I'm pleased to be FTR for this wonderful food tour that I took today here in Bilbao. It's five…read morestars all the way for the lovely Patrizia who had an organized and diverse food experience for me. She was super responsive to my emails and our arrangement went smoothly. We started right on time (actually a little early) and made a good number of stops as we toured around Bilbao on foot. Great bites, terrific wines and a very tasty beer on the way. I didn't need to customize my food preferences, but if you do, that's not a problem. Our pinxtos included a delicious crabmeat, Spanish omeletas, something made with fresh cod and olive oil, a super fresh spinach croquet, fresh beer at a local brew pub and even a tasty kalimotxo (which you'll just have to look up yourself or you won't believe what it is). When it was done, I was stuffed. Super stuffed. But, um, I still managed to go out to dinner later (after a two hour siesta!) to the seafood restaurant that Patrizia recommended. Patrizia clearly knows this city and she knows the food culture here. Her willingness to share it with me made for a wonderful experience and has me wanting more, more, more of Bilbao. Her English was excellent and completely understandable. My Spanish? Not so much, lol. If you're looking for a good deal on a great food tour in Bilbao, you'll do no better than this one.

Custom Tour 2 - 11 May 2025 We had used Basque Guides in…read more2024, for a shore excursion in Bilbao. That experience was so great, that we decided to hire them for multi-day tour of the Basque country. We had two main reasons for visiting the Basque country. 1. My wife's maternal ancestors are Basque and in fact come from a small town in the Basque country named Aginaga in Basque, Aguinaga in Spanish. 2. To visit wineries and taste wine in the Rioja wine region. We enjoyed the entire experience so much, that this review will probably become long and effusive but I hope helpful. We were joined on our tour by some great friends with whom we had traveled before. We stayed in three different cities in Basque country - San Sebastian, Briones, and Bilbao. First the hotels which were all recommended by Iker Bardaji, the owner of Basque Guides: 1. Lasala Plaza Hotel in San Sebastian for five nights - An adults only hotel perfectly located across from the malecón and in old town which is filled with amazing bars, restaurants, and shops. 2. Hotel Santa Maria Briones for two nights in the small town of Briones (population of 824) in the heart of Rioja. It is a small 16 room boutique hotel. You will never find better accommodations or friendlier staff anywhere. We wish we could have stayed longer. 3. Hotel Miro in Bilbao for two nights. The hotel is a very nice business/tourist hotel. Rooms are very good. But its main attraction is being directly across the street from the Guggenheim Museum. Our tours: San Sebastian - we spent five nights in San Sebastian which gave us time to venture out into the stunningly beautiful countryside especially along the seashore. The first day we took a comprehensive tour of San Sebastian The second day we headed off to the world famous city of Pamplona, know for the running of the bulls but we learned it was so much more. The next day we explored the French Basque country towns of Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and other small towns along the way. The following day, we explored the Spanish coastal cities of Basque country including the town of Aginaga from which my wife's maternal line immigrated. Then it was off to Rioja. Briones - we stayed at the amazing boutique Hotel Santa Maria Briones and ventured out from there to visit wineries and taste the amazing wines of the Rioja DOC. For those of you who are wine lovers, we visited Bodegas Murua, Bodegas Amaren, Bodegas Tritium, Bodegas Ollauri Rioja Conde de los Andes, Bodegas Luis Cañas, and Bodegas Gómez Cruzado. We tasted great wine, ate great food, and slept well both nights at an exceptional hotel. Bilbao - Our hotel was the Hotel Miró and it was a great location from which to venture out and around Bilbao. Of course, the main tourist draw to Bilbao is the Guggenheim Museum. It is well worth the visit. A word about Iker Bardaji, Basque Guides, and his guides. If you communicate with Iker about what you would like to see and do, Iker will put together a memorable tour for you. Until Iker and Basque Guides we had never had a tour company listen as carefully to what we wanted to accomplish, ask the right questions, and then craft such an amazing itinerary that delivered an experience we will always remember. Iker also hires excellent tour guides. The best of the best. Not only were they fluent in English which was important to us, but they were also extremely knowledgeable about the history, culture, and lifestyle of the region. We had the pleasure of working with several of Iker's guides - Gonzalo, Andoni, Jaime, Gorka, and Mateo. All were exceptional. If you only have time for a short peek at Basque country or if you have days to explore, Iker Bardaji and Basque Guides are the right choice.

From the owner: Private Tours, Food & Wine, City Tours, Sightseeing, Off the track Toursread more

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.

We had a wonderful 14 days trip to Spain and Portugal through Totally Spain. All the pickup, drop…read moreoff worked well. Guides were exceptional. Hotel rooms were as per our expectations except one. The hotel at Sevilla had overwhelming sewer smell at the reception and the breakfast area. It was not a pleasant experience having breakfast with the over powering smell. The room we stayed had no issue.

Just completed a 2 week tour of the Basque country and Barcelona. The entire trip was planned by…read moreTotally Spain, including hotels, transportation and timing for each locale. I was extremely pleased with the entire trip and itinerary. I had to make a transportation change during the trip, and their response time was immediate and exactly as needed. I will suggest Totally Spain to any and all.