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... Toon meer
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We had a great trip with Espiritu. Both our guide and driver were amazing - warm, knowledgeable and flexible. The tour covered Havana - both the old town and newer artistic areas. A day trip to Las Te... Toon meer
Great from start thru finish. Creative pre-trip planning and suggestions based on our likes/dislikes, strong attention to detail and everything worked as planned. Karin arranged all the hotels, rent... Toon meer
We are two female California travellers just returned from a terrific week in Cuba thanks to Karin, Espiritu Travel, and Karin’s team on the ground, including extremely accomplished local guides.... Toon meer
Bedrijfsgegevens
Geschreven door het bedrijf
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.
Contactgegevens
32a Stonehouse Lane , 03431 , Keene, Verenigde Staten
- 800 387 1370
- info@espiritutravel.com
- espiritutravel.com
4,7
Uitstekend
205 reviews
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Week in Southern Spain
Every service provided including hotels, tours, guides, and drivers were excellent. Espiritu Travel and Karin take the time to get to know you and tailor recommendations to meet your genuine interests and needs. This includes identification of excellent restaurants with vegetarian options, and a prompt response when a change was needed. Their attention to detail is exceptional. This is our second time working with the company and we will do so again.
25 september 2022
Easy trip planning
I found the overall trip planning experience to be smooth. Marina revised my trip several times with no issue. The experiences selected were delightful, most of the hotels were top notch. My only hesitation in giving a full 5 star rating is the fact that I went on the trip thinking I could easily adjust the hotels and that did not turn out to be the case.
6 september 2022
Antwoord van Espíritu Travel
Hi Jyoti, Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review! I am glad you and your daughter enjoyed your trip to Spain and all the guided tours :) August is the peak of the season in Spain so making changes to your trip is complicated and the availability of the services is quite limited. Prices are also higher in August so any last-minute will probably involve an extra cost not from us but from the providers (activities ,hotels, transport). We always try to be as flexible as possible regarding trip changes before and during your trip but sometimes we are unable to make changes due to a lack of availability of the hotels/guides/transfers.
Thank you for your detailed feedback, this would be really helpful for us to continue to improve in the future as that's what we always strive for. I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip and thank you so much again for letting us help you to organize it. Best regards! Marina
Only with Espíritu
I don’t think I could’ve experienced Cuba any other way that with Espíritu. You really get a true sense of the country. One of the most beautiful parts was a stop (on the way to Viñales) when we visited Las Terrazas. My tour guide was one of the sweetest women ever, and I’ll always remember eating mangoes with her straight from the trees. Going by myself, I always felt very safe on the tours and the free moments. Cuba is not anything like I expected.
17 juli 2022
San Sebastian/Madrid/Granada - Good Job!
I felt that the overall service was as expected but would have a few comments that I think may be helpful in further improving the quality of service further. A key theme I note is the (lack of) attention to details eg:
1) your cover email to this survey makes reference to a trip to "Portugal" whereas it should have been "Spain." The same email address us as Leslie Haywood and Leslie Haywood. You have the complete details of my name and that of my wife and also my surname is mis-spelt - have informed Marina about this but your IT system would not allow for this change.
2) Train ticket for our San Sebastián to Madrid didn't have the seats allocation next to each other. Admittedly, we made a last minute change and may have been subject to availability but would have been nice if we were alerted to this earlier.
3) The name of our Madrid tour guide in the itinerary was stated as "Patricia" and as it turned out the correct name for the guide was "Letitia" - took us a while to connect but we eventually did!
These are not major issues but just thought we highlight these.
On the positive side,
1) ALL the 5 guides we had in San Sebastián, Granada and Madrid were excellent! Friendly and warm and we felt their genuine pride in what they do and for the culture and place.
2) Marina was very responsive to my queries and was always willing to help out e.g. checking on our potential mis-connection from Madrid to Granada, transport pick up for our transfer between Madrid Hotel to Airport.
3 juni 2022
Antwoord van Espíritu Travel
Hi Leslie,
I'm Karin, CEO of Espíritu Travel. Thank you for taking the time to provide a review of your trip to Spain. I was pleased to read that you enjoyed your tours and guides and that Marina was there to help you when needed.
I would like to address your comments.
1). The invoice you received was from me not Marina. She asked me to send you an invoice and I inadvertently misspelled your surname. Marina advised me that I had spelled it incorrectly which I immediately corrected in PayPal. However, PayPal is also linked to the sending out of trip review requests through TrustPilot. So once I send an invoice, a review request is automatically created, is held in a queue, then sent out after the trip has finished. Which is why the misspelling of your name carried over to the review request. So the spelling error, was not a lack of attention to detail on the part of Marina. For me, I simply made a mistake spelling your name which then carried over to the review request.
This leads me to my next point about the review request While it may seem easy to just send out a review request, it is not, as there is ¨programming¨ behind it on the TrustPilot platform. Recently they made a change to the way in which review requests are automated and sent out, I am not a techie person so I suppose that I made an error in how the information is ¨pulled¨ to populate the review request with the correct country of travel. I did not realizing it was pulling incorrectly. I will certainly be speaking with Trustpilot for help in correcting the problem.
2) Train seats are automatically assigned and assigned together, However, in this case, as you admittedly mentioned, it was a last minute change and I can imagine the train was nearly full so the seats were not together. I am sure that Marina would not have thought to look to make sure the seats were together since 99% of the time they are together.
3) Often the names of the guides are changed at the last minute without our knowledge. However, there was a guide that provided the tour in which you have indicated that you enjoyed.
From the first sentence and last paragraph of your review, I am assuming that Marina's attention to detail meant that your trip was executed as booked, meaning you were picked up as scheduled, your tours were done as scheduled, and your hotels were reserved. In addition to having a detailed itinerary as well as Marina being available to help you during your travels.
Our team at Espíritu Travel work hard to give each traveler the very best experience possible but we are not infallible. However, indicating that Marina and/or the company as a whole has a lack of attention to details is false. Our team always receives five star reviews, furthermore one of the themes in these reviews is exactly our attention to detail. You don't need to take my word for it, you are able to read our reviews which are all five star for our team listed on the KimKim (www.kimkim.com) platform
Again, thank you for taking the time to provide a review. They are always much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Karin
Best travel company I’ve ever used!!!
Karin and her team were an absolute pleasure to work with. I felt like they really got to know me and my wife and took the extra time to make a dream vacation come true. It was always easy to get ahold of them, even when the pandemic hit and my trip got cancelled 3 times! While on my trip in Spain, they were able to make last minute changes for us, and gave plenty of amazing recommendations. I would definitely book travel with them again in the future and would tell anyone I knew to go with them. They definitely made this trip as pain free as possible. Best vacation I’ve ever been on, and I like to think I know how to plan vacations!
11 mei 2022
Review zonder uitnodiging
10/10 for Espiritu Travel
My mom, aunt, husband, and I took a 10 day long trip to Spain with Espiritu travel. All of the excursions planned were wonderful! From food tours to cultural activities, Karin found the perfect balance for my family’s interests. The ease with which we were able to travel, knowing everything was coordinated for us, made the trip flow even more seamlessly! We have already recommended Espiritu Travel to our friends and family, and plan to book a trip to Portugal with Karin in the future. Thank you so much for the unforgettable experience.
29 april 2022
Review zonder uitnodiging
Great service and quick response time
Great service and quick response time. Highly recommended!
9 september 2021
We could not have asked for a better…
We could not have asked for a better itinerary. We saw so much in such a short amount of time, yet had enough time to ourselves to explore.
Every guide was friendly and professional. It was like meeting a new friend in Portugal everyday.
Thank you so much for the very well thought of tour for us. I will definitely recommend you to my friends and family!
2 september 2021
A wonderful experience
I cannot begin to sing the praise how well organized my trip Andalusia was, helped by Marina. Not only were her tips on what to do and where to go spot on, but her patience with my changes and e mails was admirable.
Our trip packed with lovely experiences feeling authentic and as local as it can be in high tourist season. I recommend having Espirtu as guideline so one does not fall too much the tourist traps and miss some cultural gems as well. A warm thank you to Marina
13 augustus 2021
Mario was an exceptional tour guide
Mario was an exceptional tour guide. From pick up to drop off, he was thorough, friendly and easy going. We asked a million questions and he was always patient and concise. His guidance gave us a real understanding of the island.
Karin was very easy to work with and compiled a great itinerary.
Highly recommended
3 april 2020
This is an educational tour that needs your support
This is our 2nd visit to Cuba with Espiritu
Once again Carlos was our guide, he gives a very rounded view of Cuba taking us to both government restaurants & private ones showing us government shops & pharmacists & then to tourist shops & pharmacists
The difference is obvious by the either empty shelves or stocked shelves
We had an amazing time and each & everyone we met was informative & helped us understand how Cuba works. I particularly want to mention Rainier who took us on a nature trail & horse back riding- the only stables we saw who provided helmets for all riders with well looked after horses
The people are so humble& happy, even with evidence of queuing for food when it came into the shops
Only by going to Cuba on an educational tour can anyone begin to understand the lives they live
Staying in people houses is an interesting insight, every house was very clean, with good breakfasts of fruit, toast, eggs
Fruit juice- some houses are very good As passed down from grandparents to parents etc while an odd one is very basic - the people can only give what they have themselves & do willingly with such good heart- they are such proud, humble people
Who need us to support them by booking these educational tours with Espiritu Travel
They need our support which is why we have been twice in years
23 maart 2020
Cuba was an amazing experience!
Cuba was an amazing experience! We felt welcomed and loved by the people. I felt a sister and brother connection, just like family. Jilian our guide is amazing! She was so informative and gracious. Roman the best driver and and guide. I loved the city of Havana and its history, music, and people. When we arrived at Las Terrazas it was paradise and Ida talked about the history and the land. The beach was a dream! The experience of being in Cuba made me want to go back and learn more about the people and the country.
28 februari 2020
Review zonder uitnodiging
Carlós, Carlós,Carlós!
We had an amazing week in Cuba. I've been there many times before but our guide, Carlós, was absolutely amazing: knew everyone, took us to interesting places we would never have found on our own, was flexible in our plans, was an amazing friend (and will be forever).
24 februari 2020
Espiritu Travel planning let’s you focus on Cuba, not the details of travel.
In the start of my Cuba trip plans, I contacted several tour companies from their website and Karin at Espiritu Travel was the only person to call me and ask how she could help me plan this special trip with my daughter. My daughter and I wanted to first enjoy one another while we had a hassle free adventure that allowed us to then focus on learning about Cuba. Our travel within Cuba was excellently coordinated with the best guide/driver...we loved him! Our casa particular home stay was just perfect. I highly recommend Espiritu Travel, go to Cuba, engage with the lovely people of Cuba, enjoy the music, cultural arts, countryside, and food.
17 februari 2020
Highly disappointed with the trip…
Highly disappointed with the trip overall !! Our tour guide Oscar was amazing, we had a great time with him, so no complaints about him. Although, when taken all things into consideration with what was included or not included in our itinerary, we feel that we were EXTREMELY over charged to the point that at the end of our trip we felt frustrated and swindled!! The fact that the itinerary included a hiking excursion knowing my 78 year old mother would be joining us and the hike had numerous cliffs with absolutely no safety barriers is utterly disturbing. Other items that were supposedly included in our itinerary did not happen as well. I definitely will NOT be using this company again.
12 februari 2020
Antwoord van Espíritu Travel
Hi Marie, I am sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your second trip with us to Cuba even though you mention that you had a great time and that Oscar, your guide was amazing. As with your first trip, during the pre-trip planning, I provided you with a private, customized itinerary with a price. The itinerary was detailed with a description of the services and activities for each day, in addition, there was a price with a list of what that price included. You approved (by hitting the approved button) the trip and its price. Since it was a customized, private trip, you could have changed any of the activities at any time, even after having made the deposit. I am surprised that you felt swindle for this trip but you gave us a good review for your first trip and you didn’t feel swindled.
On day 6 of your itinerary, you had the choice of one of two-day excursion from Trinidad, the hike or going to Valle de Los Ingenios. You selected the hike which the description listed the hike as moderate. On January 9th at 19:28, I wrote to you: ¨¨Do you think your Mom is ok to do the hike in Trinidad too? It is moderate, like parts of it you to have to give an effort. We have had lots of people in their 70s do it. ¨¨. You answered at 21:48 the same day: ¨Yes, my mom should be able to do the hike. If not, she will simply sit it out and has no issue waiting for us. Thanks for double-checking.¨¨. I have personally done this hike and there are no cliffs as you are trying to imply here. The mountains of the Sierra Escambry are not high and it is a jungle in other words densely wooded so there would not be high precipitouss. In addition, the hike is not to the top of the mountain but it is through the park and down to the natural pools and waterfalls so the return trip, you actually have to hike up. National parks in Cuba are not sanitized in the way they are in the US, such as with built steps and rails everywhere. They are kept in their natural state. We have had thousands of people do this hike with no-one having returned complained that there were no barriers. It is the most popular excursion to do when you are Trinidad. A quick look online, you are able to note that it has a near 5-star rating.
I have checked with Oscar in regard to missed activities. He told me that the Che museum was closed, inexplicably when you went there. The Che museum is open every day so it should not have been closed, but it is a state-run like just about everything in Cuba so if they want to close they just do it. Also, Cuba is experiencing a fuel shortage so perhaps it was closed to save money, I can only make a guess as to why it would’ve been randomly closed. Oscar mentioned that you did not want to have the drink at the palace in Cienfuegos which is included. He indicated to me that he asked and everybody said no. Lastly, in regard to the included drink, guarapo which is usually given when you are at the tobacco farm, again this is aways given so my apologies that you were not given this drink to try while in Viñales. However, if you had asked Oscar, he would have happily brought you somewhere to try it. Other than those three items, Oscar said that every service as detailed in the itinerary was provided.
Wonderful trip
Wonderful trip. Better than expected. nice accommodations.
Our guides were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful in attending to our needs. Much included for a reasonable price.
3 februari 2020
Great Trip
As always, Karin came thru with a well organized trip and a good value for me to take my family back to Cuba.The guides and people were fantastic, as was the accommodations!
16 januari 2020
We had a great trip with Espiritu
We had a great trip with Espiritu. Both our guide and driver were amazing - warm, knowledgeable and flexible. The tour covered Havana - both the old town and newer artistic areas. A day trip to Las Terrazas, a community located in a Biosphere Reserve, was a special trip. As mentioned in the description, there were unexpected snags along the way, but our guide was able to adapt our itinerary to accommodate them. We stayed in a Casa Particular and ate in local restaurants, and so felt we really were exposed to Cuba and its people.
14 januari 2020
Karin
Karin
Trip was great
Santy was excellent
Driver jyordi was great friendly punctual helpful
Only disappointment was new year eve I am used to lots of fun action
I wish one of the guide stayed with us
It was a small restaurant hour delay in asking us for drinks even though it was not busy
Ii wish we were in Buenavista club for new year eve party.
Santy was extremely helpful in regaining my lost bag, our trips were great
Thanks
Raj birudavol
14 januari 2020
Excellent service
Excellent service. Terrific guide who was very reliable and smart. Also extremely helpful. Our driver was also very kind.
14 januari 2020
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