Private Basque Cheese & Txakoli Wine Tour from San Sebastian
Description
We Basques maintain a very strong bond with our surroundings and, as children, many of us develop a very special connection with the sea or the mountains. Throughout the day, we’ll explain the reasons for this idyll and how it relates to the other great Basque passion: product-based cuisine.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We’ll leave the ‘big city’and travel to rural Gipuzkoa to learn the secrets of Idiazabal cheese production in a traditional farmhouse. A kilo of this cheese usually goes for around 20 euros, although a competition is held every year to select the best cheese of the season, sometimes reaching up to 14,000 euros per ½ kilo! We’ll do a tasting, and you’ll hear the secrets of Basque cheeses. You’ll taste traditional cheeses, all made with unpasteurized sheep's milk. This is the Real Thing, the Real Cheese.
There’s a Spanish expression that roughly translates as, ‘With bread and wine you walk the road’. We’ve already eaten the bread and cheese. We’ll find the wine on the coast, in the hills overlooking the Cantabrian Sea, the ideal place for growing the grapes from which txakoli is born - a typical Basque white wine with a slight acidity, ideal to pair with fish. We’ll visit a small sustainable winery that uses traditional methods and grapes called Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabi Beltza. Thus you’ll learn the intricacies and power of txakoli.
All this will take place near Getaria, the coastal town through which we’ll take a short walk before eating. Getaria is not only the home of a mountain with a mouse-shaped profile, but it’s the hometown of two of the most well-known Basques: Juan Sebastián Elcano (the first to go around the world) and Cristóbal Balenciaga (the international designer known as the Prince of Fashion). More: our coast is famous for its charcoal-grilled fish, omnipresent in the streets closest to the port…so it makes sense to have lunch here. Do you need a more compelling reason?
It’s a dream road for two reasons: you can take a good nap after lunch and dream of sheep (latxas, of course), but we don’t recommend it. The road back to San Sebastián is one of the most beautiful on the Basque Coast. It would be a pity to miss these winding roads (splashed by waves during heavy storms), or the cows grazing alongside quiet farmhouses on Mount Igeldo. You've been warned.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up from different locations is possible for an extra charge
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Wheelchair accessibility is extra paid - contact for details
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Reviews(23)
Martin was an excellent guide for this amazing tour. Although we have been to Donostia three times before, we had not ever gone up in the hills. Breathtaking scenery and the lunch was fantastic. I would not miss this one. So glad we did it!
We love reading reviews like this because so many visitors know San Sebastián well but never venture into the green hills just beyond the city. It's a completely different side of the Basque Country, full of dramatic landscapes, shepherds, vineyards and incredible local food. We're delighted you decided to explore beyond Donosti on your third visit and discovered a part of the region that surprised you. Martin will be thrilled to know the scenery, the experience and that fantastic lunch made such an impression.
Absolutely amazing, professional, wonderful experience. Malena was full of energy, amazing history facts, kindness, patience. I could go on and on how wonderful of a guide she was! We didn't want our day to end with her. The food, treats and wine were all amazing. It felt like a hidden secret tour!
Thank you so much for this lovely review! Malena will be so happy to read it :) We always hope these days feel less like a classic tour and more like discovering hidden corners of the Basque Country with a local friend, so this means a lot to us. Cheese, txakoli, little treats along the way and beautiful coastal landscapes… hard to beat that combination here. Hope to see you back for another secret adventure someday!
Mattis and Inigo picked us up right on time from our hotel and whisked us away for a delightful adventure. We loved the meeting the sheep and talking to the farmer/master cheese maker about his passion for his land. It’s giving Wendell Berry. The Txakoli winery was beautiful and they selected some really fascinating wines for our tasting. Lunch in Getaria was one of the best meals on our trip. Our guides knew what to order in season and the best bite on the fish.
This sounds like such a beautiful Basque coast day :) Meeting shepherds and cheesemakers so connected to their land, tasting txakoli overlooking the vineyards and finishing with a long seafood lunch in Getaria is exactly the rhythm we love sharing with guests. And honestly, “It’s giving Wendell Berry” might be one of the most unique descriptions we’ve ever received for the sheep farm experience. Thank you for joining the adventure with Mattin and Iñigo and for appreciating all those seasonal little details that make Basque food culture so special.
The best day of our trip! Our guide was super friendly and knowledgeable and we had a blast! Amazing value. Would recommend to anyone and everyone!
So lovely to read this, Emilyr. We’re really happy to hear it was the best day of your trip and that you had such a great time with your guide. It means a lot to know you enjoyed it so much. Thanks for your kind words and recommendation.
This past week with Ikusnahi Tours was absolutely incredible! From start to finish our tour guide Ania provided our group such a unique, unforgettable, and logistically fantastic experience! The details and seamless planning could be felt throughout the entirety of our journey. Ania’s knowledge of the history of the Basque Country, the local culture, restaurants, wineries, and villages provided us a different perspective than your average tour! I would highly recommend Ikusnahi Tours to everyone, it was one of the best trips I have ever been on!
This was such a lovely review to read :) We’re incredibly happy you felt all the care, local knowledge and little details that go into creating these experiences. The Basque Country has so much personality, from tiny villages and family wineries to its food traditions and landscapes, and sharing that deeper side of the region is exactly what we love doing. Thank you for traveling with us and for appreciating the journey in such a special way. Your words truly mean a lot!
It’s not easy to plan a trip for a multigenerational group of 7, and this is why we were appreciative of Ikushani, tour guide extraordinaire - Olatz! She provided us with a memorable day tour of sightseeing, wine, sheep, and cheese making all the while sharing stories of the Basque people and culture. Highly recommended - thanks again Olatz!
Planning a day for a multigenerational group is definitely an art, so we’re very happy everyone could enjoy the experience together :) Sheep farms, Idiazabal cheese, txakoli vineyards and the coast around Getaria make such a beautiful combination for discovering the more local side of the Basque Country. Olatz will be so happy to read your kind words. Thanks for sharing the day with us!
The tour was very good and we even got to make our own cheese . The wine was exceptional and something we would not have experienced by ourselves.
Incredible days with an incredible guide. Some of the best days of any trip I’ve ever taken. You’d be a fool to hire anyone else in Basque Country!
Markel was an amazing tour guide. We took the wine and cheese tour with him and had a wonderful day. As he drove a us around the Basque countryside he regaled us with tales of local heroes and shared his enthusiasm for his culture. In the mountains, we learned how cheese is made in the traditional way. And near the coast we visited a winery with fantastic views, learning about how these specific grapes must be grown about head height to take advantage of the ocean breezes and avoid mold. Down in Ameztoi, the fishing village just up from Getaria, Markel helped us order fresh fish grilled on-location, and we sat at a lovely outdoor patio overlooking the bay where the ships come in with their catch. Fantastic food, and wonderful company. I would endorse Markel for anyone who wants to enjoy a day of stimulating conversation and culinary delight.
My husband and I were on a trip celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. There were a lot of itineraries to choose from on TripAdvisor but this is the only one that included visiting a cheese farm. So, so happy we chose it. First of all, Markel was an incredibly, well-informed, well-spoken guide from the Basque country who was able to explain the land and culture so well. So we were already learning a lot on our drive to a family-owned cheese farm. We loved meeting this family and hearing about their business as well as meeting their goats and seeing the way they make their cheese. I've been on cheese cave tours before but never got to see (and smell) rennet made on a farm. This is the most detailed cheese experience I've ever had. Seeing every aspect and the passion of the people who make it just made my day. We went to a txakoli winery for a tasting (note that you don't do the wine-making tour which I was expecting but didn't mind as I was ready to just enjoy some wine and views after the cheese tour). I wish I had bought more bottles to bring back with me. Last was a delicious lunch of fresh, flaky fish, a tour of the village and some ice cream. Thank you Markel, for an informative, lovely day full of great memories and conversation.
