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Overview

Custom Tour of Spain’s Basque Country

This was a one-time departure and is longer available. Please see our tour in Spain’s Basque region!


Trip Details

Enjoy 2 cooking classes with local chefs.

Itinerary

Mixed Spanish tapas on a culinary vacation in SpainDAY 1 June 28 – ARRIVAL BILBAO

  • Arrival Bilbao airport.
  • Transfer to 4* hotel & check in.

DAY 2 June 29 – BILBAO (walking tour)

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Enjoy a walking tour along Ensanche-Abandoibarra area. The restoration of Abandoibarra and the face washing of the facades of the most emblematic buildings in this town have revealed a modern, bright Bilbao which combines perfectly the past, the present and the future. The new Bilbao is of course best symbolized by the striking Guggenheim Museum, In the same area the building of the Palacio Euskalduna revives the old tradition of the building in the form of ships along the river, the new mall Zubiarte designed by Robert Stern, the Isosaki towers and the Paseo de la Memoria with its contemporary sculpture are worth the visit. Other important architectural works of art include the Zubizuri Bridge, work of Santiago Calatrava and the stations and entrances to the metro, works of Norman Foster
  • Walking tour of the Old Quarter. This tour explores Bilbao’s Old Quarter with its famous ‘seven streets’, the interesting architecture and medieval heart of the old city. The narrow streets – many of them pedestrian – are lined with Renaissance, Baroque and Modernist buildings. As you stroll through this area, your guide will point out the main sights including the Cathedral of Santiago, a Gothic church built at the end of the 14th century, the Bridge and Church of San Anton and the Plaza Nueva, an arcaded square.
  • Pintxos lunch in the Old Quarter. With the idea of a total immersion into Basque culture in mind, our guide will invite you to join us in the long-standing tradition of “Poteo” which involves drinking txikitos, small glasses of wine, while enjoying a variety of tapas, or otherwise known around these parts as pintxos. The “pintxos” are authentic culinary works in miniature. They are elaborated combining traditional products of the Basque cuisine and adding a modern touch
  • Rest of day at leisure and dinner on your own.

DAY 3 June 30 – GETXO & COOKING CLASS

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Today, a morning tour to Getxo and the Bizkaia Bridge. (Or time on your own to explore Bilbao.)
  • This evening head to your traditional Basque Cooking Class & Dinner at a private “txoko” (gastronomic place where celebratory meals between friends and family take place). Enjoy this amazing activity with our experienced chef who will show you how to cook some of our Basque recipes and answer all your questions, while sampling the Basque Country wines will deepen your knowledge, and satisfy your taste buds, providing you with an experience that you can recreate in your own home.

DAY 4 July 1 – COASTAL AREA (9,00 – 18,00, guide & car service )

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Transfer about 1 hour to the coastal area for a full-day tour. First stop is Gernika, where a traditional market is held every Monday throughout the year in the municipality of Gernika-Lumo, in the plaza del mercado. More than 100 local producers gather here to sell fruit, vegetables, cheeses, flowers, plants, and more.
  • Next, a guided Tour of Bermeo . Bermeo has been known since ancient times as one of the most important fishing ports of the Cantabrian coastline. You will see the popular Basque architecture reflected in the fishermen’s houses. Guided visit of the Port area, full of color and terraces. The tour will include a boat trip of one hour, touring the fascinating coast of Urdaibai. The enigmatic island of Izaro, the inaccessible caves of Cape Ogoño, or the picturesque villages of Elantxobe and Mundaka, will be a memorable part of your stay.
  • Tasting of some pintxos as lunch in Bermeo.
  • Transfer about 1 hour to your next activity.
  • This afternoon, be a shepherd for a day and experience the natural landscape of the Basque country. Discover the secrets of the Idiazabal cheese taking part in a workshop to prepare curds and/or fresh cheese, part of it with a set of wooden tools reproducing the ancestral knowledge which is said to come from the Neolithic Age. Afterwards, share the daily chores of a shepherd (dependent on the season and the weather): milking the sheep, bottle-feeding the lambs or feeding the flock by hand and of course also enjoy the skill of the shepherd dogs that manage the native herd of Latxa sheep. Cheese tasting to follow with Txakoli wine.
  • Return to Bilbao, dinner on your own.

DAY 5 JULY 2 – MICHELIN-STAR EXPERIENCE, GETARIA, JAMON PRODUCER (12,00 – 20,00 guide and car)

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Experience a great opportunity to learn about regional cuisine from one of the most influential chefs of the region. Daniel Garcia is one of the geniuses of this new creative cuisine and head of an authentic temple of the modern gastronomy, Zortziko restaurant in Bilbao. The base of this success is the quality of the products used, their origin in the local roots of Biscayne cooking and the result, the personal and surprising intuition of Daniel Garcia in the treatment of the products, elaborating new and sensational dishes. National and international publications have dedicated articles to the kitchen of Daniel Garcia, and that is the case of the Michelin Guide, one of the most prestigious guides in the world, which has rewarded the Zortziko Restaurant with a Michelin star since 1993. We propose a demonstration cooking class by Daniel Garcia in private, in which some different dishes of basque cuisine will be prepared by the chef in his avant-garde Cookery Classroom. A tasting of the dishes prepared will be a perfect end.
  • Depart for Getaria, about 1 hour away, a gorgeous fishing town and the birthplace of distinguished figures such as Juan Sebastián Elcano and Cristóbal Balenciaga. During the Middle Ages, and later also, when harpoons were still thrown by hand, the people from this village were whale hunters. The port of Getaria has the ideal infrastructure to be both a fishing port and a marina. The town is also famous for it’s Txakoli wines produced in vineyards that are grown on the arbores that line the green slopes of the entire territory, swaying gently in the sea breeze.
  • Next stop is the Euskal txerri farm (about 50 minutes drive). Discover the Cured Acorn Ham produced exclusively with the local breed pork called “Euskal Txerri” in a magical farm house, where this family is preserving this special breed. Learn all about the history of how they are making this possible, admire the pigs grazing free in an amazing landscape, and see how they prepare delicious products such as Jamón de Bellota, palette, loin, cured sausage, fresh sausage, the salami, the sausage, the Lukainka (artisan sausage), marinated bacon… Visit in private and tasting of the products included.
  • Return transfer to Bilbao (about 1 hour 15 minutes), rest of evening on your own.

DAY 6 JULY 3 – TRANSFER OUT

  • Breakfast and departure transfer.

Trip Details

Included in the 5-Night Trip

Accommodations

Five nights accommodation in 4* Hotel Abando (or similar)

Food & Beverages

  • Daily breakfast
  • 3 lunches
  • 1 dinner

Classes & Instructors

Enjoy 2 cooking classes with local chefs.

Excursions

  • Guide service (in English) for day 2 (half day), day 3 (assistance to class and option half-day excursion in morning), day 4 (full day) and day 5 (full day)
  • Transportation for days 4 and 5 (full day)
  • Food tastings as per program

Transfer Details

Arrival and departure transfers from Bilbao airport or train station.

Accommodation Information

4* Hotel Abando (or similar)

 

Pricing & Tour Dates



Pricing:

5-night Program

US$7085 per person based on double occupancy


    Tour Dates

    This was a one-time departure and is longer available. Please see our tour in Spain’s Basque region!

    Reviews

    There are no reviews at this time.


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