Whether you’re traveling individually with a guide or in a group, I can help you organize classic Basque tours, half-day or full-day excursions, or tailor-made trips.
You’ll benefit from both my expertise in Basque culture and my contacts.
You will find all the information you need below:
- The types of tours and excursions I propose, with the best times to do them.
- Half-day excursions.
- Full-day excursions.
- My most popular tour packages.
- My tailor-made tours.
- Why travel with me.
- How it works.
- How to book a video appointment.
My tours and excursions in the Basque Country.
Ethno Travels is an auto-entreprise, registered under Siret number 850 645 441 00013.
I’ve been a customer relations and tourism professional since 1997, and a blogger/blogger specializing in ethnographic tourism in France and Asia since 2007. Since 2019, I’ve been offering day, half-day and multi-day guiding services for individuals and groups.
These services are offered to private clients and travel agencies wishing to organize immersive tours in the Basque Country.
Guiding can be customized to suit your tastes, needs and desires, or a specific theme.
Please note: Transportation is not included, and you must have your own vehicle. A space must be provided for the guide’s transportation.
As I specialize in traditional festivals and work as a cultural guide, I can offer you a holiday that combines the discovery of one or more festivals with more traditional excursions.
In the following sections, you’ll find a list of the guided tours I offer all year round, as well as ideas for customization and, sometimes, excursions or tours offered on specific dates, in small groups.
Full-day and half-day excursions in the Basque Country.
Below you’ll find the full-day and half-day excursions I make on a regular basis. These excursions can be adapted to a more personalized theme and modified according to your needs and desires. They can stand alone or be combined with other excursions as part of a personalized tour.
The villages on the Basque coast – full day excursion.
A day exploring the small villages along the coast: Bidart, Guéthary, Saint Jean de Luz, the Corniche road, Hendaye.
Lunch based on local produce, at the Tokiko restaurant in Saint Jean de Luz or equivalent. Guide’s meals at group expense.
April-June, September-October are the best periods for a more authentic, gentler discovery.
Guide fee (meals and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: 300€.
The Basque villages of the interior – full day excursion.
The hinterland and its strong identity: Espelette, Ainhoa, Zugarramurdi.
Mechoui with candles in a cave (menu including drinks at 35€ on 18/08/2023 – guide’s meal at group’s expense).
Even midsummer lends itself well to authentic discovery, if you choose to base yourself in the Xareta hinterland. If you’re planning a hike, spring is the best time for foals and griffon vultures to be born, or autumn for its colors.
Guide fee (excluding meals and transport) for a group of 1 to 10 people: 300€.
Game of Thrones in the Basque Country – full day excursion.
Discover the mythical sites of Zumaia and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the dragon castle of Game Of Thrones.
For a more authentic discovery, prefer pre-season (May) or after-season (September, October).
Meals in a restaurant serving local specialities (guide’s meals at group’s expense).
Guide fee (meals and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: 300€.
Cider house and chocolate in Bayonne – half-day excursion.
Guided tour of the city, its canals, Basque houses on stilts, Vauban ramparts, cathedral.
Period to avoid: Fêtes de Bayonne and summer. There are lots and lots of people and traffic jams on the BAB (Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz) sector…
Rate for a group of 1 to 10 people: €220 (half-day).
Napoleon in Biarritz – evening winter excursion.
Guided tour of the Biarritz waterfront. Sunset over the Pyrenees. Fishermen’s port at night.
The best time of year is winter, when you can enjoy the early sunsets and stroll around the little fishermen’s port at night. The festive season is the ideal time, thanks to Biarritz en lumière.
Guided tour price for groups of 1 to 10 people: 220€ (half-day / late afternoon to enjoy the sunset).
Wedding of Louis XIV and Corsaires at Saint Jean de Luz – half-day excursion.
Guided tour of the city of Basque privateers, focusing on the marriage of Louis XIV and the Infanta of Spain in 1660.
Best time of year: all year round, although school vacations can be very busy. My favorite time: June, when the 7 Basque provinces dance festival takes place, as well as the Saint Jean and Socoa chipiron festivals.
Rate for a group of 1 to 10 people: €220 (half-day).
The most beautiful beach in Europe, old town and tapas rally in San Sebastian.
San Sebastian’s famous La Concha beach was voted Europe’s most beautiful beach by Trip Advisor readers.
Discover its typical narrow streets and take part in a tapas rally. Pintxos, Basque tapas, were voted the world’s best culinary experience at the end of 2018 by Lonely Planet.
Period to avoid: summer.
Guided tour price (pintxos and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: €240 (half-day).
Rhune mountain.
Morning ascent to the top of the mountain on the cogwheel train (reservation for the guide to be made when booking your tickets).
Zikiro menu at Venta Halty (€35 per person all-inclusive – guide’s meal at group’s expense).
Depending on the schedule, the afternoon can be rounded off with a visit to a nearby village.
Best period: April to October.
Guide fee (train ticket, meals and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: 300€.
Carnivals of Navarre.
If you want to discover traditional Basque festivities, Navarre’s carnivals are the perfect opportunity. They’re all different, and some are full of surprises.
Period: The 1st ones start at the end of January/beginning of February. But most take place the week before Mardi Gras.
Guide fee (meals and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: 300€.
Basque COUNTRY tours.
If you’d like to use my guiding services for several days, here are a few tours I can suggest. As with the full-day and half-day tours, these proposals can be adapted and customized to create a truly tailor-made trip.
The longer tours are deliberately not very detailed, as they offer greater flexibility in the visits that can be included.
3 days Road Trip in the Basque Country / Gastronomy theme.
- Day 1: Tasting visit to Biarritz’s downtown market and Halles market. Stroll along the seafront (approx. 2.5kms/5kms return, with ascent/descent), from the lighthouse to Villa Belza, with discovery of old mansions, the Russian Orthodox church, etc.
- Day 2: Visit the port of Saint Jean de Luz, Place Louis XIV, the seafront and the church where Louis XIV was married. Lunch of local specialties: chipirons (squid) à la Luzienne, ttoro (a kind of fish soup). Purchase macaroons from Maison Adam, a speciality made for Louis XIV’s wedding in Place Louis XIV (recipe kept partly secret since 1660), muxu from Paries, confectionery from Francis Miot. Visit the Egiategia winery and taste wine made under the ocean. Tour of the Urrugne corniche.
- Day 3: Visit to Bayonne, the historic capital of chocolate and ham – grand Bayonne, petit Bayonne, cathedral, cloister, tasting visit to the ham museum or the Ibaïalde Bayonne ham salting workshop. Lunch in a restaurant serving local specialties. Visit to Arcangues, its church and the tomb of Luis Mariano.
For these visits, you can stay at the same hotel (Biarritz being the ideal location).
Best period: All year round, but especially during the festive season for all the events.
Price of guiding (meals, accommodation and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: 900€ (guide’s meals paid for by the group).
4-day Basque Country tour / the main sites on the coast and inland.
- Day 1: Saint Jean de Luz – Bayonne.
- Day 2: La Rhune – Biarritz.
- Day 3: Saint Jean Pied de Port – Espelette.
- Day 4: San Sebastian – return via Jaizkibel and Fontarrabie.
If you want to stay in the same place for the whole of your stay, that’s perfectly possible. In that case, I recommend Biarritz.
Best period: All year round, but very busy in July/August.
Price for guiding (meals, accommodation and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: €1,200 (guide’s meals paid for by the group).
5-day Basque Country tour / Immersion in Xareta.
All visits on this tour depart from Xareta. The group and guide stay in a charming guesthouse typical of the valley. Xareta comprises the villages of Zugarramurdi, Urdax, Sare and Ainhoa. The history of this area has left a particular mark…
Let yourself be carried away by the special atmosphere of this land, combining legends and history. You’ll follow in the footsteps of witches and smugglers as you visit the caves of Sare, the megalithic sites, the smuggling trails, the village of the witches, its museum and caves, the 4 villages of Xareta, their church and cemetery, the monastery of Urdax, the village of Etxalar and its discoidal steles, and more.
Best period: All year round.
Guide fee (meals, accommodation and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: €1,500 (guide’s meals and accommodation paid for by the group).
The program will be adapted to suit the season, your wishes, needs and tastes. A zikiro menu can be organized in a cave in summer, a cider house menu in winter.
1 week Basque Country tour / Culinary specialties and local crafts.
Your choice of guided tours will include visits to local producers and craftsmen: farm visits, cheese producers, makila makers, chili workshops, chocolate makers, ham salting workshops, etc.
Best period: All year round.
Guide fee (meals, accommodation and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: €2,100 (guide’s meals and accommodation paid for by the group).
10-day Basque Country tour / Between reality and cinema.
At your own pace, we’ll explore some of the Basque Country’s most beautiful, yet not necessarily best-known, sites: the Game of Thrones filming locations, the Añana salt flats, the Bardenas Reales desert.
Best period: All year round.
Guide fee (meals, accommodation and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: €3,000 (guide’s meals and accommodation paid for by the group).
Road Trip Basque Country 15 days / the 7 Basque provinces.
Depending on your wishes, tastes and needs, we’ll visit each of the 7 Basque provinces, from Vizcaya to Soule, Navarre and Alava.
Best period: All year round.
Guide fee (meals, accommodation and transport not included) for a group of 1 to 10 people: 4500€ (meals and accommodation for the guide at the group’s expense).
basque country France Spain customized tOUR.
If you’d like a 100% customized program, that’s entirely possible… and it’s even my favorite thing to organize. I love challenges, and I love being able to imagine new tours tailored to my customers’ personalities. So don’t hesitate to ask!
Why TRAVEL WITH ME?
Beyond my skills and experience in guiding, customer relations and crisis management, details of which can be found on my LinkedIn profile or on my guide page, here are the elements that may make us the “perfect match”… or not!!!!
- Private or small group tours, focusing on cultural immersion and the strong identity of the Basque Country.
- A personalized program for the clients I choose to accompany – if the service you want doesn’t correspond to what I can or want to offer, I’ll refer you to a more suitable provider. This ensures that we are in agreement on the vision of your trip.
- I support responsible local producers and businesses by introducing you to them.
- Strong local roots and knowledge of Basque culture, including a census of over 100 traditional Basque festivals.
- Promotion of authenticity, respect, fraternity, love and joy as an ideal of life, in particular by being a link between the Basque Country and the Bastar district in India, where I support tourism development based on Humanity and respect for its traditions.
- To smile and regain faith in the beauty of human nature.
How does it work?
- You make an appointment with me for a video call, using the form at the bottom of the page.
- On the day of the appointment, we’ll discuss your project.
- If I agree to create your itinerary and/or guide you, I will ask you for an initial payment of 120€ for the creation of the itinerary. This 120€ will be deducted from the final invoice if you use my guiding services.
- Once the itinerary has been validated, I’ll send you an estimate detailing my guiding costs, and indicating any reservations you need to make yourself (e.g. Rhune train, zikiro menu, etc.), as well as organizational details (e.g. need to reserve a seat in one of the cars, a hotel room or an extra meal for the guide). Once the quote has been signed, you will be asked to pay a deposit of 30% to secure my availability.
- The balance must be paid by bank transfer or cash on the 1st day of the tour at the latest.
Tour the Basque Country in 2013 or 2014!
Tailor Made Itinerary
Benefit from my personalized advice before and during your stay.
- Advice on visits and activities adapted to your desires, tastes and needs
- Put you in touch with the right local contacts*
- Free choice of your service providers
- I can negotiate for you personalized services with my contacts, but you must book and pay directly for the accommodation, restaurants and visits
*This is only personalized advice based on my personal experience. Ethno Travels cannot be held responsible if you decide to follow this advice and are not satisfied with the quality of the service provided by the third party, or in the event of the latter’s failure.
Private Tailor Made Tours
Discover what you are interested in with me.
- Carpooling possible for groups already formed by you (place to be reserved for the guide*)
- Extra charge for groups of 10 people or more
- Half day rate at 240€.
- Evening rate (example: a pintxos evening in San Sebastian in addition to a day’s guiding) €60
- Can be organized around a theme (e.g.: Navarre carnival)
- Offer open to individual clients, travel agencies, tour operators, etc.
- Transportation of the guide included in the price if she has to use her vehicle to go to the meeting point within a radius of 20kms
- Lodging and meals of the guide are at your charge if necessary
- Possibility of referring you to a local guide for certain visits (distance, level of knowledge of the place, guide included in the visit of a place)
*Ethno Travels strongly recommends that you hire a chauffeur-driven vehicle if you are afraid of driving in the mountains or on unfamiliar roads, or a hybrid rental vehicle. Your guide will NOT drive your vehicle for you.
** Based on a maximum guiding time of 8 hours, including lunch break (4 hours for a half-day guiding). A supplement may be charged for any extra time you are responsible for.
Basque tours FAQ.
No. I have been a passionate travel blogger since 2002, becoming a professional blogger in 2017. Having organized many trips for myself and others, I agreed in 2019, when a local guide offered to co-opt and train me, to become a tour guide.
On this blog you will find an agenda of the most traditional Basque festivals, as well as articles on festivals, places to visit, Basque cuisine, hikes, hotel reviews, etc. All this for free.
In addition, and following numerous requests, I have launched a travel preparation assistance service, which can go as far as guiding. For Indians, I also work with an Indian travel agency based in Portugal, and we can organise the whole tour for you, including the hotels bookings, etc.
No, only travel agencies and companies holding a travel agent’s license are authorized to book packages for their customers: hotels, restaurants, tours, transport. I can, however, advise you if you wish, although I cannot be held responsible for any shortcomings or reasons for dissatisfaction linked to this external service. And, if you are from India, my travel agency partner can book it for you.
Book YOUR call and let’s talk about your trip.
Let’s talk about your project on a video call!