Basque heartlands | Journey by rail from Spain to France with great views along the way.
Mouthwatering Cuisine | From tasty pintxos to the wines and gastronomy of Bordeaux
Staggering architecture | Including Bilbao's iconic Guggenheim Museum.
Bilbao | Northern Spain's cultural and gastronomic hub.
San Sebastián | Beautiful beaches, world-renowned restaurants and charming old town to explore.
The season for this holiday is:
01 March 2024 - 21 July 2024
21 August 2024 - 31 October 2024
01 March 2025 - 20 July 2025
20 August 2025 - 31 October 2025
6 nights: 01 March 2024 - 21 July 2024, 21 August 2024 - 31 October 2024, 01 March 2025 - 20 July 2025 & 20 August 2025 - 31 October 2025
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar - 27 Apr 2024 | £1110 | £570 |
| 28 Apr - 28 Jun 2024 | £1310 | £700 |
| 29 Jun - 15 Jul 2024 | £1365 | £730 |
| 21 Aug - 30 Sep 2024 | £1340 | £705 |
| 1 - 25 Oct 2024 | £1200 | £605 |
| 1 Mar - 27 Apr 2025 | £1155 | £595 |
| 28 Apr - 28 Jun 2025 | £1365 | £730 |
| 29 Jun - 14 Jul 2025 | £1420 | £760 |
| 20 Aug - 30 Sep 2025 | £1395 | £735 |
| 1 - 25 Oct 2025 | £1250 | £630 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | £0 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £0 |
Includes accommodation, meals, travel between hotels and any other services integral to the holiday as described, plus a detailed information pack, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.
Included travel: Bilbao–San Sebastián–Bordeaux by rail
Pay locally for travel arrangements between city stations and hotels
Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.
6 nights, staying at Hotel Bayonne Etche-Ona: 01 March 2024 - 21 July 2024, 21 August 2024 - 31 October 2024, 01 March 2025 - 20 July 2025 & 20 August 2025 - 31 October 2025
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar - 27 Apr 2024 | £1250 | £675 |
| 28 Apr - 28 Jun 2024 | £1450 | £770 |
| 29 Jun - 15 Jul 2024 | £1495 | £730 |
| 21 Aug - 30 Sep 2024 | £1470 | £700 |
| 1 - 11 Oct 2024 | £1355 | £725 |
| 12 - 25 Oct 2024 | £1305 | £715 |
| 1 Mar - 27 Apr 2025 | £1300 | £705 |
| 28 Apr - 28 Jun 2025 | £1510 | £805 |
| 29 Jun - 14 Jul 2025 | £1555 | £760 |
| 20 Aug - 30 Sep 2025 | £1530 | £730 |
| 1 - 11 Oct 2025 | £1410 | £755 |
| 12 - 25 Oct 2025 | £1360 | £745 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | £0 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £0 |
Includes accommodation, meals, travel between hotels and any other services integral to the holiday as described, plus a detailed information pack, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.
Included travel: Bilbao–San Sebastián–Bordeaux by rail
Pay locally for travel arrangements between city stations and hotels
Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.
Room upgrades (£ per person per night)
| Hotel Tayko, Bilbao | ||
|---|---|---|
| Junior suite: 01 Mar - 21 Jul 2024 | £24 | |
| Junior suite: 21 Aug - 31 Oct 2024 | £24 | |
| Junior suite: 01 Mar - 20 Jul 2025 | £25 | |
| Junior suite: 20 Aug - 31 Oct 2025 | £25 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 01 Mar - 21 Jul 2024 | £18 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 21 Aug - 31 Oct 2024 | £18 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 01 Mar - 20 Jul 2025 | £19 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 20 Aug - 31 Oct 2025 | £19 |
Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room
| Hotel Tayko, Bilbao (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2024 | £121 | £220 |
| 01 May - 31 May 2024 | £150 | £271 |
| 01 Jun - 21 Jul 2024 | £165 | £305 |
| 21 Aug - 31 Aug 2024 | £165 | £305 |
| 01 Sep - 30 Sep 2024 | £140 | £257 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2024 | £128 | £234 |
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2025 | £130 | £233 |
| 01 May - 31 May 2025 | £160 | £290 |
| 01 Jun - 20 Jul 2025 | £175 | £325 |
| 20 Aug - 31 Aug 2025 | £175 | £325 |
| 01 Sep - 30 Sep 2025 | £150 | £272 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2025 | £135 | £245 |
| Hotel Niza, San Sebastián (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2024 | £117 | £183 |
| 01 May - 30 Jun 2024 | £150 | £227 |
| 01 Jul - 21 Jul 2024 | £190 | £280 |
| 21 Aug - 30 Sep 2024 | £190 | £280 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2024 | £150 | £227 |
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2025 | £122 | £191 |
| 01 May - 30 Jun 2025 | £160 | £240 |
| 01 Jul - 20 Jul 2025 | £200 | £294 |
| 20 Aug - 30 Sep 2025 | £200 | £294 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2025 | £160 | £240 |
| Quality Hotel Bordeaux Centre, Bordeaux (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Mar - 21 Jul 2024 | £110 | £172 |
| 21 Aug - 31 Oct 2024 | £110 | £172 |
| 01 Mar - 20 Jul 2025 | £114 | £178 |
| 20 Aug - 31 Oct 2025 | £114 | £178 |
Room upgrades (£ per person per night)
| Hotel Tayko, Bilbao | ||
|---|---|---|
| Junior suite: 01 Mar - 21 Jul 2024 | £24 | |
| Junior suite: 21 Aug - 31 Oct 2024 | £24 | |
| Junior suite: 01 Mar - 20 Jul 2025 | £25 | |
| Junior suite: 20 Aug - 31 Oct 2025 | £25 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 01 Mar - 21 Jul 2024 | £18 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 21 Aug - 31 Oct 2024 | £18 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 01 Mar - 20 Jul 2025 | £19 | |
| Superior double with river view (no twins): 20 Aug - 31 Oct 2025 | £19 |
| Hotel Bayonne Etche-ona, Bordeaux | ||
|---|---|---|
| Deluxe: 01 Mar - 21 Jul 2024 | £22 | |
| Deluxe: 21 Aug - 31 Oct 2024 | £22 | |
| Deluxe: 01 Mar - 20 Jul 2025 | £23 | |
| Deluxe: 20 Aug - 31 Oct 2025 | £23 |
Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room
| Hotel Tayko, Bilbao (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2024 | £121 | £220 |
| 01 May - 31 May 2024 | £150 | £271 |
| 01 Jun - 21 Jul 2024 | £165 | £305 |
| 21 Aug - 31 Aug 2024 | £165 | £305 |
| 01 Sep - 30 Sep 2024 | £140 | £257 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2024 | £128 | £234 |
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2025 | £130 | £233 |
| 01 May - 31 May 2025 | £160 | £290 |
| 01 Jun - 20 Jul 2025 | £175 | £325 |
| 20 Aug - 31 Aug 2025 | £175 | £325 |
| 01 Sep - 30 Sep 2025 | £150 | £272 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2025 | £135 | £245 |
| Hotel Niza, San Sebastián (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2024 | £117 | £183 |
| 01 May - 30 Jun 2024 | £150 | £227 |
| 01 Jul - 21 Jul 2024 | £190 | £280 |
| 21 Aug - 30 Sep 2024 | £190 | £280 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2024 | £150 | £227 |
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2025 | £122 | £191 |
| 01 May - 30 Jun 2025 | £160 | £240 |
| 01 Jul - 20 Jul 2025 | £200 | £294 |
| 20 Aug - 30 Sep 2025 | £200 | £294 |
| 01 Oct - 31 Oct 2025 | £160 | £240 |
| Hotel Bayonne Etche-ona, Bordeaux (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Mar - 10 Jul 2024 | £170 | £273 |
| 11 Jul - 21 Jul 2024 | £145 | £246 |
| 21 Aug - 31 Aug 2024 | £145 | £246 |
| 01 Sep - 17 Oct 2024 | £170 | £273 |
| 18 Oct - 31 Oct 2024 | £145 | £246 |
| 01 Mar - 10 Jul 2025 | £180 | £287 |
| 11 Jul - 20 Jul 2025 | £155 | £260 |
| 20 Aug - 31 Aug 2025 | £155 | £260 |
| 01 Sep - 17 Oct 2025 | £180 | £287 |
| 18 Oct - 31 Oct 2025 | £155 | £260 |
Travelling from the UK
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bristol - Bilbao | easyJet |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Bristol | easyJet |
| Bergerac - Bristol | Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh - Bilbao (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Edinburgh - Bilbao (via Barcelona) | Vueling |
| Edinburgh - Santander | Ryanair |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Edinburgh | Ryanair |
| Bordeaux - Edinburgh (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Bordeaux - Edinburgh (via Paris) | Air France |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Glasgow - Bilbao (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Glasgow | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Gatwick - Bilbao | British Airways, easyJet, Vueling |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Gatwick | British Airways, easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Heathrow - Bilbao | British Airways, Iberia, Vueling |
| Heathrow - Bilbao (via Madrid) | Iberia |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Heathrow (via Brussels) | Brussels Airlines |
| Bordeaux - Heathrow (via Paris) | Air France |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Stansted - Santander | Ryanair |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Stansted | Ryanair |
| Bergerac - Stansted | jet2, Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Manchester - Bilbao | easyJet |
| Manchester - Bilbao (via Barcelona) | Iberia |
| Manchester - Bilbao (via Heathrow) | Iberia |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Manchester | easyJet, Ryanair |
| Bordeaux - Manchester (via Amsterdam) | Air France |
| Bordeaux - Manchester (via Paris) | Air France |
| Bergerac - Manchester | jet2 |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Newcastle - Bilbao (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Return route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bordeaux - Newcastle (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Bordeaux - Newcastle (via Paris) | Air France |
This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you for any of the options listed above. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service. Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.
Connecting travel options - flying via Bilbao
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| own travel arrangements Bilbao airport to hotel | pay locally | flexible |
| Homeward route | ||
|---|---|---|
| not recommended in this direction |
Connecting travel options - flying via Bordeaux
| Outward route | ||
|---|---|---|
| not recommended in this direction |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| own travel arrangements hotel to Bordeaux airport | pay locally | flexible |
Connecting travel options - flying via Bergerac
| Outward route | ||
|---|---|---|
| not recommended in this direction |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| taxi hotel to Bordeaux St Jean (0h10, pay locally), rail Bordeaux St Jean to Bergerac (1h30) | £29-£30 | 1300 |
Connecting travel options - flying via Santander
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| coach Santander to Bilbao (1h30) | £20-£21 | 1700 |
| Homeward route | ||
|---|---|---|
| not recommended in this direction |
If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?
We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >
Overall this was just the holiday we were looking for! Plenty was set up for us beforehand, but it also left plenty of leeway for us to enjoy it at our own pace or make adjustments to the routes. The walking tours featured the essential parts of each city to see. The hotels were fantastic, and the breakfasts perfect. A wonderful holiday!
Highlights:
Guggenheim in Bilbao - amazing setting and building by the river - Segovia - magnificent buildings and playa major + Balloons! - Amazing old town of Salamanca, even larger square and Roman bridge - vibrant seaside setting of San Sebastián - Cite du Vin and style of Bordeaux.
INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our 'Classical Cities of Old Castile' and 'Flavours of Bilbao, San Sebastián & Bordeux' journeys.
We loved this trip. We've taken several walking holidays with Inntravel, some with city add-ons, but this was our first city-only tour and it was so well put together. Although it is promoted as a gastronomic tour, we chose it for the cities, particularly Bilbao and San Sebastian, as I am very keen on modern architecture and art. The food scene turned out to be a welcome bonus. We added an extra day to both Bilbao and San Sebastian but definitely should have spent longer in Bordeaux and in fact could easily have spent even longer in all three.
In Bilbao, the hotel Tayko was very comfortable and in an ideal location with the pincho bars of the old town just behind. We ate at their restaurant Ola one night and the food was superb. We followed the tour on our first day and went back to the Guggenheim the next - best to go early and book first online.
San Sebastian was packed - avoid the weekend if you can. Our train from Bilbao was full of families going to the beach. A lot of the bars and restaurants were full but we found a good tapas set menu at Bar Basque and excellent fish at Sebastian Jatetxea by the fishermen's houses. We also ate in the bar at the hotel Niza but still had to book. We really liked the Hotel Niza and loved the sea view from our room. Although the facilities are quite basic with no aircon or tea-making facilities, you can request a fan which we did upon arriving. You can also order tea, coffee and other drinks from the bar and they will bring it to you in the hotel lounge.
In San Sebastian, if staying an extra day, we would recommend visiting Chillida Leku, the home and sculpture park dedicated to Eduardo Chillida. We took bus BU05 from the stop outside the Niza hotel. It takes 20 mins & runs every half-hour. The museum is open every day except Tue & Wed so unusually it is open on a Monday. It also has a very pleasant cafe and restaurant.
We had no expectations of Bordeaux and regretted not having extra time there. The Quality hotel was fine, if impersonal, but in a very good position. We had lunch at Books and Coffee - beware the sandwiches are massive - had seafood at L'Embacadere (definitely need to book) as well as a very pleasant dinner and lunch at Parlement de Graves, very close to the hotel.
In general, the Inntravel notes were very good but omitted to state that you can now take a tram from Bordeaux all the way to the airport. It's worth using Google Maps for public transport routes and schedules.
Overall this was just the holiday we were looking for! Plenty was set up for us beforehand, but it also left plenty of leeway for us to enjoy it at our own pace or make adjustments to the routes. The walking tours featured the essential parts of each city to see. The hotels were fantastic, and the breakfasts perfect. A wonderful holiday!
Highlights:
Guggenheim in Bilbao - amazing setting and building by the river - Segovia - magnificent buildings and playa major + Balloons! - Amazing old town of Salamanca, even larger square and Roman bridge - vibrant seaside setting of San Sebastián - Cite du Vin and style of Bordeaux.
INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our 'Classical Cities of Old Castile' and 'Flavours of Bilbao, San Sebastián & Bordeux' journeys.
We loved this trip. We've taken several walking holidays with Inntravel, some with city add-ons, but this was our first city-only tour and it was so well put together. Although it is promoted as a gastronomic tour, we chose it for the cities, particularly Bilbao and San Sebastian, as I am very keen on modern architecture and art. The food scene turned out to be a welcome bonus. We added an extra day to both Bilbao and San Sebastian but definitely should have spent longer in Bordeaux and in fact could easily have spent even longer in all three.
In Bilbao, the hotel Tayko was very comfortable and in an ideal location with the pincho bars of the old town just behind. We ate at their restaurant Ola one night and the food was superb. We followed the tour on our first day and went back to the Guggenheim the next - best to go early and book first online.
San Sebastian was packed - avoid the weekend if you can. Our train from Bilbao was full of families going to the beach. A lot of the bars and restaurants were full but we found a good tapas set menu at Bar Basque and excellent fish at Sebastian Jatetxea by the fishermen's houses. We also ate in the bar at the hotel Niza but still had to book. We really liked the Hotel Niza and loved the sea view from our room. Although the facilities are quite basic with no aircon or tea-making facilities, you can request a fan which we did upon arriving. You can also order tea, coffee and other drinks from the bar and they will bring it to you in the hotel lounge.
In San Sebastian, if staying an extra day, we would recommend visiting Chillida Leku, the home and sculpture park dedicated to Eduardo Chillida. We took bus BU05 from the stop outside the Niza hotel. It takes 20 mins & runs every half-hour. The museum is open every day except Tue & Wed so unusually it is open on a Monday. It also has a very pleasant cafe and restaurant.
We had no expectations of Bordeaux and regretted not having extra time there. The Quality hotel was fine, if impersonal, but in a very good position. We had lunch at Books and Coffee - beware the sandwiches are massive - had seafood at L'Embacadere (definitely need to book) as well as a very pleasant dinner and lunch at Parlement de Graves, very close to the hotel.
In general, the Inntravel notes were very good but omitted to state that you can now take a tram from Bordeaux all the way to the airport. It's worth using Google Maps for public transport routes and schedules.
An excellent holiday discovering beautiful towns. Pleased that we had extended our stay to 3 nights in each hotel as there was so much to visit and enjoy. Also benefitted by upgrade of rooms. Would highly recommend this holiday.
Great holiday for city lovers and especially foodies. We had some amazing meals and wine often at very reasonable prices. Walking tours gave us a good look round at all the best places and lots of good tips. Cities we probably wouldn't have chosen ourselves but we loved them all for different reasons.
What a great holiday! We were delighted with all the travel arrangements for this trip - everything went without hiccup according to the notes and our supplied tickets.
The Hotel Tayko in Bilbao was our favourite of the three and was an exceptional hotel in every way including a huge and very comfy bed and an a la carte breakfast of a very high standard.
A visit to Le Cite du Vin in Bordeaux is hugely informative for anyone even slightly interested in wine, with high tech presentation and a lovely glass of wine on a viewing terrace to round off the visit.
We ate well every step of the way, as the name of the trip suggests. All three destinations exceeded our expectations in that respect. We also found the cost of eating out in Spain to be very reasonable, not so much in Bordeaux. Highlights - in Bilbao we highly reccommend the Guggenheim Bistro, in San Sebstian you cannot go wrong with any of the old town pintxos bars and in Bordeaux we just enjoyed the pavement cafe culture!
The walking notes for each city were a delight. They were easy to follow, and with the suggestions for cafes, bars and restaurants along the route they made exploring each city a pleasurable discovery.
Bilbao exceeded expectations both food wise and culturally. San Sebastian very different. Less basque more French influence. Elegant.
We thorouhly enjoyed this holiday. All the bookings and travel arrangements worked perfectly. The notes provided were comprehensive and interesting, and were just what we wanted to explore Bilbao, San Sebastian and Bordeaux.
An enjoyable holiday which was well organised. We really appreciated the solid information and walking notes. Perhaps it might be worth mentioning about the funicular in San Sabastian and the excellent headland in Santander. We feel that Santander well deservered a days visit and its headland walks. You recommended a barik card for Bibao, which was fine. However we put too much money on ours 17 euros and we travelled to the coast on it as well so perhaps some guidance on how cheap the fares are.
We found Bilbao particularly enjoyable. San Sebastian is something of a victim of its own success while Bordeaux retains its 18th Century attractiveness.
So great to have time in Spain and France on one trip. I loved the Guggenheim, and the pincho eating was great for travelling on my own. All three cities were fantastic and although I was worried I wouldn't do any of them justice with 48 hours, for me they got better and better so I wasn't sorry I'd moved on for too long!
The pintxo bars in San Sebastián were amazing and the cheese cake from La Vina shouldn't be missed.
The 3 cities worked well together. Do include detailed instructions on how to get to Bilbao airport. Apart from the Niza the trip was excellent. We suggest that people take longer than the suggested times as each city was fascinating and there was so much to experience.
A detailed info pack covering the history. culture, food and drink traditions and sights of each town. Wandering off the beaten track was one of the highlights of the holiday where we discovered hidden gems and in only a few days felt we had absorbed the character and heartbeat of the town.
We were glad that we had four nights in Bilbao, partly because we needed time to unwind and partly because there was so much to do and see. The hotel was every we could have asked for, and the meal that we had in Ola was easily the best we had ever had.
The view from our room in San Sebastián was amazing and we loved the lift. Being able to go for a swim in the sea before breakfast is special.
The location of the Quality Hotel in Bordeaux was perfect but it was not as special as the previous two hotels.
Loved both the hotels Tayko and Niza, especially breakfast at the Tayko!! Also while we were in San Sebastian there was an exhibition of Eduardo Chillida's work in the San Telmo Museum which added to his sketches etc in the hotel.
It was great to have hotels and internal travel arranged. All went well.
The 3 city tour was great and a good mix.
Personal highlights: Guggenheim in Bilbao. The view and beach at San Sebastian. The food and ambience in Bordeaux. Excellent shopping on our doorstep in Bordeaux. We recommend the yacht trip on the river Garonne. https://www.yachtdebordeaux.com/
For a casual lunch, Books and Coffee in Bordeaux was nice. We did not have the money for Michelin restaurants! But ate well at modest places.
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