Follow the river road of Bilbao towards the coast and admire the old industrial areas that once powered Bilbao. You will visit the Transporter Bridge of Bizkaia, the oldest bridge of this type in the world, still active and a very much loved icon for the locals.
Afterwards you will see the neighborhood of Neguri with old mansions owned by rich industrial managers, before you head towards the interior of the province. You will be able to admire the typical local houses and farm house structures, and discover the imposing old Castle of Butron.
Arrive at the coastal village of Bakio, very much liked by Basque locals as a summer holiday destination, before you follow the beautiful and wild coastal road, eventually arriving at your second stop, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. This place is said to be one of the most beautiful locations along the Basque Coastline. It is a huge rock that holds on the top the old hermit of San Juan, and it is connected with a long stone-stair passage to the mainland.
Next you will continue to the fishing town of Bermeo. Here you will stop to visit the narrow streets, the Juradera Church, the Ercilla Tower, the old port and the Town Hall among other sites. There will be free time for lunch and the guide will suggest a selection of recommended local restaurants.
Later you will stop at Mundaka, a beautiful site with magnificent views of the Urdaibai Biosphere, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Afterwards, you will arrive at the village of Gernika to visit the Casa de Juntas or old Law House and the Basque Sacred Tree.
Finally you will return directly back to Bilbao to arrive at approximately 2:00pm.
The tour that we wanted and signed up for was not the tour we were on. We were very dissapointed that the tour discription on Viator did not match the tour we were on. The tour dates and descritions did not match. The tour we were on was for people who do not want to walk and sit confortable in a bus and see sights. Since, I have kids we wanted a tour that was more interactive . We left the tour midway through as the kids were bored with it. The tour is good for people who do not want to walk and who are very very interested in Basque History.
Review by: Viviana M, May 2018
WARNING: DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR IF YOU WANT TO SEE SAN JUAN de Gaztelugatxe . Because you simply won't. You will be taken to a far away viewpoint the farthest of the two and you can see half of it from faraway._br/_ I booked this tour to see San Juan de Gaztelugatxe from Bilbao. I made a search using viator search tool and I chose the only tour that said had san juan de gaztelugatxe as one of the stops for Saturday. The tour page had even a nice picture of San Juan another picture of San. Juan would feature predominantly in the confirmation voucher both COMPLETELY MISLEADING!!! to illustrate the point that the tour would stop there. The description on viator page said:... Eventually arriving at your second stop, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.. and continued to praise its beauty. WHICH YOU WON'T SEE!!
Review by: Chase, July 2017
Ok tour to get lay of the land but not very detailed. some of the major sites you just drive by and see like Butron castle - seen from distance and thought we would get up close. Main site of the hermitage also just see from distance. Bus seats were way too small and not comfortable. ..
Review by: JohnHartson, January 2017
Garay was a very good guide, I enjoyed the trip.
Review by: federico.ninetto, August 2016
Good tour, experienced guide with overall good service. We focused the day on the Basque culture, which we appreciated a lot. But one thing let us disappointed: due to lack of time we skipped the Butron Castle, which was shown us through the guide's i-phone. We didn't understand this actually, because in fact we thought the time for a quick visit was enough. We think that to give a high service the tour leader should make as much as possible to guarantee all the tour steps. Anyway, recommended if you don't want to drive by yourself
Review by: Arlene C, August 2016
We had a wonderful time on our tour. Our guide Stefan was knowledgeable, informative and entertaining, he was great! The scenic drive was pleasant. We really enjoyed Casa de Juntas in Gernikara Guernica and having pintxos with our guide. I only wish there was time to explore San Juan de Gaztelegutxe, perhaps it should have it's own tour. Overall, we had a great time. Definitely recommend this tour.
Review by: Arlene C, July 2016
We had a wonderful time on our tour. Our guide Stefan was knowledgeable, informative and entertaining, he was great! The scenic drive was pleasant. We really enjoyed Casa de Juntas in Gernikara Guernica and having pintxos with our guide. I only wish there was time to explore San Juan de Gaztelegutxe, perhaps it should have it's own tour. Overall, we had a great time. Definitely recommend this tour.
Review by: ALEXANDER L, June 2016
Worth taking
Review by: Richard H, November 2015
My wife and I went on this tour with our 21 year old son - the three of us had a very nice day in this small group tour. Pedro was an excellent driver and guide - very friendly and knowledgeable about everything that we saw and experienced. Much appreciated.
Review by: William C, October 2015
This tour showed us the overall Basque coast and the history of the people. The tour guide Pedro was very informative and made the tour interesting. The driver of the van was very good also, however the company should maintain the vehicle better. Something was wrong with the van and we had to pull over.
Review by: Lydia S, March 2015
An interesting and informative guide who took us through a most magnificent area of Northern Spain. Gary was truly a delight. Money very well spent. The photography of the areas is well worthwhile.
Review by: izzie, October 2014
Great fun and extremely informative. We were lucky enough to get Garai as our guide on both the tours we took and he was great!
Review by: C S, October 2014
Interesting trip with Garai, a very enthousiastic guide.
Review by: Lucy A, October 2014
The trip was varied and interesting. Garay, the guide, was friendly and very knowledgeable.
Review by: Debra M H, September 2014
A great way to view the Basque Coast and have a winding drive through the mountains. Saw many little towns and fishing villages as well as visiting Gernika and seeing the assembly house there and the Picasso depiction of the bombing. Had a Pintxos stop as well. Our guide Gary was very knowledgable about the area and history and was very friendly.
Review by: Robert S, September 2014
The pros: tour guide Garai is thorough, fluent in english, well-prepared for his descriptions. Timing was down pat, as all the main points on the itinerary were hit: transporter bridge, Castle Butron, San Juan hermitage, Bermeo lunch, Guernika's oak tree - you did get to check off all those off your list. As far as a nice drive through the countryside, it works - it's green, and pretty as you drive along, but note, not particularly 'along the coast'._br/_
The cons: no major complaints, but lunch stop was very short - just enough for a quick pintxo if you wanted to also walk for 15 minutes or so. (That said, there isn't much to see in Bermeo other than the busy colorful port exists)._br/_
Overall: a pleasant 5 hours, nice to get out of the city for a bit.
Review by: Gilbert C, May 2014
Our guide, Garai, is superb! He is a native of the Basque region, has a university degree in tourism, and has traveled extensively worldwide -- so he is a highly competent and informative professional. Garai gave us a wealth of information about every place we visited, as well as answering all our many questions about life in the Bilbao area. IN the future we would book tours just to have him as a guide again!
Review by: Ruben S, April 2014
A very nice and interesting morning tour which will take you through the beautiful villages and landscapes of Vizcaya and Bilbao with a really friendly tour guide; do not expect to stop and stay long in certain places, this is more a photo and go sort of trip apart from Gernika where you get to visit and learn the history of the place. In all, a very good experience worth the money it costs. Highly recommended.
Review by: Cliff B, April 2013
The guide was very knowledgeable on our Basque Coast tour. One event on our tour was to visit the Castle of Burton. I talk to a representatives on two occasions about the castle visit because this was one of the highlights of the tour for me. On both occasions I was told that the castle was something that was accessible to get inside and tour for 45 minutes to an hour. I was told this twice. I am very disappointed about the misinformation I was given because one could only view the castle from the outside and the castle was even fenced off on the back side to keep visitors and distance away. The tour guide said this castle has been closed off for quite some time. The rest of the tour was very interesting but the main event for me was the castle and was very disappointing.
Review by: Patricia F, June 2012
Hermosas playas y encantadores pueblitos. Nuestro guia perfecto.
Review by: Edward P, April 2012
A shorter trip out of Bilbao to stop and see some sights by the coast. You don't get to go on the transporter bridge, but you do get to see it in operation. Our guide was a knowledgeable and friendly guide and spoke good English.
RSS Feed