mraeneas

I need advice. My wife and I will be touring La Rioja by car for 4 days in September. We'll be based in LaGuardia, but would like to visit wineries and restaurants in Haro, Paganos, Samaniego, and Lograno. We're not big drinkers - but we are concerned about drinking and driving. The 2 "wine buses" either don't run on the days we're there, or don't go where we want. Are there other options such as public bus, train, taxi? How late do they run? For example, if we go to Lograno for a late night tapas crawl on Calle Laurel, can we get back to LaGuardia? Thanks for any suggestions.

travelgourmet

Why not just spit? If there isn't a bucket out, just ask for it. I routinely do this when wine tasting.

mraeneas

Good idea - and this works well in wineries...but not so well in restaurants!

CathyM

I'm staying in Laguardia for 2 nights in September with a car also so I've done a little research (and this will be my 4th trip to this area). It's definately easier visited with a car, but possible using a bus. However, not all the wineries are near the stopping spots and you will be limited in those you can visit. Alsa is the bus company servicing this area.

http://www.alsa.es/portal/site/Alsa/...archType=short

You can take a bus to Haro and easily walk to the wineries. But there are only about 4 buses a day so you have to work around the bus schedule.

I'm not aware of a bus that goes to Paganos, but if you are wanting to visit Heredad Uguarte bodega probably your best bet is to either walk (a beautiful 1.7 KM walk if the weather is nice)or get a taxi from Laguardia (if a taxi is available and then you'd also have to arrange how to return). I'm actually going to walk or rent a bicycle (from my hotel) to get to Paganos. Similarly you could walk to Ysios or Vina Real from Laguardia, Ysios in particular would not be a long walk.

Bus service to Elciego is limited - 1 bus/day per the schedule. So if you want to visit Elciego your best bet is taxi.....again, if one is available. When I based myself without a car in Laguardi in 2005 I was successful in getting a taxi to Elciego one day but the following day the one taxi in Laguardia had been hired out for the day and I had to be creative in getting to Paganos. I don't know what it would cost to hire out a taxi for a day but this may be an option. You could contact the tourist office in Laguardia and see if they can help.

You can visit Samaniego (Bodegas Baigorri)by taking the bus from Laguardia. The bodega is on the main road and you can't miss it.

It looks like the last bus from Logrono to Laguardia is 8:30pm so you won't have much time to enjoy tapas on Calle Laurel. Alternatively you could take a bus into Logrono and get a taxi back - it should be around 25 euros one way.

If you're going to be traveling around San Mateo (beginning around Sept 18th and lasting about a week) the schedules may be a little different. (If you were traveling at this time I'd suggest staying a couple of nights in Logrono itself as it will be full of festivities!).

mraeneas

Cathy: Thank you! This is very helpful.

We are hoping to have lunch at Hector Oribe in Paganos, so returning from there will be during daylight hours. We're happy to walk a mile or 2 as long as the weather is OK and the road is "walkable". Is there enough of a shoulder here or on other main roads that walking at night would not be a problem?

We are also planning on a tour/tasting followed by lunch at Bodegas Baigorri. The Alsa schedule suggests that we could get there late morning, but that returning we'd have to wait until 17:45, which seems late even for a Spanish lunch.

For Calle Laurel, I'm thinking that tapas is way more important than wine...and that we could have an enjoyable evening and at least one of us could still be safe to drive.

You obviously know the area well. Any other recommendations? Since we're going to be as far West as Haro, we were contemplating a morning drive to Bilbao, to see the Guggenheim - but that may be trying to cram too much into 4 days.

CathyM

Hector Oribe is an excellent choice for lunch (and exactly where I plan to dine when I walk there in September!). You may consider visiting the Heredad Uguarte bodega then having lunch at Hector Oribe. Heredad Uguarte is just a little bit up the road (away from Laguardia) from the Paganos turnoff. If memory serves me correctly they have a noon tour in English that ends around 1:30 (after tastings) so it would be well timed with lunch at Hector Oribe.

I never considered walking at night. Bodega tours are during the day and there are plenty of excellent dining options in Laguardia.

By the way, viamichelin gives directions for walking (in addition to driving)!

http://www.viamichelin.com/

I toured Bodegas Baigorri last year (did not opt for the lunch) and may even return this year to tour and have the lunch - I regretted the decision not to stay for lunch. The tapas we had last year with the wine tasting after the tour were wonderful and the view of the vineyards from the dining room was magnificant. There was only 1 couple who had taken the lunch option and they had the room to themselves! Yes, you'll have to wait until 17:45 for the bus....unless you decide to drive. This is the disadvantage of not having a car in this area - visiting La Rioja without a car can be done but it means seeing less since you're stuck to the public transportation schedules. Honestly, I'd consider driving on this day and just watching how much you drink. We randomly drove around this area on some country roads and it was just beautiful. You don't get the same effect by bus. If you do decide to go by bus you can check out the village of Samaniego after lunch. It's very quiet with lovely sandstone buildings that just shine in the sun. Or you could walk on the country roads in this area and enjoy the vineyards.

Not sure what you mean by being in Haro. Are you planning on staying in Haro? Or just visiting from Laguardia? Bilbao is only about 1.5 hours from Laguardia. Without knowing your itinerary and your travel style it's hard to say if it's cramming too much into your 4 days. If you've never been to the Basque Country I'd be tempted to visit Bilbao for a day. It's a beautiful city - much more to see than the Guggenheim. And the food in this area is the best in the world (IMHO)

mraeneas

Thanks again, Cathy. I'm pleased to learn that there's so much to see that is within walking distance of Laguardia.

When we visit a new area, we like to do a lot of homework, to make sure we know what there is to see and do, and we use that as a rough framework for our trip. In general, we don't like to be held to an itinerary, so that we can spend more time in one place if we're enjoying it, or move on if we're not. The only problem with that approach on this trip is the need to book some of the tours and restaurants. I think what we'll end up doing is booking Heredad Uguarte/Hector Oribe on one day and Bodegas Baigorri on another. That will leave us 2 mornings + 2 full days to explore. We may use one of those to head out early to Bilbao, possibly stopping in Haro on the way back.

I can't find details of the Fiesta de San Mateo - apparently they're not available until August. I know that Sept 21 is the "big day", and that events are planned before and after. We'll arrive in Laguardia on the 22nd, so I expect things will tail off over the next few days. Although staying in Lograno might be more exciting, I suspect that Laguardia will be less crowded.

We are looking forward to driving around off the beaten path, and seeing some of the smaller towns, churches, etc along the monastery route.

Thanks for your help!

CathyM

I travel similarly - don't generally like ot have a "set" schedule, just my hotels and transportation. But with this area you do have to do some planning in advance for the bodegas.

The festival schedule may not be available until late August/early September. The big day is Sept 21 but things will not tail off at all - it is a jam packed filled week starting with Sept 18th. If you have 2 days already planned of the four I'd add an entire day to spend in Logrono during the festival (if not stay there). You won't want to miss the Vaquillas in the morning (ususally starts around 9:30 a.m.), the degustations (especially the chuleta al sarmiento on Sept 21), the music (lasts until late, late night), incredible fireworks, and just the overall atmosphere.

I wouldn't try to do Bilbao and Haro in one day. It would really shortchange Bilbao (basically just the chance to "check off" that you've seen the Guggenheim). I'd probably use this to visit Haro and explore the countryside. OR forego the day in La Rioja and visit Bilbao.

Are you on TripAdvisor? If so, my TA name is CathyDM. Fodor's doesn't have a private email function and I don't want to publicize my personal email on here. But if you send me a private email on TA I'd appreciate it.

I almost forgot to mention, have you seen Maribel's guides? They are really good for this area, particularly the bodega, lodging and restaurant details:

http://maribelsguides.com/

ribeirasacra

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