WORLDWIDE CULTURAL AND CULINARY VACATIONS
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Basque Country Food and Wine Self-Driving Expedition in Spain

(Bilbao, San Sebastian with Rioja)

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Priced From
$3,589 USD *
* Plus taxes. Tours sold on an availability basis.
7 days | 6 nights

Tour the Basque Country and Rioja!

We feel a wonderful way to explore the Basque countryside and the bucolic Rioja wine lands is going on our self-driven tour. You have the opportunity travel around at your own pace, enjoying the slow paced beautiful countryside at leisure. Spending as much time at a chosen venue or beauty spot as you desire. A self-driven tour also permits plenty of spare time to make your own plans and add to the items on the itinerary. San Sebastian and Bilbao are serious foodie towns, establishing themselves as world-class gastro-paradises. The most renowned aspect of Basque Country is its cuisine: A plethora of innovative chefs have been creating innovative dishes with local ingredients for decades. The high quality of the many Michelin- starred restaurants of this region is one of the pillars of its current international prestige. Bilbao is the region's largest city, with centuries of blended architectural grandeur, boasting Michelin-starred as well as many pinxtos bars serving extraordinarily innovative finger food. In a superb natural setting surrounding a beautiful semicircular bay with a golden beach, San Sebastian is one of Spain's most alluring cities. Rioja, adjacent to Basque Country, is Spain's most famous wine region, noted for its centuries-old tradition of wine making. With the arrival of French merchants in the late 19th century, Riojas' reputation expanded, as the area gained expertise from Bordelaise winemakers, including their use of small oak barrels. This tour of the Basque Country and Rioja is intended to reveal to you highlights of what this extraordinary corner of Spain has to offer. This is a self-driving tour; all directions and maps will be provided. It is designed to be taken at a leisurely pace, allowing yourselves full enjoyment of the countryside. Additional optional experiences are available should you wish us to enhance the guided level of this tour.
Small Group Friendly
Itinerary Accommodations Map FAQ
VACATION HIGHLIGHTS
Please note: Tour inclusions can change depending upon seasonality and weather conditions.
2 Nights at a 4-star Boutique Hotel in San Sebastian
2 Nights at a Charming 5-star hotel in Bilbao
2 Nights at a 4-star Hotel in Rioja
Breakfast Daily in Hotel
Pintxos Tour in San Sebastian
Tasting & Lunch at Cider Producer
Michelin-Star Dinner in Bilbao
Hands-on Cooking Class of Traditional Basque Cuisine
Tasting The Best of Rioja Food and Wine Dinner
Private Pago Wine Estate Tour with Lunch in Vineyards
Additional Optional Tours Available
While our tours are designed as soft adventure experiences, walking, climbing stairs, and in rare cases mild hiking may be required. If you have mobility issues, you should speak with one of our culinary travel specialists to determine if this tour is appropriate for your situation.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
Please note: Actual itineraries are subject to change due to seasonality.
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Day 1
Check In to San Sebastian Hotel
Take time to relax and unwind from your flight. Stretch your legs with a short ten-minute walk to the city centre from your old town hotel location, then freshen up for your evening out.
Private Txikiteo Adventurous Dining Experience in old San Sebastian
In the evening, experience a private "txikiteo" tour – the activity of hopping from bar to bar in the pursuit of the signature pintxo (tapa/small portion) of each eating-house/restaurant. This adventurous dining experience will take part in the "Parte Vieja"- the old section of San Sebastian – with beautiful architecture and ambiance. During the tour you may try sheep cheese with mint, or ham croquettes in pistachio paste, or crab with avocado and fennel … every bar will have its own signature pintxo, always ingeniously paired with local wines or cider.
Day 2
Breakfast with a View
Breakfast in the charming restaurant, with a lovely garden view. Choices will include plenty of locally-sourced fresh ingredients and delicacies. After all, you are in the gastronomic capital of Iberia!
Free Day to Explore San Sebastian | Additional Options Available
With plenty to see and do, think food shopping like a local in the Gros area, in the vicinity of the barrio (district) where your hotel is located. This area offers a selection of fashionable modern stores, combined with quirky art galleries. The upmarket old town is just a stroll away. If you wish to explore cultural attractions, we suggest the Tabakalera. This former tobacco factory reopened in 2015 as a centre for contemporary culture, housing an ever-changing mix of exhibitions and events. If you decide to visit, don't miss the observation deck at the top floor. It has one of the best views of the city and its coastline. Looking for something sporty? We suggest swimming, or taking a surfing lesson at Zurriola Beach, also in the Gros district. This is where you find the casual side of San Sebastian. Compared to the other beaches in town, this one feels quite undiscovered, with mostly locals and a few tourists engaging in sunbathing, surfing, swimming, or lingering on the esplanade. For another memorable experience, we recommend a private boat tour around La Concha Bay and the Basque coast. After being greeted at the local dock by the captain, and welcomed onto your comfortable sailing boat, you will sail away on a 3-to-4-hour cruise. This might be your best opportunity to appreciate the beauty of San Sebastian and the dramatic coast of the Basque Country -- and no better way to learn about the history of fishing and whaling around the Basque coast, a heritage that is still vivid at present. Upon request, your captain can stop at one of the beautiful bays for a swim. Expect some refreshments and drinks, alongside delicious finger food. Please inquire for more details and pricing. Should you wish to explore the fine dining scene of Spain's gastronomic capital in the evening, we are happy to recommend some of our favorite restaurants.
Day 3
Breakfast with a View | Check out of Hotel
Breakfast in the charming restaurant, with a lovely garden view. It will include plenty of locally-sourced fresh ingredients and delicacies. After all, you are in the gastronomic capital of Iberia!
Sidreria Apple Orchard Visit and Lunch
Before departing to Bilbao, a stop at a traditional ''sidrería'' in the outskirts of San Sebastian. A sidrería, or "basserri" in Basque, is the name for traditional farmhouses that produce cider. Visiting and lunching at a "basserri" is to take part in one of the most cherished local traditions. In the past, after the journey to purchase cider, the city dwellers of the time would join the sidrería owner for a meal that would typically involve codfish, beef, and vegetables, paired of course with ubiquitous cider. Today, this ritual is still followed but updated to present day. Your visit will start at the apple tree orchard, followed by the pressing area, and a tour of the cellars. Then, to the eating house, where you will lunch on the local menu common to the "basserri". And, like good old times, you will have free access to the massive cider barrels to pour your own drink.
Drive to Bilbao | Hotel Check-in | Free Time to Explore
From the Sidrería it should be about a one-hour drive to Bilbao. Check in at your hotel. Enjoy some free time to relax or to explore the city on your own.
Michelin-starred Restaurant Dinner
Dinner will be at a small and atmospheric Michelin-starred restaurant. The ethos is on local ingredients. Expect plenty of succulent fish, seafood, vegetables, and bread, paired with Basque ingenuity. Dishes are beautifully presented and delightful. The wine list is equally surprising. This is one of our favorite restaurants in town.
Day 4
Breakfast Like Ernest Hemingway
Breakfast will be generous and delicious – with a la carte and buffet options. It is served in the same dining room where Ernest Hemingway would dine with his entourage during their stay in Bilbao.
Explore Bilbao on Your Own | Additional Options Available
Wandering through the city can lead to some wonderful surprises. Here one encounters striking contemporary, neo-classical, Beaux-Arts, and medieval architecture, agreeably blended. Bilbao is a former industrial city that over the last decades experienced a firm rebirth at the hand of some of the world's best architects. Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum set the pace. This stunning construction is home to some unusual collections of contemporary art. Other architectural nuggets in Bilboa include Norman Foster's Bilbao metro project; Philippe Starck's Alhóndiga Municipal de Bilbao, a former wine warehouse transformed into a cultural, knowledge, and pleasure centre; and Santiago Calatrava's architectural presence in the city, famous in the United States thanks to his Oculus at the World Trade Center in New York. Fortunately, these new additions have not changed the cities' old Basque spirit. Locals still sit down with friends to enjoy a delicious pintxo washed down with a glass of fizzy txakoli wine. If you wish to explore the city in-depth, we can organize a private tour of both the Guggenheim museum and of the historical city centre of Bilbao, led by a local art and food specialist. Please inquire for more details and price. If you fear you might miss something during your visit, we are happy to organize a private guide to accompany you during the day. Please contact us for pricing and details.
Traditional Basque Hands on Cooking Class
At the end of the afternoon you are expected for a private hands-on cooking class of traditional Basque dishes. The class will be led by an experienced chef, in a relaxed and unpretentious manner. He will introduce you both to the Spanish/Basque food culture as well as to some of the most traditional pintxos in the region. The dishes you will be preparing can be sampled in the many bars of Bilbao and San Sebastian. All recipes are prepared with the intention that you should be able to replicate the dishes at home for your family and friends.
Day 5
Breakfast like Ernest Hemingway | Hotel Check-out
Breakfast will be generous and delicious – with a la carte and buffet options. It is served in the same dining room where Ernest Hemingway would dine with his entourage during their stay in Bilbao. After breakfast, check out from your hotel and drive to la Rioja.
Leisurely Drive to Rioja | Hotel Check-in
A leisurely drive should be planned, with plenty of time to spare. Experience a short but beautiful trip across both easy-to-negotiate mountainous roads and green fields dotted by small hilltop castles. Check in to your hotel in Rioja. Take some time to relax, unwind, and enjoy the natural surroundings which contrast with the city experience.
Tasting The Best of Rioja Food and Wine
A perfect addition to your coastal Basque experience, enjoy dinner at your hotel's restaurant. Shortly after the recent inauguration of the hotel, its restaurant emerged as a reference point in the local gastronomic scene. The tasting menu you will savor varies according to the availability of ingredients sourced from local producers, yet you can expect a simple but refined approach to the Riojan flavors. The menu may include chestnut purée, grilled artichokes, vegetable stews with regional pulses, or roasted lamb. Desserts are rich yet delectable. The wine list is one of the best in the area, which for a restaurant in a wine region is saying aplenty.
Day 6
Breakfast overlooking River and Vineyard
Breakfast will be served in the beautiful dining room of the Hotel. It is discreetly spectacular: The room not only overlooks the Ebro River, but also some of the mystical vineyards of La Rioja. The famous López de Heredia winery picks grapes for its wines from these vineyards.
Private Pago Wine Estate tour | Lunch in the Vineyards
Late morning you are expected at one of the top wine estates of Rioja. This is a ''Pago'' winery, Pago being the highest denomination for a winery in Spain, similar to the French-wide Grand Crus system. A private tour of the vineyards, spectacularly located on a beautiful meander of the Ebro river, is followed by a visit to the winery and comparative wine tasting. A picnic-style lunch will be served among the vineyards, if weather allows, with soothing views over the landscape. Expect delicious local produce and, of course, the estate's wine.
Free Time to Explore Rioja | Additional options available
After lunch you are free to enjoy and explore Rioja at your leisure, with plenty to see and do. Explore the many charming hilltop towns of Rioja, some which exude a Tuscany feeling. Or, if you are still hungry for more wine knowledge, a visit to the spectacular Vivanco museum, that rivals the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, fits the bill. Here the culture of wine is explored through a series of detailed and topical exhibitions spread throughout four floors of stories, historical artifacts, art works, and many curiosities apropos to the wine world.
Day 7
Breakfast Overlooking Vineyard and River | Hotel Check-out
Breakfast will be served in the beautiful dining room of the Hotel. It is discreetly spectacular: The room not only overlooks the Ebro River, but also some of the mystical vineyards of La Rioja. The famous López de Heredia winery picks grapes for its wines from these vineyards. Today you will conclude your tour. Should you wish to expand your exploration of this area of Spain, we are happy to assist.
Bilbao, SpainSan Sebastian, SpainRioja, Spain
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OUTSTANDING
CULINARY TRAVEL
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