Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend experiences we'd send a friend to.
Rioja is about two hours from San Sebastián and closer to four from Madrid. That's why the day trips leave from the north, and why Rioja belongs next to San Sebastián in your plans, not Madrid.
Six tours run the route from San Sebastián, from €110 to €500 per person, and the price tells you surprisingly little about the day. What changes is how many wineries you actually visit, whether lunch is included, whether you share the van, and whether you can cancel.
| Tour | Duration | Wineries | Lunch | Rating | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Rioja Wines & Laguardia | 8 hrs | 2 | Pintxos lunch | ★ 4.8 (112) | €110 |
| Winery & Traditional Lunch | 8–9 hrs | 1 | Long lunch | ★ 4.9 (58) | €250 |
| Private Rioja Wine Tasting | 9 hrs | 3 | Not included | ★ 5.0 (14) | €430 |
| La Rioja Wine Experience | 10 hrs | 2 | 3 courses | ★ 5.0 (23) | €440 |
| Winery Hopping with Picnic | 9 hrs | 1 + 2 photo stops* | Picnic | ★ 5.0 (79) | €465* |
| Rioja Wine Country Day Trip | 10–11 hrs | 1 full + 2 tastings | Included | ★ 5.0 (1) | €500* |
Checked on each tour's Viator listing on 24 October 2026: the price per person, the rating and review count (Viator and Tripadvisor combined), the itinerary, what's included and the cancellation terms. *The Winery Hopping and Wine Country trips are non-refundable; the other four can be cancelled free up to 24 hours ahead.
The short answer:Book La Rioja Wines & Laguardia at €110: two family wineries, a pintxos lunch with wine in Laguardia, a group of eight and pickup from your hotel. It's the cheapest of the six and has the most reviews. Make sure you book the standard option, not the "bilingual group" one. If a long lunch matters more to you than a second winery, take the €250 version from the same company.
Getting to Rioja from San Sebastián
The drive is about an hour and three quarters to two hours each way, south through the mountains into the vineyards around Haro and Laguardia. Every tour here starts between 8 and 8:30 and has you back in San Sebastián in the early evening, in time for pintxos.
From Madrid it's about 330 kilometers, nearer four hours each way, which is why nobody sells it as a day trip from the capital. If Madrid is your base and the north isn't on your route, go to Ribera del Duero instead: two hours away, the same grape, and plenty of Spaniards prefer the wine.
You could drive yourself, but most wineries need a booked visit, and the driver can't taste. A night in the region fixes both problems; the hotels are below.
Where to stay in Rioja
A night in the region lets you visit wineries on your own schedule and see Laguardia after the day-trippers leave. When I checked, hotels inside Laguardia's walls and the Marqués de Riscal hotel in Elciego weren't showing availability on Expedia, so these four are in the villages around Laguardia and Haro, all within a short drive of the wineries.
Hotel Viura, Villabuena de Álava. 9.4 from 379 guest reviews. A modern design hotel in the middle of Rioja Alavesa's vineyards, about 7 kilometers from Laguardia. The architecture, the art and the restaurant are the draw, and the Izadi and Luis Cañas wineries are close by. The one to book for a special night.
Palacio Tondón, Briñas. 9.2 from 218 reviews. A palace hotel by the river, about 3 kilometers from Haro, with breakfast included. Ask for a river-view room. A good base for Haro's old wineries by the station.
Santa María Briones, Briones. A perfect 10 from 232 reviews, with breakfast included and two restaurants. Briones is a hilltop village about 6 kilometers from Haro, and the Vivanco wine museum is nearby.
Hospedería Señorío de Casalarreina, Casalarreina. 8.8 from 175 reviews. The least expensive of the four, about 6 kilometers from Haro, with the Tobía and Urbina wineries nearby.
Hotels checked on Expedia on 24 October 2026; ratings are Expedia guest scores out of 10. Prices change a lot by date, so check the listing for yours. Hotel links go to Expedia through our partner Stay22.
Two things to check before you pay
The bilingual option on the €110 tour. The listing has a cheaper "bilingual group" option, and the itinerary notes in brackets that it drops the second winery, the lunch and the hotel pickup; you meet at the bus station instead. Check which option is selected before you pay.
What "four wineries" means on the €465 tour. The summary promises four wineries with guided tastings. The itinerary shows a 45-minute visit and tasting at Gómez Cruzado in Haro, then ten-minute photo stops at Ysios and Marqués de Riscal, and thirty minutes in Laguardia, plus a picnic in a wine cave. It's all on the listing; it's just not what the summary suggests.
The six tours
The choice that matters most is this: a second or third winery, or a long lunch. Both companies that run two versions of the day make you pick one, and the €430 and €440 tours, ten euros apart, are exactly that choice. The second thing to weigh is the review record, because four of the six carry perfect scores on few or old reviews.
Details come from each tour's Viator listing, linked under each one, and from the recent and lowest-rated reviews, read on 24 October 2026.
1. La Rioja Wines & Laguardia, €110
4.8 stars, 112 reviews, 8 hours, two wineries, pintxos lunch, max 8.
The one to book. Two wineries with a tasting at each, then a light pintxos lunch with local wine in Laguardia. Pickup is from your hotel or apartment, or you can meet at the bus station, and it carries Viator's Badge of Excellence. Both wineries are family-run and hosted by the families themselves, and they're good with children, as are the guides, Victor and Alby in particular.
The day is tight. The drive is long and the time in Laguardia is short, which is a pity: it's the best part of the day after the wine. It's the only tour of the six that doesn't show a perfect score, and on 112 reviews that's the most believable rating on the page.
2. Winery & Traditional Lunch, €250
4.9 stars, 58 reviews, 8 to 9 hours, one winery, long Riojan lunch.
Same company as the tour above, built around the table. You get time in Laguardia, an hour at one winery with a guided visit and tasting, then two hours over a traditional lunch with wine: morcilla, piquillo peppers and guindillas, Rioja-style potatoes with chorizo, lamb chops grilled over vine cuttings, and goxua to finish. It's a huge meal with plenty of wine.
The obvious downside is a long drive to see a single winery. If the long lunch is the day you've been picturing, that's the trade you want. If you're here for wineries, book the €110 tour. It needs two adults across all bookings to run, and the company will warn you two days ahead if it doesn't.
3. Private Rioja Wine Tasting, €430
5.0 stars, 14 reviews, 9 hours, private, three wineries, lunch not included.
The most wine of the six. A century-old winery in Haro, a family winery in Rioja Alavesa, and a small producer for three of its limited wines, with three or four wines at each, then free time in Laguardia to buy your own lunch. It's private, so the guide, usually Ander or Mikel, adjusts the tastings to what you like.
I'd hold off for now. Fourteen reviews, the latest from early 2025, is a thin record for €860 a couple. It's well built and you can cancel up to 24 hours ahead, so it's the one I'd watch.
4. La Rioja Wine Experience, €440
5.0 stars, 23 reviews, 10 hours, two wineries, three-course lunch.
The same company's other version: one winery fewer than the tour above, and a three-course lunch at a winery instead. The first visit is a 90-minute guided tour with a tasting, the second pours the winery's more unusual wines, and the day ends with an hour in Laguardia. It's the longest day here, starting at 8:15, and it needs at least two people per booking.
The guide, Ander, grew up in San Sebastián and covers the Basque Country as much as the wine. The lunch doesn't always match the rest of the day, which matters when lunch is the reason to pick this over the €430 version.
5. Winery Hopping with Picnic, €465
5.0 stars, 79 reviews, 9 hours, one winery visit plus two photo stops, non-refundable.
Book this one for the architecture. You stand outside Frank Gehry's building at Marqués de Riscal and Calatrava's Ysios, which are worth seeing, and the picnic in a wine cave with a glass of crianza sounds like a lovely hour. It's also the only tour of the six listed as wheelchair accessible.
As a wine day, it's one proper winery visit for €465 a head, with no refunds if your plans change, and very little recent feedback to go on. If the buildings aren't the point, the €110 tour gives you more wine for a quarter of the price.
6. Rioja Wine Country Day Trip, €500
5.0 stars, 1 review, 10 to 11 hours, private, non-refundable.
A private day with a guide who is a chef and former winemaker: a full tour at one winery near Haro, tastings at two more, lunch and Laguardia. The idea is good. One review from 2021, no refunds and confirmation only within 48 hours is too much risk at €500 a head, so I'm not sending anyone yet.
Quick decision
- Most people: La Rioja Wines & Laguardia, €110. Two wineries, lunch, free cancellation.
- You want the long lunch more than the wineries: Winery & Traditional Lunch, €250.
- Serious wine drinkers with budget: Private Rioja Wine Tasting, €430, three wineries, on a short review record.
- You want the famous buildings: Winery Hopping, €465, non-refundable.
- Traveling solo: the €110 tour. Two of the pricier ones need at least two people.
- Your dates might move: avoid the two non-refundable tours.
Get the free Spain food guide
Six pages to keep on your phone: how tapas and pintxos work, the phrases that get you served, and what to eat in Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastián.
What Rioja actually is
Rioja splits into three zones: Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa in the west, Rioja Oriental in the east. The western two are higher and cooler and make most of what people mean by Rioja, which is why Haro and Laguardia appear on every itinerary. Rioja Alavesa is in the Basque Country, so on these trips you're crossing the mountains to the Basque Country's southern edge more than leaving it.
Tempranillo leads, usually blended with Garnacha, Graciano or Mazuelo. The classic Rioja taste came from long aging in American oak, which gives the vanilla and coconut notes; many producers now use French oak and shorter aging, and it's one of the region's running arguments. Asking your guide which camp a winery is in is a good way to start a conversation.
The label tells you about aging, not quality. A joven has little or no oak. A crianza has spent at least a year in barrel. A reserva has at least a year in barrel and three years in total, and a gran reserva at least two in barrel and five in total, made only in years the producer thinks deserve it.
Laguardia deserves more than the half hour some tours give it. It's a walled hill town with the vineyards below and mountains behind, and the ground under its houses is full of old cellars, some still in use. If you get free time there, go underground.
When to go
Harvest runs from about September into October. It's the most interesting time, and the busiest; some wineries limit visits while they're processing grapes, so book well ahead. May and June are easier: green vines, long evenings, everything open. Winter is quiet and the cellars are just as good, though the landscape is bare and some small producers close.
Book the Rioja day before you plan anything else in San Sebastián. Pintxos tours in the city are easier to get at short notice, so fit those around the wine day.
One last thing
If you're still choosing between northern cities, having Rioja two hours away is a real argument for San Sebastián: one of Europe's best eating cities and one of its best-known wine regions, a morning's drive apart. It's worth an extra night.
More on San Sebastián: the full city food guide, the best pintxos tours in the Old Town, and Barcelona vs San Sebastián if you're still deciding. For wine elsewhere in Spain: Ribera del Duero from Madrid, Penedès from Barcelona, and how Rioja and Ribera del Duero compare.