EL CAMINO SMALL GROUP TRIP
San Sebastian Itinerary
Deeply explore two of Western Europe's most fascinating yet highly underrated regions: San Sebastian & La Rioja. Indulge in slow travel by taking your time to explore the rich and multi-faceted cultures of these unique parts of Spain and France. Delight yourself in the flavors of the region while embracing endemic traditions that date back centuries.
Day 1
Arrive: Ongi Etorri! Welcome to the Basque Country! Check-in at our hotel for the next few nights. With views of the entire city and the bay, it’s the perfect place to explore everything San Sebastian has to offer, from traditional to modern and avant-garde. From the hotel, take a stroll down the nearly one-mile-long white sand beach, wander to Monte Urgell, or stay near the hotel, getting a head start on sampling the region's wine.
Afternoon: Enjoy some free time to get acclimated to the area before the activities commence. We’ll start at the hotel for a welcome drink to meet and mingle with your fellow travelers before we head out. Strap on your walking shoes to wander the Historic Center of San Sebastian. These cobblestoned pedestrian walkways are tucked between Monte Urgell with its old fortifications, the Urumea River, and La Concha Bay. Bars, cathedrals, old fishing cottages, restaurants, and shops cram into these old winding streets, and people gather for drinks and pintxos, a Basque-style tapa of fresh bread, fish, stuffed peppers, and croquettes held together by a toothpick. With so much in so little space, it’s easy to get lost, but our local hosts will show us the best and tastiest secrets in town.
Evening: Our walk will conclude at a fantastic restaurant for our first meal together. Gastronomy in the Basque Country is a serious affair. Tonight will be a wonderful introduction to the scene with a pre-fixe meal from a daily rotating menu. Things like cod and lamb grilled directly over hot coals, bean stews, and goat cheese are all fair game along with seasonal vegetables.
Meals Included: Dinner
Day 2
Morning: Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before an unforgettable day of soaking in the views of San Sebastian. There’s nothing like a morning hike for some fresh air, beach, and sun. Today, we set off on foot to hike and explore parts of the Basque Country’s coastline. The hike covers a distance of 7.4 km and will take approximately 3 hours, offering stunning views and a refreshing experience in nature. From our hotel, we'll head out for a stroll to take in the best views of the city, from seaside cliffs to rolling green hills. We’ll walk a portion of the centuries-old Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route leading to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. We’ll arrive in Pasajes San Pedro and take a small boat to the beautiful Pasajes San Juan. We can help you find a restaurant for lunch, or you can head back into the city. If you’re not up for the trek back (a 1-hour walk along a different route), you can catch a taxi (20-minute ride) or hop on the local bus (40-minute ride). We’ll have lots of beautiful photo opportunities along the way!
Afternoon: Tap your Eat, Play, Shop guide for some recommended free time activities. Now’s a great time to sample some local Txakoli (pronounced, “Chacoli”), a light green, dry and semi-sparkling white wine common to the Basque country. Stunning beaches and fishing villages are a stone’s throw away from each other. What better way to explore the greener side of Spain?
Evening: You’re free to wander the old streets of San Sebastian as you please. Try one of our recs which feature exquisite local dishes like pil-pil style salt cod which is a technique of moving the serving dish while adding olive oil, ending in a delicious fish smothered in fresh olive oil and garlic sauce. Tap into your local hosts and ECT resources for inspiration.
BONUS: The centrally-located San Telmo Museum is open until 8 pm. The Museum is housed in a 16th-century convent and showcases ethnographic information about the ancient, endemic history of the Basque people, and for the art lovers—numerous paintings from names like El Greco, Alonso Cano, Rubens, Depiece, Moran, Ribera, and Coello to name a few.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 3
Morning: Enjoy breakfast before the day's adventures. Buckle up! We’re taking a quick road trip to the French side of the Basque Country where the picturesque Mt. Rhune soars in the background. Our first stop is Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a charming fishing port known for its architecture and calm sandy bay. This small town is a pedestrian paradise and easy to explore on foot. Your host will guide you through town so you won't miss a beat.
Afternoon: We'll continue to the Boho-chic town of Biarritz, located on the Bay of Biscay, to walk along “the queen of beaches”. While Provence may boast some of France’s most famous beaches, Biarritz is known to be the first place that surfing was practiced in Europe. This beach is known to have entranced English, French, and Spanish royalty alike, hence its royal nickname. Like the rest of Basque Country, good food is easy to come by, but our local hosts know where to find the best. Rub elbows with locals at the market as we sip coffee and pick out our favorite cheeses, fish, meats, vegetables, and all the delicious pastries you can imagine. Look out for the Gateau Basque, a delicious cherry cake that is a local staple.
Evening: After returning to San Sebastian, the rest of the night is yours. We’ve got you covered with plenty of recs in our Eat, Play Shop guide. One of our favorite suggestions for this evening is to take a scenic walk along the base of the mountain to view the sculptural works of a renowned Basque artist. His artwork can be found on a lookout point on the coast and it is a collection of three sculptures embedded into the natural rocks rising from the sea. Along your walk to the sculptures, you’ll enjoy the seaside promenade, one of Spain’s best beaches, and a cottage-style palace that was once a summer residence of Spanish royalty.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 4
Morning: Enjoy a leisurely morning and breakfast before we head out. We'll continue our gastronomic journey by visiting an underground (literally) market to explore and sample the freshest ingredients that will come in handy later. Built in the 1870s, the market resides in a space where an enemy army broke through the city walls. In recent years, the scene is much more peaceful with chefs frequenting the market for the freshest ingredients in San Sebastian, the city with the second-highest number of Michelin-star restaurants in the world per capita behind Tokyo.
Afternoon: Europe has a long history of secret societies, but in Basque Country, the secret societies protect their recipes. Txoko, (pronounced, “Choko”) are closed gastronomic societies, common to the Basque Country where groups go to socialize and experiment with new ways of cooking. Membership is coveted and is a lifetime commitment, often passed from parent to child. Fortunately, we’ve scored an invite to one of these secret societies. So, we’ll be getting involved and making some traditional dishes and even some entirely new ones, as we socialize—and most definitely—eat. We’ll split into two groups and roll our sleeves up in the kitchen. When lunch is ready, we’ll sit together in this exclusive communal space for a bit of sobremesa.
Evening: The night is yours. Continue your culinary exploration, find a watering hole, relax, or stroll the waterfront. Just remember you can always tap your Eat, Play, Shop guide for tips and inspiration. Go for a bite at any one of San Sebastian's Michelin-star-rated restaurants (there's eight of them!) or go for a cocktail in a former convent. From the street, you'd have no idea what awaits you inside. Grab a seat inside the beautifully restored chapel and gaze up and admire a little piece of history.
*Please note the surfing lesson is an extra cost if you decide to participate.
Meals Included: Breakfast and gastronomic society lunch
Day 5
Morning and Afternoon: Grab breakfast at the hotel. The morning and afternoon are free. This is the perfect time to get your shopping in or check out the local attractions. If you’re craving adventure, join us for an optional surf session on the beach. (Not included, but can be paid during the trip).
Alternatively, today is a great opportunity to visit the nearby city of Bilbao. The bus takes about an hour and 20 minutes, with the bus station located a convenient 5-minute walk away from our hotel. You can head to the Guggenheim Museum, designed by architect Frank Gehry, and lose yourself in the many wonderful examples of contemporary and modern art. We’ll prepare you with a list of restaurants where you can grab a bite for lunch before heading into Bilbao’s old town for a leisurely stroll. One of our favorite spots is a tiny, no-frills oyster bar. This hidden gem is beloved by locals. Make your oyster selection, then grab a seat out front. The Txakoli (a local sparkling wine) here is excellent.
Evening: By now, you’ve seen the pintxos everywhere. You’ve noticed that they’re in every bar and oftentimes the cafes too. There are countless varieties and a nearly endless supply. This evening, you’ll hunt for the best pintxos in all of San Sebastian while rubbing elbows (quite literally) with the locals, fighting your way to the bar. With the help of your local host, join your fellow travelers in a fun self-guided, scavenger-hunt-style activity as we snack our way through fresh breads, fish, olive oils, cheeses, meats, grilled veggies, and croquettes all stuck together on their little sticks until everyone can name their favorite. The pintxos are not included, so you and your team have the opportunity to try whichever of each location’s options are the most appealing to you and have as many or as few as you wish!
Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 6
Morning: Enjoy your last breakfast at the hotel before checking out. We're headed to one of Spain’s best, oldest, and largest wine producers: Rioja.
After a two-hour drive, we’ll arrive in the Rioja valley, nestled among wheat fields and the gentle Ebro River, dotted with Medieval villages. To the north lay the intimidatingly steep Cantabrian mountains and their fast-flowing streams. To the south, Las Sierras de Demanda’s snow-capped mountains create the border between “Green Spain” and the Mediterranean climates to the south.
Afternoon: There are famous wine countries in other parts of the world, but few can claim as many long-standing winemakers as dedicated to the craft as there are in Rioja. With the help of e-bikes, we’ll get to explore it all and really get to know wine, especially the region’s most famous: the earthy Tempranillos. After indulging in the region's beauty throughout the day, we’ll stop for a picnic lunch, including local cheeses, meats, nuts, and local wine to cap off the experience. Later in the afternoon, we’ll drive to our hotel, check into our rooms, and settle in.
Evening: The evening is yours. Slow down and fade into the local way of life by conversing over a bottle of wine late into the night.
If you’re still up for exploring, we suggest taking a taxi to the city of Haro. This small, walkable city is full of traditional restaurants, bars, and cute squares. Along the way, you’ll pass by some great wineries where you’ll have the opportunity to pop in and grab some wine at their wine bar. From Haro, you can grab a taxi back to the hotel.
Meals Included: Breakfast, picnic lunch with wine
Day 7
Morning: Rioja is steeped in tradition, so after breakfast today, we'll expand the sensory experience of great wine by adding great architecture. We'll stop outside two wineries that honor their 150-year-old origin while pushing into the modern realm with avant-garde design. Both are considered architectural marvels of the region.
Afternoon: Having immersed ourselves in the allure of architectural marvels, we'll continue to the enchanting village of Laguardia. Renowned as one of Spain's most picturesque villages, Laguardia welcomes you with its cobblestone streets and timeless charm. You'll have time for wine shopping, picking up charming souvenirs, and relishing a delectable lunch. Our journey doesn't end there – before we head back to the hotel, we’ll stop for a tasting at a smaller, more intimate winery with lots of character as we learn about the distinct flavors of Rioja wines.
Evening: Tonight, we'll enjoy a celebratory dinner to round out the flavors of northern Spain. Expect grilled white asparagus to accompany traditional dishes like white bean soups, potatoes, and chorizo sauteed in ample garlic, bay leaves, and paprika. These flavors will be amplified by seasonal vegetables and Zurracapote, a regional drink akin to sangria that's made of local red wine, dried seasonal fruits, cinnamon, and sugar.
Meals Included: Breakfast, wine tasting, dinner
Day 8
Morning: Say your goodbyes over breakfast and exchange information with your newfound friends. Head home (or on to your next adventure) feeling refreshed and ready for whatever adventure awaits you next. From our location in La Rioja, you can catch a train from two different nearby stations to head out and continue your journey.
Meals Included: Breakfast