Detailed Itinerary
Embark Azamara Quest 1:00PM. All aboard 3:30PM.
Welcome Cocktails & Briefing this evening. Meet your fellow participants and PerryGolf’s staff.
Overnight: At Sea
GOLF: The Faldo Course at Amendoeira, designed by Sir Nick Faldo, opened for play in 2008. In a modern twist of a traditional recipe, cacti and wild herbs replace the role of Sunningdale’s heather, and spartan holm oaks and ancient olive trees take the place of a lush English woodland, and desert scrub bunkers of crushed limestone replace Berkshire’s sandy tracts in a golf course that revels in the classic principles of strategic play. It also enjoys great views, in particular on the back nine.
SIGHTSEEING: Portimão is located in the District of Faro in the Algarve Region of Portugal, and is the host venue for many prestigious sailing events. The Lisbon to Dakar Rally passes through, and there is also surfing and kite surfing. This is a great place for seafood restaurants with grilled sardines being the specialty.
Enjoy Portimão on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight – At Sea
Cádiz dates over 3,000 years, is considered “the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe”, and is perched on a narrow strip of land surrounded by brilliant blue waters. Stroll through the barrios and narrow alleyways of the Old Town, with stops along Plaza San Antonio, Plaza de Mina, and Plaza de la Cathedral, where you can see one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the Cádiz Cathedral. In the El Pópulo district, you’ll find the second largest Roman theater in the world (which was constructed in 1st century BC), go to Tarifa for beautiful beaches, a variety of watersports, and great views of Morocco, or simply enjoy a traditional meal of Andalusian specialties like gazpacho, fried fish, Iberian ham, and a glass of Jerez sherry. Enjoy it on your own arrangements or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
Enjoy a scenic navigation of the Guadalete River on board Azamara Quest, an opportunity denied to larger ships.
SIGHTSEEING: Seville - the passionate nature of Sevillanos is evident in their devotion to bullfighting, flamenco, and fiesta. Food too, it appears, as Seville is credited with the invention of tapas. Join in with the locals as they graze from bar to bar, making an entire meal out of the experience. The city also has a rich history evident in its old quarters and landmarks. The great cathedral is immense, lavishly ornamented with paintings and sculptures, and copious quantities of gold. The Alcazar, the main palace, is exquisitely decorated in Moorish style, with themed gardens laid out in terraces.
Enjoy Seville on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: In Port – Seville, Spain
Enjoy a full day in Seville.
GOLF: Royal Seville Golf Club was designed by Jose Maria Olazabal. Its balanced and well-manicured layout is set through trees and lakes and hosted the 2004 World Cup of Golf, the 2008 & 2010 Spanish Open on the European Tour, and it is ranked within the top five in Spain by Golf Digest.
Following golf, we make a navigation of the Guadalete River as we head back out to sea for our overnight sailing to Gibraltar.
Overnight: At Sea
Enjoy a final morning in Seville.
After lunch we make the scenic navigation of the Guadalete River on board Azamara Quest, as we head to sea for our sailing to Gibraltar.
Overnight: At Sea
GOLF: La Reserva was designed by acclaimed golf course architect Cabell B. Robinson and is carved into the hillside with stunning vistas down to the Mediterranean Sea and up to the Andalusian hills. Opened in 2003, its wide, sweeping fairways lead on to large greens with gentle but challenging undulations. It has fast become a must-play for any golfer visiting southern Spain and is a fitting next chapter in Sotogrande’s proud golfing legacy.
SIGHTSEEING: The Rock of Gibraltar is a sight to behold rising nearly 1,400 feet out of nowhere located in a strategic position at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It overlooks the Straits of Gibraltar and is linked to Spain by a narrow isthmus. Most of the upper Rock, starting just above the town, is a nature reserve with spectacular views accessible by cable car. Gibraltar is imposing but small. It measures less than six square kilometres and is inhabited by around 30,000 people made up of Gibraltarians, British, Moroccans, Indians and Spanish. There is a colony of the famous, camera-hogging Barbary apes who run free in a semi-wild state.
Enjoy Gibraltar on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
Malaga is found on Spain’s famous Costa del Sol along with its coastal and inland neighbors Rincon de la Victoria, Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Alhaurin de la Torre, Mijas and Marbella. The important cultural infrastructure and the rich artistic heritage have culminated in the nomination of Malaga as a candidate for the 2016 European Capital of Culture. The internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso and actor Antonio Banderas were both born in Malaga.
Enjoy it on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
Cartagena is strategically located amongst a number of historic sailing routes, and has been colonized by a veritable who’s who of Mediterranean superpowers over the millennia. The result is a rich and multi-layered cultural heritage, and a history both glorious and turbulent. From atop a hill, Concepción Castle served as a fortress for Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, and Castilians. The 13th century Old Cathedral stands on the remains of a Roman Theater just discovered in 1987. More recent architectural contributions include modernist designs of public buildings and private dwellings by pupils of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi.
Enjoy Cartagena on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
GOLF: El Saler Golf Club is located on the outskirts of Valencia within the Albufera Nature Park. Designed by Javier Arana, one of the most prestigious Spanish designers and opened in 1968, it sits nearby the beach occupying terrain dotted with pine trees and sand dunes and has a distinctly “links” feel. It’s famous "cats claw" (not dissimilar to the Monterey Peninsula’s “iceplant”) is certainly to be avoided in the rough.
SIGHTSEEING: Valencia has come a very long way since 138 BC when it was founded as a Roman colony. Today it is Spain’s third largest city after Madrid and Barcelona. It has one of the world’s most prosperous local economies. The story you’ll probably take home however is about one of the most striking ranges of architecture imaginable. Of course, you’ll find antiquity in many forms such as Valencia’s Gothic cathedral which was built over a mosque after the Christian reconquest of 1238. You will also find the space-age City of Arts and Sciences, a massive project by neofuturistic architect Santiago Calatrava (World Trade Center Transportation Hub) whose showpiece is Oceanogràfic – one of the world’s biggest aquariums, with polar zones, underwater tunnels and an underwater restaurant. The juxtaposition is startling. And you’ll have a full day to immerse yourself in it!
Enjoy Valencia on your own arrangements or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
9:00AM Disembark Azamara Quest.
SIGHTSEEING: Barcelona is the 17th most visited city in the world according to MasterCard’s 2018 Global Destinations Index and 3rd most popular in Europe behind London and Paris. There’s a lot to like in this Olympic City (1992) from the food to the beaches, the weather and the night life. For many visitors however Barcelona is about architecture, especially the work of Antoni Gaudi. His Sagrada Familia in the city center is astounding. Construction began on the church in 1882; it is scheduled for completion in 2026 on the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.