Carlos Ortiz tells us about his ideas about cycling in Andalusia

I love to travel and I love to ride the bike. While I was traveling I realised how easy it was to explore a new place on a bike. And it is even better when someone tells you where you should go and explains everything you should know about the city and the things you see. I think this is the best way to get to know a new place. On bike you see a lot in little time and this why I started Andalucia Tours and Discovery in 2008.

People in Sevilla are very proud of their city and we love to share stories and experiences with everybody. What I like the most of working at Andalucia Tours and Discovery is when our visitors have a great experience and are very happy. When I was young I worked as an entertainer in hotels and with my team I worked hard to make people happy. This is still my goal, to make their dreams come true during their holiday. People work hard during the year to go on holiday and they want to have a good time. When I see that our guests are happy, I am happy. The expression of the faces of the people is what is most important to me.

Also, I still learn everyday. During the tours I talk to the people and really get to know them. I teach the people about my city Seville and they teach me about their lives and their culture. So everyday I get a free cultural lesson!

We do bike tours everyday and they are always a lot of fun. Of course not every day is the same and sometimes funny things can happen. It’s always funny is when people come to our shop for the tour and then tell us they don’t know how to ride a bike, that is when the tandem comes around. Luckily, we are patient teachers and experienced tour guides.

Since a few years Seville has become one of the best cities in Europe for cycling. Therefore there is also a lot of competition. We always want to improve things. We have meetings every week to talk about what we can do better and we ask our guides about their experiences. We are not only concerned about just the tours and bike rental but we want to give people the whole experience. We give them tips about nice places to go and good restaurants. The experience starts when they enter the shop and it ends when they leave Seville. Promoting Seville as a cycle city is very important to Andalucía Tours and Discovery.