Join Limitless Planet and your host, Robert “Bob” Colosimo, the food and travel aficionado, for a tasting tour through Spanish Basque country! 

Spain and the Basque region have been synonymous with incredible food, wine, and culture for centuries! Join us for an incredible trip through Madrid, San Sebastián, Bilboa, and La Rioja. 

From wine tasting in La Rioja, to a traditional cooking demonstration in San Sebastián, and a trip to the incredible Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao! This tour is specifically designed around local harvest season to ensure an amazing one of a kind local experience and caters to foodies, wine lovers, and anyone looking to experience the absolute best the Basque region has to offer! 

 Depart your hometown and head to Spain! 

Welcome to Madrid! Arrive at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) in Madrid and meet your Travel director and the rest of the group before we transfer to our hotel in the city center. Check-in and enjoy some leisure time to relax before a lovely group welcome dinner! 

Tonight, we will celebrate coming together in Spain with an incredible welcome dinner at our hotel’s award winning restaurant! Enjoy a delicious three course dinner highlighting the local flavors of Madrid with fresh in season ingredients carefully crafted by chef. This meal is accompanied with some lovely local wine also hand-picked by chef to pair perfectly with the menu! 

Meals: Welcome dinner 

Overnight: Urso Hotel, Madrid 

This morning after checking out of our accommodations in Madrid you will meet your private transfer outside your accommodations and make your way from Madrid to San Sebastián. 

To break up the drive you will stop in the charming town of Burgos where you will enjoy lunch at El Fogón de Jesusón, Asador San Lorenzo. We will then continue our journey on to San Sebastián. 

Upon arrival we will enjoy a guided walking tour of the city. Learn about this beautiful seaside resort town and why it is known as one of the best areas in Europe for the perfect mix of beach side relaxation and bustling urban activity. 

Once your tour concludes, you will enjoy a cooking demonstration while you enjoy a glass of local txacolís (a slightly sparkling, dry white wine) while your chef prepares some of the areas local dishes. Some examples are Pelayo txipirones (fresh squid with onions and green peppers), txistorra (local sausage) , kokotxas (traditional fish stew) and cod al pil pil (salt code with a garlic, chili, and olive oil sauce). 

Enjoy a dinner of the dishes chef has prepared for you, with your help of course before returning to your hotel for an evening at leisure! 

Meals: Breakfast and dinner  

Overnight: Hotel de Londres, San Sebastián 

After a light breakfast at the hotel, you will set off to experience the flavors of the Basque country! 

Enjoy a txacolís (a slightly sparkling, dry white wine) tasting at a local vineyard with a tour of the vineyard. Learn about the labor of love that goes into the wine making process that this winery has been perfecting for generations. 

Once you’ve worked up an appetite you will proceed to a beautiful local farm that specializes in breeding prized Spanish pigs. Here you will enjoy a farm to table lunch of local pork and fresh produce harvested from the farm! Meet with the owners and the farmers for a tour of the farm and learn how this farm has become a thriving multi-generational family business. 

Heading back into San Sebastián you will enjoy some afternoon leisure time before you meet up again for a special dinner tour! 

This evening you will enjoy a Pintxos tour for dinner. Pintxos is a small snack typically served and eaten in bars by locals. This is a similar dining style as the more well known tapas, but is unique to Northern Spain and its traditional ingredients. Enjoy many delicious bites accompanied by traditional Spanish wine at five local bars for a night of dining like a local. 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner  

Overnight: Hotel de Londres, San Sebastián 

This town is a must see for the art and culture lovers of the group! You will start our afternoon with a walking tour of the city with a private guide, a local expert, who will tell you all about this thriving port city and how to came to be a hub for all things art and culture as well as the 10th largest city in Spain. 

Your walking tour concludes with entrance tickets to the incredible Guggenheim Bilbao. Experience the incredible collection that this museum has to offer. From Mark Rothko to Yves Klein and Jean-Michel Basquiat this museum offers a stunning array of modern and contemporary art!

After enjoying the Guggenheim, you will be treated to lunch at a local private art gallery. Dine on local favorites, freshly prepared while you take in the beautiful art on display at the gallery. 

After enjoying Bilbao and its incredible art scene you will return to San Sebastián for an evening at leisure! 

Meals: Breakfast and lunch 

Overnight: Hotel de Londres, San Sebastián 

This morning, we will depart the seaside city of San Sebastián and continue our journey on to the area of La Rioja for a countryside retreat! 

La Rioja is one of the oldest and most famous wine making regions in Spain, and with good reason! The complex and bold notes of cherry, plum, vanilla, and leather have been enjoyed for centuries, the world over. Indulge in some world class wine tastings, fascinating vineyard tours, and meeting local wine makers over the next two nights! 

For the next two nights you will enjoy the absolutely incredible Casa Cosme. You will have a totally personalized experience with a full buy out of this incredible villa! 

On your way to La Rioja, we will stop for a day trip to Laguardia. Located in the Province of Álava, it is one of the most famous wine making areas in La Rioja. Your tour starts with meeting your private guide at the Laguardia archaeological site with ruins dating back all the way to the Neolithic times! 

After a fascinating tour with your local expert, you will make your way to one of the many award winning wineries in this area! Enjoy a brief visit around the winery before sitting down to a wine tasting of the finest wines available in the area. A local wine maker will take you through the wine making process that has been perfected over centuries! 

Your wine tasting will be followed by a lunch of local dishes made with fresh in season ingredients in a beautiful and panoramic setting. 

To finish your day tour of Laguardia you will go on a guided walking tour of the town. Your guide will tell you all about this town’s fascinating and complex history that spans centuries! From its Pre Roman settlements, to the Middle ages, all the way to when what it has become today. A city rich with history, architectural marvels, and of course an incredible wine making tradition! 

You will end your day at Casa Cosme, your luxurious countryside villa! Check in and relax by the pool with a glass of wine, before we sit down to enjoy a beautiful meal together prepared by your very own private chef! 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, wine tastings, and dinner 

Overnight: Casa Cosme, La Rioja 

This morning you will enjoy a lovely breakfast prepared fresh this morning before spending the day experiencing your incredible villa and exploring the grounds! 

You will enjoy a tour of the property and its beautiful grounds before visiting the vineyard on property! After your tour, learn about the grape harvesting process. This will give you a new appreciation for all the labor that goes into taking a grape from its purest form to turning it into the world class wine you’ve been enjoying throughout your time in Spain! No grape stomping required! 

After your tour of the property, you will be treated to a picnic lunch in the vineyard paired with a wine tasting of the best vintages the winery has to offer. Relax and unwind with a massage, a glass of wine, or a late afternoon swim. Later this evening you will enjoy a lovely meal of fresh local ingredients created by chef. Together we will toast to an amazing trip with old and new friends!   

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, wine tastings, and dinner 

Overnight: Casa Cosme, La Rioja 

This morning after breakfast at your hotel, you will take a private transfer from the countryside in La Rioja and make your way back to the bustling city of Madrid. To break up our drive we will stop in the lovely town of Aranda de Duero for lunch and a chance to stretch your legs! 

Upon arrival in Madrid and checking in to your accommodations you can spend your day and evening at leisure. Check out some of the local shops and boutiques, get some last minute souvenirs, and enjoy one last day in Spain!   

Meals: Breakfast 

Overnight: Urso Hotel, Madrid 

After breakfast and checking out of your accommodations it’s time to say adios to Spain and head to the Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport for your return flight back to the United States. 

Meals: Breakfast