North Spain Road Trip: a Food & Wine Itinerary

Get your campervan at Bilbao´s depot and in 30 minutes you’ll be in Bermeo, one of the main fishing villages on the Basque coast. Few minutes north of Bermeo is Gaztelugatxe, an islet connected to the mainland by an impressive man-made bridge.

On top of the island stands a 10th-century hermitage dedicated to John the Baptist, which might look familiar to you. That’s because, due to its dramatic landscape, the site was used to film some episodes of Game of Thrones.

To the south of Bermeo you’ll find the Urdaibai estuary, a Biosphere Reserve of wonderful beauty worth exploring. Further south you’ll get to Gernika (or Guernica in the Castillian tongue).

This old Basque town immortalized by Picasso on his famous picture condemning the brutal aerial bombings by German Nazi aircraft that the town suffered during the Spanish Civil War and that killed 1,654 people. Pay homage before resuming your North Spain road trip.

Drive your campervan towards the AP8 motorway and then go east towards San Sebastian, one of the most gorgeous cities in Spain. Its bay, Bahia de la Concha, is a shell-shaped area of extraordinary beauty thanks to its two beaches and an island in the middle of the bay.

San Sebastian is located 20 km (~12 miles) from the French border and its architecture reflects this fact, to the point of its city centre being called by some a small Paris.

Apart from walking around this small gem, the other great attraction is to taste some of the best food in the world. From 3-star Michelin restaurants to unassuming pintxos bars, San Sebastian (Donostia in Basque) is a paradise to food lovers.

Get to Parte Vieja, the old quarter, where you’ll find bar after bar of inviting pintxos laid on top of counters. Txakoli is a local acidic white wine that goes perfectly with pintxos.

Outside San Sebastian there are several small villages along the coast worth exploring. Getaria, Zarauz, and Hondarribia are all beautiful. If your North Spain road trip itinerary allows it, get a grilled sea bream in Getaria. It’s delicious!

You’ve been eating like a king for a few days and feel like taking a rest and doing some exercise in nature. The ideal addition to your North Spain road trip,  Sierra de Urbasa is halfway between San Sebastian and Logroño, and an ideal spot for all sorts of outdoor activities. It’s a Natural Park, small and unspoiled, with a gorgeous beech forest.

There are several hiking routes 7 to 18 km (~4 to 11 miles) long, as well as three routes suited for BTT (18 to 30 km/11 to 19 miles). Idiazabal, cheese made from sheep milk, and wild mushrooms are some of the local main foods worth checking out.

La Rioja region is all about wine. There are hundreds of wineries where you can taste and buy wine. Some have restaurants and even accommodation; so you can drink all you want without having to worry about driving afterwards.

Logroño, its capital, is a lively city where to bar-hop endlessly as you taste delicious tapas and drink local wine. One day is more than enough to visit its cathedral and walk around its old quarter.

On your way back to Bilbao, it’s worth stopping at Haro, the main wine production centre of the whole of La Rioja. Many wineries are located in the vicinity. The town itself is a great place to get some lunch before jumping back into your campervan for the last leg of your North Spain road trip itinerary.