Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): La excursión incluye una visita guiada y tiempo libre para usar el plano urbano de la ciudad. - The excursion includes a guided visit and free time to use the city map.

In Spanish, nouns ending in -ción are almost always feminine: la canción, la nación, la información, la excursión, etc.
Because excursión is feminine, it must take the feminine article la, not el.
So you say la excursión = the excursion / the trip (outing).

What is the difference between excursión and viaje in Spain? Could I say el viaje incluye… instead?

In Spain, there is a clear nuance:

excursión: usually a shorter, organized outing (often a day trip, school trip, or part of a holiday package).
viaje: any trip or journey, usually thinking of the overall travel from one place to another (holiday, business trip, long journey, etc.).

You could say el viaje incluye una visita guiada…, but that sounds like you’re talking about the whole trip or holiday package.
La excursión incluye… sounds like you mean this specific outing or activity within a larger trip.

Why is the verb incluye singular, even though it includes two things (una visita guiada y tiempo libre)?

The verb agrees with the subject, not with the objects it “includes”.
Here, the subject is la excursión (singular), so the verb must be singular: (la excursión) incluye.

Grammatically it’s:

Subject: la excursión
Verb: incluye
Direct objects: una visita guiada and tiempo libre

You would only use the plural incluyen if the subject were plural, e.g. Las excursiones incluyen….

Why is there no article before tiempo libre? Why not el tiempo libre?

In Spanish, when you talk about an indefinite, non‑specific amount of time, you often use tiempo libre with no article:

Tengo tiempo libre. – I have free time.
Incluye tiempo libre. – It includes (some) free time.

Adding the article makes it more specific:

Incluye el tiempo libre para… – It includes the free time for…

In a brochure-style sentence like this, the version without the article (tiempo libre) sounds more natural and general, like “includes free time” in English.

Could I say un tiempo libre here?

No, un tiempo libre is not idiomatic in this context.
Tiempo used in this sense is treated as an uncountable quantity, so you don’t normally use un with it.

Correct options are:

Incluye tiempo libre… (most natural here)
Incluye el tiempo libre… (more specific, less common in this kind of description)

What exactly is una visita guiada grammatically? What is guiada?

visita is a feminine noun meaning visit.
guiada is the past participle of guiar (to guide), used as an adjective.

Because visita is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular: guiada (not guiado).

So:

una visita guiada = a guided visit / a guided tour
masculine example: un recorrido guiado
plural feminine: visitas guiadas

In Spain, do people also say un tour guiado, or is una visita guiada better?

In everyday language in Spain:

una visita guiada is the standard, neutral Spanish expression.
un tour guiado is understood and used, especially in tourism marketing and among younger speakers, but it’s clearly an anglicism.

If you want more correct, “textbook” or formal Spanish, una visita guiada is the best choice.

Why is it para usar and not para que uses or usando?

For purpose with the same subject, Spanish normally uses para + infinitive:

La excursión incluye tiempo libre para usar el plano…
= The excursion includes free time to use the map…

You would use para que + subjunctive when the subject changes:

Te dan un plano para que lo uses.
They give you a map so that you use it.

Using usando would describe how you do something, not the purpose:

Te orientas usando el plano. – You find your way by using the map.

Here we’re talking about the purpose of the free time, so para usar is exactly right.

What is the difference between plano and mapa?

In Spain, the distinction is quite strong:

plano: a plan or map of a city, town, neighbourhood, building, metro, etc. It’s usually more detailed and at a smaller scale.
- un plano de la ciudad – a city plan / city map
- el plano del metro – the metro map
mapa: a map of larger areas: region, country, continent, the world.
- un mapa de España, un mapa del mundo

So for a tourist city map, Spaniards naturally say un plano de la ciudad, not un mapa de la ciudad.

Why say plano urbano de la ciudad? Isn’t urbano redundant if we already say de la ciudad?

Literally, plano urbano de la ciudad means “the urban plan/map of the city”.
In practice, urbano is often stylistic or technical and can feel redundant, because:

plano de la ciudad already implies an urban street plan.

You very frequently see just plano de la ciudad on leaflets, tourist information, and signs.
urbano adds a slight nuance of “street layout / urban area (not rural surroundings)”, but it’s not essential.

Could I simply say …para usar el plano de la ciudad instead of el plano urbano de la ciudad?

Yes, …para usar el plano de la ciudad is completely correct and very natural.

In fact, in everyday usage:

el plano de la ciudad is more common and sounds less technical than el plano urbano de la ciudad.

So both are valid, but the shorter one is more typical in general speech and many written contexts.

Why add de la ciudad? Could we just say para usar el plano urbano?

You can say para usar el plano urbano if the context already makes it crystal clear which city you’re talking about.

However, in a standalone sentence:

el plano urbano is a bit vague: “the urban plan/map” (of what?).
el plano urbano de la ciudad specifies it’s the city’s urban map, not, for example, the metro plan, a neighbourhood plan, a regional planning map, etc.

So de la ciudad makes the sentence self-contained and clearer.

Can we change the order and say incluye tiempo libre y una visita guiada? Does the order matter?

Grammatically you can absolutely say:

La excursión incluye tiempo libre y una visita guiada.

The order doesn’t change the basic meaning, but it can affect focus or what feels more important:

una visita guiada y tiempo libre: sounds like the main feature is the guided visit, and also some free time.
tiempo libre y una visita guiada: sounds like you’re emphasizing the free time first.

Writers typically put first what they want to highlight or what feels like the “main” selling point.

Why is the present tense incluye used, and not the future incluirá?

In Spanish, the present tense is often used to describe:

scheduled events
fixed programs
permanent characteristics of a product, service, or package

So La excursión incluye… means “This is what the excursion includes (as part of its fixed program).”
La excursión incluirá… is possible, but it focuses more on a specific future occasion, like “On that day, the excursion will include…”, and sounds less like a general description of the package.