We thought that the tour was minimalistic. We enjoyed the provided free time but the tour guide provided very little information at destination, especially Barcelona and Madrid. He only provided a very cheap and poor map of the city. We used the metro and figured out how to get around on foot using our own tour book but expected much better guidance, direction and insight while in Barcelona from our "guide". He basically dropped us off in the city and not much more. We have traveled to Barcelona in the past and understand how pick pockets work the streets and hotel lobbies. I warned others in our group, especially about the later. Out guide didn't warn about the lobby and of course, one person lost their wallet, passport, credit cards and all money on the departure day. The tour guide should have been far more outspoken and watchful. We thought the guide overall was inexperienced, and while friendly was of very little help for people like us that like to roam and explore on our own. The trip spent too much time in the bus; less travel time with more time at destinations would greatly improve this tour. Location of the hotels, excluding Madrid should be more centrally located. Many local guides, especially the woman in Madrid, spoke very poor English. We believe that several tours that we took with SmarTours in the past (around the late 1900s and early 2000s) were of much better quality. By contrast, we would not recommend this tour to others: a very poor value/dollar experience. We will be reluctant to take another SmarTour in the future because of this tour experience. Perhaps other tours offered by this company provide a better quality experience.