Joël Courchay

Joel did an excellent job planning our trip. He listened to what we wanted and was flexible when our plans changed from a driving trip in the beginning. Joel also provided great support while we were on the trip when we ran into a couple hiccups that were totally beyond his control.
Our local guides were great, on time and very knowledgeable. I especially remember Natalie in Toledo and Maya for our Basque country trip to the cheese and cider making locations. But they were all great! Now if Joel can just find my suitcase that Iberia has lost.........

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Miró

Bilbao

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel de Londres & de Inglaterra

San Sebastian

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Iberostar Las Letras Gran Via

Madrid

Great location!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bilbao Walking Tour & Guggenheim Museum

Bilbao

Another great guide....though her name is one I can't pronounce or spell! She was a great guide for the Guggenheim, gave really good perspectives.

Excursion to the countryside with lunch

San Sebastián

Loved Maya....she was so enthusiastic about the area and preserving the small farmer culture that it really made the trip enjoyable.

Excursion to the French Basque Country

San Sebastián

This was a really fun trip....highly recommend it!

St James Way half-day

San Sebastián

It was raining, so we did plan B....a train trip to a different spot up the coast. Great guide, who we had for tomorrow as well...Anna.

Pintxos tour & Wine in San Sebastian - Small Group Tour

San Sebastián

We were glad we did a small group (rather than private) as it made it more fun. It was a great group. ....we went to 5 places!

San Sebastian private walking tour

San Sebastián

Amaya was terrific. Great overview of San Sebastian!

Full day excursion to Segovia & Avila

Madrid

Both good, glad we did them.

Excursion to Toledo

Madrid

Loved Natalie! She's a doll. She went at a perfect pace and was fun.

Private walking-tour with Royal Palace

Madrid

The guide was lovely, however the Royal Palace was closed that day so we couldn't go. We went to the Prado, where she spent way too long talking about a couple of paintings by Greco. We would have rather seen more in the Prado than the focus on a couple paintings. That said, she was a very good guide and very personable.

Private tapas tour in Madrid

Madrid

While the guide was great, it didn't feel like the "tapas" we were expecting. We essentially sat down in 3 restaurants and had a single item in each place.

In planning for our trip (interrupted by covid) the Spaintop consultants (Sylvia and the Joël) helped us to put together a most memorable experience in Spain and Portugal.
Our journey started with a train to Léon where the hotel was in the main square. Two great days during the Easter festivals. Then onto Santander via Picos de Europa which was amazing. Our guide Alejandra and driver Jorge were friendly and knowledgeable. We also had Mercedes take us on a foot and wine trip - the winery was definitely a highlight.
On to San Sebastián, via Balboa and the Guggenheim, again a very nice hotel and our San Sebastián guide, Amaya, took us on a memorable Tapas journey.
Barcelona was next `after a short flight. We were picked up at the airport by another very nice driver. The hotel staff were very friendly and were quite happy to look after our bags - we had arrived to early. A small group tour of Barcelona which included a quick entry into the Sagrada Familia.
The visit to Cordoba was also interesting including a tour of the Mesquita with a knowledgeable guide who firstly showed us some of the historical parts of the town.
Sevilla by train, again a very nice hotel. Our guide, Juan, new his stuff as he showed us around the historical parts and recommended our lunchtime restaurant.
The next part was a tour of the white villages to Ronda by our guide Alfredo - a really great guide - who explained about the villages.
Alfredo also was our guide a day later for the Caminito Del Rey - a truly fantastic walk. Again his knowledge and insights were really good.
Granada was our next stop and again a very knowledgeable guide for the Alhambra.
Malaga was next - great hotel and used the hop on hop off bus to get a good overview.
In Lisbon our guide was Cristina who showed us around the historical centre and into the Aflame district. She also made sure that we had a table at a little restaurant for lunch.
We also stayed in the Douro Valley where the hotel was idyllic.
In Porto we met Joana who took us on a lovely tour (in the rain!) to finish in a wonderful little restaurant.

Overall the efforts of SpainTop have been excellent.
We had a wonderful journey that went without hitches.
I would certainly recommend them and personally would use them again.

Joel put together the most amazing trip through Spain for me and my two teen daughters. We had a healthy mix of sight seeing, local gastronomy, beach time and hiking/biking. We loved the variety of cities we visited and the mix of driving, trains, and flying. Joel was attentive and offered additional suggestions throughout our trip, making it even more special. The local guides we met for walking tours were knowledgeable and flexible to our needs. The cooking class in Barcelona was a favorite for all of us. The detailed itinerary and plan made it easy to navigate and we felt like we saw it all! It made it really easy on us to have Joel helping us at every step, allowing us to focus on enjoying our vacation! We cannot say enough good things about our experience and can't wait to use kimkim again!

Trip was wonderfully planned out. A perfect blend of oversight and self-determination.
Joel was there for me every step of the way, when needed, both before and during my trip.