travelingsheena

Hi -
I'd love some suggestions. My boyfriend and I will be in San Sebastian in August for 4 days, from there we'll take the train to Barcelona. We're big wine people and would like to spend a day in La Rioja. I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this - as a day trip from San Sebastian or staying overnight somewhere in La Rioja. I'd appreciate everyone's thoughts and recommendations on this. Thanks so much!

Robert2533

Note that there is no direct train from San Sebastian to the Rioja. A private day-trip would be on the expensive side, around €600.

You might want to take a look at Maribel's Guide to the Rioja.

ribeirasacra

Making a day trip is just not worth it. Even if you slept for one night. One night stands just do not work.
There are buses run by the following:
http://www.alsa.es/
http://194.30.12.29/transportes/tran...as_autobus.asp
Journey times around 4 hours each way.
A drive will be around 2 hours so maybe a taxi will be cheaper.
But all of this does depend where in La Rioja you want to go.
Maribel's Guides are getting a bit out of date. Things can move fast, even in Spain!
For the up to date information please read the website for La Rioja https://www.lariojaturismo.com/
Seeing as you are in SS have you considered visiting the wine region of Bizkaiko Txakolina? It is a lot nearer. http://www.bizkaikotxakolina.org/
and so is Getariako Txakolina.
http://www.getariakotxakolina.com/

mikelg

You may have the idea that Rioja is like Napa Valley, where you just enter the wine bar, have a small tasting and leave. Rioja is much more complex, as there are many family wineries that want you to do the whole tour (around one hour), explaining with pride the way they make wine and then they do the tasting. It´s normally one winery in the morning, lunch, and then one in the afternoon, or maybe two. And it´s also a historical region, full of walled towns and castles.