Go Basque. Guided Tours around the Basque Country — Attraction in San Sebastián

My friend and I had a truly amazing day touring La Rioja with Ander from Go Basque Travel.

We took the “La Rioja Full Wine Experience Tour”.

We were picked up directly from our apartment in San Sebastián by Ander in a luxury sedan. I had needed to make an unplanned urgent stop at a pharmacy before we started our journey and Ander handled it like a pro ensuring I was able to get what I needed.

Then on the stunning drive out to La Rioja Ander provided some really wonderful information about the local areas and we were driving through. Anecdotally, we ended up having a fascinating conversation on the drive with Ander about the Basque Country, its people and culture. It was excellent getting the perspective from someone who grew up locally. The great conversation definitely enhanced our experience on the tour.

Since we were making good time we visited several wineries (which was an awesome surprise since only two were guaranteed initially when booking the tour).

The wineries were pretty different one to the next, which we appreciated as it made the tour overall very interesting and not at all repetitive. In some wineries we were able to go deep in to their production areas and others we stuck to the showrooms for tasting.

We also had a chance to explore a bit in a small town that housed one of the wineries, Ander took us around and showed us a few places in the town.

We did then have lunch at another winery where Ander had taken special care to ensure my friend who is vegetarian was accommodated. The lunch was several courses... delicious, refined and not rushed at all. Eventually we got back in the car to meet back with Ander after we had finished eating and he took us to see a couple of sites that I had specially requested to snap some photos. Then we enjoyed the drive home with our stomachs full of delicious food and wine and again great conversation with Ander. For anyone who loves trying wine this is the tour to book. Over the course of the day we had tasted about 12-15 wines (the tastings also catered to our individual preferences which was fantastic, so my friend and I each tried some different wines). Finally, Ander was awesome - professional, courteous, extremely knowledgeable and a genuine pleasure to have as our guide. I absolutely recommend this tour to others, might seem pricey on first glance but I promise you it is worth it. I will do another tour with Go Basque when I’m back in Basque Country...

Memorable Wine Tasting Tour of Rioja

Our group of 4 wine lovers highly anticipated our trip to Rioja, since our we had to cancel our trip back in 2020 due to the pandemic. Nina was fantastic in booking the trip, helping to customize our winery stops as well as our lunch option.

On the day of the tour, we were warmly greeted at our hotel in San Sebastian by Ander. He was due to be our guide back in 2020, so it was 3 years in the making! Once we were on our way, Ander provided helpful information, background, and history during the whole drive to the Rioja wine country. We began our tour in the town of Haro with stops at few of the smaller producers. Ander was incredibly flexible adding in extra stops here and there as we had extra time. We then headed to two fantastic smaller wineries in the countryside. Both were quite unique, using some newer methods and techniques, while respecting the traditions of the region. We had a delicious, relaxing lunch where we were able to try some local specialties. Finally, we rounded out a memorable day with a tour of the quaint town of La Guardia and a quick stop to take in the architectural sights of a few modern winery buildings. Even though this was a repeat trip to Rioja for some of the group, it was an entirely new, exciting, and unforgettable experience for us all. Ander was unfailingly informative and engaged throughout the entire trip.

Ander and Nina were also incredibly helpful with tips and suggestions for the rest of our time in Basque country. Their cheat sheet of Pinxto bars was invaluable for our Pinxto crawl later in the week. The Go Basque team really made us feel like we were part of the Basque country family. We hope to return for future tours...

What a wonderful day we spent with Ander visiting a few of the many nearby medieval Basque villages. Our private tour with Ander has honestly been THE MOST MEMORABLE PART OF OUR VISIT TO SAN SEBASTIAN. We especially appreciated the door-to-door service and the easy conversation with Ander, who was raised in San Sebastian. We learned not only about the areas we visited but about what life is like growing up, living and working here. We never felt rushed and Ander was open to stopping anywhere we liked. Our first stop was Sare, known for its delicious Gateau Basque (cake) and where fronton (jai alai) is the favorite pastime. Traveling the lush countryside to our next stop in Espelette, Ander pointed out the raised wooden huts built on towers used to trap migrating wood pigeons. Espelette is known for its production of espelette red peppers. The entire village has white houses with red or green shutters. It looked like a fairy tale town built as a temple to the little red peppers. The 17th century Basque church had a single aisle with wooden galleries and the scent of old wood. Ander knows all the places where you can taste the local cheese, chocolate or pate. Finally on to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port which is the starting point and the most challenging part of the Camino de Santiago. The streets are steep and cobbled, dotted with pilgrim lodgings and many shops. The “way” is well-marked with directional arrows embedded into the cobblestone streets and signs taped to poles. Thank you Ander for sharing your beautiful Basque countryside with us - a forever...