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Spain

Luxury travel in the Rioja wine region

Spain’s first qualified wine appellation, along the Ebro: Haro’s century-old bodegas and Logroño’s pincho bars in La Rioja, and Laguardia and Elciego north of the river in Álava’s Rioja Alavesa. Avelia plans private, tailor-made time in the Rioja wine country, as a stay of its own or as part of a wider journey through Spain.

Plan your Rioja tripExplore Rioja

Rioja at a glance

Recommended stay
Three to five days, or two nights on a longer journey
Best seasons
June to October, and above all the harvest in September and October
Getting there
Bilbao airport (BIO), about 100 km from Haro; trains to Logroño
Best for
Haro's century-old bodegas, Laguardia's cellars, Logroño's pinchos
In a wider trip
Pairs well with San Sebastián, Bilbao, the Duero, Madrid or Barcelona
The appellation
Rioja, Spain's first D.O.Ca. (1991): La Rioja, Álava and Navarra
Plan your Rioja trip

On this page

  1. Experiences
  2. Hotels
  3. When to go
  4. Itineraries
  5. Planning
  6. FAQs
Plan your Rioja trip

01Inspiration

Experiences in Rioja

Each of these is arranged privately for your dates, subject to availability.

  • A bunch of dusky blue grapes hanging from the gnarled trunk of an old vine among leaves turned red and orange, sunlit grass beyond

    Haro and the Rioja Alta

    Haro’s station quarter, the greatest concentration of century-old bodegas in the world, the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture at Briones, and the monasteries of San Millán.

    More of Haro and the Rioja Alta
    • Haro’s station quarter — the bodegas built around the railway station a century and more ago, with a visit and a tasting at those that receive guests, booked ahead.
    • The Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture — at Briones, open since 2004: the history of wine over more than 4,000 m², works by Picasso and Sorolla, and a garden of more than 220 vine varieties; with a guide, privately on request.
    • San Millán de la Cogolla — the monasteries of Suso and Yuso, where the first literature in Castilian was written, on the World Heritage List since 1997.
    • By bike — an e-bike ride along the vineyard tracks between the villages, on request.
    • A photographer at golden hour — among the vineyard hills, if you wish.
    • From the air — a helicopter over the vineyards and the Ebro, on request, subject to availability.
  • The entrance front of Bodegas Ysios: stepped metal-clad roof panels rising in a crest above a tall window ribbed with timber, a curved wood-clad wall below with the winery's name on the door and a visitor beside it, under a deep blue sky

    Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa

    North of the Ebro in Álava: Laguardia, a walled hill town with cellars beneath its streets, Santiago Calatrava’s winery at Laguardia and Frank Gehry’s hotel at Elciego.

    More of the Rioja Alavesa
    • Laguardia with a guide — the walled town on its hill, its palaces and the cellars under its streets, and the painted portico of Santa María de los Reyes.
    • Ysios — Santiago Calatrava’s winery at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria, visited by arrangement.
    • Marqués de Riscal — the Elciego winery founded in 1858, beside Frank Gehry’s titanium-clad building, with a tour and a tasting.
    • With the winemaker — an evening in a family cellar, among the Rioja Alavesa’s 219 wineries in 18 villages and towns, on request, subject to availability.
  • A long vaulted cellar lined on both sides with oak barrels stacked several high, some with green-painted ends, lamps along the ceiling and steps at the far end

    The table and the cellars

    Pinchos along Logroño’s Calle Laurel, a tasting menu at one of the city’s Michelin-starred tables, and a long lunch among the barrels of a bodega.

    More of the table
    • Pinchos on the Calle Laurel — Logroño’s most visited street, with a guide: a bar at every door, each with its own speciality and a Rioja to go with it; or the quieter Calle San Juan.
    • A tasting menu — at one of Logroño’s Michelin-starred tables.
    • Marqués de Murrieta — the Castillo de Ygay, 5 km from Logroño and a museum since 2019: a visit and a tasting, or lunch paired with four of its wines; privately on request.
    • A cooking class — the region’s own dishes with a local chef: potatoes Rioja-style, and lamb cutlets grilled over dried vine prunings.
    • Lunch among the vines — a picnic and a tasting in a vineyard with a sommelier, on request.
    • Olive oil — a tasting at a family mill; the oil of La Rioja has its own denominación de origen.

02Featured hotels

Where to stay in Rioja

Two hotels we recommend in the Rioja wine country. We can also arrange other properties to suit your preferences and travel plans.

  • A room in the Spa wing at Hotel Marqués de Riscal, its glass doors open to a terrace over vines and a ridge of mountains

    Elciego

    Hotel Marqués de Riscal

    Sixty rooms in and beside Frank Gehry's ribboned building, in the grounds of the Marqués de Riscal winery at Elciego.

  • Bistró Barrica, Hotel Viura's restaurant, its tables laid in white linen under rows of oak barrels hung from the ceiling

    Villabuena de Álava

    Hotel Viura

    A four-star house of 33 rooms in stacked concrete cubes on the church square of Villabuena de Álava, with its cellar in an old underground passage.

Explore where to stay in Rioja

03Seasons

When to go

Spring March to May

Fresh and green: highs rise from about 16°C (61°F) in March to 22°C (72°F) in May, but this is the wettest season, with rain on seven or eight days in April and May.

Summer June to August

Warm, dry and bright: highs of 27°C (81°F) in June and 30°C (86°F) in July and August, nights near 16°C (61°F), and rain on three to five days a month.

EventsHaro's Batalla del Vino each 29 June, the feast of San Pedro: a wine fight on the Riscos de Bilibio, of national tourist interest.

Autumn September and October

Harvest time, which generally runs through September and October: highs ease from 26°C (79°F) to 20°C (68°F), and the rain returns in October.

EventsLogroño's harvest festival, in the week of San Mateo, 21 September, of national tourist interest.

Winter November to February

Cold and often grey: highs of 10–14°C (50–57°F), frost on nine or ten nights in January, and fog on six to eight days a month from November to January.

Region by region across Spain, our best time to visit Spain guide.

04Shape your trip

Routes and itineraries

Each route is a starting point, tailored to you. Two of our multi-city Spain itineraries spend nights in La Rioja, priced in US dollars per person.

  1. 4days

    Culture and cuisine

    Places
    Logroño, Briones and the Rioja Alta
    Suits
    A first visit built around the region's wine, history and table
    What the route includes
    • The Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture at Briones, with a guide
    • A visit and a tasting at Marqués de Murrieta, outside Logroño
    • A Rioja cooking class with a local chef
    • An evening of pinchos in Logroño’s old quarter
    • A bike ride through the vineyards and the villages

  2. 7days

    Relax and explore

    Places
    The Rioja Alta, the Rioja Alavesa and the Sierra de la Demanda
    Suits
    A slower week of wine, walking and time to rest
    What the route includes
    • A day with a driver and a guide at three bodegas
    • Lunch at a Michelin-starred table
    • An afternoon at the spa of a hotel among the vineyards
    • A guided walk in the Sierra de la Demanda
    • Dinner paired with the estate’s wines, in a historic bodega

  3. 10days

    Wine and nature

    Places
    La Rioja, from San Millán to the Sierra de Cebollera
    Suits
    The vineyards and the mountains behind them, at an unhurried pace
    What the route includes
    • The monasteries of Suso and Yuso at San Millán de la Cogolla
    • A helicopter over the vineyards and the Ebro, on request, subject to availability
    • A day’s walking with a guide in the Sierra de Cebollera Natural Park, among pine and beech woods
    • A tasting picnic among the vines
    • An evening with a winemaker in the family cellar, on request

Itineraries that include Rioja

All our Spain itineraries

Beyond Rioja

  • The neo-Gothic Buen Pastor Cathedral in San Sebastián, its tall clock tower and spire rising between trees against a blue sky, a wide flight of steps before its doors

    Another stay

    San Sebastián

    About 145 km by road from Haro: La Concha Bay, the pintxo bars of the old town, and a European Capital of Culture in 2016. Best for the table, and the sea after the vineyards.

  • The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao lit gold at dusk, its curving metal-clad forms above the river, with a giant spider sculpture at the left

    Day excursion

    Bilbao

    Under 100 km north of Haro, its airport 12 km from the city: Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum, open since October 1997. Best for arriving and leaving, and a day at the museum.

  • Black grapes heaped in a trailer at harvest, a picker tipping in another bucketful, a tractor and rows of vines stretching to the horizon behind

    Another stay

    The Duero Valley

    About 190 km south-west of Haro, on the high plateau of Castile: the Ribera del Duero, a Denominación de Origen since 1982, its estates, castles and roast lamb. Best for a second wine region.

  • A throne room hung in red velvet: two gilded thrones on a red-carpeted dais beneath a gilt canopy, bronze lions at the steps, gilt mirrors and chandeliers along the walls and a painted ceiling above

    Another stay

    Madrid

    By long-distance train from Logroño: the Royal Palace, and the Prado on the Paseo del Prado, a World Heritage landscape since 2021. Best for the beginning or the end of the journey.

  • The façade of Casa Batlló hung with red roses along its balconies and the curved stone frames of its stained-glass windows, a Catalan flag above

    Another stay

    Barcelona

    By long-distance train from Logroño: Gaudí's city, seven of his works on the World Heritage List, the Gothic Quarter and the sea. Best for a city after the countryside.

05Planning with Avelia

How we plan your time in La Rioja

We help you choose the right hotel, balance guided visits with time to explore, and fit La Rioja into your wider journey — or shape a stay in the wine country itself.

  1. Share your plans

    Tell us your dates, interests, preferred pace and any practical requirements.

  2. Shape your trip with us

    We prepare a tailored proposal and refine it with you, with a quoted trip price and clear inclusions.

  3. Travel with our support

    Once you approve the proposal and complete the agreed booking requirements, we confirm your arrangements. We coordinate the details and support you while you travel.

Peace of mind

  • Clear before you commit. A written proposal with a quoted trip price and clear inclusions, before any payment.
  • Financially protected. Your payments for a package trip are covered against our insolvency by a guarantee with AXA.
  • One point of contact. From the first conversation to the last day, with support while you travel.

Plan with peace of mind

What we can arrange

Your proposal sets out the arrangements included in your trip.

  • Hotels matched to you — contemporary or historic, among the vineyards or in a village, on either side of the Ebro, and not only the ones featured here.
  • Private transport — chauffeur-driven premium cars from Bilbao’s airport or Logroño’s station, days between the bodegas with a driver, and the drive to your next stop in Spain.
  • Private guides — wine guides for the bodegas and the villages, and specialist guides for Laguardia and the monasteries of San Millán.
  • Experiences — tastings with the winemaker, a cooking class, an e-bike ride through the vineyards, and a helicopter over the Ebro on request, subject to availability.
  • Tables and tastings — reservations from Logroño’s Michelin-starred tasting menus to the pincho bars of the Calle Laurel, and bodega visits booked ahead.
  • Special occasions — honeymoons, anniversaries and family trips, planned around who is travelling.

La Rioja and Spain guides

06Questions

Questions we are asked

What does it cost to have a tailor-made trip designed by Avelia Travel?

Every trip is priced individually. After discussing your plans, we prepare a tailored proposal with a quoted trip price and a clear outline of what is included.

How many nights should we spend in La Rioja?

We recommend three to five days: time for bodegas on both sides of the Ebro, the villages and long lunches. Two nights work as part of a longer journey through Spain.

When is the best time to visit La Rioja?

June to October, and above all September and October, when the grapes are picked and Logroño holds its harvest festival. Spring is green but the wettest season; winter is cold, often foggy and quiet.

Can I include La Rioja in a larger Spain itinerary?

Yes. Bilbao’s airport is about 100 km from Haro, long-distance trains run to Logroño from Madrid and Barcelona, and the rest of the Basque Country and the Duero Valley are a drive away. Spain’s other wine regions are in our guide to the best wine regions of Spain, and Rioja beside the Ribera del Duero on wine travel in Spain.

Do you only plan full itineraries, or can you help with just a hotel?

Both. We plan complete trips, and we also arrange a stay on its own: a hotel matched to you, with transfers, a guide or a few reservations added if you wish.

Is Avelia right for me?

Avelia suits travellers who want a private, well-paced trip planned around them: the right places in the right order, hotels chosen for them, guides who know the ground, tables and tickets taken care of, and one point of contact from the first conversation until they are home.

Start planning your time in Rioja

Tell us your dates and who is travelling. Everything else we can work out together.

Plan your Rioja trip

Usually answered within one business day.

Rioja in pictures

Vineyards in autumn under a pale sky: rows of vines turned red, orange and gold across rolling fields, poplars in yellow leaf and a white village on the slopes below green wooded hills
Vineyards in autumn