Private San Sebastian Pintxos Tour with Local Guide

5.0 (88 reviews) 3 hours Free cancellation Private tour

out of 5

88 reviews

5.0

Private San Sebastian Pintxos Tour with Local Guide — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

Private San Sebastian Pintxos Tour with Local Guide, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Why do Basques eat so much? Why do Basques eat so f ***ing well? Our pintxo tour of the best bars in San Sebastián will help you learn the answer to this question, but if you don’t, well, at least you will have tried, eating as much and as well as a Basque.

Wine Tastings Half-day Tours Private and Luxury Private Sightseeing Tours Cultural Tours Walking Tours Wine Tours Short term availability

At a glance

Duration: 3 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–8
Guide: English, Spanish
Operated by: Ikusnahi Tours

Ages: Infants (0–9 years) · Children (10–17 years) · Adults (18–85 years)

What is included

Included

Included: Private group
Included: Private guide
Included: 5 pintxos y 5 drinks - enough for a full meal

Not included

Not included: Meals, drinks and tickets that are not listed
Not included: Gratuities

Itinerary

Parte Vieja

one hour

Txikiteo: The first rule of the txikiteo club is: there are no rules. An approximate definition of ‘txikiteo’ could be: going from bar to bar, eating a pintxo and drinking a glass of something (the usual is a low-alcohol beverage, not cocktails!) in each. The txikiteo is done standing up, in front of the bar full of pintxos and surrounded by people you don't know (but that you could end up meeting.)

And this is precisely what you’ll do with Ikusnahi: pure txikiteo, flying from bar to bar, tasting the most renowned specialty of each in a genuinely Basque environment and surrounded by locals that, y’know, you don't know...but that you could end up meeting.
Stop 2

one hour

Pintxo: A piece of miniature cuisine that started off as something simple (a portion of potato omelette, a slice of ham on bread...) and that the bars of the Basque Country improved upon over time, making it more complex in order to attract more customers. The story is exciting and there are as many versions as there are historians. On our tour you’ll get to know some of them, as well as many other curiosities about the cult of the stomach that exists in the Basque Country.

Drinking: This is the other great religion (along with Eating) in the Basque Country. Wine and cider have been favorite drinks of the Basque people for the last five centuries, although beer has been prevailing in recent years. Did you know that in the 16th century, Basque sailors hardly suffered scurvy on long sea voyages, thanks to the cider they drank?
Stop 3

30 min

Txakoli: Typically Basque dry and sparkling white wine whose grapes are grown in vineyards near the Cantabrian Sea. It is ideal to accompany fish dishes...or pintxos. Nothing more to add.

Cider: Low-alcohol beverage obtained from fermented apple juice. Slightly sweet, slightly bitter, it has only one danger: it is drunk as easily as water.

Zurito: Short drink of beer (about 20-25 cl.) Ideal to accompany pintxos. The term ‘zurito’ is exclusive to the Basque Country. If you go to Madrid and ask for a 'zurito' no one will understand you (unless the bartender is Basque, of course).
Calle 31 de Agosto

30 min

San Sebastián Cheesecake: If God were a cake, He would be a San Sebastián Cheesecake. Did you know that San Sebastián Cheesecake is global cheesecake royalty, right up there with New York Cheesecake? Did you know that, as a result of this success, the Thermomix kitchen robot includes the recipe for 'San Sebastián Cheesecake' in its programs? Okay. Today you’ll taste the authentic, the mother of everything, the origin, the Big Bang.