Authentic Andalucía

Overview

The Andalucía behind the postcards

A week as a guest of the ranch families who breed these cattle — their dehesa, their table, and Sevilla as they live it.

This is the journey closest to our hearts. Days begin in the dehesa with the ranch families who breed toros bravos, often at their table, and end in Sevilla — at La Maestranza, in the casetas of the Feria de Abril, or walking the city as they live it. Our April 2027 departure is timed for the Feria. Unlike our festival departures, Authentic Andalucía has no minimum group size: come on your own, as a couple, or with your group.

About the corrida. Bullfights are part of these festivals and attending one is always optional. If you choose to go, we’ll explain what you are watching before and after; if you’d rather not, we’ll plan something else for that afternoon.

A morning at the ranch

The tentadero

Young cattle are tested in the ranch ring with the capote, under the eye of the ganadero. Guests watch from the stands — the same morning that has always been part of this country, not a show put on for visitors.

Photos courtesy of Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé, used with permission.

The experiences

The week in Sevilla and the dehesa

Ganadería tours

Spend time on working fighting-cattle ranches in the dehesa: the herds among the holm oaks, the tentadero ring and the families who breed them — including our partners at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé and Ganadería Virgen María.

La Feria de Abril

Sevilla’s April Fair: the illuminated portada, the casetas, horses and carriages by day and sevillanas long into the night.

A night at Hotel Virgen María

One night at this eight-room house on Ganadería Virgen María in Guillena — a pool, terraces, and the dehesa just outside the door. The rest of the week is spent in the Sevilla area.

La Real Maestranza

The whole ring, and the crowd

The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla is one of the oldest and most beautiful plazas de toros in Spain. When we go, we want you to see the arena as it is — the sand, the barrier, the packed stands — not a cropped detail. Attending a corrida here is optional; the museum of posters, paintings and trajes de luces is part of the week either way.

A matador kneeling with the cape in the Real Maestranza, with the full ring and crowd visible, Sevilla — The Real Maestranza, Sevilla — the ring and the crowd

A picador and torero in the Real Maestranza, Sevilla

A muleta pass at the Real Maestranza, Sevilla

Guests at Puerta Nº 9 of the Real Maestranza, Sevilla — Guests at Puerta Nº 9, Real Maestranza, Sevilla

Partner ranch

Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé

Our friends and partners open their ranch to Toro Travel guests: watch from the stands of their tentadero, walk among the herd in the dehesa and share a country lunch. The ranch lies in the dehesa near El Ronquillo, about 45 minutes north of Sevilla, and Arturo and Inma host the day themselves.

Black and chestnut fighting cattle in a dehesa paddock at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé, Sevilla — The herd in the dehesa paddock at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé · Toro Travel

Dining room of the ranch house at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé, with a wall of historic carteles — The ranch house at Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé · Toro Travel

Close-up of a historic Zufre cartel naming Hidalgo, Capillé and Roca, in the ranch house at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé — A historic cartel in the ranch house at Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé · Toro Travel

Guests in the stands of the ranch's tentadero ring — From the tentadero stands

The herd grazing in the green dehesa — The herd in the dehesa

Two bulls testing each other in the dust beneath holm oaks — In the dust under the holm oaks

Fighting bull silhouetted in dust beneath holm oaks — A bull in the dehesa

Cattle at a chute on the ranch, a stockman sitting on the wall — At the chute

Deer in the dehesa at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé — Wildlife of the dehesa

A herradero — the branding of young cattle — at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé — A herradero at the ranch

Hierro of Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé — Hierro · Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé

Photos in the grid courtesy of Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé, used with permission, except the dining room and cartel photographs, which are by Toro Travel. The corral and paddock photographs above are also by Toro Travel.

Trip highlights

What’s in the week

Private visits to fighting-cattle ranches in the dehesa, hosted by the breeders
A morning at a ranch tentadero, watched from the stands
La Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla and its museum
La Feria de Abril — the portada, casetas, horses and carriages
Seven nights in Sevilla and one night at Hotel Virgen María on the ranch
Optional: a corrida at La Maestranza with context from our team
Any group size — solo travelers welcome; or request your own dates, subject to availability

Final inclusions subject to supplier confirmation.

Spanish architecture

The Sevilla you walk through

These journeys are also about the buildings that hold the fiesta: palaces, plazas, cathedrals and the façades of the rings, walked in the course of the week. The photographs below are of the real places.

**Real Alcázar, Patio de las Doncellas**The Mudéjar courtyard of Seville’s royal palace, still scented with bitter orange.

**Plaza de España**Aníbal González’s 1929 semicircle of brick, tile and canals, a short walk from the María Luisa park.

**The Giralda and the Cathedral**The former minaret and the Gothic cathedral that grew around it — the city’s great landmark.

**La Real Maestranza**The baroque façade and Puerta del Príncipe of one of Spain’s oldest plazas de toros.

Culinary experiences

At the table

Each city has its own table — the bars and kitchens people here actually use. In Andalucía, lunch with a ranch family is part of the week.

**Tapas in Sevilla**A glass and a few plates in Triana or the old town — the casual rhythm of a Sevilla evening.

**Jamón ibérico**Acorn-fed ham from the same dehesa that surrounds the ranches we visit.

**Sherry, Jerez**Bodegas and soleras in Jerez, a short journey from Sevilla and part of the week’s table.

**A garden table at the ranch**A country lunch in the garden at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé.

On the ranch the table is part of the visit — an indoor spread, an outdoor lunch, a garden board of sausage, cheese and olives.

A country breakfast spread at the ranch house — An indoor spread at the ranch

A table set outdoors at the ranch — Lunch in the country air

Charcuterie and olives on a garden table at the ranch — In the garden

Day by day

Preview the itinerary

Rendezvous: Hotel Colón Gran Meliá, Sevilla · 4:00 pm, Apr 11 (Sevilla airport is about 20 minutes away) · Farewell: Sevilla · after breakfast, Apr 19

DAY 1

Arrive in Sevilla

Meet your hosts at Hotel Colón Gran Meliá at 4 pm, a short walk to the river and La Maestranza, then a welcome dinner. Hotel: Hotel Colón Gran Meliá (or similar). D

DAY 2

Sevilla and the alumbrado

The Cathedral, the Giralda and the Real Alcázar with a licensed guide. In the evening, pescaíto dinner and the lighting of the Feria gateway at midnight. B · D

DAY 3

La Maestranza and the first Feria day

A private visit to the Real Maestranza de Caballería and its museum, then the Feria by day: horses, carriages and the casetas. Optional: an evening at the Feria’s corridas. B · L

DAY 4

The dehesa and a night on the ranch

Out to the dehesa near El Ronquillo, about 45 minutes north of Sevilla, to spend the day at Ganadería Hidalgo-Rincón Capillé with Arturo and Inma: the herd, the tentadero ring and a country lunch. Evening arrival at Hotel Virgen María in Guillena for the journey’s one night on the ranch. B · L · D

DAY 5

Ganadería Virgen María

Morning on the ranch: a 4×4 or trailer ride through the breeding fields, the stables and — when the day allows — a tentadero. Back to Sevilla (about 50 minutes) by mid-afternoon, and to the Feria in the evening. Hotel: Hotel Colón Gran Meliá (or similar). B · L

DAY 6

A full day at the Feria

Dress for the Feria if you like (we can help arrange flamenca or traje corto), a carriage ride through the Real and a long lunch with friends in the casetas. Optional corrida. B · L

DAY 7

Triana

Across the river to Triana: ceramics workshops, the market and the neighbourhood of toreros and flamenco. A free afternoon and a flamenco evening. B · D

DAY 8

The last day of the Feria

A slower final day at the Feria, a farewell dinner and the fireworks over the river at midnight. B · D

DAY 9

Departure

Breakfast and farewells. Transfers to Sevilla airport or Santa Justa station can be arranged. B

A night on the ranch

Hotel Virgen María · Guillena

One night of this journey is spent at Hotel Virgen María, not the whole week. It is an eight-room house in the middle of Ganadería Virgen María, on Finca Dehesa El Serrano in Guillena, about fifty minutes from Sevilla. The other seven nights are at Hotel Colón Gran Meliá in Sevilla (or similar), Sevilla’s classic “hotel of the toreros”, a few minutes’ walk from La Maestranza.

The rooms take their names from Andalusian towns, and are finished with handcrafted fabrics, carved wood and hand-painted tiles. There is a pool, terraces, and dehesa of holm oak and wild olive just beyond the walls. Breakfast and the kitchen are Andalusian, built around local products.

While you are here the ranch can take you through the breeding fields by 4×4 or trailer, to the riding arena and stables, and — when the day allows — to a tentadero.

The whitewashed façade of Hotel Virgen María, with a metal bull sculpture in the courtyard — Hotel Virgen María, Guillena

The pool at Hotel Virgen María, with oaks of the dehesa beyond — The pool, looking toward the dehesa

A guest room at Hotel Virgen María, with timber beams and hand-painted tiles — A room at the house

The tentadero ring at Ganadería Virgen María, in the dehesa — The ranch tentadero, just beyond the house

What’s included

Included

7 nights at Hotel Colón Gran Meliá, Sevilla (or similar) and 1 night at Hotel Virgen María, Guillena
Daily breakfast, plus the lunches and dinners shown in the itinerary, including welcome and farewell dinners with wine
Private ground transport for all included touring and day trips
English-speaking Toro Travel hosts throughout, and licensed local guides at monuments and museums
Festival access as listed — reserved viewing where available, entries, and private ranch visits

Not included

International flights and travel to the meeting point
Travel insurance (strongly recommended — see booking terms)
Corrida tickets (optional; we can book them for you at cost)
Gratuities for local guides and drivers, drinks outside included meals, and personal expenses

Final inclusions and pricing are subject to supplier confirmation.

When you’re ready, dates and reservations for Authentic Andalucía are on a separate page.

Book now

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