Name: 7 Day Gastronomy and Wine Tour in Northern Spain: Rioja, Navarra and Basque Country
Brand: The Unique Traveller
Price: 1988 EUR
Availability: InStock

Accommodation

Example of accommodation in La Rioja, Navarra, And San Sebastian

Hotel Los Agustinos in Haro, La Rioja (historic building, 4 star)

The location

This four-star property is located right in the historic center of Haro, the center of the wine production in Rioja, surrounded by a valley of vineyards and the Cantabrian Mountains. Walking distance, you can experience numerous and excellent tapas.

General facilities

Founded as a convent in 1373, Los Agustinos hotel is a beautiful and protected building, now its walls full of history play host to exceptionally comfortable facilities where it is a privilege to stay. It has an impressive courtyard where you can relax reading your favorite book or having a glass of Rioja.

Particular mention should be made of the Las Duelas Restaurant; the Bistrot de las Duelas; Bar-Cafeteria; 24-hour room service; and free W-Fi throughout the hotel. They offer conventional, modern and regional cuisine based on fresh products from the area and also have an outstanding wine list and everything in historic surroundings.

The rooms

There are 62 guestrooms, most of which are outward-facing, whilst the Hotel's most salient feature is the impressive, glass-domed cloisters, which are air-conditioned and enclosed. All rooms are decorated in a rustic style and enjoy all the modern comforts: satellite TV, wifi, private bathroom with hairdryer. Guests also have access to the hotel's fitness center.

Hotel Marques de Vallejo in Logrono (boutique hotel)

Location

This boutique hotel is located right in the center, in the historic and cultural heart of Logrono, at a walking distance of the main gastronomic streets, where you can find the best pinchos and tapas in northern Spain, the old part with the cathedral and numerous churches and the outdoor dining area full of terraces where you can have delicious meals accompanied by excellent wines.

General facilities

Built in 1911, was known popularly as Posada de las Animas (Inn of the souls). In May 2004, Hotel Marques De Vallejo had a meticulous work of restoration, interior design and decoration, always with the aim of offering a more comfortable and pleasant stay to their guests. Nowadays they keep on working/betting on the innovation and the improvement of our services and facilities with the aim of satisfying each and every need of their guests.

The rooms

The 50 contemporary rooms at Hotel Marques de Vallejo feature parquet floors and air conditioning. They contain an LCD TV, and the private bathrooms come with a hairdryer. Wi-Fi access, a safe and temperature controller as well a mini bar, are also available in the rooms.

Silken Amanda Plaza Or Monte Igueldo in San Sebastian (4 star hotels)

Accommodation will be in these hotels or in others of similar category. It will be confirmed when making the booking. Upgrade is available on request.

Program

Day 1: Bilbao - Haro

You are welcomed and escorted by The Unique Traveller's guide to their carefully selected hotel in La Rioja in their vehicle. Check-in at the pre-selected hotel in Haro. Evening free. Optional activities include a Guggenheim museum visit in Bilbao, subject to arrival time.

Day 2: Haro - Labastida - Haro

Extraordinary guided tour of the world's largest wine museum, Dinastia Vivanco, experiencing the wine culture of centuries. First guided visit to a winery, you will either visit one of the most prestigious wineries in La Rioja for its successful style of blending the modern technology with the wine-making traditional methods or one of the most reputable, traditional, and oldest wineries in La Rioja with very high quality.

Superb typical lunch from the area. After lunch, you will have a private guided tour to one of the picturesque villages of the area: Haro or Briones. Optional activity includes a tutored wine tasting of a selection of the best wines of La Rioja conducted by a wine expert at a historic building. You will learn different techniques to taste wine as well as the unique characteristics of the wines of the Rioja wine region. Free evening.

Day 3: Haro - Logrono

Second visit to a winery. Spectacular guided tour to one of the best wineries in Rioja and Spain and wine tasting. Next is your third visit to a winery. A visit to this traditional wine estate will show you what tradition in making wines means nowadays. Lunch at a traditional restaurant.

Guided tour of the old quarter of Logrono, capital of La Rioja, visiting Calle Laurel one of the most famous gastronomic streets in Spain. A unique guided tour seeing hundreds of small bars, each one specializing in a different tapa (small portions of food, an authentic delicacy). Free evening in Logrono. Bars and restaurants are recommended.

Day 4: Logrono - Elciego - Laguardia

Fourth visit to a winery. Guided tour of one of the pioneers' wineries in the Rioja wine region. Its wines have earned some of the most distinguished international awards. Wine tasting.

Private guided tour conducted by the local expert of one of the most astonishing medieval towns in Europe. Located on a hill, surrounded by a valley of vineyards, overlooking the backdrop of the Cantabrian Mountains.

Privileged visit to one of the best underground cellars in the medieval town of Laguardia. Gourmet lunch providing superb dishes based on fresh ingredients and excellent service. Free afternoon. Time to relax in the hotel or go shopping in Logrono.

Optional Guided tapas tour of the best tapas of the area some of them never seen before. You will sample authentic fresh food from the North of Spain, while you mix with the locals. Highly enjoyable.

Day 5: Logrono - Puentelarreina - Olite - San Sebastian

Departure to Navarra. The sixth and privileged private guided visit to a wine estate located in an astonishing valley. Formed by several manors, this SeÃ±orÃo has mastered throughout the years the wine-making of reds, whites, and roses in an area between Rioja and Bordeaux. Wine tasting.

Guided visit to Puentelarreina. Puentelarreina, "the crossroads of the ways", is a medieval town where the two main routes on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela converge.

Visit to Olite Castle which some parts have been preserved as in the Middle Ages. (private guide on request). A 12th-century German traveler wrote his impressions in his diary, now conserved in the British Museum in London: "Surely there is no king with a more beautiful castle or palace and with so many gilded rooms". Gourmet Lunch in a charming restaurant of a medieval town located in a castle. Transfer to San Sebastian.

Day 6: San Sebastian

San Sebastian is definitely one of the most adored places in all of Spain with majestic buildings, beautiful beaches, and mountains that form a perfect set. A beautiful city with touches of the Belle Epoque initiated in the second half of the 19th century, becoming the most cosmopolitan city in Europe with a remarkably high level of cultural activity.

If you are a culture lover, you have countless museums and attractions to visit. If you are a good food lover, San Sebastian will be your paradise. On the other hand, you have fifteen famous restaurants in the city or close by, with several Michelin stars run by some of the most prestigious chefs in the world. Remember as well that San Sebastian is known for being the capital of the pintxo (tapas). Relax and enjoy San Sebastian.

Optional: collective or private guided excursions can be offered, either in San Sebastian or to the coastal towns like Hondarribia, Zarautz, Guetaria including St Jean de Luz in neighboring France. Other optional activities include cooking classes and demonstrations, guided tapas tour and make a reservation at any restaurant including the numerous Michelin Stars.

Day 7: Departure

If you are flying from Bilbao, there are plenty of trains and coaches from San Sebastian. Alternatively, private transfers can be provided on request.

Note

If any of the published accommodation, range of wineries, or restaurants in the tour becomes unavailable, others of similar category will be allocated.

Included excursions

Visit unique wine estates in Haro and Elciego with the flamboyant hotel designed by Frank Gehry; the largest wine museum in the world: Dinastia Vivanco.
Navarra and the royal fortress city of Olite.
San Sebastian and Bilbao, two magnificent cities, home of the best gastronomy in Spain and a chance to visit the Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art.
La Rioja and its capital Logrono. The Pilgrims path to Santiago de Compostela crosses the river Ebro in Logrono.

Wines

To set the scene, you will be guided through the world's largest wine museum, The Dinastia Vivanco, this museum will pleasantly surprise you. On to a chateau-styled Remelluri Estate embracing the cultures of Bordeaux and Burgundy in a modern Riojan context, and to two exclusive wineries by the Cantabrian mountains where you will experience the passion of two reputable winemakers including a tasting of their acclaimed wines.

You will tour the distinguished Marques de Riscal Estate, pioneer of the region and master of the tempranillo grape. This winery continues its innovative reputation exemplified by its flamboyant Frank Ghery hotel where you will be staying. You will also discover the unique cellar construction of the Palace of the Samaniegos.

Location

A manageable pace will allow you to enjoy the unique scenery as well as the pleasures of good food and fine wine. Your incomparable accommodation will make you feel privileged, a well-deserved break to celebrate any special occasion. The Marques de Riscal Hotel is a luxury collection hotel designed by Frank O. Gehry. A masterpiece between the Rioja Alavesa vineyards whose doors opened in October 2006. Winegrowing tradition and avant-garde art: luxury, vineyards, and relaxation: discover Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa.

Places

Modern Bilbao is home of the Guggenheim Museum with its lustrous exterior and collection of modern art. Haro is a graceful town on the banks of the River Ebro. It has a lively old quarter where elegant wine mansions meet lively pavement cafes. Laguardia is a medieval hilltop fortress city with narrow cobbled streets flanked by bodegas and tapas bars.

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Food

The package includes 6 full breakfasts, 6 wine tasting, and 4 gourmet lunches.

Gastronomy plays an important role in this thrilling wine journey. Locations play a major part in creating just the right ambiance for both wine tasting and dining on the region's extraordinary variety of ingredients and culinary styles. A memorable lunch experience is set in a mansion-hotel next to the town hall whose wine cellar and restaurant provide fine examples of Basque and Riojan cuisine.

Freshly harvested, tender Tudela Artichokes, fresh Garlic or succulent White Asparagus, Lodosa's lusciously sweet Red Peppers or artisan Roncal and Idiazabal Cheeses are some of the best-known dishes in the gastronomy of Navarre. San Sebastian cuisine and chefs boast 16 Michelin stars. The town reminds somehow the French "Belle Epoque", the great Golden Age.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Drinks

The following drinks are included:

Alcoholic beverages

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

Transport for 4 full days
Transfers from Bilbao to Rioja and from Rioja to San Sebastian
Personalized English/Spanish speaking expert guide throughout the tour excluding San Sebastian
6 nights accommodation based on double occupancy with private bath
6 full breakfasts
6 wine estate visits
6 wine tasting
4 gourmet lunches
Visit to the world's largest wine museum
3 towns guided walking tours
Visit to Olite Castle
Transport and guide in Navarra
All taxes

What's not included

Travel insurance
Flights (Bilbao or Vitoria airports)
Entrance to winery visit and lunch in Navarra
Entrance to Olite castle and lunch
Tips
Meals not specified
Personal expenses
Optional visits
Upgrade of wineries and/or restaurants

How to get there

Recommended Airports

BIO

Bilbao Airport

80 km

Transfer not provided

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 10% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.

Menu

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Example of accommodation in La Rioja, Navarra, And San Sebastian

Hotel Los Agustinos in Haro, La Rioja (historic building, 4 star)

Hotel Marques de Vallejo in Logrono (boutique hotel)