Welcome Pickups is a car-sharing service that focuses on meeting travelers at transportation points (airports, train stations, ferries, etc.) and taking them to their first destination. They proudly claim that all their drivers speak English well and will follow your itinerary and make appropriate adjustments if there is a delay. They also claim to be the same price as a regular taxi only better.

We have used Welcome Pickups with good result several times. In Crete (2019) for a mid-night pickup and ride to our hotel an hour away from the port. In Seville for two rides to and from the train station, then airport to our lodging in the heart of the Triana area.

On this trip things did not go well at all.

We entered the Arrival Hall at 1:25 and stayed there or walked around outside until 1:45. We saw no one with a sign with either my name or Welcome Pickups. I had sent the most updated WhatsApp number before we began traveling so the driver had access to us. Otherwise, we had no access to the driver, partially because the driver I had last seen assigned to us was not the one making the pickup at the actual time. We received no emails, no messages at that contact.

When I was able to access the internet again (at my hotel), I saw the change of driver, and that he was reporting he’d been to the airport and terminated the ride because we were a no show. We also received a message from the driver at 2:20am “I’m here. Where are you?”

When I contacted Welcome Pickups the next day, they used “geolocation data” and said that the driver had been there. Therefore we would receive no refund.

Note that although “Welcome Pickups” sent me an SMS and email, they were to a number I couldn’t access. They were also generic “your driver has arrived!” auto-generated. The driver himself did not send an email or WhatsApp until an HOUR after his arrival. And since the driver had changed from what I’d seen (that day, before traveling) my only contact info was for a person who was not our driver. It was the middle of the night. There were 20+ men standing around, many holding signs for tour companies, hotels, and Riads. Occasionally there was a specific name. Many were unauthorized cars, hustling unwary travelers. This was stressful, all the more so because of the late hour. We walked the gamut several times over the 20+ minutes we waited for our driver to appear.

And my name is distinctive in this part of the world.

Our return trip was booked for a pickup at the riad we were staying in. Knowing that the car would not be able to drive up, we had our (very helpful) riad contact the driver and work out what needed to happen. He chose a taxi stand across from the Koutoubia Mosque and called when he was a few minutes out. Someone from the riad walked us out to the meeting point and then stayed with us, which was great because our driver didn’t arrive for another 10 minutes. Then, after putting our bags in the trunk, grabbed some change and (we guess) ran into a local coffee shop and had a drink. No explanation, just a hurried, “stay here.” Unsettling. I am sure that if we hadn’t had a local staying with us, we would have been lost and unsettled by the long wait on a very busy street.

As we said previously, we’ve used Welcome Pickups with good result several times. Yet, we’ve had last minute changes in drivers several times (once in Seville, and several times in Marrakesh). I suppose this is no problem if the traveler downloads and uses their app, but I prefer not to do so. These last minute changes mean that even when the driver gives you their WhatsApp, you can be left without contact. (And I do mean last minute in that you have a contact before you get on the plane and its different when you deplane a few hours later.) Not are the changes always made on the website. We had a lovely woman driver in Seville, but the website persists in telling us it was Miguel who picked us up . . . and even asked for feedback abut him. I never received a response to my reply that it hadn’t been him who met us, but I would happily review the woman who did. They have not asked us to review our driver in Marrakech.

When they arrive, the drivers are friendly, skilled, and the vehicles are clean and a correct size for our needs. In Crete, we were met (correctly) at the airport where we were told we would be met. In Seville, we were met in the train station where we were told to be and were picked up exactly on time (5am) to go to the airport. Marrakesh airport was a spectacular failure and the pickup was stressful albeit not a failure.

Five encounters:
1 no show
3 name switches
2 went as promised
2 went fine, if confusing

A long time ago, when we first started traveling to Europe, we discovered an excellent tour guide company, Context Travel. Their guides were people who weren’t just passionate about the material they presented, but usually had an advanced degree or extensive experience. So, the guide who took us through Central Park in New York City was a Ph.D. candidate in Landscape Architecture with a dissertation on the effect of the Park on the city’s history. The tour we did of the “back stage” of the New York Met was led by someone who’d been an archivist for the Met for 30 years. Needless to say, they were outstanding tours, albeit about twice as expensive as other guides and companies.

Fast forward a few decades and Context has become (to our mind) outrageously expensive. We’re all for paying people well for their time and expertise, but when a 4-hour tour costs nearly $1,000 that is well over our comfort level. Tours from aggregate companies like GetYourGuide are utterly hit or miss in our experience (we tell you when we have a good one, and there have been very few over the years.)

This trip (Spain, Winter Holiday 2025) we decided to try and maximize our learning and exploration and booked several tours through the same company: Tours by Locals. As the name implies, the guides are all people who live in the city/ region and have deep knowledge from years of direct, personal experience. In our experience, they are also passionate about imparting their knowledge and affection for the area. Our first tour was a full day excursion to Toledo from Madrid with Paul, a longtime resident of Madrid. The tour cost included his renting a car and door-to-door service from our hotel. It was a full day, and Paul was happy to incorporate a visit to the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Our second tour was with Sandra, a lifelong resident of Seville. She showed us many non-typical places full of history and shared anecdotes that imparted a lot of Spanish history and culture. Finally, we spent an afternoon with Mirian, thoroughly exploring The Alhambra in Granada. Her degrees in Archeology, Art, and History all combined in powerful journey through Spanish history through various viewpoints.

Each guide was unique, and outstanding. It was holiday time and many typical sites were unavailable (overbooked or closed for religious reasons). Each did an excellent job of finding alternatives which were as interesting (or more so) than what would have been on a typical tour. Moreover, the places we saw and visited were squarely placed within appropriate context, making it an incredible learning experience. Each also did a great job of introducing (or extending) local knowledge of culture, whether through food or wine recommendations, or specific places to see on our own.

We don’t use tour guides much, but will actively look for Tours By Locals in the future.