Payment of bespoke tour program of the Basque Country and Rioja | 2 pax | 29th of September – 1st of October
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Description and schedule of services
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September 29th: introductory Culture and Gastronomy tour of San Sebastian
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4:30pm: meet your personal local host at your accommodation in San Sebastian and start a private tour of the city that will take you first to Mount Igueldo (local transportation with a private driver in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle) for excellent panoramic views of the bay of La Concha.
It will be there where you will be given an overview of the origins, evolution and present character of the city, before exploring in depth its most iconic sections. This will make the perfect starting point to set the context for your stay in San Sebastian for the next few days. Near Mount Igueldo you will also see the most iconic work of Basque Sculptor Chillida.
Then, you will be driven to the old town quarters, where you will see the oldest buildings of the primitive fishing town that San Sebastian was before becoming a glamorous Summer destination for aristocrats and well to do families in the 19th and 20th centuries.
7pm: after your introduction to the geography, history and architecture of San Sebastian, say goodbye to your driver and enjoy a pintxos lunch through San Sebastian old town with your local host. Along the tour you will learn what makes the gastronomy from San Sebastian different from Bilbao’s. in San Sebastian pintxos are small and elaborate gourmet bites that concentrate the soul of the city in their elegant and honest presentation.
9:30pm: end of your tour back at your hotel. Alternatively, enjoy the rest of the day at leisure in San Sebastian old town.
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Price of this tour for a private party of 2 pax: 950€
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This price includes
– Personal local host from Genuine Andalusia throughout the tour (a knowledgeable, personable, kind, flexible and interactive fully licensed guide with a great command of the English language) throughout the tour.
– Private transportation in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle with a dedicated driver at disposal during the first 2,5h of the tour to explore the different sections of San Sebastian.
– All entrance tickets and admissions.
– A pintxos and wines dinner through 2 – 3 selected pintxos bars including a selection of up to 5 pintxos and 4 wines per person.
– All taxes.
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September 30th: day trip from San Sebastian to la Rioja
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8:30am: meet your personal host at your accommodation in San Sebastian and be transferred in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle with a dedicated driver to La Rioja wine region. Along the way you will see how the landscape drastically changes as Spain’s most iconic wine country gradually unfolds.
10am: upon arrival to Rioja, you will visit two different wineries, with different stories, different sizes and different wines, doing of course the corresponding tastings in each of them. This will give you a great overview of the ecosystem of wineries that Rioja has developed over the years and where there’s room for tradition, modernity, artisanal boutique wineries and also bigger ones. Your Rioja discovery journey will not only offer you a fantastic immersion into the local wines but also into the story of the people, the traditions of the region and its endless vineyard landscape.
2pm: after your introduction to Rioja wines it will be time to enjoy its gastronomy and also its medieval towns. You will be taken for lunch to a selected local restaurant in the surroundings of La Guardia to later visit the town itself: a medieval hilltop settlement, which preserves its 13th century walls, ancient buildings and a key part of its ancient and present economy: underground cave wine cellars.
3:45pm: after your tour of La Guardia and with an understanding of a new region in Northern Spain acquired through its food, wine, architecture, people, agriculture and traditions, you will be driven back to your accommodation in San Sebastian.
5:15pm: arrival to San Sebastian and end of services for the day.
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Price of this tour for a private party of 2 pax: 1770€
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This price includes
– Personal local host from Genuine Andalusia throughout the tour (a knowledgeable, personable, kind, flexible and interactive fully licensed guide with a great command of the English language) throughout the tour.
– Private transportation in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle with a dedicated driver throughout the tour.
– Private visits to two selected Rioja wineries representative of the wine scene of the area with the corresponding tastings there.
– All taxes.
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This price excludes
– Lunch. your personal local host will suggest restaurants suited to your taste and you can pay your lunch locally.
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October 1st: day trip from San Sebastian to Bilbao
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8:30am: meet your personal driver at your accommodation in San Sebastian and be transferred in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle to Bilbao.
9:40am: upon arrival to Bilbao, meet your personal local host to go on an introductory history, architecture, art and gastronomy tour of the old town and new town quarters.
You will start your tour at the Guggenheim museum, where you will be taken on a guided tour that will uncover not only the architecture and design of the building but also the most iconic pieces of its permanent collection.
Your tour will continue with the new town sections. During this part of the tour, you will see its most representative and iconic landmarks such as the tower of Iberdrola, the Gran Vía area, and the river sections (with the bridge of Calatrava, the Isozaki Towers, and the City Hall).
Along this part of the tour you will learn how Bilbao evolved from being an old industrial city to a modern and cosmopolitan European capital, which contrasts substantially with San Sebastian in spite of their proximity and shared latitude. You will see the grand buildings that the primitive bourgeoisie of the city erected to match those of other important European bourgeois cities and the contemporary ones that have shaped a new personality for the city.
Finally you will reach the old town, where you will learn about the origins of Bilbao, while you explore the most historic sections of the city such as the 7 streets district with the cathedral of Santiago, the covered market of Rivera and the New Square. This will allow you to understand where Bilbao has its roots as a city.
2:15pm: after your tour of the old town, enjoy a pintxos and wines lunch Bilbao style. Along this part of the tour you will be introduced to how the gastronomy of Bilbao and San Sebastian are different and what makes each city unique from the local gastronomy point of view.
3:45pm: after lunch, be picked up reconnect with your driver to explore the quarter of Getxo, on the coast and just 15 minutes outside Bilbao old town.
4pm: upon arrival to Getxo, you will be taken, combining car rides and walks, to see the elegant mansions of the Basque bourgeoisie in Getxo to later discover the quarter’s unique UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Vizcaya Bridge. This is a unique work of engineering that helps pedestrians and car drivers cross on suspended gondola to the town of Portugalete. You will ride the passenger gondola to the Portugalete side and back to later be taken to the old fishing port of Algorta. This will be your first contact with traditional Basque architecture and the history of fishing in the Basque country.
5:30pm: after your tour of Getxo and Algorta, be driven back to your accommodation in San Sebastian.
6:45pm: arrival to your accommodation in San Sebastian and end of services for the day.
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Price of this tour for a private party of 2 pax: 1910€
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This price includes
– Personal local host from Genuine Andalusia throughout the tour (a knowledgeable, personable, kind, flexible and interactive fully licensed guide with a great command of the English language) throughout your stay in Bilbao.
– Private transportation in a modern and comfortable Mercedes vehicle with a dedicated driver at disposal during the first 2,5h of the tour to explore the different sections of San Sebastian.
– All entrance tickets and admissions.
– A pintxos and wines lunch through 1 – 2 selected pintxos bars including a selection of up to 4 pintxos and 3 wines per person.
– All taxes.
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Grand total of this bespoke tour program: 4630 Euros
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Confirmation and payments
In order to confirm these tours we need a 30% deposit of the grand total no later than the 19th of July 2025. The final 70% must be paid no later than 30 days prior to the start of the first tour.
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30% deposit needed to confirm the tour program: 1389€
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Final 70% needed no later than 30 days prior to the start of the first tour to pay the tour program in full: 3241€
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Cancellation policy
– If you cancel your tour program more than 15 days prior to its scheduled start, we will charge the 30% deposit only.
– If you cancel your tour program between 15 and 8 days prior to its scheduled start, we will charge 50% of the full cost of the tour and we will refund the remaining 50%.
– If you cancel your tour program between 7 and 3 days prior to its scheduled start, we will charge 75% of the full cost of the tour and we will refund the remaining 25%.
– If you cancel your tour program 2 days or less prior to its scheduled start, we will charge 100% of the full cost of the tour.
