Inspiration for your own tailor-made trip
Bilbao, San Sebastian and Rioja
100% customisable for you
Bilbao, in Northern Spain, it just a two-hour flight away, or you can add this adventure onto a longer road trip from the UK to Europe. If you're flying, you'll pick up your hire car at the airport and head straight into town and find a spot for a long lunch. We will recommend our favourite restaurants in our detailed destination Dossier. After your first introduction to the wonders of Basque cooking (and with a slightly tighter waistband), spend the afternoon exploring the city, starting with the obvious highlight - Frank Gehry's spectacular ship-shaped Guggenheim Museum.
Later this afternoon, make your way to a traditional farmhouse just over an hour inland. Here, you will meet your expert cheese guide/shepherd who will take you through the cheese making process before you sample a few of the farm's cheeses in a tasting. Suitably cheese-sated you will make your way to your hotel in time for a late supper.
This morning you will head one hour across the French border to understand more about the collective Basque culinary tradition when you meet your expert guide in the town of Espelette, home of the eponymous pepper, which was given protected AOC (protected designation of origin) status in 2000. With your guide, you will visit a local farm where you will learn more about the pepper, how it is grown and how the locals prepare it. This afternoon, you will make your way back to San Sebastian but not before dropping in for a café au lait and an ice cream in some of the pretty towns en route. This evening it's time for another txikiteo or pintxos bar trawl.
After breakfast this morning you will bid farewell to San Sebastian and make your way two hours inland to the neighbouring Rioja region. Once you've dropped your bags in your hotel room, you will be met by the hotel's sommelier for a lunchtime wine tasting. The afternoon is yours to explore the area, or sleep off your liquid lunch, before you head to a local bodega and cellar for your second wine tasting of the day. Here, you will learn about the colourful past of the cellar and its owners. Since wine tastings and driving don't go hand-in-hand we have arranged private transfers to get you to and from the bodega.
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
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Our team of destination experts will get to know you and your unique requirements for your holiday
We work with you to build an ultra-personalised holiday itinerary with your choice of accommodation, experiences and activities
All of our holidays include little extras designed to make a big difference to your trip, from fast-tracking you through airport check-in and security to our network of local Concierges
