Kimkim Trip Reviews for Spain

This trip was difficult to plan from the beginning. It was for 2 people with different arrival and departure dates. Also, 2 nights of accommodation were already booked. Hector never seemed to get exactly when who was going to be there. I said my son was going to be there on the 6th and he booked a room for him on the night of the 5th. Many of the days had shopping as the main activity. I had said we were interested in nature and culture. The hike that was booked for us turned out to be a 4x4 ride which was disappointing. I was in Madrid and the Prado was not scheduled as a tour until I asked for it to be added on. I believed Hector when he said that the last minute nature of the booking made the expensive but when we looked at daily room rates when we were there, they were not high. I think we were overcharged by about 50% and want a refund of at least $5000.

Activity Reviews

4x4 Jeep & Hike the Cares Route, Picos de Europa

Picos de Europa

This was a 4x4 without a hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking Madrid’s Old Town

Madrid

Great tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dalia was exceptional at putting together a wonderful 14 day trip through Spain. We visited 7 cities which were very nice to tour and see the many different landmarks in each place. The Eclipse in Zaragoza was spectacular and the day trip to Los Pedroches pig farm was fantastic and should not be missed. All the daily transfer drivers were professional and always on time. This was truly one of the best trips we have been on. Great job Dalia.

Raquel did a fantastic job curating a fun, active and culturally rich itinerary for us.

We would use her again in a heartbeat!

Hotel Review

H10 Villa de la Reina

Madrid

Friendly staff, comfortable rooms and wonderful breakfast made this hotel within walking distance to most points of interest a perfect stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Flavors of La Rioja: Hands-On Cooking Experience

Spain

Hands on cooking class was a fun way to learn about local La Rioja cuisine.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Multi-Generational Family Trip Success in Spain!
What an amazing time and a fantastic trip that Kimkim and Coraima and team planned for us! We wanted to travel to Spain for the eclipse, and add on a fair bit of intra-national travel. We were a family group of 2 septuagenarians, 6 middle-aged adults and 8 children between the ages of 6 and 13. We had multiple requests for specific cities, day trips, seamless transportation, and Coraima was able to help us with all of them! We had the best time in San Sebastian - in the *nicest* hotel, and a great tour guide, Inigo, from Ikusnahi Tours, for a Private City walk that really set the bar high for all other tours on the trip. We flew from San Sebastian to Madrid on Iberia (that was maybe one of the only downsides as Iberia lost 4 of our bags :( ) We did a couple of day trips from Madrid, including Toledo and Segovia / Avila. The hands-down *favorite* outing for all of the kids (and several of the adults) was the sword-making workshop in Toledo. The father / son duo from Artesania Arellano were so engaging, and patient, and entertaining. The kids were entranced and couldn't stop talking about it. So glad we did that in Toledo, even though that was "out of town". Sonia from Destino Toledo who led us on a walking tour that afternoon was also phenomenal - tailoring the tour to our group and giving us such good recommendations for Toledo and Madrid as well. Our drivers on that day, also from Destino Toledo, were gems. Coraima planned enough enough free time for us to explore each city on our own between activities or trips. The Segovia & Avila day trip we did was fun, but we may have tried to pack too much into that day. We transferred from Madrid to Barcelona via train, which was great fun for our group, and very comfortable. The skip-the-line Park Güell & Sagrada Familia tour was another hit, mainly for the content. We ended our travels with a fantastic and plentiful tapas dinner, followed by a flamenco show, which the kids also loved! My parents kept telling me how happy they were with the trip and thanking me and KimKim / Coraima for planning such a wonderful trip for us. I got major kudos, so thank you Coraima!! For the most part, our guides and drivers reached out in advance of each activity or meet up, which was so reassuring. The hotels were comfortable and just the right level of cushy for our group. We got amazing tips and guidance from Coraima / KimKim during all of the preparatory conversations., including a zoom call as our departure date got closer. All in all, a wildly successful trip, and my mother is already asking if kimkim can plan our trip next year - thank you Coraima and Kimkim!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Regina

Barcelona

Pretty hotel, well located, great hotel bar and good breakfast. Rooms were big and beds were comfortable. The space was a little rumbly, due to proximity to the subway, but it's not disruptive. Loved that they had a water filling station on each floor and the lounge / bar on the first floor was a great staging place for before & after outings.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the hallways, great vibes.

Location

Great location, wasn't too noisy, and easy to walk to great restaurants and other locations.

Staff

The bar staff was very nice and helped us out with a couple of late night drinks. The restaurant staff was very charming and super helpful as well.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Regina

Madrid

Very pretty hotel and the family suites were comfortable. Tucked into a very fancy neighborhood, it's a narrow building but they make great use of the space. The roof deck is a little slice of peace. The breakfast was the best of any hotel we've been to in Europe, plentiful and highly varied - would definitely recommend this as a homebase for Madrid.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location and mostly quiet and very tony, but very easy to walk to so many things we wanted to see. Great food in the surrounding area as well.

Staff

The restaurant staff was lovely. The checkin process was confusing, and that was at the end of a really rough travel day, so it stuck out.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Generally clean and well appointed room, but some repairs needed (our light panel was falling off the wall) and the light switches were confusing.

Catalonia Donosti

San Sebastián

Amazing hotel and location. loved the elevator to the street level. Beautiful rooms, great breakfast and super helpful staff. The roof deck & pool was stunning, and we got to watch the festival fireworks from the roof (with complementary cava!). Our favorite hotel on our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Loved that the hotel was up above the city and away from the hustle / bustle, but still allowed you to get to the street level easily.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private City Walk

Spain

Our guide & driver were fantastic on this activity. It was the best way to see the highlights of San Sebastian and also learn a ton about the city. We hit three of the best spots in the city and had enough time at each. Our guide Inigo was very informative, engaging and even taught us some Basque words. He also took some of the BEST photos of our group. Our driver and Inigo worked around a traffic accident that nearly derailed our outing, but they made the whole day work and were really flexible and adaptive. We loved that we ended the trip with a pinxho (honestly, the best pinxho of the trip) and a glass of cider. Inigo even walked us back to the hotel - this was a great walking tour and set the bar very high!

Quality of Experience

The spots were amazing, so glad to have seen the highlights. Loved the pinxho and drink at the end of the tour.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Inigo and our driver were the best. Energetic, engaging, adaptive.

Transport

Van was comfortable and the driver was always in the right spot.

Overall, we were pleased with our accommodations and the experiences that Hector planned. The Iberostar resort was perfect for our family, and my cousin and I loved our windmills tour with our wonderful guide Birgit. Most of the family also enjoyed the catamaran trip and swimming. The Gran Hotel Havana in Barcelona also suited us well, and we loved our tour guide for Girona (Manuel and his driver Wandr) so much that we lobbied to have them for our second tour (of Montserrat) which was amazing. We also loved the sunset boat trip with the guitarist.

One of the two reasons we did not give 5 stars is because our original flight from Mallorca to Barcelona was scheduled without our agreement to leave at 8:30 in the morning which would have been extremely difficult with three small children. When we requested to move the reservation, we received a lot of pushback and almost tried to make arrangements ourselves (since we received no credit for the original reservation). When we did finally get rescheduled at considerable expense, we learned at the airport that my son would be on standby and his 1-year-old son who is a lap child, had a confirmed seat. It took a great deal of effort to get my son on the flight with no help from Espiritu who blamed the airlines and did nothing to help despite having been responsible for the reservation. I don't believe that the fact that we were with three small children was adequately considered.

The second reason is that we did not receive much help in figuring out where to go to watch the eclipse. Most of the suggestions we received were not helpful because the government was closing many of the streets in Mallorca for security reasons, and they were therefore inaccessible. My daughter did a lot of research online to learn this and did find for us the best place possible given where we were staying, but we would have had a difficult time and probably missed it entirely if we had relied on the information we were given.

Hotel Reviews

Gran Hotel Havana

Barcelona

The rooms were very comfortable and attractive and quiet. Most of the staff were helpful and polite. It was good to have room service and the rooftop restaurant available when we did not want to go out, and the included breakfast buffet had lots of good choices.

Iberostar selection Playa de Muro Village

Playa de Muro, Mallorca, Illes Balears

The rooms were clean and comfortable mostly (one had a problem, but the staff moved those of us in that room to a better one). The pools and private beach were perfect and greatly enjoyed, and the breakfast buffet (and other food options) were all amazing. The staff were all helpful and friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Montserrat & Catalan Wine of Penedès Region

Barcelona

Again, our guide Manuel made it extra special. It is also a beautiful and spiritual place. Some of us are not religious but were deeply moved nonetheless.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From Medieval Girona to the Villages of Costa Brava

Barcelona

Our guide Manuel made this a very enjoyable and memorable experience. And some of our group said that the beach where he took us after Girona was the best one they had ever been to.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Manuel was knowledgeable, warm talkative, fun and great with the chidren.

Transport

The vans were very comfortable.

Mediterranean Sunset Sailing Experience & Live Spanish Guitar Music

Barcelona

We loved the guitar, and the route was very calm so no one became seasick.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

One of us has balance problems and the captain and staff were very helpful in getting on and off the boat.

Transport

It was a beautiful catamaran sailboat. The only thing that would have been better would have been if it actually sailed instead of motoring the whole way, but that did not impair the experience.

Barcelona for Kids: Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia & Park Güell

Barcelona

The Sagrada Familia on the inside just blew me away; I did not expect to be so moved and impressed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She could have been more enthusiastic and warm.

Mallorca by Sea: A Boutique Sailing, Tapas & Snorkeling Experience

Spain

The swimming in the Mediterranean was wonderful. The only problem was that two of our group got seasick.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Windmills & Villages: A Journey Through Mallorca’s Interior

Spain

Birgit was so knowledgeable and warm. My cousin and I really enjoyed learning about the history, traditions and current day people of Mallorca from her. She was great!

Quality of Experience

our guide Birgit

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Birgit was outstanding and made the whole experience one I will not forget.

Transport

We were grateful that since only two of us went, Birgit picked us up at our hotel.

This was another great trip planned by KimKim! Our local guides were all fabulous! They were very knowledgeable and personable as well as prompt.

Hotel Review

H10 Madison Hotel

Barcelona

The rooftop views, pool and bar were wonderful, although at times, the pool was overrun with small children. The staff was friendly and helpful and the breakfast each morning was delicious. Overall, we really liked the hotel. Our room was comfortable, but we would have liked a quieter location. We were on the 7th floor, right below the pool area. We could hear the movement of tables and chairs as they prepped for the day, although it wasn't too terribly early. The location of the hotel was great!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the Old City and Cathedral areas

Staff

Evelyn was particularly outstanding.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Walk in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter

Barcelona

We used an audio guide from Rick Steves which was very helpful.

Quality of Experience

Private Tapas & Flamenco Experience in Barcelona

Barcelona

Our guide, Alfredo was excellent. He took us to 2 outstanding tapas restaurants where they had everything ready for us. The Flamenco show was a lot of fun too. It was the perfect length.

Quality of Experience

Food

The tapas that were pre-selected for us were outstanding and the wine was abundant.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Barcelona Picasso Tour with Picasso Museum

Barcelona

Our guide, Vitaly was outstanding!! His knowledge and passion for the city and of Picasso made the experience extra special. I highly recommend having guided tours of museums. They can get overwhelming and guides can highlight the most important works and the history behind them. This museum in particular was a wonderful chronology of Picasso's life.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Montserrat Sunrise & Brunch

Barcelona

Our pick up was not quite early enough for us photographers. Our guide was quite young and he walked very fast up the steep hill to the sunrise spot. We were slower and just made it to the top as the sun was coming over the mountain. We really had no time to set up our tripods and get a good shot. It turned out that it wasn't a very good sunrise that morning. The tour of the church and Black Madonna was very good and the funicular ride down the mountain was fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Gaudí Experience with La Sagrada Família & Park Güell

Barcelona

Our guide, Maria was outstanding!! She was very patient with us as we wanted to take a lot of photos. We loved all of the Gaudi locations we toured. We ended up taking a tour of Casa Batllo on our own later in our trip. It was great to be able to get quick access to the sites too, without having to wait in long queues.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had to arrange and pay for the taxis ourselves.

Sailing Trip with Winery Visit & Tasting

Barcelona

We really enjoyed the winery visit. We were driven to the winery first, then we sailed back. While this was the opposite to what was originally planned, we really liked the order. We were expecting to be served a brunch at the winery as outlined in our KimKim itinerary, but all we got was pan con tomate (which, by the way, was my favorite tapa in Spain!). It was fine as we did have breakfast at the hotel; it just wasn't what was expected. It rained during our sailing trip (first and really only rain we saw in our 2 weeks in Spain- what are the odds?:(. We still had a lovely time and enjoyed our boat captain and the other 2 couples who were on the boat with us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Francesca at the winery, Bouquet d'Adella was fabulous! Our boat driver was fun.

Transport

Self-Guided Montjuïc & Tibidabo Walk

Barcelona

We really struggled to understand what all there was to see and do on Montjuic and how to get there. I am usually very good at planning these kind of things, but I couldn't figure out how to manage the funicular/cable car option. We ended up taking a taxi up to the castle and then walked to the Art Museum, Magic Fountain and Plaza de Espana from there. While we enjoyed the views near the castle, we decided not to visit the castle. We decided not to go to Tibadabo at all.

Quality of Experience

Local Market Visit & Cooking Class

Barcelona

We loved this experience. There were only 4 of us in the class, so we had a very private experience. The food was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Antonio, the chef was delightful. We got a lot of hands-on experience and the food and wine was abundant.

Food

Everything, especially the paella made with fresh seafood purchased at the market.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Antonio!

In numerous ways, the logistics and planning for this trip were poor. From considering travel times for our family with young children, to fiascos with booking almost causing us to miss our flight, it did not feel like a smooth trip.

The day trips planned for us were excellent though. The hotels were great too.

The only reason I'm giving this two stars is because our pickup and transfers were without issue and the hotel properties were fine. The trip was amazing, but no thanks to Kim Kim or the local provider. It was amazing because we spent every evening researching and figuring out what we were going to do the next day. The provider knew we had a rental car but made no provisions to check with every one of our hotels to make sure that they had parking. When we asked them to do that, they checked the hotel for the following evening, and we never heard about that again. We had one day in Zaragoza, which was actually the day most of the locations we wanted to visit were closed, so it would have been nice to have a heads up on that. We landed in Bilbao during a national holiday. Also would have been nice to know about that. We also arrived in San Sebastian during the City Festival. Didn't know about that either.
On one of our wine tasting trips, we were supposed to get transfers to and from. Two days before, the wine trip the company informed us that we were too far away and they couldn't pick us up.
We eventually reached out to Kimkim itself to report some of the issues. We didn't get back anything that was helpful at all and never heard from them again.
Kim Kim has booked a number of trips for us that have all been essentially flawless. This was not one of those trips.

Activity Review

A Basque Country Excursion: Jaizkibel Hike, Txakoli Winery & Hondarribia

San Sebastián

Jaime was amazing sharing with us the local culture and the amazing Basque region.

Quality of Experience

Jaime

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jaime

Transport

Jaime

I thought hector did a great job setting up stuff. But when I got there I was really disappointed. I expected him to have thought through all the transitions. But when we got there we found that he didn’t consider whether we should book the night before in order to have a place to sleep when we arrived. Clearly we had a misunderstanding about the role of a travel agent. Very disappointing.

That said, the locations he chose were great. The hotel where we stayed for the eclipse had a perfect view of the eclipse from the parking lot. The hotel in Valencia was lovely. The hotel in Madrid was really great and very comfortable. We liked all the tour guides except the racist one (reported already), particularly the one in Burgos. She was amazing.

All the guides were awesome. Very knowledgeable on the history and food. Really enjoyed the conversations.

Activity Review

Flavors of La Rioja: Hands-On Cooking Experience

Spain

Really enjoyed the chef and his cooking techniques.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Raquel and her several assistants put together the perfect trip to Spain to see the eclipse for 8 travelers. The hotels were nice, in the center of cities, the guides were very knowledgeable, and suggested restaurants and excursions were appreciated.
We enjoyed the next trip to Barcelona for just the two of us as well. I wish we had more days to explore the city. I appreciate the effort Raquel and her team put into finding the best hotels for our budget, and the best experiences to give us a sense of how wonderful Spain is.

Amazing trip to Barcelona. Our planner Hector did a fabulous job of preparing a wonderful trip for my family when we came to Spain to watch the total eclipse. We stayed in Barcelona at a wonderful hotel (Ohla Barcelona) and loved the city. I and one of my daughters are vegan so we were thrilled to find that Barcelona is a center of vegan cuisine with many restaurants to choose from. Hector was very informative and planned a lot of great activities with great guides which included Tapa bar tour with Boris, tour of old city with Miguel, trip to Montserrat with a winery tour and tasting and a visit to the Black Madonna, our travel to Zaragoza for the eclipse, and finally our kayaking and snorkeling trip with Stepan on the Costa del Sol. We hope to come back to Barcelona again and would definitely use Kimkim again.

Hotel Review

Ohla Barcelona

Barcelona

Beautiful rooms. Great location. Hotel roof pool and bar one of the highlights of our trip!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Barcelona in Bites: Tapas as Local

Barcelona

This was a great way to start our experience in Barcelona with. Our guide was very informative and he made sure that there were options for the two of our group who are vegan.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Costa Brava Coastal Escape: Kayak, Snorkel & Scenic Walks

Spain

This was one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide Stepan was fantastic and experience itself - kayaking and snorkeling in the Mediterranean was great. The day was beautiful and the water was so warm and clear.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Montserrat & Catalan Wine of Penedès Region

Barcelona

We enjoyed the very information tour of the winery and the tasting that followed. The topography of this area is amazing and it was an interesting trip to see the Black Madonna.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Barcelona Highlights: Guided Walk & Iconic Sagrada Família

Spain

Our guide Miguel was fantastic - full of great information about the old city and the Sagrada Família.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bea was responsive, easy to communicate with, attentive to detail, and able to create a trip that met the needs of a wide age span - 11 years to 77 years old! She ensure that our requested activites were included, and she added activites that ended up being some of our very favorite! The pinxtos tour and the cooking class in San Sebastian were both so much fun, and our kids stepped outside of their comfort zones to try unfamiliar foods and flavors.

Hotel Reviews

H10 Art Gallery

Barcelona

Clean, compact rooms, with a delicious breakfast buffet

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vincci Zaragoza Zentro

Zaragoza

Clean, comfortable, and walkable to every thing we wanted to do in Zaragoza. The AC worked beautifully despite the extreme heat (105 degrees fahrenheit).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Zinema7

San Sebastian (Guipuzcoa)

Clean, quiet, comfortable, and with a delicious breakfast buffet. Walkable to nearly everything we wanted to do in San Sebastian.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

French Basque Coast: Biarritz & Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Spain

The locations were beautiful, but it felt hurried and as if we were in the van for a significant portion of the day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loarre Castle: The Last Medieval Stronghold

Zaragoza

We had enough time to actually explore the castle, and it was beautiful. There were minimal other people visiting at the same time, and we never felt hurried.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Barcelona for Kids: Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia & Park Güell

Barcelona

I wish I'd had more time in each location - they were both gorgeous, and I could have spent twice as long in each location!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Culinary Tapestry of Pintxos

San Sebastián

Diego was knowledgeable and friendly, with a sense of humor and way of engaging kids and adults. He chose pintxos that accommodated more selective eaters, but also pushed us outside of our comfort zones. He accommodated our vegetarian daughter easily, as well.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From Market to Table: A Basque Cooking Experience

San Sebastián

Carlos was knowledgable and friendly, with a sense of humor and way of engaging kids and adults. He chose menu items that accommodated more selective eaters, but also pushed us outside of our comfort zones to try local ways of preparing the recipes. He accommodated our vegetarian daughter easily, as well.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We just returned from our 10 day trip to Spain and could not be happier with our experience. The Kim Kim team made planning our trip easy. We worked with Coraima and Summer but members of the team jumped in when needed. The response time to questions/concerns was always quick. When our train was going to be cancelled I sent a message and options for new transportation were offered immediately.

Our group loved the tours that were suggested. The tour guides and private chef experiences were some of our best memories. If we had planned on our own this is something we would have missed out on.

We are very happy we chose to work with your team.

Mil gracias!!!

Janelle was truly outstanding, helping us to put together a trip to Northern Spain with a lot of moving pieces. None of the 5 us had been to that part of the world before, and she made it easy to hit a lot of wonderful highlights. The guides selected were excellent, and each of the hotels and restaurants the team reserved for us was GREAT.

Julia planned an amazing two days in Madrid for us. Everything was great starting on day one with our airport pick up, followed by a self- guided and self-paced walking tour of La Latina , and ending the day with the super fun Tapas and Tavernas history food tour with Daniel from Devour Tours. On day two we were so fortunate to have the amazing Maria guide us at both The Prado Museum and the Royal Palace . She really made the art come alive for us. It was an amazing experience. We learned so much and really were able to make the most of our visit. We also had plenty of time for needed siestas and a long visit with friends. We loved staying at the Pestana Collection Plaza Mayor — a cool hotel with a perfect central location. We will definitely return to Madrid!

Hotel Review

Pestana Collection Plaza Mayor

Madrid

Great central location. We were a 20-minute walk or less from everywhere we wanted to go. The staff was wonderful. The room was cool. Delicious breakfast. A lovely calm oasis in the city.

Authenticity & Character

Near rooms, lovely decor, great staff, nice breakfast

Location

Central to everywhere we wanted to visit. Very walkable

Staff

Couldn’t be nicer or more helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Daily run cleaning and turn down service with a chocolate treat included!

Activity Reviews

Evening Tapas, Taverns & History Walk

Madrid

Wow! What a fantastic experience. Daniel was so fun and informative and entertaining. I learned a lot, ate wonderful food, and throughly enjoyed every minute of this experience.

Quality of Experience

The walking, the food, the stories, the company. It was a terrific evening!

Food

Loved the cod, the cheese, the vermouth, the Spanish omelet, the shishito peppers....

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Daniel was a 5-star guide!

Royal Palace Visit

Madrid

We were thrilled to find we had the same amazing guide, Maria, from our Prado tour. She is so knowledgeable and personable. It made for a delightful tour. The palace is beautiful and fascinating to tour. I am d=so glad we did this.

Quality of Experience

The palace is opulent and enormous. Definitely happy to have had an interpretive guide.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Maria is the best!

Self-Guided El Centro Walk

Madrid

This was a great activity for our first day. It got us into diverse neighborhoods of the city, with special stops alongtheu way. We loved Churreria Santa Ana. We enjoyed popping into Ramirez and also found it worthwhile to lok around in Parroquia de San Millan y San Cayetano. We enjoyed all of the amazing street art, particularly in La Latina. And the Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande was a highlight. We made it as far as the really cool Viaducto de Segovia, but at that point headed back to our hotel for a rest.

Quality of Experience

Self-paced exploration with guidance.

Short Prado Museum Visit with Skip-the-Line Ticket

Madrid

The guided tour was amazing. Maria knew so much and we experienced the art in ways I never have. I would do this again!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Overall trip was incredible!
Everything that kimkim helped me with was wonderful. The only this is the shuttle from airport. They give you 1hr to show up but we all know that unboarding a big plane and going thru all the checks is at least 1.5hrs. So our private shuttle left the airport. I’m not sure how much money that was wasted on us but I was kinda sad about that part.
Thanks for all the help!!

Our trip to Spain was amazing, 19 months of planing with KimKim. This was the 2nd time using them, and would definitely use 7 refer them. From Seville, Madrid, Costa Brava to Barcelona and all the other excursions kayaking, wine tasting, royal palace taps stroll etc. All amazing. But there was a couple of bumps in the road which was not really a big deal. But I did I feel like Alfonso was more of pointing the issues at others, rather than understanding the issue. Or just take accountability.
*1st issue was every stop from destination to destination we had a private transfer from hotel to train station or vice versa. Except when leaving Madrid, we were required to take a taxi to the train station. Private transfer should have been included, and I will never be convinced it shouldn't have been. When asked about this, Alfonso immediately referenced a conversation we had in the trip chat about taxis. But that was in regards to taking taxis to our excursions(Costa Brava) not back to a train station
*2nd issue was at some point our train time changed leaving Madrid to Costa Brava back in May. But we were never notified, and we never noticed either. Originally scheduled to leave at 10:30 and arrive 13:15. New time was 12:27 and arrive 16:35. Not that big of deal, but what was never mentioned once was that it was an 1:15min ride to the hotel. So what originally was a day we thought we would be at the Hotel by at least 14:00, didn't arrive until almost 18:30. In addition to the time changes our train tickets had incorrect train # on it. Thankfully Renfe held the train for 20min to get us seats on the train
*3rd issue was not having clear instructions at the Sagrada Familia. Had instructions to meet for a guided tour at 17:00 at a certain point, we waited and waited. But eventually we didn't know who we were actually waiting for so we went inside. Where we waited there's hundreds of people, different tours with different groups, colored flags etc. Again this wasn't really a big deal for us, but when asked Alfonso seemed very frustrated with us, as if we were just asking to much. We just didn't know, we followed the specific instructions and just waited at the meeting. But didn't know who we were meeting.
*4th issue was Alfonso creating a WhatsApp group thread for communicating, and not actually including me. The group consisted of him, his associate and my wife Paula. This I didn't understand, as I just spent 19months planing this trip with him, and he set up this group chat without me. Wasn't until the 2nd to last day I was added to the chat. Again small issue, I just didn't understand why.
In summary our trip was amazing!! I spent 19 months planing this with Alfonso and everything he put together was amazing from top to bottom, the hotels, excursions food etc. Although I do know Alfonso was dealing with a family matter, and I hope everything is ok. My father passed away this past January, it was a very difficult time. With that said I feel Alfonso did a great job with everything, nothing is ever perfect. Would still give 4-4.5 stars. There was just a couple of things where the instructions weren't clear to us, and when we reached out. We sensed some frustration from Alfonso towards us. We've now been home for 12days, and I thought its very unusual for a traveler agent that you worked with for 19 months, and hasn't even reached out asking how the trip was. Or ask for a review? So I came on to check, and only saw the KimKim reply. Either way can't wait to plan the next trip

Activity Reviews

Cruise Seville's Río Guadalquivir

Seville

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Visit to La Sagrada Família & Tower

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Visit to Seville’s Cathedral & Alcázar

Seville

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Evening Tapas Stroll with Locals

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapas Walk in Barcelona

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kayaking & Snorkeling in Costa Brava

Spain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private City Walk & Royal Palace Experience

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Wine Experience

Spain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

5/5 Stars – An Unforgettable Travel Experience!

We couldn’t have asked for a better trip planner than Hector at Spiritu Travel! From start to finish, Hector went above and beyond to make sure our vacation was seamless, stress-free, and truly unforgettable. He was extraordinarily patient, took the time to answer every single question we had, and even jumped on phone calls with us multiple times before our trip to walk through the itinerary and make sure every detail was covered.

The Spiritu Travel app was an absolute game-changer, putting our complete itinerary, travel details, and key information right at our fingertips whenever we needed it.

Every excursion and local guide Hector booked for us was top-tier, exceptionally professional, and always right on time. On top of that, the private transports Hector arranged were wonderful—the drivers were incredibly friendly, highly knowledgeable, and made getting around a breeze.

Thanks to Hector and Spiritu Travel, we enjoyed every single minute of our trip. We are already looking forward to booking our next adventure with Hector and cannot recommend him highly enough!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Meninas

Madrid

Rooms are small and there is a poor view out the windows. The room smell a bit musty and the free breakfast was really bad.

Location

Centrally located near the center of the city and metro.

Staff

Staff was always friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cascade Wellness Resort

Lagos

This hotel was amazing and the highlight of our entire trip. I would highly recommend it. The room was clean and well kept. The pools were beautiful and clean. The food at the different restaurants was top notch.

Authenticity & Character

Location location location

Location

Close to town and located near the cliffs for hiking and running or walking

Staff

Everyone was extremely helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

The entire place was always clean.

Activity Reviews

Exploring Sintra & Cascais: Palaces, Cliffs & Coastline

Lisbon

Sintra is a beautiful town. However, it gets very crowded. To nobody’s fault the high risk of wild fires had closed the road and we couldn’t visit the palace. The trip to cascáis was a great experience just wished we had more time to spend there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Soul of Lisbon: Fado Dinner Experience

Spain

True dinner and a show experience. The food was delicious our waiter was very friendly and accommodating. The show was espectacular and we would highly recommend it, even my 8 yold daughter enjoyed it a lot.

Quality of Experience

Food

Overall our trip was wonderful in every way, we had just enough guided tours and just enough time to explore on our own. The TRIP PLAN app was a great way to keep track of everything scheduled, tickets and notifications of who and when we were to meet our guides.

I no longer have access to our Trip Plan so I cannot name all of our guides....sorry

Great Stuff:
Barcelona Tapas was a great experience with a great guide
Cava & Rioja winery visits were well chosen and excellent
Pamplona & Basque transfer guide Haime was a dream, very personable and very knowledgeable, great choice
Bilbao Guggenheim guide was wonderful and gave us a great insight into the Spain collections
Madrid - Our old town tour was great and our great and flexible as we noted areas we had already spent time and showed us new and interesting places. He also gave us many great recommendations for food and drink

MADRID...THANK YOU FOR WINNING THE WORLD CUP while we were there

Some comments on making things better:
Connecting your travelers with bus/metro/transit would be most helpful, we used these services A LOT in our travels and struggled with the initial source of finding websites/apps and ticket tips, please assist to Trip Plan.

Barcelona
Tickets to Sagrada Familia we on a Saturday and the site closes early. we barely had 30 minutes at the site, so we missed the crypt, museum, workshop and much of the side chapels in the building. Really disappointing as this was my #1 place I wanted to spend time in Barcelona
Montserrat visit was too short, our guide was great.....starting earlier to allow for time to walk/hike would be great

Zaragoza ghost town visit was all in spanish our guide did his best to translate. There was an option for an app to use personal headphones on our phones in english, but we didn't know to bring them

Pamplona
2 full days is enough [our fault]
We didn't get any help directing use to resources for tickets to balcony viewing of the running or the bulls, bullfights or suggestions. We managed from here but....