The Real Rioja Explore Tour - Private experience
Description
Yes your great wine adventure is here. Step behind the scenes for this fantastic tour of this famous wine region full to the brim of tastes and unforgettable times. Greeted by the sunny hills of La Rioja, first stop is a very special family run vineyard where they’ll show you the whole wine making process from vines to wines. Then hit the relax button, it’s the tasting session in a dream spot overlooking the valley followed by traditional tapas. Next off to a famed vineyard and prepare to be wowed. Now it's time for the 11th century town of Laguardia to amble through the cobbled streets visiting the secret cellar caves full to the brim of the regions finest. We'll top this off with a casual tapas lunch.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Delve behind the scenes and visit a special 4 generation family run winery for a full guided to tour. You'll learn about the whole wine making process from start to finish topped off with tasting and tapas session on the veranda overlooking the vines.
We'll explore the streets of this beautiful 1100yr old walled town. Set on a hill and surrounded by vineyards this picture perfect place has plenty of secrets to uncover from the Santa Maria de los Reyes church to the labyrinth of tunnels and cellar caves hidden below foot. We'll give you a chance to go below ground and explore our favourite cellar for a unique tasting. Then it's time to settle down for a 3 course traditional lunch with incredible view out over the valley.
A La Rioja tour wouldn't be the same without a visit to the famed Marques de Riscal winery, take a step into the world of Frank Gehry and take a glimpse of this incredible building and try the vino tinto which originally put them on the map.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We can also pick up from hotels not mentioned and apartment & vacation rentals or designated spots in Rioja, San Sebastian city & close by.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Service animals allowed
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(12)
My husband and I had a wonderful day touring the Rioja region with Borja! Experience San Sebastian Tours really does it right. We booked this tour only one day prior which of course didn't give them much notice and they still knocked it out of the park. It was a clean, comfortable and spacious van that took us around. We walked around the city of Laguardia, which was stunning and then went to two different tastings. Both of the wine tastings had excellent wine with the second stop being my favorite. We had very personal experiences at each of them. We ended the day with a stop at a larger winery for an excellent lunch with so much food. Borja was super cool and knowledgable on the Rioja region and San Sebastian. This tour was a 10/10 and an excellent selection for anyone looking to get out of the city and have a wine filled day. We will absolutely be checking out the other tours that Experience San Sebastian offers when we're back!
Strongly recommend both the Rioja Explore Tour and the Train Track Trail Mountain Bike tour. Penny and Borja were very professional and made sure we got the best out or these experiences. We had lots of fun and learned so much.
Thank you so much for your review. We're so glad your enjoyed your tours, they are both total favourites and it was an complete pleasure to help organise everything. Please come back and see us again soon. Have a super Summer. All the best Pen & Borja
The Real Rioja Explore Tour exceeded all our expectations! Our driver B was amazing - prompt, gregarious, and knowledgeable – and he was the perfect MC for our day in Rioja. At our first stop, we learned so much about viticulture and winemaking. We picked and tasted grapes from the field and witnessed first-hand the harvest and wine-making process. At our next stop, we explored a medieval city and sampled wines in ancient caves. At our final destination, we had an amazing Spanish lunch and took pictures of the famous Marques de Riscal. Highly recommend this tour for all wine lovers and rioja explorers!
Thanks so much for your kind review, B had such a super time with you both, it was definitely a special one and an absolute pleasure to show you our version of La Rioja wine scene. Hopefully we'll see you in these parts again soon for some more adventures. Best & thanks Penny
just brilliant. we toured on bikes, very little on road, and got to know so much about san sebastian. Borja was great. informative, and fun
Thank so much for your review. It was great fun to show you the San Sebastián scene. Come back soon Saludos B
Our trip to San Sebastian, took a higher level thanks to the La Rioja Wine Tour ….absolutely amazing…Our tour guide, Borjas was great, excellent service and attentions, 3 amazing wineries with historical context, nice wines and food. We highly recommend Experience San Sebastian.
Thanks for the amazing review guys. That is one wine trip we will always remember, it was an absolute pleasure. All the best
We did the Rioja wine tour and the stand up paddeling with Bojar. He and Peggy are both vercommitted and did a great job. Both of the experiences were awesome and we will never forget them. We really recomend the „Experience San Sebastian“.
Thanks for your great review, it was an absolute pleasure to show you some of our favourite parts of this area. Hopefully we'll see you again soon. Penny
We had an absolute blast with Borja on the three experiences that we’d booked with Experience San Sebastián! We signed up for surfing, the train track bike ride, and the Rioja wine tour. All were spectacular!! Borja came prepared with everything we needed, from snacks to equipment, and was very knowledgeable.. it was particularly fun to go to wine country, where he knew the viniculturists and got us private tours of the vineyards! He even got us a little gift with our picture on it to celebrate our recent engagement. I couldn’t have asked for a better adventure, and look forward to coming back and enjoying more adventures with ESS! -A&P
Thanks so much for your kind review. Borja had a ball with you guys doing some of our favourite tours. Huge congrats on your engagement. Have a super Summer and hopefully we’ll see you back in San Sebastián again soon. All the best from the ESS team
We loved our Rioja day tour with Experience San Sebastian and our guide, Alex. Alex was very friendly and knowledgeable about Rioja and the Basque Country. The wineries he chose and took us to were excellent and their views were almost as good as their wine!! We especially enjoyed our lunch trip in the medieval city of La Guardia. The restaurant Alex chose was one of the best meals of our trip to the Iberian Peninsula.
Thank you for your review, We are so pleased you enjoyed your trip to La Rioja. Alex said it was an absolute plesure to be your host. Have a great Spring and hopefully we'll see you in these parts again soon. All the best Penny
My friends and I had the most beautiful time touring La Rioja with Experience San Sebastián. Our morning began with prompt pick up from our accommodation in San Sebastián. From there, we began our serene ride into La Rioja. Not only was our guide, Borja, a fountain of historical, cultural, and wine related knowledge, all of the wine experts and tour guides we met along the way were as well! Each of the wines we tasted were lovely. Additionally, the conversation our group enjoyed at each winery around current events was second only to each winery ambassador’s knowledge of Rioja region wines and their passion for explaining the unique aspects of their individual wineries. We stopped for lunch in the most quaint town with delicious local dishes and welcoming service! We learned on the tour that Experience San Sebastián also offers sailing, biking, and a number of other outdoor tours that we cannot wait to return to San Sebastián to enjoy! We highly recommend this tour for anyone seeking an authentic, knowledgeable, and warm experience in San Sebastián and La Rioja.
Thank you so much for your review, it was absolutely brilliant to be your host for the day. I hope you reallly enjoyed the rest of your trip and hopefully we'll see you in these parts again soon. All the best & thanks Penny & Borja
Had a great day with Borja seeing the Rioja region in autumn colour despite the rain. It was great to see a variety of wineries from old, small and commercial ventures. We had a really tasty and rustic lunch at Laguardia with time to walk round this lovely village. Borja was a wonderful host throughout the day and we would highly recommend this tour.
Thank you so much for your review. I'm so glad you enjoyed the tour and it was an absolute pleasure. Hopefully we'll see you in these parts again soon. All the best Penny
