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14 Nov 2016

Basque Experiences at WTM 2016

By basque

WTM 2016 – World Travel Market London

For the second year running now, Basque Experiences has participated in the WTM World Travel Market held in London. It is the leading global event for the travel industry to meet industry professionals and conduct business deals.

Invited by Basque Tour, the Basque government’s department of tourism, it gave Basque Experiences the chance to increase market presence. Working on the stand with other agencies, operators and DMCs from here as well as Basque Tour is a real boost. With the experience of last year, I made sure we had a lot of meeting lined up with buyers and operators from our target markets.

Good contacts

In total I made good contacts with around 50 other companies from the US, UK, Spain, and Canada. Of these contacts I would love to see us being able to collaborate with all of them!! But thats not realistic, but with 5-10 I would be delighted, and a mixture of Agencies and Tour operators from the US and UK would be perfect! Hopefully 2017/18 will see Basque Experiences offering more made-to-measure tours to new visitors, and being the Basque Country DMC for specialist private tour companies.

Its not all about just meeting new clients though. It gives you the chance to learn about new trends in the industry and new offers in your own market. I came away with  some good ideas on how to move forward and promote our project.

Here are a couple of pics….. Basque Experiences working hard offering private small group tours to the Basque Country, Bilbao, San Sebastián, La Rioja, Vitoria.  🙂

See you at next year’s WTM.

  • WTM London 2016
30 Oct 2016

Private Group Tours in the Basque Country

By basque

Private Group Tours

We at Basque Experiences love creating Private Group Tours. Be it a small family group for a week’s holiday, a business looking to incentivise its staff or partners, or a wine shop looking to bring a group on holiday, it’s something we do with a passion…

Our enthusiasm to make things just right for you means that you will be in touch with us from the first enquiry until you leave. Attention to detail and the personal touch are fundamental for your trip. We will reply to your mails, talk to you on the phone and together design your visit to the Basque Country. More often than not it will also be one of us guiding you too, so you have continuity from start to finish. Who wants to be passed from person to person when organising something as important as a Private Group Tour?

La Rioja Private Tour

Just recently we completed a super four-day visit in collaboration with a group of 40 visitors from Luxembourg. Some had been before so had encouraged their friend to make a group. We arranged the guides, the transport, the hotels, the visits and the obstacles that come as par for the course for this type of visit. We were on hand at all times to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves and that everyone had the best time they could! Looking at the photos from the wine and bodega tour in La Rioja Tour we organised, I think you will agree!!

So, if its a personalised Private Group Tour you are looking for, drop us a line and lets have a chat!

  • Private Group Tours Basque Country
  • Private Group Tours Basque Country
  • Private Group Tours Basque Country
  • Private Group Tours Basque Country
  • Private Group Tours Basque Country
15 Oct 2016

Armintza – Getxo Coastal Hike

By basque

Armintza to Getxo along the beautiful Bizkaian coast…

Armintza, where is that? Well here at Basque Experiences we love a stroll. Or to put it more exactly a long walk along our fantastic trails, paths, walking routes and hikes. From the shortest city wander, to days on the Camino de Santiago to the hardest mountain climbs, we have them all here in the Basque Country.

One of our favourites, and one that fits perfectly in a day is the great coastal trail from Getxo, to Armintza. We have talked about Getxo and the coast before in an earlier blog (here it is so you dont have to look for it…). However the coast and the paths continue east along this spectacular coast. Its a trek we love to offer to our visitors and combines perfectly with a local lunch. A true Basque Tour, or Basque Experience, one rarely seen by visitors…

Visit Armintza as part of a Private-guided Basque Tour.

This hike along the coast takes around 4-5 hours, depending on your ability, and how long you stop off in Plentzia for a pintxo and a beer 😉  Its a fairly easy trek, with only a couple of parts where the incline and descent are tough on the knees. Accompanied by the Bay of Biscay at all times, the route passes along beautiful light sandy beaches, surfers coves, coastal cliffs, farms, small villages and old farmhouses. You will also get to see vineyards, and lighthouses, civil war bunkers, golf courses, cows, windmills, goats, wild mushrooms, oak woods, eucalyptus plantations… want me to go on?

It really is a great walk, which coupled with that stop in Plentzia half-way for my favourite tortilla de patata, juicy not dry of course, and a cold beer for 3.5€, will see you tired and happy! My favourite way of doing it is to leave Algorta metro station, which is 35 minutes from the centre of Bilbao by metro, and head up to the Getxo windmill and keep going. Leaving at about 10:00 should see us end up in the charming and little-visited fishing village of Armintza for around 2-3:00. Perfect timing to grab a ‘Menu del dia’, for around 10€… Returning is easy, there is a bus leaving back to Getxo on the half hour every hour, you don’t even have to walk back!!! Just don’t fall asleep on the bus though…

Here are some of the latest pics I took…

  • basque coast
  • Path to Armintza
  • Armintza cows
  • Armintza harbour
  • Armintza - Arminza.... guess the difference?

 

29 Jul 2016

Basque Experiences loves July!!

By basque

Summertime + cruise-ships + sun = Busy!

The month of July is fantastic here in the Basque Country; the days are long, the fiestas start, the sea is warm and smiles abound 🙂

Here at Basque Experiences, July is a busy time with clients and this year has seen us on some great and varied Basque Tours.

Our pintxo tours are a popular choice for many visitors with lunchtimes or evenings around the various bar areas in Bilbao proving to be great fun. We adapt them as we go along, so if you don’t want tourist bars, you won’t get them, if you want authentic ‘sawdust on floor’ you will! That’s our philosophy… listen to the client and adapt to suit.

Family trips from far-afield this July have been very enthusiastically appreciated! With guests from the US, UK, Canada, NZ, Indonesia, Holland and France, we have had the opportunity to spread the word about the Basque Country. Some will be back we are sure and some others will be telling their friends and work colleagues about Basque Experiences… We arrange our visits to coincide with reservations at some of our finest restaurants so the clients can discover our fantastic cuisine as a group and integrate it in a tour. We make it easy for you!

Etxebarri in July

Specialist tours showing off our city with journalists here for the 2016 edition of BBK LIVE have coincided with larger groups on day tours from cruise-ships. These are proving popular as we see the number of cruise-ships arriving in Getxo growing year-on-year. Passengers get in touch before arriving, sometimes months before, and they often form groups on sites such as wwwcruisecritic.com Some are family groups with particular interests such as visiting farms or San Sebastian or ..whatever takes your fancy!! July has a lot to offer here in the Basque Country!

Some July photos!!

  • San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
  • Butron Castle
  • Picasso's 'Guernica'
  • Cruise ship tour
  • Basque Shepherds...
  • In love with Cheese!
  • Hidden Valley
  • Basque Sunset
  • BBK PRESS
23 Jul 2016

Paesi Baschi – Euskadi

By basque

Paesi Baschi…

È un piacere, per noi, poter mostrare Paesi Baschi (Euskadi) a tutto il mondo, con le nostre abitudini, le nostre tradizioni, i nostri luoghi. Siete tutti invitati a venire a visitarci e a conoscerci direttamente, e sopratutto a godere di tutto quello che offre la nostra terra. Con questo post in Italiano, inauguriamo una serie di articoli che speriamo risveglino in voi la curiosità di visitare Euskadi, accompagnati da gente del luogo che vi farà sentire, in ogni istante, come un Basco vero e proprio.

Vi aspettiamo !!!!

In questo post vi mostriamo un video della regione Basca e il timelapse della provincia più’ bella della Biscaglia, quella del territorio di Uribe Costa. Paese Baschi Tours con Basque Experiences!

Es un placer poder mostrar Euskadi a todo el mundo, con nuestras costumbres, lugares, tradiciones. De tal modo que en un momento determinado puedan visitarnos y conocernos de primera mano, y disfrutar de todo lo que nos ofrece nuestra tierra.

En este post en italiano inaguramos una serie de artículos que esperamos despierten la curiosidad por visitar el ‘Paesi Baschi’ de mano de compatriotas locales que les harán sentir como un vasco más, pero en su idioma.

Les esperamos pronto¡¡¡

En este post les mostramos para empezar un video de Euskadi y un timelapse de una de las comarcas más bellas de la Costa de Bizkaia, la comarca de Uribe Costa.

And for those of you non-Latin language speakers, we have introduced a series of blogs in Italian for our Italian friends and visitors. Basque Experiences are looking to broaden our horizons by attracting a very knowledgeable market, especially in Culinary, Culturally and Wine terms. Basque Experiences creating private guided tours, special journeys and experiential travel for those discerning travellers seeking to discover Paesi Baschi. Basque Country Tours

 

 

 

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