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Advice needed: Getting around La Rioja (Private driver/transfer recommendations?

Posted by (Palo Alto, CA) on

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are planning a trip to northern Spain and will be spending a few days in the La Rioja wine region. We are super excited about the food and wine, but the logistics of getting around are starting to stress me out a bit!

First, we are trying to figure out the best way to get from San Sebastian down to the wine region. I’ve been checking Rome2Rio and it looks like the bus and train routes to places like Haro often require transfers and don't seem very direct or efficient.

Once we are actually in La Rioja, we want to visit several wineries (we are looking at places around Laguardia and Haro). We initially thought about renting a car, but I've read that Spain has incredibly strict drinking and driving laws. I saw that the limit is just 0.25 mg/l, which means even one glass of wine could put us over the limit, and apparently, police do unannounced spot checks out in the country roads. We definitely don’t want to risk a fine or ruin our holiday, so driving ourselves is out of the question.

Because of this, we absolutely need transportation. However, we are independent travelers and prefer to book our own specific winery appointments and lunch spots rather than joining a strict, pre-packaged group tour.

Does anyone have recommendations for a reliable private driver, chauffeur, or black car service based in the Logroño or Rioja area that we could hire by the hour or for the day? Ideally, we are looking for a very comfortable, professional service that could also potentially handle our initial transfer from San Sebastian or Bilbao down into wine country.

Any tips or specific company recommendations would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
757 posts

Hi Amanda, and welcome to the forum.

I have a few comments/tips more than anything else. First you don´t say when you are coming. While it is not pressing, it can influence your stay in La Rioja. Of course in September is the wine harvest with it´s associated fiestas and extra workload in the wineries. This year the eclipse will pass right over La Rioja and that week in August will be pacted with tourist. There are other fiesta that might be interesting throughout the year.

About getting from San Sebastian to La Rioja, there is a direct bus twice a day to Logroño. That is probably easiest way.

About where to stay, I´m going to suggest you think about Logroño instead of Haro, and maybe ahead of Laguardia. First there are several wineries in Logroño, the city has a list Bodegas Franco Espanola is less then a kilometer walk from the old town, and Ijalba is just a bit further on. Besides having some wineries, Logroño has more food options. Especially if it is a few nights. A night or two in Laguardia would be okay, but there is nothing like calles Laurel and San Juan.

From Logroño you can make day trips to Laguardia, Haro and other place with public transport, or get a private driver/guide.

Finally, just a reminder, La Rioja is the autonomous community, and Rioja is the DOC of wine which includes parts of Alava (Basque country) and Navarra.

Posted by
1050 posts

As dilindstrom rightly says, you´ll be visiting the Rioja wine country D.O. Ca (Denominación de Origen Calificada), located mainly in two areas: Basque Country, Araba province, where Laguardia and Labastida are located (and police force is called Ertzaintza); and La Rioja, which has wine areas mainly in its northern and eastern areas only, and where the police is the Guardia Civil. Both may set alcohol controls, but in my many years there, I´ve never seen one. So it depends too if you´re visiting on weekdays or on weekends, and take also into account if you want to do the full visit to a winery, or just the wine tasting (the full visit is normally very interesting in the old wineries with hundred-year-old cellars; less in the modern wineries). A famous winery is Marqués de Riscal, because of the building, but you can only see the building (a hotel) from a long distance and it cannot be visited unless you´re lodged there. Plenty of options for private drivers or guides departing from Donostia/San Sebastian, a google search will be of help.

Posted by
2 posts

​Hi ekscrunchy,
​Thanks so much for the recommendation! I checked out their website and their reviews are indeed exceptional.

​However, I think we are looking for something slightly different. We really want to avoid a closed or pre-packaged tour because we already have a list of very specific boutique wineries and restaurants we want to book ourselves. We strictly need a professional driver/vehicle at our disposal to take us exactly where we want to go on our own schedule, rather than a guided tour.

​Another thing that has me a bit worried is the legal side of hiring a driver. I was reading some travel warnings that passengers can actually be fined up to €600 by the police for using unlicensed "pirate" taxis or illegal transfer services in Spain . I also read that fully licensed private hire vehicles (VTC) and taxis are legally required to have a blue license plate on the back to prove they are legitimate and properly insured for passengers .
​
Because of this, we are very hesitant to just use any random service or someone off the street. Does anyone know a specific, fully licensed private driver or black car company based around Logroño that we can pre-book by the hour/day? We really just want the peace of mind of having a legal, professional driver so we can relax and enjoy the wine!

​Thanks again for everyone's help!

Posted by
757 posts

Do you have a hotel yet? You might want to ask them if they can recommend them. There are a few hotels here in the old town and I often see the blue plated, usually black mercedes vans, dropping off and pick people up outside the hotels.

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