial and Valley of the Fallen. Overall a very smooth and recommended trip. We used TripAdvisor to book the trip.

Really good historical insight - gives a strong impression into the Spanish civil war and its legacy along with the global reach of the Spanish empire and kingdom under Phillip II, really for history fanatics.

Very knowledgeable guide, professional and courtesy. Lots of walking on the tour. All went smoothly.

She spent a lot of time explaining in Spanish and very little in English. it was 75% Spanish and 25% English. Beautiful..but lower you expectations. And, had no knowledge of Catholicism despite a tour of 2 very large catholic churches.

It’s easy and went at a good pace. Everything was on time and the bus was very comfortable. Javier was a very good driver. Very much enjoyed it. I especially wanted to say that Pilar (our guide) was extremely helpful in helping me to retrieve a lost phone. She was very competent, reassuring and charming. She is a great tour guide!

Wonderful and nicely paced tour. Left promptly and was well organized. Tour guide Juan gave a helpful history of everything in both Spanish and English. We were very impressed with the monastery and so glad we visited.

Review: I had a very bad experience with this tour. I arrived at the meeting place earlier than the scheduled time, but unfortunately, no one from the supplier showed up. I waited for a considerable amount of time and even tried calling the contact number provided, but I did not receive any clear response or assistance. There was no prior notice, no update, and no effort to reach out to me. As a customer, this was very frustrating and unprofessional. This caused inconvenience to my schedule and ruined my planned activity for the day. I hope the company takes responsibility and improves their coordination and communication with guests.

It was an excellent experience and the guide was great Would definitely recommend to others as an option outside of Madrid

This was an amazing tour!! Our guide Aimoa was fantastic and such a wealth of information! Both of these sites are visually magnificent, but being provided the history and context during the tour fully enhanced the experience. The company itself was organized and punctual. The bus was very comfortable and the tour office is conveniently located in the city center near lots of food/activity options for after the tour. Fantastic experience for a great price!

San Lorenzo del Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen are “must sees” to have a more complete understanding of Hapsburg- , Bourbon- , and Francoist Spain. They are beautiful, and a good, informative guide makes a difference. Ana C. was an exceptional guide on my visit. She was well-informed and knew when enough information was enough.

It was a wonderful experience the staff Paloma was very knowledgeable well spoken in English . Was very detailed and knew her subject and what she was talking about. Will definitely recommend this tour with friends and family.

Tour was exactly as described. Bus was comfy, guide was pleasant and knowledgable, and both locations were interesting and moving. The number of steps in El Escorial can be challenging if you have mobility issues but our guide was patient and group members assisted one another.

I was excited to visit El Escorial because I had learned about it in architecture school. The tour was advertised by Viator as being in English, but given the number of Spanish-speaking visitors in the group, the tour guide ended up speaking mostly rapid-fire Spanish. In fact, I sometimes had to ask her to explain things in English because she would forget. Fortunately, she knew a lot and had a good sense of humor, causing much laughter with the people who could understand her Spanish jokes.

Tour started on time. Guide speaks English very well even though we booked English only. It was both English and Spanish. She explained Spain history. Gave us what to see and expect from the tour. Once we arrived at Escorial, she explained almost everything from architecture, arts and history. There were challenges like the palace was closed to tourists in some areas but she managed to get us around a different way. After the palace, we were to valley of fallen. Quick visit since it is more of a solemn place. Would definitely recommend it

Engaging, educational, nicely paced. The bus was air conditioned and the driver skilled. Good value for the money.

A very positive experience. Visit well organized. Guide was very knowledgable although his English diction was not always clear. Perhaps a half hour free break between the Monastery and the Valley would have made a big difference. After all the tour was meant to end at 2pm. However we arrived back in Madrid about 30 minutes earlier.

While the sites and transportation to and from them were fine the audio and guide where not that good if you were needing to hear it in English. We left feeling the discussion was “Spaingless”, 70% Spanish and 40% in English. The earphones were horrible.

You think that you buy tickets for a special time at the museum But this is a scam : you pay double the price and you do the normal line.

Sites were great. Guide Michelle lacked enthusiasm and engagement with group. Got the impression she was just going through the motions.

A lot of walking and it's VERY COLD inside both the Escorial and the church in the Valley of the Fallen. These locations are up in the mountains so be prepared! Pathways and inside the Escorial are well paved and easy to navigate. The tour bus takes you right up to the entrances of both the Escorial and then the Valley of the Fallen grounds. These sights are less toured and fascinating. Our tour guide, Sylvia supplied us with lots of facts and interesting history of the sites. My only regret was I wished that our tour included an excursion into the extensive manicured gardens which are part of the Escorial grounds but are not open to the public apparently.

If you're interested in Spanish history this tour is a must. If you are visiting Madrid don't miss El Escorial and Valley of the fallen.

Great tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and interesting. El Escorial was breathtaking - a must see and a quick trip from Madrid.

The Escorial is beautiful but be prepared for it to be cold. Guide. Can’t remember guides name sadly because she was great. Would do this one again if I ever came back

Excellent guide - great trip! Especially loved Valley Of the Fallen. El Escorial is also quite beautiful of course.

Michelle the tour guide was informed and seamlessly moved between Spanish and English. The half day was sufficient and walking was not such a struggle. Thank you

Bus, driver, and guide were correct. The treatment at the office was unpleasant; the employee who received us scolded us for not arriving earlier when we were at the door without knowing that the buses parked far away. That detail should be clarified in the information, as well as the fact of arriving a little earlier. The start time is not clear. Thank you

Excellent tour, highly recommended. Our guide mastered the subject, was very friendly, took time to explain and answer questions.

Good service and treatment and very clear and complete explanations and good atmosphere. Plus quite punctuality.

It is a very reasonable option to visit the Monastery of El Escorial. Everything worked out fine. The guide, Silvia, very professional.

Everything very well organized and the guides magisimas Good explanations of the whole Escorial.

Excellent experience and places to visit. Our guide Ana was excellent, showed a lot of knowledge of the areas visited, explained well and enthusiastically. There was an excellent distribution of time.

He met our expectations. Very complete. Well scheduled schedules. On time. The guide with good explanations, although it did not give rise to questions.

Very convenient excursion to visit El Escurial y la Valle de Cuelgamuros. Not enough explanations about life at the time and the explanation of the paintings. Paintings by Greco among others, only one is commented. That makes a good basis for knowing if we want to come back or not. I'll look for a more historic visit next time. For the valley, beautiful place for nature!🤩 Cold and impersonal site. Would be almost scary! But I definitely wanted to see him once in my life. Effective guide. Comfortable bus. 1/2 day very pleasant and in line with my expectations

Viator was pas na veel moeite mijnerzijds in staat een antwoord te geven op de vraag: op welk adres start de tour? De via chat gestelde vraag werd eerst niet begrepen en daarna 2e verkeerd beantwoord. Ongeïntereseerdheid?? Slordigheid??

I luoghi visitati sono molto carini (anche se l'Escorial è più bello da fuori che da dentro), ma la guida è stata poco capace; un po' monotona e poco interessata/appassionata suo lavoro. Mi aspettavo fosse più simpatica e coinvolgente.

Bonne organisation. Ponctualité La jeune guide a fait son job sans plus. Ça produit une excursion ordinaire. Elle récite son texte et hop … elle ferme le micro. Groupe mixe pour les langues. 2/3 espagnol et 1/3 anglais.