6 dagars vin- och gastronomitur i norra Spanien

Thanks to Rebeca and team - Robert, Fito, and Enrique - for a great 6-day tour of Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines and Basque Country exploration. The winery visits were a premium experience - just our group of 4 people spending time with the wine makers, their families, and having gourmet dining experiences in the wineries was amazing. Having toured many wineries in France, Italy and the States, we enjoyed learning about the customs and practices that make Rioja and Ribera wines distinct and delicious. Having a small group experience allowed us to visit unique wineries and understand more of the wine making history in the area in ways you could not do with a large group... We visited wineries in local caves, experimental wineries, and explored locations off the beaten path. Our group liked the concept booking our own hotels, based on Rebeca's recommendations, to allow our group to control this part of our experience. We also enjoyed spending time at Rebeca and Roberts home as friends for a local meal and sampling their family wines. This was a week of great experiences not to be missed.

As part of a month long journey through Spain my husband and I wanted to learn more about the Rioja and Ribera del Duero wine regions, as wines from those areas are some of our favorites. I came across Rebeca’s website/business, Rioja Like A Native and immediately felt her passion and enthusiasm for sharing the local culture of the area where she grew up and still lives today. From the moment I began inquiring about her tours, Rebeca was extremely responsive, and thorough with her communication. (And she just seemed like a genuinely nice person when communicating). She wanted to know your interests so that she could tailor the experience where necessary, so all we had to do was jump in the car with our guide and enjoy. Rebeca coordinated a private transfer from San Sebastián to Logrono, the starting point of our 2 Day tour of Rioja, as we were traveling Spain without a car, and she advised us local train would have taken much longer and did not have a direct route. Her driver Jose was so lively and fun and made the drive pass quickly. We booked one of her hotel recommendations which was conveniently located in the old town section in Logrono and walkable to all the good tapas bars and restaurants. The next morning we were promptly met by Fito who was our local guide for the 2 day Rioja adventure. Fito didn’t feel like your typical “guide” who is trained to provide specific facts or information, he felt more like a good friend who was driving you around his area, talking to you about his favorite places, and who knows about and enjoys good wine and food. While our adventure primarily included visiting 5 different styles of wineries, it never felt like we were bouncing from one winery to another and doing the same thing at each—-each one had something different to offer, or a surprise of sorts. In addition to tasting a variety of wines, we tasted some typical foods from the area during some of our wine tastings, had lunch in the medieval town of LaGuardia, and just enjoyed the ride with Fito through some beautiful Rioja scenery. One of the highlights our Rioja adventure was wrapping up our 2nd day with a home cooked late afternoon lunch at Rebeca’s house with her, her husband Robert, and cute dog Taino, and putting our new found Rioja wine knowledge to the test in front of them! We sampled some of their family’s wine too, enjoyed hearing about their adventures throughout their own country, and any advice they had for us as we continued our adventure throughout Spain. They truly made us feel like friends at their dinner table, not just their clients. After our Rioja adventure we were picked up early at our hotel by Bruno who whisked us away to the Ribera del Duero which was about a 2 hour car ride from Logrono to our first winery. Bruno came prepared with breakfast treats, beverages and a wealth of knowledge of the wine region to fill our travel time. At our first winery, we had an unexpected tasting. After doing the private tour and high-end wine tasting in their restaurant’s dining room, complete with sweeping views of the vineyards, we thought it couldn’t get any better. We were then presented with the most delicious series of tapas which felt more like a coursed lunch, a truly lovely and relaxing experience while enjoying the epic views. But that wasn’t the real lunch. Next, Bruno drove us to another town where we actually went to “lunch”at restaurant known for a regional specialty, oven roasted Castilian Lamb which was a food highlight for us on our trip to Spain. After our tours and lunching, Bruno dropped us at our hotel in Madrid and kindly texted us later that evening to see if we needed any restaurant or other recommendations for our stay in Madrid or throughout Spain. Even if we had a car while traveling in Spain, without Rebeca and her team of locals we would not have found these interesting and unique experiences on our own. Our 3 day adventure through Rioja and Ribera de Duero was one of the most memorable parts of our trip, and our lives for that matter. It was most certainly enhanced by the local knowledge of Rebeca, Robert, Fito and Bruno, and equally important the great company, kindness, and care they extended to us along the way.

Incredible tour with the best, are very professional and know very well the different wineries and vineyards, we were treated wonderfully and visited several wineries, 100% recommended, surely we will return

We had a wonderful time using Rioja Like a Native and touring through Ribera del Duero and Rioja. Rebecca organized two incredible days of wine touring for us in Ribera and Rioja. We went to some very unique wineries that highlighted the traditions and wines of both regions. The wines were top quality and our guides were very knowledgeable, friendly and fun. They arranged everything for us so all we needed to do was show up with our appetites and desire to drink great Spanish wine! I highly recommend using Rioja Like a Native if you want a great experience and to try some wineries off the well beaten tourist path.

My husband and I were traveling to Spain for my birthday in July and wanted to visit Rioja and Ribera del Duero for the first time. I contacted Rebecca about 4 weeks prior to the trip, and despite the short notice, she quickly responded to my email and was willing to assist. We exchanged emails for a couple of weeks until we finalized the itinerary for our 5 day private tour to Ribera del Duero, Rioja, San Sebastian, Getaria and Bilbao. She was even able to fit in 2 wineries that we wanted to visit. Enrique picked us up in our hotel in Madrid and drove us to Ribera del Duero where we visited two wineries and then had lunch at a local restaurant in the area. Enrique then drove us to our hotel in Rioja. In the evening we walked around the town and had some pintxos on San Juan and Laurel streets. The next day, our guide Fito picked us up at our hotel and we visited two wineries, we had lunch in the medieval town of La Guardia and then visited two other wineries in the afternoon. We were dropped off at our hotel later in the afternoon. On our third day, we were picked up at our hotel again by Fito and we toured two other wineries. We ended our Rioja day trip with a visit to Rebecca’s and Robert’s house. We were greeted by their super friendly dog Taino, we tasted Rebecca’s family house wine and enjoyed a home cooked lunch overlooking Rioja vineyards. On our fourth day, Jose picked us up at our Logrono hotel and drove us to San Sebastian. Once we arrived at our hotel we met our tourguide, Enrique, who took us on an all day walking and pintxos tour of the city. We even got to try the Txakoli and a local cider paired with the outstanding pintxos. On our fifth and last day, Gorka our tourguide, picked us up at our hotel and drove us to Getaria. We visited the Balenciaga Museum and then enjoyed a great lunch at a beach front restaurant. We then drove to Bilbao, walked around the city to see the outside of the Guggenheim Museum and the Puppy. Throughout the tour, Rebecca was in constant communication to check that everything was to our satisfaction. All in all, my husband and I had a great experience. We got to visit different wineries (chateau style, family owned and underground to name a few). We had a lot of fun and even learned new things about wine. All our tour guides were very friendly, knowledgeable and spoke perfect English. We highly recommend Rioja like a Native to anyone that wants to visit Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Basque Country. You will have a great and memorable experience like we did. We look forward to returning very soon!

I highly recommend booking with Rebeca! Our group had an amazing time and I can't imagine experiencing Spain's wine country without the guidance and expertise of Rebeca and all the guides she set us up with. We had a tough group of 6 people, all with varying interest and tastes, plus some of us only spoke English while others only spoke spainish. Rebeca was able to accomodate for everthing we needed and everyone in our group was satisfied. The wine, the food, and the tours were all spectacular. We all highly recommend adding the Hot Air Balloon Ride to your itenerary, and walking through Logrono to try all the great Tapas. I can't say enough great things about our experience and hope to be able to book another trip soon!