About us
Custom Private Journeys
Providing the ultimate luxury travel experience in Spain and Portugal since 1999, MfS&P designs custom itineraries for the discerning traveler seeking immersive, meaningful experiences and the highest level of service. Our goal is to help our travelers to discover the unkown, and in return, to re-discover themselves, through journeys that enrich mind, body and spirit.
Insider Access and Exceptional Connections
By facilitating insider access to the most exclusive places and extraordinary people, we offer travelers a way to connect to Portugal and Spain in an authentic and transformative way. From lunches at family-owned organic farms and visits to small-batch wine producers and artisans in the mountains, to museum visits while closed to the public, or afternoons shopping with fashion designers, gallery-hopping and creating with artists or dining with nobility, the possibililties are endless.
Sustainable Luxury
No matter what the journey entails our approach is high-touch, but low impact. We keep things local, seasonal and off-the-beaten path, ensuring that clients travel sustainably with a positive impact on our homeland.
24/7 Support While Traveling
Travelers receive round-the-clock support from a specially assigned Guest Relations Representative during their trip. The representative is available via phone and email for any consultations, questions, last-minute reservations, changes and cancellations.
Made for Spain & Portugal has been featured in Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, Bloomberg and Forbes among other publications, was named Virtuoso's Destinations & Experiences Partner of the Year 2019, and has been awarded Best Destination Management Company by Luxury Travel Advisor Magazine in 2014, 2015, 2017 & 2018.
THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT POSSIBLE
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Virginia Irurita
Virginia Irurita was born in northern Spain in 1962 to a family of travelers. Since she can remember, she has been on the road exploring, as her father made sure that she slept in every Parador and Pousada discovering the magic of every monument, church, art collection and regional gastronomy of the Iberian Peninsula. She eventually settled down to work for Citibank in Madrid and in London for nearly two decades, until she realized that she could not go on living such a boring office life! It became clear that her love for the Iberian lifestyle, history, culture and art was taking her away from her work, so she decided then and there to follow her passions. She left the banking world and began the wonderful adventure of hosting travelers in Spain and Portugal by founding Made for Spain & Portugal in 1999.When Virginia is not traveling around the world with Made for Spain & Portugal, she splits her time between her homes in Madrid, Cádiz and the Ribera del Duero wine region. Outside of her professional endeavors, Virginia spends her time reading biographies, cooking, taking pictures and traveling to discover other cultures and different ways of living. When she is at home in Spain, she adores aperitif time in busy tapas bars, eating out, being with friends and exploring the countryside. -
Alonso Álvarez de Toledo
When Alonso Álvarez de Toledo was 15 years old he found himself at the top of a ski lift, 8,000 feet over the French Alps, and thought to himself, “one day I would love to have a newspaper and a travel agency.” He wrote the bout of inspiration off as thoughts one has with a lack of oxygen, but a few short years later he became the editor of his school newspaper, and further down the line became the co-owner of Made for Spain & Portugal, one of the top travel agencies in the world!
Son of a diplomat, Alonso has lived in 7 different countries and traveled to over 35, but he still feels there is nothing quite like Spain and Portugal and considers himself extremely lucky to be able to share these beautiful, fascinating, exciting, fun and surprising countries with travelers. When he is not in the office or traveling across the Iberian Peninsula, Alonso loves to run, ski, read, travel, be with friends and, above all, spend time with his wife, Leticia, and his two children, Tomás and Isabella. He also loves to write, and his latest creative ventures include writing a musical with a friend about freedom, love and soccer called Puskas, the Musical.
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“But for some travelers, money isn’t the issue; it’s getting exactly what you want, when you want it. As Rozanne Silverwood of Reston, Va., says of her family’s recent two weeks with local operator Made for Spain: It was a dream trip in every way. Our guides were superb, and drivers made the experience a vacation rather than a headache. They even managed to engage our three teenage daughters in the local culture,now that’s really saying something.”
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“Virginia Irurita, probablemente la más veterana en este juego de anfitriones premium. En 1999 aparcó su carrera en el sector financiero y fundó Made for Spain, un receptivo de lujo centrado en el mercado estadounidense y que hoy goza de excelente reputación. Miembro de la exclusiva asociación Virtuoso, que reúne a los mejores agentes de viajes del mundo, algún que otro miembro de la lista Forbes se ha puesto en manos de esta discreta profesional cuando ha recalado en nuestro país.”
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“I wanted to thank you again for your support in creating and delivering a very memorable trip for the Murphy Family… Thank you again for all of your help… Thanks again so very much and I look forward to working with you again and recommending you to other travel professional associates.”
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Pablo Álvarez de Toledo
Art and Culture
Pablo holds a BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art, an MFA from Yale University and Ph.D. in Art and Entrepreneurship, Nebrija University. He is an artist, a university professor and an Academic Director with more than 20 years of experience promoting Art Education in Spain and developing an original and distinct body of work as a painter. He is thrilled to work with Made for Spain & Portugal because it allows him to share his passion for Art and for Spain's unique cultural heritage with extraordinary people.
“As an artist, my inspiration comes from my everyday life, looking at ordinary objects, people and surroundings. When I´m not working in my studio, you will find me either at the Prado Museum, learning from the great masters like Titian, Velazquez, Zurbaran, El Greco or Goya, who captured light and form so masterfully in their paintings, or visiting contemporary art galleries, taking the pulse of Madrid´s inspiring contemporary art scene.”
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Pablo López Navarro
Art Historian and cinema
Pablo is an Art Historian with a Masters in Cinema, Creative Writing and Critical Literature. He is fluent in five languages and will guide you in Madrid, Castilla y León and La Rioja wine region with contagious, fizzy enthusiasm.
“I believe that guiding is essentially sharing: we share our knowledge and our understanding of current Spain, its people, its cheerful lifestyle, its food and wine and its mesmerizing art; but, most important, we share our fascination for our country's complexity...and the fun of being a Spaniard!”
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David de Yzaguirre
Wine
David de Yzaguirre is a non-practicing psychologist and a chronic observer. He lives in the same home his family established in 1132 in the Penedes wine region, surrounded by vineyards, almond trees and olive groves. Twenty-nine generations later, he feels obligated to preserve the history and landscape that cradled him and his family. White wine and Yzaguirre vermouth flow through his veins. He teaches the history and culture of wine at university, is an official Cava educator and is accredited by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust in London, aside from having studied Marketing at IESE. He has his own vineyard which he uses to learn himself, as well as teach his three children about patience, strength and passion. He is inspired by the stories behind each wine that have been hidden, forgotten and silenced, and he is passionate about sharing them with his guests. He's tasted the life of a Pedro Ximenez from 1830, collects books, and saves his very best wines to share them among friends.
“I love what I do and I do what I love”
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Jaume Valldeperas
Biking, hiking and outdoors
Jaume Valldeperas is a mountain and alpine skiing guide, with a degree in History from the Universidad de Barcelona, who considers himself obsessed with the outdoors and biking. He firmly believes that the bicycle is the transportation of the future, and the very best tool to show our cities and rural territory. He has always loved traveling, so meeting guests of different cultures and sharing different areas of Cataluña is one of his favorite part of the job, as it allows him to get to know the world through the stories travelers share with him on their journeys.
“I have always loved to travel, which is why I love what I do!”
