This tour was simply the best travel and gastro experience in a long time! Our tour guide was top…read morenotch expert on authentic local Basque cuisine and culture. She catered to our dietary needs/preferences and customized the gastropub tour to fit our needs. I loved everything she had us try, not a single pintxo was anything less than superb (which by the way she ensured was freshly made for her tour guests once we arrived). I am still daydreaming about this experience and already planning my next visit in the near future.

When I originally began to design our Northern Spain European vacation, I was overly excited about…read morediscovering San Sebastian. The scenic resort town is on the Bay of Biscay in Spain's mountainous Basque Country. There are two popular beaches also that one can enjoy either on the Bay or on the ocean. These beaches are bordered by a charming Bayfront boardwalk, and popular restaurants with creative chefs. Anyone that is not a seafood lover will have challenges eating in these popular restaurants. Most of our time invested in this fabulous city was in the Old City where we enjoyed pintxos and at one time an awesome cheese cake for desert. San Sebastián was surly well worth the visit. The magnitude of people and their energy draws out the dynamic appeal and absolutely wonderful culture of this delightful city.

Alex is exceptional; our family took the day trip to Bilbao and seaside cities. He is very…read morepassionate about the Basque Country and willing to share about history and culture of the area. He selected the perfect place for lunch in Getaria - Balearri. The charcoaled turbot and octopus were phenomenal. Alex made sure we saw all that was special about the areas we visited.

From the owner: Sightseeing tours. Food and wine. Sailing. Enjoy your holidays in the Basque Country.read more

Our amazing travel agency, shout out to Spain Unspoilt, set up all our local San Sebastián tours…read morewith Basque Tours and they were just perfect. We started off our trip with a 3 hour pintxo tour with their newest employee, Guillermo. However, you would never know he was new based on the way he knew the art of pintxo hunting. We put what we learned from him into practice the duration of our stay and it was such a fun night. The next day we were a little hungover (thanks Guillermo :)) for our wine and cheese tour with Juan. But Juan couldn't have been more patient with us and shared had so much knowledge to share about a cheese farm, winery and local fishing town. He was also super fun to spend the day with and so lovely to chat with. And then day 3 was spent with a lovely Australian Andy who has made Basque Country his home with his Basque wife the past 16 years. He took us to 3 villages (one in France and 1 in Spain) and taught us so much about each village. It was a fun, relaxing day and super cool to see the Basque Country beyond San Sebastián. We had fun exploring San Sebastián our own, but loved having these 3 days with such fun, warm guides. Highly recommend for anyone visiting San Sebastián and have a feeling any of their tours are great based on the 3 we encountered.

I cannot stress enough how amazing our day with Basque Tours was, specifically our day with Andoni!…read moreIf you're looking to book a wine tour this is definitely the company for you. Andoni told us all about the region, the wine varieties, and the strict regulations for La Rioja. In addition to just being a really cool, chill, guy with tattoos in honor of Pearl Jam, Andoni was a great story-teller as well. We learned a ton from him but also just enjoyed the time we had to chat. We're big wine-lovers and go to Napa on the regular so we really appreciated a tour that let us try several wines at several places and spend a good amount of time learning. I loved that some of the tastings were more formal and some were more casual. PLUS we got to check out the awesome village of La Guardia, have some amazing chorizo, AND had a tasty lunch in a wine cave. One of the best days of our vacation for sure. Many of the wines we tried are distributed back in the US which was great news for our luggage weight limits. We ended up buying a few cheaper bottles that weren't available back home because the quality was excellent and they were so affordable! I mean, like a half case for what we pay for a bottle in Napa. CRAZY. We are both so happy to finally have some smarts when it comes to ordering Spanish wines from La Rioja AND we're thrilled to have some great wine to share with the family this coming Thanksgiving. Thanks, Andoni!

MIMO Bites Experience is the most amazing culinary academy. My husband and I have been going every…read moreyear twice a year since 2020. The school has experienced lots of changes and all for the better. If you love to do something amazing and love to cook or eat this is definitely for you. The team is composed of very experienced chefs, who love to teach and go out of their way to create an unforgettable experience for you. Lara, the office manager goes out of her way to make you and your guests happy. While the classes are awesome, there is another side to the school, you can book the entire place for team building or team rewards, rehearsal dinner party, birthday celebrations, etc. If you go to San Sebastian, one of the most beautiful cities in Spain, make MIMO a stop on your journey. Enjoy your stay

Such a fun experience with friends - cooking together, learning about the history and enjoying good…read morefood

I've been on many wine tours in my time - Napa, Tuscany, Bordeaux, etc. - and I must say, this tour…read morewas truly something special. Inma, our guide for the day, was the best tour guide I've ever had; yes, THE BEST. She's truly an expert when it comes to Rioja - we found she often knew more than the wineries' own tour guides! And, importantly, she caters the experience to each client (and I should mention she speaks absolutely perfect English). Sure, she'll take you to the bigger, more commercial wineries like Marques de Riscal & Bodegas Ysios, which are both visually stunning and worth going to - but, because she takes the time to learn your tastes she'll introduce you to wineries right up your alley that you'd never otherwise know about, many of which aren't open to the public. And thanks to her local roots & connections, the vintners quite literally give her the keys to their private operations (Gontes comes to mind). Inma caps the day with a delicious late lunch in a private wine cave at Castillo de San Vicente - again, not something you can just go and do; only the locals have access. The cherry on top: her tortilla de patatas is absolutely delicious. All in all, one of the best single days I've had on vacation my entire life. A fantastic experience that I'd recommend to absolutely anyone.

Incredible Rioja Wine Experience with Inma-…read more My boyfriend and I did the Unusual Suspects private tour with Inma. This experience was the highlight of our trip to Spain and a huge part of that was Inma. She taught us about Rioja wine and the region without overloading us with information, made us feel so comfortable, and the experiences at the incredible wineries were due to her relationships with each of the owners, which is a testament to her as a person. We visited three different wineries and had the best lunch that Inma prepared herself with fresh ingredients from our own garden. My boyfriend still talks about her Tortilla de Patatas. We had an additional day in Logrono before heading to San Sebastian and Inma sent us a detailed list of recommendations and even helped us book a bus to San Sebastian, which was a much better option than the train we had booked. I cannot praise Inma and this experience enough.

Beautiful slices of jamon. Make it a point to try as many as possible and take some back to your…read moreapartment for late night snacking. Lovely owners, nice selection of conservas, txakoli, and crianza, too!

Must-stop shop in Donostia-San Sebastian, for high-quality foods at fair prices in a clean, cozy…read moreshop in Parte Vieja. We were looking for tasty local and regional specialties to bring home, and our finds there did not disappoint. Sylvain was friendly, well-informed about everything on the shelves, and so helpful. He hand-carved some Ibérico from Córdoba for us to sample. Will stop in again the next time we visit the area.

From the owner: El TXOTX es un fenómeno de la cultura gastronómica de nuestra Sagardoa(Sidra Natural Vasca), nace…read morede la cata que realizaban los clientes a la hora de comprar. Antiguamente las bodegas de producción no disponían de medios para poder conservar la Sagardoa durante todo el año en la kupela(barrica), por lo que el cliente entre finales de invierno y principios de primavera(periodo actual de TXOTX), debía hacer acopio de la Sagardoa embotellada para todo el año. Ante las diferencias de calidad que presentaban entre unas kupelas y otras, el comprador cataba el contenido de cada una buscando los mejores caldos, hasta cerrar el trato de compra de Sagardoa embotellada. La Sagardoa(Sidra Natural Vasca) es producto del año, de modo que la sagardoa que tomamos cada año de finales de Enero en adelante es una nueva bebida que acaba de nacer, con las características que le haya aportado el año climático a la manzana de la que proviene. Esto le da a nuestra bebida un encanto especial. Los meses de Febrero, Marzo y Abril, excepto sábados y festivos, Zapiain abre las puertas de su bodega a amigos, clientes y visitantes en general, de 8 de la tarde en adelante, para que en ambiente único puedan disfrutar bebiendo la nueva Sagardoa directamente servida de las kupelas por el propio bodeguero. Se cena de pie en la misma bodega, con los platos tradicionales que acompañan a la Sagardoa: tortilla de bacalao, bacalao frito, chuleta, queso y nueces. Se puede adquirir Sagardoa embotellada todo el año.

From my first email to Kepa at Basque Cooltour, I knew we were going to have a great time. We knew…read morewe wanted to do the cider tour and the cheese tour, but we were also looking around San Sebastian/Bilbao area for a jamon tour. I emailed Kepa about the possibility of putting together a custom cider, cheese, and jamon tour and after some research on his part got back to me with a custom itinerary. On Day 1, Kepa kindly picked us up from the apt. we had rented. He took us to the cider museum where we we treated to a tour that allowed us to try out apple-picking using traditional tools, taste 5 types of their over 70 varieties of apples, drink fresh apple juice, learn the importance of txotx, and taste both cider and apple liqueurs. Kepa then took us to a cider house for a traditional meal. There we had a massive 2-hour lunch that included tons of cider, bread, some amazing fried cod, a cod omelette (so much better than it sounds), Spanish chorizo and a T-bone steak (although not the same T-bone cut Americans are used to seeing), and a local dessert consisting of cheese, nuts, and an apple/quince jam of sorts. It was all delicious, if not overwhelming. Sufficiently stuffed, we then headed to the sheep farm. Ainhoa and her brother Mikel greeted us there, and we were treated to a demonstration of how their sheepdog works, saw some adorable 6-day old lambs, and got a tour of the milking and cheese making process. Ainhoa made it all seem so easy and described how different cheeses are made, even making some of their fresh cheese and "yogurt" right before our eyes. We got to taste the fresh cheese (we bought some to eat over the next few days with breakfast), the "yogurt" which was more like a custard (it was my favorite), and the local idiazabal cheese (which we brought home to the US with us). On Day 2, Kepa again picked us up from the apartment and took us a little further inland to see a pig farm. The scenery was amazing and we got to see the farmhouse and barns built in the 1500 and 1600's still in use. The farmer took us on an great tour and shared with us his farming philosophy which focused on letting the pigs forage and live in a natural habitat. He taught us about the heritage breed of pig that he works with and we got to see a litter of adorable piglets. After a great walking tour of his farm, we sat down to enjoy 4 types of cured meat that come from his pigs. All of which were incredible, but because of US Customs Laws we couldn't bring any home. This might have been the biggest disappointment of the trip. I only we could have brought jamon, lomo, and chorizo home! I would highly recommend using Basque Cooltour. They put together amazing tours for us, speak very good English, were pleasant tour guides, taught us not only about cider, cheese, and jamon, but also gave us tips about the local area, and were a good value for the money. Amazing, amazing time!

My boyfriend and I just finished the French Coast tour to Biarritz and San Jean de Luz and had a…read moremarvelous day. Kepa, our fabulous tour guide gave our group of four people a narrated walking tour of these two French-Basque cities. He told us about the history, architecture and customs. Both villages were quite different. In Biarritz we viewed the castle that Napoleon built for his bride and was told they spent seventeen summers in a row there (I would too!) We walked up to many beautiful areas with abundant sea views that were quite breathtaking. There was a musical festival going on in the main square and we could hear the wonderful live jazz playing as we walked through the square. I even bought a very beautiful pair of espradrilles! San Jean de Luz was a very quaint and it was the village where Louis XIII was married in 1660. The church where he was married is still in the square. This village is very quaint with winding cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, chocolatiers, and various shops. I would love to stay here for a week or so. The ride though the countryside was very beautiful with lush greenery, rolling hills and quaint villages. We plan on doing the cheese tour next!

We enjoyed an amazing lunch here. We sat in the beautiful quaint courtyard on a lovely afternoon to…read moreenjoy all their specialities including the carpaccio of red prawns that melted in your mouth, glazed crispy suckling pig so tender inside, savory black pudding ravioli with truffle and incredibly flavorful ribeye. We ended the meal with a tasty hot apple cake with vanilla ice cream. Each dish raised the bar. Service was attentive but non-intrusive.

Food was very good- we had a number of dishes and particularly enjoyed the rice with clams, baked…read morecrab and turbot. The wine cellar is out of this world- probably one of the best in all of Spain if not the world. Definitely worth coming here if you love wine from the old world - ask for cellar tour at the end of your meal.