Spain Travel Agents

Hector and his colleagues put together a very high quality experience for the four of us. There are several components to a great visit anywhere and to the Pais Vasco in particular.

The Guides: We like to get to know a place through the experiences of the people who live there. We had two exceptional individuals who taught us so much about the places and people of this region. Both were intensely proud of their Basque heritage and region. Irena in Bilbao led us on an amazing Pintxos tour through the Casco Viejo (old city). Outstanding quality and lots of variety. The next day she also took us on a tour focused on the history of the City. Super knowledgeable. Our next guide was Jaime Izquierdo. We spent three days with him which included the trip from Bilbao to San Sebastián, a tour of San Sebastián and a tour of the region north of San Sebastián. One advantage of a private tour is the ability to make changes to the proposed itinerary. When we mentioned our interest in visiting Gernika (not on the original itinerary but an important place in Basque history) he was excited to make that change. And he also suggested visiting Biarritz nearby in France which was not part of the original plan.Again, super knowledgeable and just a real pleasure to spend three days with.

The Transfers: Every airport/hotel transfer was on time with great communication in advance from the driver

Lodging: The hotels in both San Sebastián and Bilbao were well located and high quality and the rooms were fine, with one exception that was quickly remedied by the local staff.

Support from the in-country agency: Espiritu Travel uses a great app—Trip Plan—that had our itinerary and suggestions for activities and restaurants. It also has a chat feature which we used several times to ask questions. It is staffed continually and their staff responded promptly.

Cost: We have traveled in Spain many times. The cost of this trip was expensive relative to our prior experiences. But it was worth every Euro.

Hector and his team have our gratitude for creating a great experience for us.

We had a great trip. The pace was perfect as were the activities. We very much enjoyed both the guides we had (Irene in Bilbao and Jaime in San Sebastian). They were knowledgeable and flexible (we asked Jaimie to move around our schedule on the day we drove to San Sebastian and he easily pivoted to meet our needs). I think it was particularly useful to have the same guide for each city so as to minimize repetition.

My only constructive criticism is that our hotels in Bilbao and San Sebastian were booked in the name of one of the members of one of the couples (David Knowles). We got into Bilbao before they did so when we tried to check into our room, it was a bit confusing as they did not have our names. It worked out fine, but it would be much easier if the rooms could be booked individually.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao

Bilbao, Bizkaia

Great location, clean and spacious

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Zenit Convento San Martin

San Sebastián

Authenticity & Character

the lobby was lovely but the rooms were small and felt very institutional

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Worst pillows ever (but I appreciate that's a very particular thing)

Activity Reviews

Bilbao Pintxos Experience: Tapas of the Basque Country

Bilbao

Terrific food and wine - great suggestions and great knowledge. Very good that it was only 4 people. This would not have been much fun if we were any more people

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Bilbao with a Local

Bilbao

Hiking Excursion  St.James way, famous «Camino de Santiago»

San Sebastián

This did not happen. It was not on our itinerary like this -- there were just a few hikes we could pick (all of which said "High difficulty" and no options for transport to the remote starting places. We were all pretty tired and appreciated a break, but it was a disappointment

From Market to Table: A Basque Cooking Experience

San Sebastián

Guide was great and very knowledgeable. Particularly appreciated the trip to the market. The amount of hands-on work was just right.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A Guided Walk though San Sebastian

San Sebastián

This was a good trip, but we got side-tracked by some things (our fault) so I don't know that we saw everything. Nonetheless, Jaime pivoted so gracefully

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Day in Basque Country: Hondarribia, Pasai Donibane & Txakoli Wine

San Sebastián

We ended up changing the itinerary at the last minute and it was seamless. It was a great day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Madrid/Seville/Lagos/Lisbon trip was well planned and well executed, nice whether helped as well.
Madrid transfers and guides were on time and professional, hotel was good, a bit noisy. Tuk-Tuk tour has room for improvement like better vehicles suspension and adding display with city map and interactive vehicle location.
Train ride was a pleasant experience.
Seville transfer to the hotel was OK, driver could use some training. Seville hotel should not be allowed to operate until underground comprehensively marked. Seville guide was on time, extremely knowledgeable and likable.
For transfer to Lagos was planned Tesla Y, instead was used Toyota Prius, substitution luxury car with economy car is not an acceptable practice, money back should be considered.
Lagos food tour guide was excellent. Lagos hotel was great, unconventional shower/toilet design would benefit by addition to toilet bidet and waste bucket. Lagos water tour was 30 minutes late, boat driver could be more respectful.
Transfer to Lisbon was good. Lisbon hotel was great, Lisbon tour guide was amazing. Tuk-Tuk tour had the same issues as Madrid one. Transfer to the Airport was seamless.

Hotel Reviews

Lagos Avenida Hotel

Lagos

Unconventional shower/toilet design would greatly benefit by adding to toilet bidet and waste bucket.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room Mate Alba

Madrid

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Las Casas de la Judería

Seville

Hotel should not allowed to operate until underground comprehensively marked, for example; every part has its own color code, similarly to marking trails in a forest.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heritage Avenida Liberdade

Lisboa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private City Walk & Royal Palace Experience

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Electric Tuk-Tuk Adventure

Madrid

Vehicle suspension is not adequate. Display with city map and interactive vehicle location should be added.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Short Prado Museum Visit with Skip-the-Line Ticket

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Flamenco Show & Museum Visit

Seville

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Visit to Seville's Cathedral & Alcázar

Seville

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lagos Evening Food Walk

Lagos (Algarve)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ponta da Piedade by Boat Excursion

Lagos (Algarve)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Pena Palace & Sintra Village Half-Day Trip

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tuk-Tuk Experience Along the 28 Tram Route

Lisbon

Similar to Madrid, vehicle suspension is not adequate. Display with city map and interactive vehicle location should be added.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

With a large family group of 9, including a mix of adults and teenagers, it was great to have our trip to Spain planned for us including transfers, train tickets, and hotels. The excursions we particularly enjoyed were the TukTuk tour in Madrid, the Gaudi experience tour in Barcelona and the cooking lesson with Maria at Solera, her private kitchen location. The KimKim specialist met with us and then set up activities based upon our preferences. Many things we would not have known to do on our own. Having someone familiar with the locations made all the difference!

We had a fantastic experience planning our trip with Kimkim. Everything was seamless, well-organized, and tailored perfectly to what we were looking for.

The activities were a highlight, especially the Private Gaudí Experience—our guide Catalina was knowledgeable, friendly, and made it very engaging. Montserrat and Costa Brava were also unforgettable, with great guides and smooth transportation throughout.

Overall, we’d highly recommend Kimkim (10/10). The entire trip exceeded our expectations, and Adam made the process easy and enjoyable from start to finish.

Adam, our local specialist, was responsive, thoughtful, and attentive to every detail. His recommendations balanced must-see highlights with unique experiences, making the trip feel truly personalized.

Hotel Review

Nobu Hotel Barcelona

Barcelona

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Gaudí Experience with La Sagrada Família & Park Güell

Barcelona

Catalina was very knowledgeable, friendly, and spent time to know us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Montserrat Sunrise & Brunch

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Costa Brava Hike & Tossa De Mar Day Trip

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport