Sarah Gemba | Founder

Hola, I'm Sarah!

I’m the Founder and Principal Travel Designer here at Spain Savvy. I have the ambitious and exciting vision of making Spain the premier travel destination for fellow Americans and the gateway to the rest of Europe. Throughout my 20 years of travel design experience, and just as long living in this adopted country of mine, I’ve had the privilege of sharing my own unique discoveries with travelers of all backgrounds. Families, honeymooners, and retirees have all entrusted me to craft their unique itineraries, and I’ve found that our local knowledge is what makes for a truly incomparable experience.

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Spain Savvy

5.0

Based on 67 reviews

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julien thuret

00:16 29 Sep 22

I cannot begin to express how amazing Sara & Spain Savvy were in planning an incredible vacation for my family and me. Having heard great things about Sara and Spain Savvy, we reached out to her and provided her with our time frame for travel and a bit about our interests. We were traveling from Portland, OR and we wanted to see as much of Spain and Portugal, as we could see in a 3-week period. We also wanted to explore parts of both countries by car, which allowed us to visit sites that we would not have been able to see otherwise. Lastly, we were traveling with our daughter, who was turning 13 on the trip. With that all being said, Sara took all of this into consideration and created a vacation experience like no other.Our vacation started in Barcelona and continued to Granada, Seville, Ronda, Monte Gordo, Lagos, Sagres, Castelejo Beach, Lisbon, Obidos, Porto and ended in Madrid, with day trips from Madrid to Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, and Avila. Sara made all the detailed arrangements, including flights between Spain and Portugal, local car rental and all train transportation. Additionally, Sara partners with local tour guides that are experts in their local area and provide wonderful private and small groups tours that ranged from tours of historical sites, shopping, as well as tours focusing on local gastronomy & drinks, as well a fabulous flamenco tour in Seville. (We also had the pleasure of meeting Sara in person when she came to meet us in Seville)!Sara is also a wealth of knowledge when it comes to local cuisine and restaurants. Along with well known establishments, Sara made daily reservations at several local family owned and run restaurants. The food and experiences at each place were outstanding. Sara also planned a wonderful food tour in Porto, for my daughter’s 13th birthday, with an incredible diner experience at Emotivo, including a surprise birthday cake!Along with planning every detail of the 3-week excursion, Sara is incredibly professional and wonderful to work with. She promptly responds to all e-mails and text messages and makes herself available while you are traveling. Spain Savvy also uses the app, Trip Plan, where Sara will provide you with a very detailed daily itinerary, which will include all travel documents, including boarding passes, hotel and restaurant information and reservations, as well as all tickets to private tours, events, etc.We will definitely be contacting Sara & Spain Savvy for all of our future travel needs to Spain, Portugal and Morocco Sara and Spain Savvy will make you travel experience magical and seamless!

Laurel Griswold

22:43 14 Sep 22

We just returned from a 14 day trip to Spain. We are so glad we contacted Spain Savvy for our travel planning! We originally planned to go to Spain on our honeymoon in 2020, but like everyone, our lives were altered that year and we had to postpone. We reached out to Sarah to help us navigate our travels to Spain during the pandemic and are so glad we did! We ended up having to postpone our trip to Spain again in 2021 and planned for 2022. The wait was worth it and it made our two week journey throughout Spain that more special. We appreciated our delayed honeymoon even more and were filled with gratitude.Sarah was wonderful to work with and helped make our trip such a wonderful experience and a memory we will always cherish. We communicated with her on several occasions to address our needs and travel desires. We expressed how much we wanted to immerse with the culture, especially the culinary experiences, and she tailored our vacation for us and exceeded our requests.It was comforting to know Sarah was there for us during such unprecedented travel times and was there for us during our travels to Spain as well. The travel app she provided was extremely convenient and we used it repeatedly to navigate our itinerary.Sarah and her team really went above and beyond for us and we are so thankful! She even secured tickets for us for a special event! From the guides she selected to the hotels, restaurants and experiences, she made sure our trip to Spain was outstanding. We highly recommend Sarah and Spain Savvy!

Ben Fort

03:55 30 Aug 22

Sarah is a gem. She helped us plan a 2 week trip to Barcelona, Costa Brava, and Mallorca. We had never been to Spain, and brought our family with 2 girls (10 and 13). She took the time to understand what made us tick, and was UNBELIEVABLY responsive as we planned the trip. We were rusty travelers, and having her in our corner gave us tons of confidence. Her app is amazing, so intuitive, and a great resource to download, even if you don’t have service. She planned everything from our lodging, meals, boat charters, food tours, and suggestions for casual outings on our non-scheduled days. Our girls said the trip to Spain was a huge highlight to summer, and we are so grateful we made it. I’m not sure we could have pulled this trip off without Sarah and Spain Savvy.

Marla Rzeszotarski

19:09 27 Jul 22

Contacting Spain Savvy was the best decision I've ever made for my travel planning!! Sarah and her team went above and beyond to create the most memorable trip ever for my family. Sarah took care of every request that we had and she really took the time to listen to us to create a trip that was tailored just for us. Sarah was there every step of the way - both in planning this trip and during our travels - in case we needed anything. Plus Sarah's handy travel app was the most convenient item that we took on our trip ;-). We can't wait to plan our next adventure with Sarah and Spain Savvy!

Michael Seidman

20:51 19 Jul 22

During these uncertain times, Sarah was a great resource planning our trip and providing near instant expert ideas and support when we needed help mid vacation with dinner reservations, bags that didn't make the connection, itinerary changes due to circumstance. I am a fan of Spain Savvy services.

Meg Prestigiacomo

18:19 17 Jul 22

Sarah did an amazing job with our family trip to Spain! She crafted an itinerary that matched the our families interests and was meticulous with every detail. From the ongoing communication, quality of accommodations and restaurants to to the creativity with all of the activities we enjoyed, they were all excellent! We would highly recommend Sarah for your trip to Spain!

Anne Potter

16:29 07 Jul 22

They did an outstanding job coordinating our last 7 days in Spain. Could not have been better. Sarah was helpful before, during and after our trip.

Mary Spencer

21:07 03 Jul 22

We often question and regret the choices we make. I can honestly say that booking my travel with Spain Savvy was one of THE BEST choices I have ever made!! Sarah booked and navigated a wonderful week in Barcelona and Mallorca Spain for me and my family celebrating my daughter’s high school graduation. Sarah handled everything from lodging, transportation , tours , restaurant reservations etc. Sarah was always available and responded to emails in a very timely fashion. Sarah was also in contact with us every step of the way during our vacation. Booking your travel with Spain Savvy will take the worry and stress out of planning. I am thinking of next venture to that part of the region so that I can use Spain Savvy services again!

Vicki Blodnik

19:51 27 Jun 22

Sarah was the best. Every aspect of the trip was amazing and she understood they type of trip we were looking for. They planned every detail of travel that we needed and wrapped everything up into a simple itinerary. Thanks so much Sarah and team!

Jose Criado

23:48 26 Jun 22

We just returned from a 12-day trip to Spain that was originally scheduled for March 2020. During the past 2 years we have worked with Sarah and her staff to coordinate the trip. Sarah has been attentive, responsive and demonstrated high degree of professionalism during these difficult times. My wife and I traveled with our two teenagers and everyone had a wonderful time. Sarah designed an itinerary that included everything from a Tapas, Tavern and History Tour in Madrid to a walking/bike tour in Sevilla to a guided exploration of the White Villages. The guides she selected for the tours not only showed their expertise but were also warm and we always felt we were with a friend rather than in a traditional tour. The restaurants she recommended were outstanding and the location of the hotels helped us manage our time more efficiently due to their ideal locations. This is the first time we work with a travel planner and it has been our most productive, fun and efficient (time management) trip. I highly recommend Sarah and Spain Savvy!

Elaine Wessel

16:11 07 Jun 22

My husband and I used Spain Savvy to plan our honeymoon trip to Spain in May 2022. We visited Madrid, Seville, and Mallorca, and it was amazing! This was our first time ever using a travel planner, and it was a great decision to work with Spain Savvy! Sarah and her team have a knowledge of the cities that allowed for personalized recommendations for dining, attractions, and activities in each location. The accommodations were wonderful, and we appreciated that Spain Savvy was able to secure upgrades and other exciting activities (food/wine tour, horseback riding) that we would not have been able to easily do ourselves. Additionally, the travel planning app that contains schedules, tickets, reservations, and other information (even when you don't have wifi) was super helpful and we used it daily throughout our 9-day vacation. Sarah was always very professional and polite, and we appreciated that she and her team were dedicated to giving us a memorable and unique experience. Would recommend!

Susan Skinner

16:54 29 May 22

Spain Savvy did a great job organizing our trip to Barcelona. The hotel accommodations were just what we were looking for. The guides were very personable and informative. All transportation arrangements worked seamlessly and the restaurant recommendations were top shelf. Most importantly, Sarah was responsive and accessible both in the planning stages and the trip itself. She made things easy for us and I would recommend you contact her if you are considering traveling to Spain

Google Rating

5.0

Based on 67 reviews

Spain Savvy

5.0

00:16 29 Sep 22

22:43 14 Sep 22

03:55 30 Aug 22

19:09 27 Jul 22

20:51 19 Jul 22

18:19 17 Jul 22

16:29 07 Jul 22

They did an outstanding job coordinating our last 7 days in Spain. Could not have been better. Sarah was helpful before, during and after our trip.

21:07 03 Jul 22

19:51 27 Jun 22

23:48 26 Jun 22

16:11 07 Jun 22

16:54 29 May 22

15:47 19 May 22

My husband and I had an absolutely fabulous trip all over Spain with the help of Sarah at Spain Savvy. She put together a 3 1/2 week food and wine tour of the best parts of Spain. We started with tours of wineries in Ribera del Duero, Rioja, more wineries down the eastern side of Spain, then in wineries in Mallorca, and all the way down to Seville for the Sherry tasting. The food in Spain is great! We had amazing meals from the local spots to Michelin star restaurants. Sarah arranged for all our transfers and our guides were terrific. Thank you Sarah for an amazing trip.

george summers

13:29 16 May 22

Kudos to Sarah Gemba and SpainSavvy. Our trip was meticulously planned. Our guides were knowledgeable and our hotels perfect. It must be satisfying to have a job that yields so much happiness for curious travelers.

Laura Keanon

10:33 16 May 22

Sarah's expertise meant the difference between a pleasant but arduous travel experience and delightful, invigorating, wondrous, seamless, trip in which we could be confident that each day would unfold according to the plan contained in her superb app. From the outset, she was more than a trip planner -- she was sincerely engaged with us. She listened carefully to our wish to move slowly and experience deeply; to stay in centrally located but quiet hotels; to focus on the history and culture of Barcelona and Andalucia.She responded promptly and respectfully to our questions during our year of trip planning. She stayed in touch with us throughout our days in Spain to make sure that all was well. Even took time to meet us in Seville. Her friendliness, enthusiasm and comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of travel in Spain were crucial elements in our trip's success.She knows many of our guides personally and chose them to suit our needs. Each of them offered their extensive knowledge but also their individual outlooks on many topics.If I am fortunate enough to be able to travel again to Spain -- or to France or Italy or Greece -- I will not hesitate to work with Sarah again. She's a gem.

Stacy S. Ostrow

20:52 18 Apr 22

We just got back from a 9 day trip to Spain. Sarah was very easy to work with and very accommodating. The itinerary she designed allowed us to maximize our limited time without feeling rushed. Furthermore, all of the tour guides she found us were excellent. Thanks to Sarah, this trip was easy and stress-free. Highly recommend!

Linda Geiger

19:32 15 Apr 22

Thanks to Sarah and her staff at SpainSaavy! Sarah tailored our 3 week holiday to Spain and Portugal to accomodate all our needs and mesh with plans with family and a wedding!As an older couple, we cannot and do not want a whirlwind vacation where you are more tired when you return than when you left. Sarah kept this in mind as she scheduled the most interesting places to visit and with the most interesting locals. So, we got to see all the most visited places along with meeting and learning about each area's history and culture at our own pace. The hotels fit our needs perfectly too!And, most importantly, she is in touch with you throughout your trip, which is very important when you don't speak the language. We knew we could call on her if we ran into a problem. We had a friend in the country!We are so glad to hear SpainSaavy now has partners in Italy and Greece. We'll be calling on her services again!

Rachel Griffith

17:32 02 Apr 22

This being my first time in Europe I felt overwhelmed with the planning. Spain Savvy made the planning easy and the travel even easier. By having everything booked in advance, there was very little to stress over each day which left more time for enjoying rhe culture, food, wine and views! Would definitely use them again.

Gary Endorf

20:46 31 Mar 22

My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Sarah and her staff for an extended trip to Portugal. Spain Savvy did a great job of working with us on the itinerary and providing options that stayed within our budget. Sarah was responsive to our questions and followed up with us several times during the trip to ensure it was progressing according to plan. I would not hesitate to contact Spain Savvy again in the future to assist us with an itinerary for another adventure. Very professional.

C Hess

09:20 24 Jan 22

Me to Spain Savvy: Thinking of going to Malaga next week. Can you help?Spain Savvy: Hold my sangria. :)With about one week's notice, Sarah and her team managed to knock it out of the park again. Every Hess agreed that this was our best trip to date. Our tour guides while in Malaga/Gibraltar were some of the best we have ever had. They held our attention and provided the perfect balance of educational and fun details. Our hotel was centrally located and perfect for spending long days out exploring and then returning to our hotel for a great rest. There is so much to think about traveling during COVID, that having someone to take care of the little details really makes travel so much easier. From the second we landed at the airport until we boarded back to Germany, every detail was planned perfectly. Another rave recommendation for the Spain Savvy team!

Jim Finlayson

21:34 03 Nov 21

From our first contact with SpainSAVVY, we were impressed with their responsiveness, thoroughness and professionalism. At every step of the planning process and throughout our trip, Sarah listened to our sometimes fuzzy explanation of what we hoped to get out of the trip and anticipated what we would need to create a truly wonderful experience.We are experienced travelers and sometimes plan our own trips and sometimes use a travel agent. Several years ago, we traveled to Spain and made our own arrangements. For the most part, it went well, but we had a couple of challenging experiences getting train tickets and making the right arrangements for bus transports. There were some places we didn’t see because it was difficult to make the arrangements. And, we only spent time in three locations over the three week period.For this trip, we wanted to visit a variety of locations and realized that we just didn’t know how to make the necessary arrangements. We didn’t know where to stay, how to get there, and, really, what to do in the new destinations. We aren’t comfortable driving in a foreign country so that compounded our challenges. Several of the places we wanted to visit aren’t accessible using public transportation. And in the era of COVID, we wanted to make sure we had someone who could help us if we encountered any COVID related problems. After some research, we reached out to SpainSAVVY to help us plan the trip.We loved the process and tools that SpainSAVVY uses to help travelers plan their trip. The technology they use is very user friendly and they are there to help anytime you have a question. After completing a comprehensive survey to help establish our travel goals and wish lists, Sarah created a draft trip outline. Describing the plan as and “outline” or as a “draft” doesn’t do it justice. It was a complete itinerary that included web site links to hotels, restaurants, and major sites; estimated costs; and helpful descriptions of what we would do and see each hour of each day of our three-week trip. Using the first version as a guide, we were able to consider our options, compare the plan with our budget, and refine our wish list for the trip. We went through the process a couple of times until we settled on a final itinerary that met all our needs and still fit within our budget.From the point we said “GO”, Sarah took over and made all the arrangements: hotel reservations, train tickets, private drivers where we needed them, tours, tickets to venues, dinner reservations, and even scheduled the COVID tests we would need to return to the United States. All the details were organized for us in a wonderful app we accessed throughout the trip using our cell phones. We never had to wonder where our train tickets were or how to get to a restaurant – the app had links to our tickets and links to maps that used our GPS location to give us directions to our next stop. Sarah would update the information throughout the trip so that we always had the latest and most complete information. If we had a problem or question, Sarah was always available by phone or text to make sure everything was taken care of. SpainSAVVY made sure everything they had booked was paid for when we arrived. Not once was there ever an issue with hotels, private drivers, tour guides, or train tickets. With SpainSAVVY taking care of all the details, we could focus on the experience. The result: one of the most wonderful and problem free trips we have ever taken – especially in the time of COVID!If you are traveling to Spain or Portugal or any of the destinations SpainSAVVY handles, you can’t find a better and more professional agent to help you plan your trip! We are already thinking about our next trip and will absolutely work with SpainSAVVY to help us plan and prepare! Sarah is an absolute joy to work with! Out of five stars, we would give SpainSAVVY ten!

Vera Suarez

21:08 03 Aug 21

My husband and I normally arrange everything ourselves and this was our first experience with a travel planner. Sarah was awesome and now I'm spoiled. I can't recommend Sarah enough. We were a party of eight with four kids between 3 and 11, FYI. Two of the most amazing things about using Sarah is that 1) she arranged childcare so the adults could experience some of the late night dinners without the kids (the kids loved the sitter, BTW), and 2) having reservations at amazing restaurants really made every dining experience enjoyable! Also, we didn't have to wait in long lines to buy tickets, as ours were already purchased. This was the first time we travelled to Europe with our daughters (3 and 5 yrs old) and we were worried that it was going to be more work than enjoyable. But, we think this is our best vacation ever! I credit that to Sarah and her planning. Sarah was great to work with and very responsive to our questions and comments.

Barbara Mills-Bria

16:26 18 Jul 21

Sarah proved to be a godsend during our trip to Spain at the beginning of March 2020. She helped set up our itinerary, train reservations, tickets to various venues and found us delightful places to stay. Then, when disaster struck and we had to cut short our trip due to COVID-19, Sarah deftly rerouted us to Bilbao and got us a flight returning to the US at the last minute. We were so very grateful that the flight home, instead of being pricey and chaotic was easy. I cannot recommend Spain Savvy highly enough!

Kate B

15:11 18 Jul 21

We traveled to Spain with assistance from Spain Savvy for the second time this summer, and I cannot say enough good things about their service. We initially hired them for help designing an itinerary for our large and diverse group, and that service alone really has made an enormous difference in both of our recent trips. Not only does Spain Savvy help find unique and memorable experiences tailored to your group, they also put it all together for you - tracking down operating hours, purchasing tickets and/or making reservations, even details like where to catch a shuttle or rent a stroller - in addition to booking transportation and lodging. This means, when you get there, that you don't find out that the museum is closed on Tuesdays or that you needed to order the paella at the best restaurant in town 24 hours in advance. So helpful! And, their great service just continues from there. They use an app to organize your itinerary, so you have all of your planned activities, reservations, tickets, maps, boarding passes, etc., at your fingertips, organized by day. It could not be more convenient. Sarah and her partners are super responsive, and they are there to assist once you arrive in-country, as well. This year, in particular, Sarah helped us navigate various COVID19 testing requirements and travel restrictions as we moved across the country, and also made same day travel adjustments for us with our airline when we got in a jam. I have and will continue to recommend Spain Savvy to anyone traveling to Spain and Portugal!

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Sarah Gemba | Founder

Hola, I'm Sarah!

Don’t take our word for it

Client Testimonials

"It was exactly what I needed help with so that we could relax and enjoy the program she crafted. We visited Porto, Tarragona, Sitges, and Barcelona and she guided us each step of the way. Highly recommend! If only there was a Sarah in every country we want to visit"

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