Anyone in the Basque tour July 8-16?

I'm on the May 10 tour, and I know somebody who will be on your tour, but I don't think she posts on this forum.

This will be my second RS trip. The trip was recommended highly. Hopefully we have a good group. Please let me know how it goes for you on your trip. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated! Hopefully the person you know will also look at this forum and send a quick hello.

This will be my 6th RS tour, and while each group had it's own idiosyncrasies, I have had a really pleasant time on each. I'm sure you will enjoy the Basque region, I expect to have a great time, and will try to remember to report back.

Sorry - I have a question not an answer.

How difficult is the one day Camino Santiago portion of this tour? How long is the hike ?

Thanks
Dave

I just finished the Basque tour.
The Camino hike is divided into 3 sections, and you are free to do any or all, and you can ride the bus for any segments you do not walk. You will be given detailed information to help you decide which segments you want to do. No judgement.

The walk on the Camino was very pleasant. The only difficult stretch is at the beginning when you go downhill from the Alto del Perdon. It involves some careful scrambling over rocks before you hit the flat walk part. A walking stick or pole can help. After that, it's just a beautiful, mostly flat walk through the countryside with a couple of small village stops where you can choose to get on the bus if you like.

This is a really nice tour and the Camino day is one of the highlights.

Thank you for the information. My trip is in July. How were the hotels in the Basque tour? Thank you.

I took this tour a couple years ago, and it remains one of my favorites of the 9 RS tours I’ve taken. The hotels were all excellent when I went, though some may be different on your departure. We went several days early and stayed in St Jean de Luz, which was lovely if you have the time. Food and wine on this tour was also fabulous. The walk on the Camino was pleasant, not strenuous. As the prior post mentions, the first section was downhill, but I didn’t find it difficult without trekking poles. Have a great trip!

Hotel Palacio Guendulain in Pamplona, was definitely one of the nicest I've had on 11 RS tours.

I had a crappy (single) room in San Sebastian, so I guess it evens out.

I think the San Sebastian hotel (Hotel Parma?) might suffer from comparison to the Palermo hotel that precedes it.
My son and I each had a single room at the Parma, and neither of our rooms were anywhere near crappy. Simple, small, clean, comfortable, and good bathroom. Fairly typical of RS hotels.

We stopped for lunch in Guernica on this tour. In addition to Picasso's Guernica mural, the thing I remember about this town was the awesome Caesar salad included with lunch. Probably the best I've ever had.

Also, after the Camino walk, we visited a winery and were served a great lunch with unlimited wine you poured yourself from a huge barrel with a spigot. Very nice.

Look forward to the stop in Guernica and to all the unlimited wine! Sounds like a lot of fun.

We took this tour last June and it was one of the best European experiences we have had. We have travelled extensively in Europe, and I found this region friendly, culturally fascinating, the the food . . . Amazing! We spent 3 days prior to the tour in the Bordeaux and St. Emillion, taking the train everywhere. The walk on the Camino was very hot, but we were there during the heat wave. Bring a hat! You can buy an inexpensive walking stick before you get there (we were able to take our apart and take it home.) Enjoy your adventure!

Thank you for all the feedback!