Excellent
Based on 197 reviews
Espíritu Travel4.8Honesty, pricing, process and quality scores appear once 5 customers have rated them.
Espíritu Travel is a boutique travel company with over 10 years of experience designing exceptional, custom-made journeys. We are a passionate team of travel experts with deep, firsthand knowledge of the destinations we offer, specializing in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Morocco.We create tailor-made trips for independent travelers who seek meaningful, well-organized, and culturally rich experiences. Our approach is highly personal: we take the time to understand your interests, travel style, and priorities, then offer honest, insightful guidance and meticulously planned itineraries that allow you to travel with ease and confidence.Every journey we design is shaped entirely around you. Our role is to spark curiosity, inspire discovery, and reveal the soul of a destination—often through places, people, and stories that go beyond the expected. With Espíritu Travel, you experience each destination through a fresh, local lens and connect more deeply with its culture and character.We design custom travel experiences that may include culture, art, history, architecture, gastronomy, outdoor activities, and nature-based exploration. Our trips are ideal for independent travelers, couples, friends, and small private groups seeking authentic, off-the-beaten-track experiences without sacrificing comfort or quality.Sustainability is central to our vision. We are committed to responsible travel, creating trips that minimize environmental impact while maximizing positive contributions to local communities and local economies.Espíritu Travel operates from offices in the United States, Spain, and Italy, allowing us to provide seamless planning, personalized support, and insider expertise on both sides of the Atlantic and throughout Southern Europe.
Espíritu Travel (espiritutravel.com) has 197 customer reviews on Folks Told, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5.
197 approved reviews, newest moderated first
Jennifer K.
Karen and Beatrize were great to work with and listened well to our ideas for travel to Barcelona and surrounding areas. The App they use to share your travel plans is easy, well organized, fun to use, and has some local attactions listed in case you missed. We loved the castle hotel they found for us in Girona! I would hihgly recommend using them for your travel!
Ken - Carol K.
Good suggestions on what to do and what to see in each area we visited. Hotels were good Two suggestions: the recommended Flamenco Show in Barcelona was short and a disappointment with regard to the two dancers. The hotel in Ribes de Fraser had jacuzzi tubs, high sides, and very slippery which is not good for Seniors.
Cara D.
Marina was incredibly helpful in the planning of this trip to Portugal. She gave me great options that suited my family of five and the hotels she picked were beautiful. We were able to enjoy a 10 day trip seeing beautiful sites and enjoying the Countryside due to her insight and travel expertise. Thank you!
Reply from Espíritu TravelAug 24, 2026
Hi Cara, thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a wonderful review! Thank you so much for your kind words! It was a pleasure helping you plan your family’s trip to Portugal. I’m so glad you enjoyed the beautiful countryside, sights, and hotels, and that everything was a great fit for your family. It was wonderful to be part of your 10-day adventure! 😊 Warmest regards, Marina
Martha D.
We had an amazing experience working with our travel consultant, Raquel who planned our epic 15-day trip through Spain. She created an itinerary that perfectly matched our needs and interests, and everything went exactly as planned. I was so grateful to fully enjoy the trip with my husband without worrying about booking, planning, or managing every detail. We visited Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Córdoba, and Granada, along with several wonderful day excursions. One of the highlights was our visit to Doñana National Park. All of our guides were excellent: knowledgeable, fun, and thoughtful. They went out of their way to make our experience special and even gave us great dinner recommendations along the way. The hotels were exactly what we were looking for: boutique-style, full of character, and within walking distance of restaurants and local attractions. The app they use was so helpful, all the information in one place!! Lots of ideas for our free time and recommendations for restaurants and tips, all our questions were answered promptly by one of the team members. Brillant! The trip exceeded all expectations, and we highly recommend working with Raquel and Espíritu Travel.
Reply from Espíritu TravelJul 10, 2026
Thank you, Martha, for taking the time to give us such a lovely review. We look forward to helping you with another trip in the future. Karin at Espíritu Travel
Derwin B.
The trip was unforgettable. Doing the Camino de Santiago was a long time dream of mine. Espiritu Travel partnered with Camino ways to design the perfect journey for me. The planning, the schedule, and the accommodations were excellent! Espiritu Travel always delivers great vacations!
Reply from Espíritu TravelJun 11, 2026
Thank you so much for your wonderful 5-star review. It was truly a pleasure to help you plan your dream trip to walk the Camino. Walking the Camino for 35 days is an amazing accomplishment, and we’re so happy to have been part of your journey. We look forward to helping you plan another unforgettable trip in the future. Karin, Espíritu Travel
Dhananjay K.
Overpriced and underwhelming. I travel abroad on vacation twice a year, so I know what to expect at what price. This trip was so-so. I do not think I will use them again for my next trip to Italy. Hotels were mostly from standard 4-star chains instead of boutique ones with local character. Quality of personal guides vary from very good to barely passable. After receiving the response below from Karin at Espiritu Travel to the above review, Trustpilot allowed me to edit my review. So here are my comments on the response: I hope you realize I am not your competitor and that I have no ill will toward you. If anything, I was a potential repeat customer. Instead of the long defensive reply, had you simply asked (here or via personal email) what caused the mismatch in expectations and delivery, you might have received some feedback for future use. Anyway, wish you all the best.
Reply from Espíritu TravelJun 9, 2026
Would have loved to have received feedback after your trip, but none came in until you gave us a three-star review two weeks later. Thank you for sharing your review. I would like to provide context on the hotelss, itinerary, guides & overall value of the trip. Each htl was selected to balance boutique atmosphere you requested with comfort, location, availability & price. In Madrid you stayed at 7 Islas a 4 star, family-owned (Rosa family) boutique htl so is not a chain htl. In Seville, H10 Corregidor Boutique Htl has a traditional Andalusian character & central location. While it is part of a htl grp many htl grps include boutique style properties within their portfolios This property was fully renovated in 2021 & features an Andalusian courtyard, a late 19th century wrought iron gate & ceramic tiles from 1929 world's fair SOHO Boutique Capuchinos in Córdoba is a boutique property with only 27 rooms privately owned. Htl Villa Oniria in Granada is privately owned has only 31 rooms & is housed in a restored 19th century mansion. In BCN Silken Gran htl Havana is a superior 4 star hotel privately owned by an individual so not a chain either. Hotel info was provided before anything was finalized & I can also see that you provided positive feedback & approved the htls In fact 1 of your comments was that SOHO Boutique Capuchinos in Córdoba is perfect & that the deluxe room is great . During the planning phase you also mentioned that you do not usually use many hotel services beyond sleeping & eating & that an 3 star hotel could also be suitable if 4 star hotels were too costly. This was taken into account when selecting your hotels. Raquel also addressed this during the planning process noting that hotel prices where higher in Sevile especially because of the Feria de Abril. The itinerary was created based on the interests you listed in your initial request including sightseeing, heritage sites, local culture & cuisine, flowers/birdwatching, places of historical & religious significance & museums. Your 15 day itinerary incorporated these elements throughout the trip including a day excursion to Doñana Nature Park, 1 of Spains most important birdwatching destinations. Regarding the guides, we have worked with them for many years & they have consistently received excellent feedback from past clients otherwise we would not continue working with them. Since it was not specified which guide you felt was “barely passable” I am unable to address that concern in more detail. I can see that during the 15 day trip we did not receive any messages from you indicating a problem with any of the guides. I would like to clarify the timing & pricing context. The period you traveled is considered high season in Spain not shoulder season May & September are among the busiest travel months of the year while March & November are considered shoulder season. In addition you traveled to Seville during Feria de Abril when hotel prices are considerably higher. You also mentioned previous trips in 2024 as a price comparison with the quote Raquel provided. Since 2024 travel costs have continued to increase rising by approximately 12-14 percent. In addition, the Santorini trip you mentioned as a comparison took place in April which is the shoulder season for that destination. As a beach destination Santorini typically has lower hotel rates in April when the weather is not yet ideal for beach. Spain is also considerably more expensive than Brazil which was the other destination you referenced However since we do not know the exact details of those itineraries including the types of hotels services transportation guides & activities included it is difficult to make a direct comparison or determine why you considered your Spain itinerary to be overpriced Your Spain trip included 23 separate services incl flights & train txts pvt transpor & almost all of your act pvt. These factors all contribute to the overall trip cost. Karin, Espíritu Travel
Christine T.
Our trip to Italy was wonderful!The itinerary was perfect. We enjoyed our time in Sorrento, Rome, Florence, Tuscany and Venice. It was just the right mix of busy and relaxing. Rita did a great job of taking our vague ideas and making them a reality. It really was seamless between transportation, hotels, tours and other activities. Our first flight was late arriving to Zurich so we missed our connecting flight. The app made it so easy to reach out to your staff who updated our pickup time for our driver. All of our plans in the app were very clear and easy to follow. I would not hesitate to use Espiritu again and will recommend you to our friends
Reply from Espíritu TravelJun 10, 2026
Dear Christine, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad you had a great time in Italy. It was a pleasure turning your ideas into a trip you truly loved, and I hope Italy is already calling you back! I look forward to planning your next adventure, and thank you for recommending us to your friends. It truly means the world to us. All my best, Rita, Espiritu Travel
Keri L - U.
Thank you Karen and team for your terrific travel planning for our visit to Spain. It was so pleasant to be nearly handsfree with trip planning, and made our travel all that much more incredible. From the hotel to restaurants and site seeing suggestions to the train travel, all was perfect! The app used to retrieve all of our travel plans and reservations is so easy to use and super convenient! If only I had your team by my side for our travels through Albania as well! Making and keeping track of all our reservations in each city, coupled with car rental, flights, what to do and where to go was very stressful to manage on our own. I have a gained a HUGE appreciation for the value of a Travel Planner! Can't wait for my next European adventure! Thank you Espiritu!
Reply from Espíritu TravelApr 17, 2026
Keri, thank you so much for your kind words. It was truly a pleasure assisting you with your trip planning, and I hope everything went smoothly and stress-free. I would be delighted to help you again in the future. Karin and the Team at Espíritu Travel
