There are two basic ways to travel, one is based on your own familiarly with an area, or that of family and friends, or of a professional service (say Totally Spain or Iberian Traveler).


The other is to spend endless hours scouring the Internet trying to find something nice without knowing anything at all about the property or area besides what is offered on a web site. A few pretty pictures do not always tell the truth.

You can take your chances that what you finally select will actually fit your needs, desires and dreams. Professionals who know their properties, and are familiar with an area, are worth a few extra euros for the peace of mind.

I was interested to see Totally Spain mentioned on this post. I can highly recommend them both for their service and prices. Very professional and very reliable. We have travelled with them on three occasions since 2002. Twice in Northern Spain and once through Andalusia and we found them to be excellent each time.

We covered the north of Spain in two chunks and both trips were of 14 night duration. Firstly we did the Basque Country, Rioja and Cantabria which we loved.

The following trip we visited Galicia and Asturias. We stayed in a mixture of hotels and country homes both in cities and rural locations. I highly recommend doing this because the cities are terrific but the countryside and northern coast is just beautiful.

People always say that it rains a lot in northern Spain but we´ve only ever had good weather there. In contrast to southern Spain, the north is green, mountainous and lush. I preferred it.

We were very saisfied with the custom tours that Totally Spain put together for us and being retired we got some good discounts at Parador hotels. Totally Spain supplied us with very good literature and local maps and guides. I bought a guide book but I really didn´t need to.

On our last trip, we actually got to meet the owners Ken and Belen. We were travelling through Cantabria and they came and had breakfast with us. Very nice people.

Anyway, you´ll love northern Spain and should you decide to use Totally Spain you won´t be disappointed.
JJ Fitzgerald

Hi Fitz,

Glad to hear another recommendation for Totally Spain in case I ever have the need for their services. Could you comment a little more what kind of services they provided? Did they design the itinerary , make the hotel reservations, etc.. Or did you already know where you wanted to go and they simply suggested the hotels where to stay?

How do they get compensated? Do they charge a flat fee, or is it some sort of %? Or is it only the commissions they get from hotels?

I assume you rented a car to accomplish your trip or was this some kind of group thing?

Thanks!

Yes, we travelled independently, not with a group. Totally Spain (Belen) booked all of our arrangements in Spain. We organised our own flights and then Belen booked our accommodation and car rental. In addition she has also arranged extra things we wanted such as tickets to the Alhambra Palace and a guide, a flamingo show in Seville, an excellent tapas tour in San Sebastian, visits to wineries in Rioja. She has also made train and restaurant reservations for us too. They provide a complete service.

I would say that we designed the itinerary together. My wife and I had an idea of places we definitely wanted to see and sought advice and suggestions for additional places of interest and how to best make the most of our time. We haven´t regretted following any of the recommendations made including staying in some Bed & Breakfasts´s which I wasn´t that keen on to be honest but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised.

Their accommodation choices have always been spot-on although they are peculiar in that they don´t provide the names of the hotels they work with or show prices. There are good descriptions and photos on their website but rather than use hotel names they use codes. It´s not that difficult to determine which hotels they are though if you look around on the internet. Once the booking is confirmed they provide all that information.

Regarding compensation, I don´t know. They have always quoted us a complete price for the entire itinerary without any extra fee shown. I assume they earn a commission like any travel agency but I have always felt that we have received a very fair price and good value for money. I´ve never felt that I overpaid.

As I mentioned in my last email the documentation they send is very good – the best I´ve seen. Plenty of maps and plenty of useful guides. They also mark on the maps such things as hotel locations and car rental offices. Generally we have received our travel documentation more than a month before travelling which gave us plenty of time to read through everything and decide what we wanted to see and do.

Hope this helps.

Hi FITZ, I apprecaite your response and details.

They seem very professional and that's good to know.

In reply to questions about Totallyspain.
The price depends on the agreement with the accommodation. Usually they charge you extra, but you will not see that in your overall price. Charging someone is normal as they are in business.
As for discounts in Paradores you can get that via the Paradore web site.
Agree that an owner who knows a fair bit about the area is worth extra, but we don’t all change extra, we even give free advice via forums, but we don’t tell you all of our secrets!

Ian and Irene

As a parent of two, I've travelled extensively with young children all over the world. Regardless of the country, season, or activities during the day, as long as there was a pool for them to jump into at the end of the day, they were always fine. It's a great way to cool off, unwind, and recharge before the next day or evening's activities.