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.

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.

FIRST WORD, ELI! Second WORD DELICIOUS FOOD TOUR-PINTXOS!…read more We were fortunate enough to experience Mimo in multiple locations and they all had their super stars, but ELI was and is FANTASTIC! THIS WAS THE BEST TOUR AND EXPERIENCE EVER!!!!! I will absolutely book them again. There are not enough words to express my happiness and appreciation of the MIMO SAN SEBASTIAN EXPERIENCE. I am looking to bring my family back to experience this! THANK YOU ELI

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

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

One of my favorite cities in Europe Beautiful crescent…read morebeach Great food Nice mix of old town and vibrant downtown People are nice and friendly. Lots of culture and shopping Try their pintxos. Swim in the beach. Stroll around. Just charming.

What a wonderful small city!…read more Super walk-able if you stay in city center. There is so many pinxto restaurants around. We stayed here 2 nights and 3 days, and that was just the perfect amount. I guess another day wouldn't hurt if you want to hit up more pinxto restaurants. We were able to go to the beach, hike, and take the funicular up to view the gorgeous city. If you do the hike, be prepared to spend about 2-3 hours on the trail (pack a snack and lots of water!), depending on your pace; we took the bus back. I suppose you can hike back but we wanted to use our time wisely and bus back. Highly recommend! Oh, and the beach is quasi-nude; you will find a few nudists ;)

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!

"What is Txakoli" you ask?…read more Well the easy solution is to contact Jon Oliden, Basa-Lore's Marketing Manager, next time you are in the Basque Country and have him give you a tour of this wonderful family owned winery so you can both taste their delicious products and learn about the history of this wonderful and different wine. Txakoli is a dry and slightly sparkling Basque wine. It has somewhat of a high acidity and is low in alcohol content. Basa Lore has been producing Txakoli since 1930s mostly for local consumption, but more recently they have expanded and not produce it at a higher capacity. The winery is located in the beautiful hills near the town of Zarautz and is a through back to what is quickly becoming a more commercial industry.

A classic example of a small provider of beautiful Txakoli wine from the Getaria (DO) region. The…read morewinery was founded in the 1930's and has produced txakoli for several generations. It has its own vineyards and since 1989 it has been incorporating equipment and modern machinery to produce a txakoli of excellent quality. Its txakoli has a delicate white fruit perfume, is balanced and offers a pleasant fresh finish. Because it is from the Getaria DO, it has a fizz to it when poured a foot above the glass and a pleasant saltiness which goes great with Spanish cuisine. The salt is actually incorporated into the skin of the grape as the daily fog drifts over the vineyard with the Atlantic Ocean only a mile away. Basa-Lore is Basque for "Forest Flower". The wine has fresh green tones, the fine bubbling that it gives off when it falls in the glass reminded us of the sound of the wind when it hits the leaves of the trees. Refreshing in the front palate, it explodes in the mid-palate and supports a long finish owing to the hint of salt. Marketing Manager, Jon Oliden, provided an extensive tour of the vineyard, the village and ocean views from the hillsides and a wonderful discussion about the novelty of the grape varietal and the method of growing/harvesting. Inside the production facility we sampled from the barrels and bottle. We tasted two white Txakoli and a red (blush) one. All were very pleasing. Jon, himself, prepared local products of sardines, fresh caught tuna and a tiramisu for taste pairings with the wines. The wines are available in the USA through Travis Vernon at Well Crafted Wine & Beverage Company +1 571-359-6227. Do yourself a huge favor and contact Jon Oliden for a visit through their website. Highly Recommended.

We had the good fortune of booking a city sightseeing tour with Keith the day before we left San…read moreSebastián - it was nothing short of fantastic. He was professional, unbelievably knowledgable, added great contextual information to the tour and the best part - it felt like we were seeing the city with a friend who wanted to help us get the lay of the land. Another plus- we had a tour of only 4 people which was really nice. We only left with one regret... We wished we had booked it much earlier- so we would have had more time to explore the city after being given not only the history but also all of the helpful local tips. Don't make the same mistake we did! Book before you go- I promise you won't be disappointed! My husband and I loved San Sebastián much more after seeing it from Keith's perspective!

This tour was amazing. Keith is so knowledgeable as well as personable. He knows his audience and…read moreprovides a wonderful experience! Learned so much and ate the BEST food!

As we arrived we stopped by here first to get information and our Camino passport. We waited…read moreoutside since the place is small and only a few people can be inside at a time I recommend you get there early or just be ready to wait. The volunteers were very nice and the lady who helped us was from the United States and the other volunteers do speak different languages just in case. We didn't have accommodations and she helped us find one. The only suggestion I have is to check the weather for the day you start and most important how hot it child it will be going up the hill and down since when we went, it started warm, then it got chilly, then cold, then rained, hailed and snow flakes later on, ask this in one day. So I hope they can advice you on the weather from start to finish so you can be ready.

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.