Customer Reviews

Hola Alex Thank you and your Fresco team for a wonderful Camino de Santiago experience. Our trip was better than we could have imagined in so many ways. A few of the many highlights:
* Alissa was very helpful with pre-travel information and recommendations.

* Every aspect of the trip was well planned and organized. Our guides and our driver (Pepe) accomplished the logistical tasks so skillfully that we hardly noticed.

* Jason and Rick were marvelous guides. Besides just being great people, they were knowledgeable, sharing and fun. It was great that, armed with our daily map, we were free walk at our own pace, with or away from the rest of the group, but meet up with everyone at lunch or the end of the day s hike.

* The accommodations were first rate, including some very unique spots with long history.

* The meals, including (maybe especially) our wonderful lunches, were top quality. It was a great way to experience local foods, and enjoy our new friends, relate Camino stories, etc. Also, as vegetarian who eats fish and seafood, I was thrilled at the quality and variety of the foods available, including the pulpo!
Congratulations to you and the your Fresco team for providing such a wonderful Camino de Santiago tour. We are looking forward to doing the Basque Country trip in 2014. Best, Keith & Sue

Dear Alex, I guess you are used to getting rave revues but here goes another one. The whole experience exceeded my expectations at every level. But first I must start with your organisation which was first class. Australia to Spain is a long way to come for a ‘cock-up’ and the whole Fresco attitude and planning was first rate. It has been an ambition of mine to do this trek for some time and I couldn’t have done it with better guides in Jason and Rick. The Ying and Yang of Fresco? Their care and custody of a diverse group was amazing. Like good jugglers, they made it look easy. Their knowledge, wit and charm … amazing. The food … great. The wine … very good. The beer … bitterly cold. Lucky I was walking every day or I would have come back to Australia the size of one of the many cows I saw. The entire Galician experience was breath taking at all levels – history, country side, antiquity, people. The accommodation ranged from very good to great. Thank you one and all. Andrew

Dear Alex and Alissa, Thank you for the most wonderful introduction to both the Camino and to Spain!!! What memories! I loved my time with the group, the walk, the camaraderie, the food, the wine, (did I mention the food?), the places where we stayed and most of all, the secure feeling that we were in very good hands! This confidence allowed everyone to relax and to enjoy ourselves, which is what a vacation should be. Thank you so much for orchestrating such a venue…the places where we stayed satisfied dreams of French doors, balconies and gracious homes. The monastery at O’Cebreiro was a great starting off point! Now I must mention the guides. Jason is marvelous! He is so knowledgeable, so funny and so finely tuned to everyone’s needs. He was able to manage all of us with seemingly little effort and never forgot a request or suggestion. A true professional. Rick, was a joy! So sincere, kind and very encouraging! Cate was just lovely….sweet, supportive, wanting to make sure that everyone was happy and content. Pepe, by the way, made our day with his music, chocolate bars along the way, and just frankly, being there! This is a dynamic team and they certainly outdid themselves to make sure we all were having a wonderful time. Thank you, Alex and Alissa for being so communicative, responsive and easy to work with. I have told all my friends about your company and I am sure you will be getting inquiries about upcoming tours. I am looking forward to the Basque tour next year and am trying to confirm that I can make those dates in June. Once I do, I will send in my deposit. I am missing Spain so much! The food, the wine, the people! Love the country!!! Can’t wait to return! Enjoy the rest of your summer and thank you for making my 60th birthday an unforgettable adventure!!! Buen Camino y con mucho carino! Norma

Hola Alex y Alissa: First of all, I have no words to describe how much I enjoyed the Camino. It will be an unforgettable experience that I shared with my grand-daughters especially and of course my daughter. You really exceeded our expectations; starting from Jason, Rick and Cate (let them know how much I enjoyed their input. We ended up feeling we had known each other forever, that how nice they treated us with respect and familiarity. Of course they prepared superb picnics for us; and what to say about the accommodations!!!!!!!!! Every time it was a different beautiful sensation, both for the locations and buildings as well as the owners, they couldn’t be nicer. Last but not least, we were very lucky to know a very, very nice group. I do also want to mention a special person: Don Pepe. He was the one who helped finish my walks, by driving me and cheat a little bit. Not only by driving but also showing me different interesting spots and explaining them to me. I guess you can tell I am very satisfied, but mostly happy, and if I had to do it again I would definitely repeat the Camino (if only I could go back in years!!!!!) A very big, big hug, Loredana

My dear Alex, This is the third day that I have sat at my computer trying to think of how to say an adequate thank you to you and ‘the gang’ for our marvelous B I G experience! It was fantastic to see you and Jason again, as well as meeting Ria. There were lots of highlights for me. I loved Hondarribia, Getaria, Laguardia and Bilbao. The stunning views, flora and fauna on the walks and the picnics (always different, always delicious). I enormously enjoyed the tapas in San Sebastian as well as the food in the restaurants at Hondarribia and Bilbao. This was my third visit to Spain with Fresco Tours so I knew I would have a fabulous time, I wasn’t disappointed! I found it very interesting to compare the three trips. The groups always seem to be compatible. There never seems to be a hitch of any sort in the arrangements, if there is we are blissfully unaware! El Camino is what it is, so that is prescribed but the visits to southern Spain and the Basque country were organised in such an interesting way, mixing walking in amazing countryside, culture and gastronomy! However, lots of people could put together such a tour, I suppose, but only your magic Alex, supported by Jason and Ria, could make your Fresco Tours so very, very special. Thank you, but even a million times over, doesn’t do it justice! With my love to you all and I hope we meet again – Anne

Hey, Alex! For the record, I truly appreciated the opportunity to walk the Camino a second time with Fresco Tours. After a second tour, I truly believe that one’s appreciation of the Camino is enhanced by hearing the stories and seeing the Camino again. Thanks again for your consistent attention to every detail! Cate is an excellent addition to your staff – very well-read with a wonderful sense of humor. I hope that all of our paths will cross on another Fresco Tour! Warmly, Jill

Hi Alex, Everything was just super. Had a wonderful adventure thanks to your planning, enthusiasm and good nature. Will take some time to recover from the past three weeks . . . . a time never to be forgotten. Thanks again and will plan to see you in the future on another journey. Our thanks also to Alissa. Best regards. Don

Alex: So glad to be back home with so many wonderful memories. You and Cate did a stellar job of providing us with an experience that is in every way perfect. I cannot think of a thing more that you could have done, nor not done, that would have improved on it. Mostly, I feel you and Cate kept us informed all along the way, making the day’s expectations clear and in most cases (the rain kept elluding us) accurate. That, for me was very helpful. The food was beautiful and yummy, rest stops were adequate and I really felt no pressure to keep up. Looking forward to seeing you again. Warmly, Marianne

Our group was like a group of happy bounding puppies, always falling into ourselves noisily into hotel lobbies and restaurants. Sometimes I felt sorry for other clients in the establishments, but our sound was happy. Lots of laughter. Since all but two of us were repeat customers, I think we all knew what we would get from a Fresco Tour – fun, great companionship, fantastic planning, good walks. It was complete relaxation. The group looked out for each other during the walks like nobody’s business. You need a hand? You get one without asking. Still the Fresco people followed up to ensure everyone was taken care of regardless. I remember the wonderful banter on all sorts of topics at delicious meals. A marvelous and incredibly beautiful trip along the Camino Norte along the Basque Coast.

My dear Alex, This is the third day that I have sat at my computer trying to think of how to say an adequate thank you to you and ‘the gang’ for our marvelous B I G experience! It was fantastic to see you and Jason again, as well as meeting Ria. There were lots of highlights for me. I loved Hondarribia, Getaria, Laguardia and Bilbao. The stunning views, flora and fauna on the walks and the picnics (always different, always delicious). I enormously enjoyed the tapas in San Sebastian as well as the food in the restaurants at Hondarribia and Bilbao. This was my third visit to Spain with Fresco Tours so I knew I would have a fabulous time, I wasn’t disappointed! I found it very interesting to compare the three trips. The groups always seem to be compatible. There never seems to be a hitch of any sort in the arrangements, if there is we are blissfully unaware! El Camino is what it is, so that is prescribed but the visits to southern Spain and the Basque country were organised in such an interesting way, mixing walking in amazing countryside, culture and gastronomy! However, lots of people could put together such a tour, I suppose, but only your magic Alex, supported by Jason and Ria, could make your Fresco Tours so very, very special. Thank you, but even a million times over, doesn’t do it justice! With my love to you all and I hope we meet again – Anne

Hey, Alex! For the record, I truly appreciated the opportunity to walk the Camino a second time with Fresco Tours. After a second tour, I truly believe that one’s appreciation of the Camino is enhanced by hearing the stories and seeing the Camino again. Thanks again for your consistent attention to every detail! Cate is an excellent addition to your staff – very well-read with a wonderful sense of humor. I hope that all of our paths will cross on another Fresco Tour! Warmly, Jill

Hi Alex, Everything was just super. Had a wonderful adventure thanks to your planning, enthusiasm and good nature. Will take some time to recover from the past three weeks . . . . a time never to be forgotten. Thanks again and will plan to see you in the future on another journey. Our thanks also to Alissa. Best regards. Don