Earra Tours Basque Country — Local services in San Sebastián

Earra Tours is hosted by Jon and he is a passionate Basque man and native. He is not that interested in you just tasting food, he wants you to experience the Basque country in ways no one we are aware of is trying to do. Sure he will deliver on the food, I mean really deliver. But he takes you into the country to see things only the locals will usually see. He took us from village to village, farm to farm. We visited the coast and a vineyard and even a beautiful church tucked away in a tiny township that looked modest on the outside and blew us away on the inside! The day started with Jon picking us up from our hotel, that's right, from our hotel at 9:00 in the morning. We left and immediately went to a sheep farm and dairy where we were able to meet the sheep and see how they were milked twice a day. We then went into the cheese making part of the dairy where we were able to see cheese being made, the cheese maturation room and then we were treated to a sit-down breakfast of sorts, complete with several cheeses, including the very one we just saw being made. It was basically a ricotta-like loose and unaged cheese that was 15 minutes old. Delicious! The highlight of the meal was the very Basque cheese called Idiazabal which is quite similar to Manchego, just mind-blowing fresh and therefore better. The next stop was a trip to a picturesque pig farm and ranch where the Basque pig is being saved from the brink of extinction. We toured the farm, visited the barn where the piglets were being reared by their mothers and then into the Disney perfect ranch house for a lunch of cured pork, bread, an egg and wild mushroom scramble (yes the eggs were from their chickens and the wild mushrooms were foraged on the farm), and then a perfectly cooked and seasoned cut of beef from one of their cows! Want to talk farm to table? Jon delivered! How far does your food travel to get to your mouth? Ours that day? Maybe several hundred feet or less! Lastly on our tour we went to a txakoli vineyard to talk grapes, fermentation and have a wine tasting! Jon made sure to take us off the beaten path along each trip, even taking us to forage for wild mushrooms ourselves. Our day was scheduled to take us from 9:00am to 4:30pm, but we were having such a great time we didn't get back to the hotel until 6:00pm. During the day together Jon told us that he was taking a group of four on a pintxos tour at 6:30pm. We asked if he had room for two more and he did, so we joined them 30 minutes later for several.more hours of Jon's funny sense of humor, stories and lessons of the Basque language and culture. Make no mistake if you join Jon for one of his tours you will laugh. You will learn a lot about what it is to be Basque, and you will have food experiences that will blow you away! You will not have ever had a day like this, nor taste food like it either. One side note the tour I described. It does not exist. Jon made it up for us due to our time constraints. He is that accommodating. He did admit he wants to spend as much time as possible at places he takes his clients, and prefers not to do three stops in a day and feel rushed. He is that interested in teaching you all the Basque country has to offer. Check him out! You will never have a tour better than what Jon...

Well, after quite enough of this Covid nonsense, I finally made it back to the Basque Country, and without 'further a do', booked a couple more tours with the indefatigable Jon, from Earra Tours, and in typical fashion, magician that he is, he exceeded every expectation once again.

Firstly, the Pintxos Food Tour: Donostia literally has hundreds of Pintxos establishments, ranging in price and quality, so narrowing the field can be a particularly daunting task for those looking to make the most of their limited time, and let's be honest, we all seek the reassurance that we've been privvy to the best on offer. This is where Earra Tours excels, as a tour with Jon, who literally knows EVERYONE (people and places), ensures that expectation through his selection of the most trusted/consistently revered and award winning establishments, with some of the regions top chefs, offering a truly memorable gastronomic experience. 5 Stars!

Secondly, the Private Rioja Wine Tour: Love my plonk (wine). Have my favourite varieties and regions from around the globe. Have been familiar with the Rioja wine region for quite some time, having tasted the fruits (literally) of the regions labour of love, on several previous visits to Spain, but I had never visited the region, and in that regard, had done myself a huge disservice. Being Australian, and predominantly predisposed to our 'big reds', I suppose I felt that Spain just wasn't 'up to par', and had the conception that Riojo was a rather barren and uninviting place.... Boy was I so very WRONG. Rule number one, when looking to visit a wine region, and by extension, multiple wineries, is to get someone else to do the necessary driving, so tours are more or less an obligation. Jon from Earra Tours to the rescue once again, collecting us in Donostia (San Sebastion), driving us all the way there for what must be one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the Country, and when we arrived, well I had to eat my words, or thoughts at the very least, because it is breathtaking countryside, rolling hills just covered in vines, large escarpments, prominent estates, all 'picture postcard' stuff, and some of the most hospitable and generous residents you're likely to meet. The wine, again spoilt for choice, but Jon treats you to a very select (and smart) array of Wineries/Vintners, by showcasing a few of the best, who specialize in particular aspects of the industry. The traditionalist, the boutique, and the innovative, the tried and tested, and the experimental, the antiquated, and the sustainable. All very impressive, I indulged/imbibed in an elegant sufficiency of 'grapes', remember eating some delectable local products (cheese, cured meats, fragrant olive oils and infused salts, olives, breads, etc.) and didnt see a thing on our return trip, only waking up as we arrived back at our hotel. Happy day my friends, very happy day....

As this was both my husband and my first time to Spain I took months scouring the internet planning our trip. We decided on only one tour because we love to explore on our own. One of the stipulations was we didn’t want to be on a big group tour and we wanted more of a “boutique” experience. I came across Earra Tours and first noticed all the 5-star reviews, I also noticed that the group tours were limited to no more than 8 people. Even more enticing were the type of tours offered, specifically the Camino De Santiago/Winery tour which is what we booked. Jon was in communication with us leading up to the tour with very clear instructions on where to meet etc. When we arrived to meet Jon at the train station there was only one other couple on the tour which made our experience feel almost private. Jon, being born and raised in Basque has a wealth of knowledge of the region (and of wines) and if it weren’t for him and his tours I would have not seen the beauty of Basque outside of San Sebastián. Literally the rolling hills along the coastline is something you can’t even describe, you must see it for yourself. Jon is really funny and personable and our time flew by. The hike was mild and although at an incline it wasn’t difficult. By the time we got to the winery, the 4 of us on the tour decided we wanted to book Jon’s pintxos tour. He made special accommodations and we booked a semi-private tour with our new friends we met for the next night. The Pintxos tour was so much fun! We shared plates and wines and Jon offered us what we couldn’t have got on our own, he knew what specialty dishes each bar offered (sometime not even on the menu) literally we tasted things that were so unbelievably delicious. Again, our time on the pintxos tour flew by and we were sad to say our final goodbye to Jon. He really is a treasure and we felt privileged that he shared some of Basque beauty and culture with us. If you made it through my novel of a review, do yourself a favor and look no further than Earra Tours!! you...