San Sebastian
San Sebastian
Navidad Ayuntamiento de Bilbao
Navidad - Casco Viejo
San Sebastian
Navidad - Gran Via de Don Diego Lopez de Haro
San Sebastian
Pamplona
San Sebastian
Bilbao
Costa Vasca
Biarritz
Vitoria
Rich unique culture and history
Delicious regional cuisine
Spectacular scenery - rugged coastline and mountainous interior
Historic cities - with both a French and Spanish flavour
Modern art at the Guggenheim
Experience the festive celebrations of the Basque Country where, as well as enjoying a unique Christmas experience, you can submerge yourself in the rich history and vibrant culture of this beautiful region. Based in the foodie capital of San Sebastián, the itinerary includes guided tours in Bilbao, plus entrance to the Guggenheim, Pamplona, Vitoria- Gasteiz and Biarritz with plenty of free time to soak up the local atmosphere.
Available Departures |
From |
|
| 20 - December - 2025 | £ 2099.00 | Travel Info Book Now |
|
Provisional Timings London Gatwick Departing: 20th December 2025 at 08:30 Returning: 27th December 2025 at 13:50 |
Day 1: Fly from London Gatwick to Bilbao and transfer by coach to San Sebastian. Welcome dinner at the hotel this evening.
Day 2: Morning guided walking tour of San Sebastián with the rest of the day at leisure.
A picturesque resort city, San Sebastián sits on the calm La Concha Bay backed by low, rolling hills. The city is best known for its beaches but it is so much more, with a lively, buzzing atmosphere that fills the streets all day and well into the night. The charming Parte Vieja (old town) nestles at the foot of the green Monte Urgull, whilst Centro, the shopping and commercial district has some lovely 19th century architecture. The city is also known for its food, it claimed to be Spain's gastronomic capital, with a brace of Michelin-star restaurants and plenty of fantastic local pintxos (tapas) to try.
Day 3: Full day tour to Pamplona with a guided walking tour.
Best known for its legendary festival of Sanfermines, Pamplona is a wealthy and self-possessed city. Built as a fortress to protect routes into Spain from the Pyrenees before becoming the capital of the fiercely independent state of Navarra the compact Casco Antiguo (old town) is stuffed with quaint stone lanes leading to lovely churches and a magnificent citadel.
Day 4: Full day tour to Vitoria-Gasteiz with a guided walking tour.
A flourishing medieval wool and iron trade created the elegant and undiscovered city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, filling it with Renaissance palaces, beautiful churches and grey-gold stone mansions. The medieval core of the city is arranged over a small hill and is a wonderful place to wander and discover plazas, palacios and excellent Basque restaurants.
Day 5: Full day tour to the French Basque country – Biarritz, Bayonne and Saint-Jean-de- Luz. Festive Christmas Eve dinner at the hotel or a local restaurant.
Biarritz is a stylish coastal town, a playground of the French glitterati. Today the resort is a haven for surfers, its seafront lined with grand old buildings, including the gorgeous 1930s Casino Municipal. Being the capital of France’s Pays Basque, Bayonne has a palpable Basque flavour. This attractive small city is best explored with a stroll through the narrow streets of the old town where you’ll find half-timbered houses painted in traditional Basque colours. Visit the excellent Musée Basque to delve deeper into the culture. Saint- Jean-de-Luz, with its sheltered and sandy beaches and magnificent old town complete with half-timbered mansions, is one of the most popular and attractive resorts on France’s Atlantic coast.
Day 6: Day free to relax or explore at your leisure with Christmas Day dinner in the evening at the hotel or local restaurant.
Day 7: Full day tour to Bilbao with a guided walking tour plus entrance to the Museo Guggenheim.
A modern and prosperous city, Bilbao nestles in a narrow valley, the surrounding mountain slopes peeking through the high-rise buildings of the city centre. The arrival of the Museo Guggenheim (entrance included) in 1997 transformed the city into a tourist hotspot and although not as pretty as its near neighbours there is plenty to do here – the attractive Casco Viejo is a charming place to explore.
Day 8: Transfer by coach to Bilbao airport for the return flight to London Gatwick.
NB: Exact order of excursions may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 35 passengers.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
Hotel Zinema 7, San Sebástian
Housed in the historic Astoria Cinema by the River Urumea the Zinema 7 is a design hotel that plays on its cinematic roots with a décor that pays tribute to movie stars. Just a 15 minute walk from San Sebástian’s main sights, rooms are individually decorated and offer private bathrooms, air-conditioning, TV, minibar, hairdryer and wi-fi. The hotel's facilities include a fitness room, snack bar and restaurant.
Hotel Zinema 7 Website
OUR VIEW ON THE HOTEL
Don't be put off by the themed nature of the hotel, it is very comfortable and offers excellent service.
Great way to spend Christmas. Hotel was very good but lacked a restaurant.
Review by Saunders who travelled 21-December-2024
Review by Anonymous who travelled 21-December-2024
Sandra our tour manager went above and beyond in taking care of all of the guests to ensure they had a great holiday.
Review by Scales who travelled 21-December-2024
And another success
Review by Anonymous who travelled 21-December-2024
A most enjoyable Christmas, despite the weather. Sandra is a very engaged and well-informed tour manager, who made sure it was a very interesting and worry-free holiday.
Review by Fisk who travelled 21-December-2024
Whilst the hotel was fine , it had no restaurant, and was a bus ride from the main areas of town, so an alternative in a different location might be better. However, excellent bar and snack foods. Would prefer kettle to coffee machine. Team meals in hotel were so-so. Drop off in Pamplona not acceptable distance. Tour guide and daily tour guides excellent.
Review by Owen who travelled 21-December-2024
Travel Editions feedback:
Thank you for your feedback and your support. We hope that overall, you enjoyed the tour. Normally we have good feedback about the Hotel Zinema 7 which we have been using for the last 3 years however we are aware that they were unable to open the dining room generally for lunch or dinner, apparently due to a lack of staff although they were able to offer a range of snacks at the bar. Our apologies for the incorrect drop off at Pamplona which your Tour Manager alerted us to, we understand this was not helped by it raining at the time.
Very lovely way to spend Christmas, enjoyed San Sebastian and all it had to offer with the different tours every day. Our guide, Sandra, was excellent especially with a big group of 30.
Review by Hyde who travelled 21-December-2024
Thoroughly enjoyed this trip. However, my room was cold which was a little uncomfortable at times. I couldn’t make the hearing work and nothing was done about it. I did manage to make the underfloor heating in the bathroom work.
Review by Gray who travelled 20-December-2023
An outstanding holiday, made all the better by the weather ( only one wet day) and a superb and knowledgeable tour guide.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 20-December-2023
Tour Manager, Sandra, excelled. She was very caring, great organiser and worked hard to make sure everyone enjoyed the holiday. All the time friendly and knowledgeable. The local guides were mostly ok. Difficult to understand sometimes and spoke too fast and too long. A guided walk is useful and pleasurable but difficult to get the right balance of information. It was rainy for much of the time that didn't help. The guide in San Sebastian was better but still too long. Hotel was great and the staff very good. Itinerary was good.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 20-December-2023
Great holiday fantastic location
Review by Read who travelled 20-December-2023
Sandra the tour manager was excellent really went that extra mile in so many different ways. Learnt so much about the region and its architecture and its history Food and the staff at Hotel Zinema were superb in every way.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 20-December-2023
Sandra is an excellent guide. She is very knowledgeable, thoughtful, helpful and caring. Nothing seems to be too much for her. On Christmas Day, which I presume should have been a day off for her, she suggested an outing for those who wished to join her with lunch in the Hotel Londres which quite a few people joined. I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to the North of Spain and will seriously think on going on another of your tours. I would suggest that the Hotel Zinema offers a couple of alternatives for the main course of their dinners, that people can choose from. Unfortunately, the fish dish on Christmas Day did not meet everybody's taste and it looked as if quite a lot of people hardly touched it.
Review by Giddy who travelled 20-December-2023
Excellent Hotel. Use of DVD player in room and huge selection of films some of which we had missed first trouble. Menu selection in restaurant good but limited.
Review by Watts who travelled 20-December-2023
Hotel: staff friendly and obliging. Plumbing and paper thin walls let it down. Great location. Sandra - 10 * for her kindness, her knowledge and recall and for looking after us so well. Great trip - would do it all again but in warmer weather!!
Review by Diviney who travelled 20-December-2023
