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.

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

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.

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

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.

We had the best time with Alain. Throughout our stay, we have had locals/guides say that the people…read moreof San Sebastián go by the philosophy of "live life and have fun". Today the day started with hail and we ALMOST didn't go on the tour, and I'm so glad we decided to just say "go for it"...because we had the best day. The tour was small, the rain cleared up quickly, and we got some beautiful sun. Alain gave us some history, gave some recommendations for food spots, and even took us to a place we could play their version of hand ball (Esku Pilota or Basque Pilota). The tour felt personalized and we learned some basque phrases. One person got a flat tire and Alain was able to show off his expert skills at fixing the bike quickly...he kept each member of the tour safe! All the staff in the office were super friendly, responsive, and kept my bag safe when I forgot it . Highly recommend!

A MUST-DO when you arrive in San Sebastián. "Classic E-Bike Tour" covers iconic places of the city…read moreas well as some of the "local" hotspots away from the tourist traps. The city is very bike-friendly and the electric bikes used on this tour makes it so easy to maneuver throughout town. Each tour group is only 6 people and led by a friendly English-Spanish speaking guide. We had "Pylagio"(?) who was well versed on the history of the town and gave good recommendations for things to do for the rest of our stay in San Sebastián. We had taken the "Classic E-Bike Tour" on our 2nd day in San Sebastián and wished we had taken it on the day we arrived like the other people in our group. After this tour you'll have a better idea of which areas and sites you want to go back to and explore further. We plan on doing this tour again when we return with our teenage kids. Tips: - Before the tour, eat enough to hold you over for 3 hours of activity. Food stops are not part of the tour. Only water breaks. - Bring a cold sports drink (like Gatorade). Bottled water is provided but on a warm day, electrolytes helped get through the last half of the tour. - It's sunny, wear sunglasses and a hat. Use sunblock, sunscreen, or suntanning lotion. - Avoid bringing any bulky items. A small lightweight backpack is the most you should bring. - A GoPro is nice to have. You'll be riding through beautiful parts of town and see amazing views from the top of the peaks. We highly recommend this tour over the bus tours. On a bus they give you recordings to listen to while you ride around city streets. This bike tour is more fun and personalized.

This winery has a really nice setting. A very stylish, modern tasting room and a very nice area to…read moresit outside, with a very relaxing feel to it. Since we were travelling with our Bulldog we took a seat outside and got some wine (with free nibbles). The wine was fine, got the typical Rioja flavour. But - compared to some other Bodegas we've visited - lacked a special something. Did not wow us enough. Prise-wise their wines are a good deal, but then there's so much competition around here. And considering that we just found the wine too average and quite light on the palate without any long-lasting flavours. But the setting is really nice, staff helpful and friendly. Still a fine Bodega to take a seat outside and enjoy a glass or two.

OK folks, this is simply the best wine made in Haro. Why? They have been doing it longer than…read moremost, doing it as a family, doing it with much longer aging in the oak barrels than any other winery in Haro and it results in fabulous wines. This family-owned winery makes highly individual wines in a style essentially unchanged since its inception in 1877. They grow all their grapes using organic methods, ferment using only natural yeasts and do not filter their wines. They employ four full-time coopers to make their barrels. Gravonia, Tondonia, Bosconia and Cubillo are all individual vineyards which have been in the family for generations. Patience is a family watchword, as this bodega thinks nothing of waiting twenty years before releasing a wine. Their "Crianzas" are aged like others' "Reservas"; the "Reservas" as long as others' "Gran Reservas"...and the ultimate accolade of "Gran Reserva" is accorded to only the very greatest vintages. Rarely are there more than three of these in a decade We did not tour here because we were blitzing through all the Haro wineries in one day. Take the tour because they have their own barrel-making operation. The only winery in La Rioja who does that. We spent 3 weeks in La Rioja tasting at 30 wineries and this is either #2 or #3 out of all of them. The price point in country is higher than most and for a damn good reason. They make spectacular wine. Do not waste your palate or your time/money with other wineries in Haro that cater to the blue-haired bus tour groups. This is wine heaven. It can be found in the US at specialty shops at a price level above $40 for the Crianza and above $50 for the reservas.