Dal mercato alla cucina segreta

Julen is the best local guide we have encountered anywhere in our travels. If you want an authentically local experience, you must connect with him. We have been to Basque Country three times now and it is only because of his knowledge that we have enjoyed coming back so often and experiencing the local culture

Valleys, vegetable garden, sun, delicious tomatoes, fresh cider, cooking with love, txakoli and vital energy. "Full kitty: happy heart." All that Julen gave us!

Julen is delightful, thoughtful. Provided a good comprehensive guide of San Sebastian (our request rather than his standard tours), the city's history and basque culture. He suggested supplementing a 3 hour walking tour of the city with a buying tour in the streets and market, followed by cooking our produce - ended up being 6 hours. Great introduction to some very good providores, v good explanation of the basque cuisine, and an excellent lunch, with some great tips on how to cook certain foods. Too much food (in a good way), cooked with a very generous host.

Beautiful unforgettable day with Julen visiting a local farm, picking produce, and having home cooked breakfast ... Then later going to a txoko in the mountains where we cooked a Basque meal. Both places had beautiful vistas where we took lots of photos we'll cherish forever. Julen was incredibly hospitable and fun to hang out with - it never felt like a boring tour, it felt like we were truly doing something special with the locals. I remarked to my family what a great experience that was as someone who typically avoids tours. Would definitely tour with them again.

We had a great and wonderful time with the Chef,he was very knowledgeable, he created such good and tasty pintxs, and of course we had to help to do the job right. It was such a great and memorable experience, that we’ll remember the rest of our lives.

If you’re heading to Basque, do yourself a favor and book a tour with Julen (@aupahi). He managed to organize a balcony for the running of the bulls, guide us through the history and traditions in a way that actually kept our kids engaged, and then led us on the most interactive and delicious food tour through San Sebastián. Every stop was thoughtful, everything we ate was incredible, and the whole experience felt super personal. He tailored it to our family, made it fun, answered every random question we threw his way—and by the end, we felt like we were just hanging out with a friend. Truly one of the best parts of our trip. We’d recommend him to anyone. Ten stars if we could. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We arranged a private tour of the countryside, which included most of the "market and kitchen" parts of the tour and added a short hike. We had a marvelous day! Julen is a great guide and truly loves this region. He picked us up at our hotel and we headed to a lovely small organic farm, where we had the opportunity to get to know the farmer, his work, the climate, and the general growing region. It provided context to the food we had been enjoying in San Sebastian. From this farm, we left with a lot of vegetables. We then visited a couple of butcher shops to get chorizo and meat (plus a coffee in the morning and some wine in the afternoon). It was fun to see a bit of village life in a way that we wouldn't have observed if we were driving through ourselves. Our hike came next, which was short and easy because we were saving time for cooking! We went to the Gastronomical society of which Julen is now a member in the village where he grew up. We enjoyed learning cooking methods and approaches and also observing different members of the club come and go with their families and friends to prepare meals and socialize. It was a window into life in the smaller towns of the region. I would book a tour with Julen again and highly recommend Aupa Hi for unique experiences in this region.

Fun experience with grocery shopping for our dinner and then taking it back to secret kitchen and watching the cooking . Everything was delicious and wonderful with wine and our host, Colm. Highly recommend!

This was one of the best experiences i had on my trip this summer. Julian not only showed us an amazing time shopping and cooking, he also elevated my understanding of San Sebastián. This is a significant investment of time but well worth it.

Julen is one of the finest people I've ever met. A Basque native he is a true Renaissance man with a proud passion for his homeland people and culture. From hiking, biking, pintos to a cooking class at a secret gastronomy society, Julen does it all!! But Surfing is his passion, and Nature his religion. Not a tour guide, but a friend. No matter what experience you choose, Any experience with Julen is worth it. A kind humble man you can Trust him to take of care of you and give you a lifelong memory of happiness. Im going back to book another excursion as soon as I learn Spanish,lol Aupa HI!!