Frequently Asked Questions

We are custom itinerary specialists offering professional travel consulting, reservation management, and concierge services.  We plan your trip right down to the last nuts and bolts, working in any reservations you may have already made (such as international flights) and fleshing out your itinerary to make your dream trip a reality.  For more information on our process, please check out our How We Work graphic.

We can include all travel-related services in your package depending on what you need us to organize for you.  These are just some of the program elements we normally include in a custom itinerary:
  • International flights (if you haven’t booked them already!)
  • In-country transportation (air, train, bus, rental car with self-guided itineraries, private driver, airport transfers…)
  • Hotels & short/long-term rental properties
  • Privately-guided tours (or self-guided walking itineraries where appropriate)
  • Monument & museum entrance tickets
  • Restaurant recommendations & reservations
All of these services will be packaged together in your very own app / clickable digital itinerary format (downloadable to PDF) that will make your trip logistics a breeze.

Spain Savvy partners with Global Rescue to meet our clients’ trip insurance needs.  Global Rescue, based in the U.S., is the world’s leading membership organization providing integrated medical, security, travel risk and crisis response services to travelers worldwide.  Spain Savvy clients can enroll with them directly via our partnership link!  Global Rescue offers CFAR («cancel for any reason») insurance, which is highly recommended in the post-COVID travel era.

Yes, we charge a professional fee for our travel design services, ranging anywhere from 150-400€ per itinerary (the rate we quote you will primarily depend on length of trip and number of travelers).  When you receive your custom itinerary, we will price out all the different program elements so you can pick and choose exactly what you’d like to book with us.

Frankly, because our services are worth it!  Our fee covers our in-depth local expert knowledge, professional services, and time spent researching your travel experiences.  You are paying for us to professionally design your itinerary according to your specific needs and desires, packaging it in an attractive and user-friendly format in our very own app.  Whether or not you end up booking this custom-designed trip with us in the end is of course entirely up to you.  We are proud to state that 90% of clients who secure our itinerary design services end up booking their complete travel package with us.
Click here to read a Forbes article about how the travel industry is shifting towards a professional services fee structure.

You will be invited to download your custom itinerary in the «My Trips» app the first time it is sent to you, and it will be available to you throughout the proposal and trip execution process. Here is an article with some more information on how it works!  Our clients absolutely rave about this app and we are so pleased to be able to offer you this innovative tool.

We usually ask our clients to allow us 7-10 days to put together their custom itinerary, starting from when we receive our completed New Client Survey, the fee payment and our e-signed client contract. If it’s likely that we will take any longer due to holidays or high season, we will let you know. After you receive your custom itinerary, the review and revision process may take another week or two. Then, once the full payment is received, we can usually have your trip booked and confirmed within another week or two at the most.

We suggest anywhere from 3-6 months. We can do a last-minute trip (less than 3 months from departure), but in order to guarantee the availability of hotels and some special tours, and to give us the time to put your trip together properly, planning with some leeway is usually more advisable. Please note that we may or may not have the time to take on a last-minute trip and we appreciate your understanding. We may also take a bit longer than normal to work on a trip that is over a year away.

Our office is located at our home in a small village on the outskirts of Seville, Spain. Our company is run by an American expat who has been living in southern Spain for almost two decades, and we are fully in touch with the local area, culture, customs, etc. If your itinerary takes you to this area, we will do our best to meet you in person while you are in town!

We launched Spain Savvy in April 2017 but have a long history as cross-cultural professionals since we first stepped foot in Spain from the U.S. in 1998. You can read more about our founder’s background here.

Payments can be made securely on our website with Visa, Mastercard or American Express.  If you’re charging your trip balance on American Express, please include the 1.5% banking fee on top of your balance (we will specify this in your itinerary).  If you’re having any trouble making payments on our website, we suggest reaching out to your bank for pre-approval for the international charge.  Sometimes, because our site is based in Spain, American banks flag charges on our website – but our experience has shown us that this can usually be cleared up with one call to your bank.

Yes! Spain Savvy operates primarily in Spain, Portugal and Morocco but we are working on growing our network in other European countries.  As of March 2021, we are thrilled to be able to connect you with like-minded travel professionals in our network in France, Italy and Greece. If you’re interested in traveling to another country, please contact us and we’ll do our best to find someone to work with you!

Absolutely – sometimes a quick phone call is better than 20 emails! We just ask that you send us a quick email first to arrange a time – sometimes, with the different time zones and other life obligations, we are not available immediately for a phone call.

While our itineraries are all customized to our clients, and contain proprietary information, we are happy to share a couple of generic samples, which should give you an idea of what to expect should you decide to work with us.

As of June 7, 2021, the Spanish government is admitting vaccinated travelers from the United States.  For all the official information, please consult the Travel Safe Spain website and the U.S. Embassy in Spain website.

Upon entry in Spain, along with the required Spain Travel Health Form (completed digitally and with its corresponding QR code) you will need to present ONE of the following THREE types of certifications:

1) vaccination certification with all the required details (full name, date of vaccinations, type of vaccine administered, number of doses completed, the country that administered the vaccine, identification of vaccination administrator)
2) negative PCR or antigen test (within 48 hours of arrival)
3) certification of having recovered from COVID within the past 6 months, accompanied by first positive test results

The documents are acceptable in English or Spanish (as well as French or German).  You may be submitted to a temperature/visual health check, and may be asked to submit to further testing before your entry is approved.  Masks are still required AT ALL TIMES in Spain (except while eating/drinking).

As of June 15, the Portuguese government is admitting travelers from the United States with proof of a negative COVID test – either PCR within the last 3 days or antigen within the last 24 hours.  This provision will be reviewed again on June 27. Please check the U.S. Embassy in Portugal website for the most up-to-date info.

Testing for return to U.S. after travel in Spain and Portugal
Effective January 26, 2021, all airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel. Alternatively, travelers to the United States may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel. Check the CDC website for additional information and Frequently Asked Questions.

Click HERE for more info on where to get a PCR in Spain before your return to the U.S.

Click HERE for more info on where to get a PCR in Portugal before your return to the U.S.

We urge all travelers to please be patient at the borders as Spain and Portugal open up to tourism safely.  Most importantly, please be flexible and understand that this information is subject to change at any time. We are not responsible for the information published here and how it may impact your own personal travels.