The older Conde Duque (8.4 rating on booking.com) is a perfectly acceptable 3-star Bilbao hotel, as Julies notes, on the other side of the Nervión on the ría side on Paseo Campo Volantín, but in contrast there's the newer, far more contemporary 4-star Barceló Bilbao, along with the 4-star Hesperia Bilbao further to the west on the same street, where we have stayed. Yes, it's a more quiet area.

I would still consider native Bilbao resident mikelg's suggestions: the Takyo, yes, in the Old Quarter, but very nice and with an excellent 1 Michelin star, 1 Repsol sun restaurant supervised by Michelin-starred chef Martín Berasategui. In addition, it receives a 9.2 rating on Booking. It's the highest rated Bilbao hotel, if that matters. But it could be considered more of a luxury property, like The Artist (formerly the Gran Hotel Domine across from the Guggenheim) and the "Grande Dame" Carlton, far more classic Old World style on the pretty Plaza Federico Moyúa and right off the Gran Vía.
We've also stayed at the 4-star Miró, just down the street from The Artist.

It really depends on what type of hotel experience you're seeking.

Maribel,
Outstanding suggestions...I think my next step is to create a google map with the towns you have pointed out, and try to eek out an itinerary. The maps I've seen appear to outline Basque country as from Bilbao in the north down to Logrono south; Bilbao east to San Sebastian. French side from St. Jean-de-Luz east to Bayonne & Biarritz. How far south did you go from the coastlines?

The only map I could find (in print) was Spain North-Basque County (Michelin 573) which includes Bayonne and Biarritz.
Looks like a very large region to cover...we probably have 7-10 days in the Basque country, then return to Madrid for a few days.

Question: did you stay at the parador in Hondarribia? What did you think?

I may reach out to you again once I plug in your recommendations onto a map! I'm a bit concerned with don't have enough time to drive the distances of this vast region.
Thank you, Pepperment

Maribel,
May I ask what trekking vendor did you do your small group tour with? That sounds wonderful!
Pepperment

JULES:
I am wondering about your walking group: details about the trails and how unsturdy the terrain is. I've always been a turtle not a rabbit, but there's no joy holding others up while I trudge along. Also, what were the ages of the folks you walked with, what nationalities, and any info you can share about the accommodations and the meals would be helpful. It doesn't sound American-fancy, which suits me fine. Our best experiences have been 5-7 days walking with Europeans in small groups, staying in fairly modest/comfortable accommodations and becoming immersed in local village life.

We are traveling to Spain, specifically Bilbao (after a short stay in Madrid) from 7 Sept-24 September. I fear we might not fit the Yellowood window, but I prefer these type of trips, though it is difficult to find them! If you have any leads on walking tours in the Basque country, of this type during September, I would love to have your recommendations. These days I prefer simple easy walking on good paths vs. mountain trekking.

Thank you!

Thank you!

MARIBEL,
oops sorry I realize now it was Jules who mentioned the walking group. Would love to find one that isn't challenging foot-wise.
Pepperment

Maribel,
These sound great! I can't keep up with all your delicious suggestions! But I will check these, I guess I'd like to stay at all of them, at once!

Pepperment

Maribel,
These sound great! I can't keep up with all your delicious suggestions! But I will check these, I guess I'd like to stay at all of them, at once!
Pepperment

I know what you mean about it being difficult to find any type of tours, much less walking tours, in coastal northern Spain. I liked the mix of people in the Yellowwood group, and I liked the tour company and would definitely travel with them again. There were only 7 of us, all Brits except for me (from the US) and a US ex-pat currently living in the Shetland Islands. 2 men, 5 women, one or two still working, but mostly retired so ages about late 50s to 75. Considering it was a walking tour, two people were almost on the end of the spectrum where I was wondering why they even signed up for a tour with an emphasis on walking. They did not hinder the rest of the group though, and accommodations were made for them where they would only go part way or go into town and sit around rather than doing the walking. For about 2/3 of the trip we had 2 guides, and when this was the case, one of the guides stayed with the people who has more difficulty with long walks.

This was a mix of a trip with some days devoted to true rural walks and some days with walking for sightseeing in towns. For the most part the countryside terrain was definitely acceptable and doable. I brought and used my trekking poles and was glad to have them. Our first walk in the Picos was somewhat treacherous (to me anyway) in one or two places because it had been raining for days and some of the downhills were muddy and slippery so we had to very carefully use our poles and slowly go down sideways for 20 or so feet.

The Spanish on-ground provider was Rumbos de Picos; perhaps they have something that would work for you. https://rumboapicos-com.translate.go...n&_x_tr_pto=sc

The guides were very flexible as far as rearranging the scheduled itinerary if there were unusual weather conditions. One day we got to the gondola car to take us to the top where we would be walking and found that the gondola had just been closed due to very high wind gusts. We did some alternate things that day and came back later in the afternoon when the winds had died down. Another day we were supposed to do a coastal walk, first walking uphill and then down. The weather was so unseasonably hot that the guides (with our full agreement) decided to instead drive up to the top, and we would walk down. Our guides were young women in their late 20s strong, well-trained in mountaineering; they were certainly a lot more fit than the rest of us. But, they did an excellent job all around even though I know they could have run circles around all of us.

The included food was fabulous--and often too much of it--because the guides wanted to showcase their local specialties. For lunches on our own, they often took us to quite nice places, and finally we had to tell them that we didn't need such large meals several times a day. The pintxos tour in San Sebastian on our final day was fun because we never would have found these places on our own. As far as food, I think the only issue some of us had is that the days really stretched out too long sometimes solely because we couldn't begin eating until 8:30 because that's when restaurants open for the evening.

As far as accommodation, it was fine with the exception of one rural place. And, we unanimously made the suggestion that they find another place to replace it next time. If you need 4* or 5*, then this type of trip isn't for you because is some of the more rural areas there aren't a lot of options.

Hope this helped.

And the funny thing, Julie, is that 0830pm is still such an early time for dinner for us locals...

By the gondola bridge you are probably referring to the unique Puente Bizkaia, aka Puente Colgante (Hanging Bridge), a UNESCO World Heritage Monument and the first one in the world of its kind, developed and patented here near Bilbao...and currently the only working remaining one. I live a mile off it.

mikelg--

The problem for people who are taking a tour is an 8:30 dinner then means getting back to our rooms at 10:30 and then needing a little time to digest and decompress before going to bed and then starting all over again in the morning. We were typically on the go all day so didn't have that needed down time that someone who lives locally might be able to find.

No, it wasn't Puente Bizkaia. It was the gondola car to Fuente De in the Picos.

As you probably realized during your tour, lunch is the biggest meal of the day, while dinner is quite unimportant for us, itīs normally very light and may consist of just a salad, or a soup or an omelette. That way you feel much lighter at the end of the day. Itīs cultural, Spain goes to bed much later than other countries.

Yes, you mention gondola car, not bridge, sorry for the misunderstanding!