Genuine Andalusia

12/03/2025

Today Wed March 12, at 7 pm ET, our founder and manager Ivan Ricoy will participate in a Live Travel Q&A organized by Wendy Perrin, on the best off-the-beaten-path locales across all of Europe!

Signing up is quick and easy (and free): Just click the link in the Comments.

A big thank-you in advance to the other Europe experts from Wendy's WOW List who will also be joining us to share their latest intel to help you maximize your trips: Maria and Brian CIU Travel - Concierge in Umbria, Jennifer Queen of Clubs Lifestyle Luxury Services, Gwen Exeter International and Mads Nordic Star!

Imagine having this beach all to yourself. I'm just back from Portugal, where we were virtually the only travelers on this beach and in so many other off-the-radar spots. Join us today, Wed March 12, at 7 pm ET for a Live Travel Q&A on the best off-the-beaten-path locales across all of Europe! Signing up is quick and easy (and free): Just click the link in the Comments. A big thank-you in advance to the Europe experts from The WOW List who will be joining us to share their latest intel to help you maximize your trips: Maria and Brian CIU Travel - Concierge in Umbria, Jennifer Queen of Clubs Lifestyle Luxury Services, Gwen Exeter International, Ivan Genuine Andalusia, and Mads Nordic Star!

05/03/2025

Wine Tourism will be celebrating one of its most interesting yearly events in Valladolid (Spain) next March the 5th and 6th and we will be there!

Fine Valladolid is a Wine Tourism Marketplace that connects wineries and travel agents during two full days and we simple cannot wait to attend one more year.

If you are a small and artisanal winery in Spain or Portugal, passionate and proud about your work and you are willing to connect with a like minded travel agent at FINE to start a collaboration, we want to meet you!

We will also be at FINE promoting our private, specialized and hyper personalized Sherry tours, so if you are a travel agent looking to connect with a trusted, awarded, creative and reliable Sherry Wine specialist, we also want to meet you!.

We are a bespoke travel planner specialized in the design, coordination and ex*****on of private and fully personalized trips to Spain and Portugal with an important focus on wine.

Contact us via DM, email or phone (link to our contact details in our bio). See you soon!

https://genuineandalusia.com

05/02/2025

Genuine clients that are a true source of inspiration for us!: Today we talk about...Christy!.

A super strong and active solo traveler who wanted to cross the Atlantic from the U.S. to have a real (and we mean real) immersion into the culture, art, crafts, music, dance, history, architecture, gastronomy, wine, nature and lifestyle of Madrid and Andalusia!.

We then went into our travel lab and created a bespoke trip suited to her personal goals and she wrote this great review (source: tripadvisor) after her experience with us.

Christy's energy, curiosity, kindness, intelligence and motivation were like a fresh orange juice in the morning!. We loved Christy and this post goes to her!.

Thank you Christy for being such an amazing guest and for sharing your outlook on travel and on life with all of us!.

Contact us today for your dream trip to Spain, tell us about your personal goals and we'll do our magic in our secret travel lab, located in sunny Southern Spain!

https://genuineandalusia.com/

29/01/2025

WOW news! Iván Ricoy has been included in Wendy Perrin WOW List of Trusted Travel Experts 2025 for Spain and Portugal!
This is the second consecutive year that our founder and manager earns a spot in the WOW list, which is a prestigious collection of exceptionally knowledgeable and well-connected trip planners around the world!
If you are looking for a reliable, creative, professional, responsive, vetted and awarded inbound travel company for a trip to Spain and / or Portugal, contact us! We will be delighted to help!
We are a Spain and Portugal Destination Management Company with 12 years of experience in the design, coordination and ex*****on of memorable, private and hyper personalized trips to Spain and Portugal.
https://genuineandalusia.com/

20/01/2025

Fitur 2025 here we come!
Off Fitur 2025 we are ready for more action!

If you are also coming to Fitur and

- Represent a fabulous 5* or 4* hotel with character, an exquisite service and in a unique location in Spain or Portugal or...

- Consider yourself a knowledgeable, personable, kind, flexible and interactive ambassador of the area where you live in Spain or Portugal and are looking forward to welcoming English speaking guests mostly from the US to share the wonders of your region with them or...

- You are a charismatic and passionate artisan, artist, winemaker, farmer, cook, sommelier, skipper, hiker, stargazer, birdwatcher, rock climber or similar who loves to share unique experiences with travelers coming to your area in Spain or Portugal or...

- Own a small culture business in Spain or Portugal based on the values of beauty, authenticity, comfort and sustainability or...

- Have an impeccable Mercedes vehicle or a fleet of vehicles and love driving travelers through Spain and Portugal allowing them to relax and take in the beauty of these countries.

We want to meet you at Fitur during the official opening hours or later in Madrid city. DM to find out more about Off Fitur networking!

We are an inbound travel company based in Southern Spain offering memorable and fully personalized trips to Spain and Portugal for simply amazing travelers, mostly from the US, coming to these countries with a thirst for knowledge, adventure, inspiration, enriching experiences and lifelong memories.

24/12/2024

Happy Christmas from all of us at Genuine Andalusia!

This goes with our most sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all our guests and suppliers.

You all make this Travel and Culture project a truly rewarding, meaningful, enriching and transformative journey that contributes to making a better world.

A journey where guests and hosts of different cultures and nationalities meet to connect, share, learn, discover, experience and understand that there are many more things bringing us together than dividing us.

Thank you everyone, happy holidays and let's keep moving forward together towards a better world in 2025!

https://genuineandalusia.com/

13/12/2024

It's this time of the year when Jerez celebrates the arrival of Christmas like no other place in the world!. Why? Click below!

Jerez Zambombas are the unique, traditional and festive celebrations that precede Christmas in the city. Learn all about them in this article!

26/11/2024

New York City has been our base of operations for the past 2 weeks!.

A wonderful time filled with memorable dinners with clients, productive meetings with travel agents and meaningful conversations with the Tourism Office of Spain in NYC. Gracias, gracias, gracias everyone!

This has been a key milestone for us after 11 years in business crafting fully personalized trips to Spain for US Travelers.

Also, it has been a great opportunity to discuss and share impressions on the future of travel with discerning travelers, with amazing travel advisors and with incredible professionals from the Spanish Tourism Office in NYC!.

If you are looking for a trusted, awarded and caring Spain travel company to craft a memorable trip for you, we are here to help! https://genuineandalusia.com/

06/10/2024

Best short breaks for Autumn by The Sunday Times!.

Number 13 is Tasting Andalusia’s sherry triangle with Genuine Andalusia!

More details about this short break here: https://genuineandalusia.com/private-extended-tours/sherry-triangle-tour/

Come to the Sherry Triangle with us and discover a whole new wine world! https://genuineandalusia.com/

Swap gloomy weekends in the UK for cooking tapas in Cordoba, surfing in Basque country and cycling along the Catalan coast

17/07/2024

We need to talk about Cream Sherry indeed!

17/07/2024

Handcrafts from Mallorca: Siurells!.

Siurells are handmade clay figures, that after firing are painted in white and finished with scattered red and green brush strokes. They are native and unique to Mallorca and they represent characters, myths and legends from the island.

The word Siurell means whistle and this is because every Siurell features a small whistle used traditionally by shepherds to call their animals and by children to play. It is also believed that the whistle was used as a form of protection from the strong Mediterranean winds.

Their origin is unknown but similar handcrafts have been found in other parts of the Mediterranean such as Crete and Cyprus.

We have been including Mallorca in our private and fully personalized trips to Spain for a few years now and amongst other immersive and creative experiences in the island, we organize Siurell-making and painting workshops with local artisans so our guests make and take their own souvenir from Mallorca, enjoying interaction with the local community and contributing to preserve their traditions, arts and crafts alive.

If you are planning to visit Mallorca and Spain and would like to have an experienced, creative, respectful and well-connected travel planner to design your trip following your preferences and expectations, get in touch with us!

https://genuineandalusia.com/

15/07/2024

Excellent news! We have been awarded our 8th consecutive certificate of excellence by Tripadvisor!

This goes with special THANKS to all those guests who took their time to time to review their experiences with us!.

Genuine Andalusia turned 10 this year and we can't be grateful enough for all the wonderful people we've hosted and shared the wonders of our homeland with, throughout these 10 years.

If you would like to take a trip to Spain with an 8 times awarded, caring, creative, professional and knowledgeable Spain travel planner, we are here to help!

https://genuineandalusia.com/

01/02/2024

WOW news!
Iván Ricoy, our founder and manager has been included in WOW list as a Trusted Travel Expert for Andalusia and Southern Spain in 2024!.
The WOW list is a prestigious collection of exceptionally knowledgeable and well-connected trip planners around the world and Ivan is now in it!.
We are very happy and very proud to announce this and also that Genuine Andalusia will be 10 years old this year!.

01/02/2024

WOW news! We are very happy and very proud to announce that Ivan Ricoy, our founder and manager, has been included in Wendy Perrin's WOW list as a Trusted Travel Expert for Andalusia and Southern Spain in 2024!

The WOW list is a prestigious collection of exceptionally knowledgeable and well-connected trip planners around the world and Ivan is now in it!

https://www.wendyperrin.com/reviews/ivan-ricoy/

23/01/2024

One more year... We will be attending Fitur in Madrid!.
On Wednesday the 24th, Thursday the 25th and Friday the 26th of January we will be at the travel show during the day and in our favorite Madrid hotels, bars and restaurants in the evening meeting suppliers and clients!.
If you would like to meet and don't have an appointment wuth us yet, DM and let's schedule one!.

13/01/2024

Spinning records in (Sherry) style with the decks sitting on Sherry casks!
What a pleasure to contribute to the local culture scene of Jerez this time through music selection!.
Big thanks to .degloria for the invitation, to for treating us so well and to everybody who came along! Bravo!
If your Spain vacation is bringing you to Jerez and you feel like exploring the city by night, there's a bunch of great places where to go for one more Sherry after dinner and where you may find your guides having a wee dance!.