How Our Private Tours Work

Everything you need to know before booking — the process, what to expect on the day, how private tours differ from group excursions, and what happens if something goes wrong.

 

 

The Short Version

You book online or contact us by WhatsApp. We confirm your tour, send a booking confirmation, and pick you up at your hotel on the day. You spend the day in Ronda, Gibraltar, Granada, or wherever you’ve chosen. We drop you back at your hotel. That’s it.

No coach stations. No meeting points. No standing in queues waiting for a group of 40 people to assemble. No commentary through a PA system. Just your group, a private vehicle, and a driver-guide who knows the region.

 

 

Step by Step — From Booking to Drop-Off

 

1. Book online or contact us first

Most guests book directly through the tour pages using the FareHarbor booking calendar — you pick your date, select your group size, and pay securely by card. Confirmation arrives by email within minutes.

If you’d rather talk first — or if your situation is specific (cruise ship timing, large group, custom itinerary, dates that aren’t showing as available) — WhatsApp us at +34 651 026 027. We usually respond within an hour during business hours.

 

2. We confirm your pickup details

A day or two before your tour, we’ll confirm your exact pickup time and location. We come to your hotel, apartment, villa, or cruise terminal — wherever you’re staying. No need to find a meeting point or arrange transport to a departure location.

Pickup times vary by destination and time of year. Ronda is typically 9:00 AM. Granada is earlier (8:30 AM) because of the distance. Gibraltar and Caminito del Rey depend on the official entry times available for your date. We’ll give you the specific time when we confirm.

 

3. We pick you up

Your driver arrives at your accommodation at the agreed time in a private, air-conditioned vehicle — a car, miniva or minibus depending on your group size. Just your group. Nobody else is joining.

For tours with official entry times (Alhambra, Caminito del Rey, Gibraltar), the entire day is structured around your slot. You don’t need to track any of this — we manage it.

 

4. The day itself

We guide the day. Your driver-guide knows the destination, the best viewpoints, the right restaurants, and the practical route between sights. You set the pace — if you want to spend longer somewhere, we stay longer. If you want to skip something, we skip it.

For tours that include an official local guide (Alhambra, Gibraltar Rock tour), your driver-guide handles the transport and logistics while the local specialist handles the guided visit on the ground.

 

5. We drop you back

At the end of the day, we drive you back to your accommodation. For cruise passengers, we monitor your ship’s departure schedule throughout the day and plan the return to the port with comfortable buffer time. In 12+ years of operation, we’ve never had a guest miss their ship.

 

 

Private Tour vs Group Tour — The Honest Comparison

 

	Group coach tour	Costa Excursions private tour
Departure	Fixed time from city centre bus station	From your hotel, villa, or cruise terminal
Group size	30–50 people	Just your group (2–7 people)
Schedule	Fixed — leave when the group leaves	Flexible — adapted to your pace
Guide	Coach commentary for the full group	Driver-guide focused on your group only
Itinerary	Standard route, same for everyone	Adjustable — more time where you want it
Price (4 people)	€50–80 per person (€200–320 total)	€173 per person for Ronda (€690 total)
Lunch	Fixed restaurant, often mediocre	Guide recommends based on your preferences
Families	Child’s pace vs group’s pace = conflict	Leave when children are tired, not the coach

 

At 4 people, the price difference between a group tour and a private tour is roughly €100–150 extra for the group — for a completely private vehicle, no shared coaches, and the flexibility to spend the day how you want. Most guests who’ve done both say they’d never go back to group tours.

 

 

Pricing — How It Works

 

All our tours are priced per group, not per person. The price is the same whether there are 2 of you or 4 of you in the vehicle. This means the per-person cost drops as your group grows.

 

Ronda day trip	Price	Per person
2 people	€600	€300 pp
3 people	€650	€217 pp
4 people	€690	€173 pp
5 people	€730	€146 pp
6 people	€750	€125 pp

 

Full pricing tables for all tours are on each individual tour page. See the complete tour list.

 

Payment and Booking

 

• Payment: Secure card payment through FareHarbor (Stripe). Visa, Mastercard, and American Express accepted.
• When you pay: At the time of booking, online.
• Confirmation: Immediate — email confirmation with all tour details sent automatically.
• Receipt: Provided with your booking confirmation. Can be used for travel insurance claims if needed.

 

 

Cancellation Policy

 

Free cancellation up to 48 hours before your tour. If you cancel more than 48 hours before the departure time, you receive a full refund.  We will charge a 10% administration fee for cancelations.

Cancellations within 48 hours of departure are charged in full — this is because at that point we’ve committed the vehicle, the guide arrangements, and in some cases the entry tickets for your date.

If we need to cancel (rare — weather events, illness, circumstances outside our control), you’ll receive a full refund or the option to rebook.

 

 

What Happens If…

 

…the weather is bad?

Most of our tours run in most weather — Ronda, Gibraltar, and the white villages are interesting in the rain, and the Nerja Caves are 18°C and dry regardless of what’s happening outside. The exception is Caminito del Rey, which closes in high winds or heavy rain for safety reasons. If your Caminito tour date is affected by closure, we’ll contact you in advance and help you reschedule or arrange an alternative.

 

…we need to change the date?

Contact us as early as possible. More than 48 hours before departure: easy — we’ll rebook you on a new date at no cost. Within 48 hours: depends on availability and circumstances. WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us.

 

…I’m on a cruise ship and the departure time changes?

Let us know immediately. We monitor cruise schedules but the earlier you tell us about a change, the better we can adapt. We’ve never had a cruise guest miss their ship — we build buffer time into every cruise excursion return.

 

…there are delays at the Gibraltar border?

We build realistic crossing time into every Gibraltar day. Your driver monitors conditions throughout and adjusts the afternoon timing as needed. Peak days (summer weekends, bank holidays) can add 30–45 minutes each way — we account for this in the schedule.

 

…Alhambra tickets are sold out for my dates?

As a licensed tour operator we have a separate ticket allocation managed with the Patronato de la Alhambra — distinct from the public booking system. When public tickets are sold out on the official site, we often still have availability. WhatsApp us with your dates and we’ll check what we have.

 

About Your Guides

 

Peter Fischer

Peter was born and raised in Málaga and spent his university years in the United States. He created Costa Excursions in 2015 specifically for English-speaking guests — particularly from the US, UK, and Australia — who wanted a more personal and flexible way to see Andalusia than a standard coach excursion. He leads tours personally and is reachable directly on WhatsApp.

 

Thomas Liedtke

Thomas grew up in Málaga, studied and lived in Germany, and returned to the Costa del Sol to work with Peter. He speaks English, German, and Spanish and leads the majority of our Ronda, Winery, and full-day tours. TripAdvisor reviews mention him by name more than any other single thing about the tours — which is the honest measure of a guide.

Both Peter and Thomas are licensed tour operators in Andalusia. For larger groups or specialist tours, we work with a small network of trusted local guides in specific destinations (Gibraltar, Alhambra) — all licensed, all personally vetted.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Do I need to print anything?

No. Your booking confirmation is digital — save it to your phone. For tours with entry tickets included (Alhambra, Caminito del Rey, Nerja Caves), we handle the tickets.

 

Where exactly do you pick us up?

At your hotel main entrance, apartment building, villa gate, or cruise terminal — wherever you’re staying. We’ll confirm the exact meeting point when we confirm your booking. If your accommodation is unusual or hard to find, just let us know in advance.

 

What if our group is larger than 7 people?

Contact us before booking. We can arrange larger vehicles or multiple vehicles for groups of 8–15. WhatsApp us with your group size and preferred tour and we’ll quote accordingly.

 

Can we change the itinerary on the day?

Within practical limits, yes. If you want to skip something, spend longer somewhere, or add a stop — tell your guide. Tours with fixed entry times (Alhambra Nasrid Palaces, Caminito del Rey) have less flexibility around those specific slots, but everything else is adjustable.

 

Is there a minimum age for the tours?

Most tours have no minimum age. Caminito del Rey is officially restricted to children 8 and over. For families with young children, Gibraltar and Mijas work particularly well — both have sights that engage younger children without long walking requirements.

 

Do you offer tours in languages other than English?

Yes — Peter and Thomas both speak Spanish fluently. Thomas also speaks German. If you’d like a tour conducted primarily in Spanish or German, mention this at booking.

 

Can I book for tomorrow?

Often yes, depending on availability. Check the booking calendar on the tour page — if dates are showing as available, you can book immediately. For tours requiring official entry tickets (Alhambra, Caminito del Rey), same-day or next-day booking depends on ticket availability for that date.

 

How do I pay?

Secure card payment online through FareHarbor (Stripe) at the time of booking. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express accepted. Payment in cash on the day is not available — all bookings are prepaid online.

 

 

Ready to Book?

 

See our full list of tours and check availability:

 

• Private Day Trip to Ronda
• Private Granada & Alhambra Tour
• Private Gibraltar Day Trip
• Caminito del Rey Day Trip
• Nerja & Frigiliana Day Trip
• Mijas Pueblo Half-Day Tour
• Ronda Winery & Tapas Tour

 

Questions? WhatsApp us at +34 651 026 027 — we respond within an hour during business hours. Or use the contact form.