Espíritu Travel Reviews 

I would give Marta five stars! She helped us plan our 13 day trip to Portugal and Spain and did an awesome job! She was on maternity leave during our actual trip in May. Espiritu Travel did not do a good job following up on the last minute details:
1. We had changed one of our hotels with Marta. But they did not let the guide know so we had to wait 30 minutes for her to arrive.
2. In Lisbon, they gave us the wrong directions for the car rental, which resulted in a 2 hour delay to our day.
3. In the Douro Valley, they booked one winery, but gave us the directions for one in the direction one hour away. Espiritu did provide a nice bottle of wine for their mistake.
4. The morning of our departure (of 4am) the driver did not show and we had to arrange our own transportation to the airport. Espiritu did compensate us for this expense.

Marta was 100% awesome. But a big part of paying this cost is to ensure things run smoothly while traveling. We did not find this the case. It may just have been that Marta was away, but Espiritu should be able to make sure they have the staff to ensure seamless travel, regardless of whether Marta is there.

While they did give us a bottle of wine and compensate our cost to the airport, they basically said "we are sorry this happened." Paying the amount we did, "I'm sorry" will not be enough to recommend this agency to anyone else.

My husband and I have traveled extensively over the years and have always been “do-it-yourselfers” when it comes to planning. But for our most recent trip, we decided to try working with a travel agency—and Espiritu Travel came highly recommended.

Little did we know how invaluable that decision would turn out to be.

While most of our trip was beautifully arranged by them, the accommodations in the Amalfi Coast (a villa we had secured separately through a charity auction) fell far short of expectations. A few days in, we found ourselves genuinely disheartened and even considering flying home early. The situation was disappointing, to say the least, and I hesitated to reach out to Rita, not wanting to be that “difficult client.”

But Rita’s response was the opposite of what I feared. She was kind, gracious, and deeply understanding. Without hesitation, she sprang into action—rearranging drivers (which is no small feat on the Amalfi Coast), securing new hotel accommodations in Naples, and adjusting other aspects of our itinerary to align with our updated plans.

Rita wasn’t just a travel agent—she was more like a personal concierge and, in our case, a true "travel angel". Her calm presence, detailed follow-through, and heartfelt care transformed a stressful situation into a positive and memorable experience.

Going forward, we won’t travel abroad without the peace of mind that comes from having someone like Rita in our corner. She turned our trip around, and we are so grateful for her dedication, compassion, and professionalism.

Hands down, best trip I've been on. Everyone one the team was so helpful and professional. All the contacts we had in country were exceptional.

We were traveling with 14 people coming from all over. Everything was seamless! The transportation, the tours, the restaurants all were top notch. I highly recommend using Espiritu Travel!

Karin, Marta and the team were all especially attentive to us, before, during and after our trip! Marta kicked everything off beautifully by setting up our trip for us, making changes when we asked, and everything turned out fantastic. Karin took over and completed our "journey" together, taking care that all of our needs were met during out trip. Highly recommend this team for planning your trip!

Working with Bea at Espiritu Travel was an amazing experience. She helped us plan and execute the perfect trip to Italy. She custom designed it around our likes and our budget and made us feel like VIPs every step of the way.
During the trip, we had access to 24 hour support in case anything went wrong. When we missed a train, they were there to help us and make sure the driver picking us up knew our new arrival time.
We are already thinking about our next trip with Espiritu!

This was our second trip using Espíritu Travel and they did not disappoint! Our trip to Portugal and Spain was excellent. From the moment we stepped off the plane and met our driver, we were so well taken care of. It was nice to experience the locations without worrying about the logistics of travel. All of our guides were really good and incredibly knowledgeable. A few stood out.. João Campos, who took us to the Douro Valley, was an excellent guide and arranged a wonderful lunch for us. Paulo, who took us to Sintra and Cascais, was fantastic. He told us a lot about the history, culture, and the places we visited. He took us to a family-owned restaurant where we had a amazing meal. We really enjoyed our time with him! Patricia’s guided visit to the Mezquita in Cordoba was so fascinating. We felt that we received detailed information that other tours did not seem to provide. Our favorite hotels were H 7 Islas in Madrid and the Parador in Granada. They were elegant and fun. Our entire trip was lovely. Thank you so much…again!

This was our third trip with Espiritu, and as with our trips to Cuba and Portugal, it was wonderful. During the planning process, Karin and her team of travel experts take the time to really listen to their clients to determine their likes and dislikes. Our Sicily itinerary was great, and the Trip Plans app was easy to use, had lots of recommendations, and made it easy to communicate with our agent. We'll be using Espiritu again for sure.

Very good support for our multiple country and multiple city locations in Portugal and Spain over a two week period. Great personal experiences with private tours. Really loved the combination of site seeing and local food / culinary tastings of the cities - fantastic guides with interesting stories.

Just returned from a 2 week trip to Portugal and Spain. Once again, Marina and the Espiritu Travel team created an amazing travel itinerary for us. The tours and the accompanying guides were fabulous and varying; a walk about food tour; historical tours of churches and palaces; a private boat tour in the Algarves; days that included port and wine tastings. Each tour really helped us explore the many regions and varied cultures. Having the use of the travel app to communicate with staff and check for updates during the trip was also so helpful. I highly recommend booking your travel experience with Marina or anyone from the Espiritu Team. It will be a fantastic trip.

Side note - My previous experience with the team was a food & exotic car trip to northern Italy that was incredible.

Right from the beginning, out tour specialist, Raquel worked tirelessly to provide an excellent itinerary that proved an exceptional experience for our group of five.

The hotels were unique, special and very comfortable. The location of the hotels were perfect.

The guides and drivers that were provided were excellent and added value to our trip.

Overall, I strongly recommend Raquel who has gone beyond her call to make our trip to Spain such a wonderful and memorable experience. Thank you so much Espiritu and Raquel.

UPDATE TO RESPONSE: This was our 10-year anniversary and took us all of that time to save for. Their responses are based loosely on conversation within app provided by Espritu for use while in country NOT based on promises made within the Zicasso proposal/conversation which was: “I am back with the updated proposal. I have included everything you have in your original proposal from the other company, downgraded the hotel in Seville and the one in Tenerife... Also, you will see I added the same activities they offer within the trip, so you can now compare the proposals equally”. Imagine signing & paying for a non-refundable trip, only to have so many avoidable or sloppy changes & lack of communication. Regardless of timeframe the agency should not promise & get paid for something they did not do. Multiple issues, almost daily, ALL but one was avoidable; just felt like chaos not rest. 1st reservation was for a pre-fix meal of dishes we won't eat. The menu provided in advance included both regular & pre-fix but we were never told an agent selected pre-fix for us, or we would have requested otherwise. Restaurant staff were upset & we thought we might not be able to eat at all for 20 minutes (after 20hrs travel) while they figured out what to do so this wasn’t something to gloss over. They agreed Torcal omission was their error. The Hamman experience WITH massage was what was offered & accepted. The fact something was offered which was not available & the agent didn’t know the difference is sloppy. The "late" guide stated she had NOT changed the time. Since she was NOT the same person/number provided to us I’m guessing she did NOT have our information either (same for most guides during the trip, so we couldn't contact most directly). Tickets to the cathedral were NOT provided: we checked app, email, Zicasso materials, before we asked the guide who didn't have them either & their agent denied we had requested them. Web had tickets only 2 days in advance so "late booking" & "ticket availability" Espiritu kept blaming US for was not the issue, NOR Camera Obscura which WAS part of the plan prior to booking & it was offensive to direct us to other “tickets to monuments included” AS IF we had paid for them but those were actually free to the public. The guide was offended on our behalf not for herself. I have photos from our visit to the horse show, there are considerably better views & it is obvious more than half were empty. We were sitting near the "wall" of the “U” shape. #9 “wine excursion” & #10 were not 2 separate things. Again, I wonder if we were charged for something we didn’t get OR if response is sloppy. We reached out 3x stating we did not want snorkeling, we wanted kayaking as discussed prior to booking. Remember, "same activities" promised. I expressed specific concerns about ethics & safety of snorkeling activity when it was changed on us & when 3x requests to switch BACK to originally agreed upon activity were ignored, I cancelled. We never got any message about the winery portion being cancelled. #13 & 14 were not separate things; the observatory is at El Roque de Los Muchachos; we only made one trip up there. All activities, guides, etc. were reviewed in other places. This review is only for Espiritu’s “work”. NONE of the guides had heard of Espiritu when THEY asked US who we booked with; I mentioned previously getting direct messages from China regarding our transportation which was SCARY. I looked up all activities on sites like TripAdvisor; together would not have amounted to 10% of what we were charged by Espiritu, EMPHASISING they are paid for the effort & accuracy, not the cost of activities. I could have saved a fortune had I just done it myself & would encourage others to do so, but I was working 2 full-time jobs to afford the trip & have the time off. No updates to the travel “documents” were necessary, they were just descriptions of what SHOULD have occurred & were edited AFTER I contacted them for each mistake editing information to display this version instead of what was booked/paid for (when I realized, I started staying up all night taking screenshots of the daily plans & conversations, STRESS). Espiritu notes they haven’t heard from us, when they shut down the ability to contact them immediately after the trip (before we departed from Spain actually). I have NOT received a refund for snorkeling; I only received the refund for Torcal after posting this review (noted in their comments). I was supposedly refunded for a portion of the Hammam for the massage, but the responder didn’t even get that right. The refunds in total don’t amount to even 3% of the cost of the trip, WHICH reminds me they did NOT mention prior to accepting proposal a 3% transaction fee, which obviously put them at a higher rate than their competitor.

Rome, Florence, Naples and the Amalfi Coast - hotels, private tours, private transfers and everything in between were all meticulously planned and executed. The additional information provided for downtime sites and restaurant suggestions made this trip one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had. Rita planned a wonderful trip and was able to accommodate a couple of changes mid trip with ease.

Looking forward to planning another trip with Espiritu!

We had an exceptional experience with this travel agency! They selected the perfect hotels for our trip, ensuring comfort and luxury throughout. Every detail was meticulously planned, from smooth logistics to the thoughtful itinerary that matched our holiday wishes perfectly. The guides along the way were incredibly knowledgeable and engaging, adding depth and enjoyment to our journey. Their personalized approach and flawless execution made our vacation stress-free and unforgettable. Highly recommend!

 
We had a wonderful weeklong trip to Portugal, from Porto to Lisbon. It’s a beautiful country with a rich history and very friendly people! The tours/experiences were organized by Espiritu Travel and were extra special because the guides were so knowledgeable, engaging and great storytellers. We would give them all FIVE STAR ratings! They went beyond by being considerate of how my husband was feeling since he had knee and back surgeries within the last six months. At times the hilly streets posed a walking challenge. 
 
We loved the cooking class in Porto and now have a few Portuguese recipes we can serve guests. The Fado evening in Lisbon was really enjoyable — music was beautiful, dinner was delicious and it was within walking distnce of our hotel! The Duoro Valley River cruise offered breathtaking views of steeply terraced vineyards. Our hotel room in
Coimbra was a delightful surprise - it included a Roman relic!

Espiritu Travel put the week's itinerary on their travel app which worked very well. If there were any changes to the schedule -- meeting locations, contact info for the guides -- it was updated instantly.
Overall, it was a grand adventure!

The details and outline of what to expect on each trip was well defined so we could be best prepared with proper clothing, shoes, food, etc. The adventures were timely and most details were arranged very effectively. 2 of our trips weren’t as accurate as written but didn’t cause a major concern, just a little disappointing.

Marina organized the perfect hotels and tour guides. The drivers took us to places we would never have seen or experienced. They were very personable. Our driver in Madeira was singing ABBA songs for us!

We booked a trip to Italy with Rita Pagano. She handled our entire trip from start to finish. We gave her a budget and things we wanted to do/see. She provided us with an itinerary that was beyond our expectations! Our itinerary included various day trips and excursions with private drivers. All our drivers and tour guides were kind, funny & extremely knowledgeable. Each day we were excited to experience something new! Rita did an outstanding job! She even made herself available to us when we had a simple question while in Italy. The response time was immediate! I would highly recommend Espiritu Travel & Rita Pagano!

The guides for our tours in Bilbao, Picos De Europa, Rioja, and San Sebastian were fantastic. Highly recommend the private guided visit at the Guggenheim, the Cares Trail/4x4 adventure in Picos, the Rioja wine experience with Diego, and the San Sebastian Bike excursion with Inigo and Go Local Tours.

We like to commend our guide Alejandro to the highest.
He was ver courteous, knowledgeable and thoughtful. A great driver and guide.