Planning your trip to Rioja wine region can feel overwhelming: figuring out transportation, do I fly, do I drive, where does Rioja fit into my holiday plans? All these factors plus many other considerations can make it feel like a job in itself!
You might be asking yourself “shall I go to Barcelona, then Rioja and finish off in San Sebastian? or is it better to visit Madrid first and then make my way up to Rioja?” There are plenty of options and you don’t know which best suits your interests.This post will help winelovers and travelers who are in their initial steps of planning their trip to Rioja in an effective way even though they don’t know where to start from. You will learn how to get to Rioja from Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and San Sebastian. Here you will find a complete guide on how to get to rioja with the bonus of our local insight. We will also explain which are the best travel options timewise and moneywise so that you can make the most out of your time in the Rioja wine region.
La Rioja is the perfect location for wine and food lovers to explore northern Spain. It kind of falls in between the triangle formed by Barcelona (east), San Sebastian and Bilbao (north) and Madrid (center).
You can go from east to west or west to east. Having your base in Rioja is a smart move, as it is convenient to get around the wine country and then later on explore the must-sees of northern Spain before you head down to the south (Madrid) or the east (Barcelona).
Logroño is the capital city of La Rioja -it will show as Logrono– so Logrono is the destination you need to look for in the search box when looking for transportation.
Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao are popular airports for international flyers.
Bilbao (BIO) is the nearest airport to La Rioja and is the main hub in northern Spain. If you are flying from outside Europe you will find multiple options with a connecting flight to Bilbao from London LGW, Paris CDG, Amsterdam AMS or Frankfurt FRA.
Once in Bilbao, the three best options are:
The route is via the AP-68 motorway with toll charges (around 30 Euros toll plus fuel). The journey can take from 45min to 1h30min depending on where you are staying in the region. Here are some distance and drive time from Bilbao to Rioja main towns:
Bilbao to Logroño (136km/84mi) 90-min drive.
Bilbao to Laguardia (110km/68mi) 75-min drive.
Bilbao to Haro (95km/53mi) 45-min drive.
Take the shuttle bus from the airport to the Bilbao Termibus station and then catch a bus to La Rioja.
The buses run nearly every two hours, with departures scheduled from 7am to 8pm. You can get dropped off in either Haro, Laguardia and Logroño.
Book a private transfer directly to your hotel in La Rioja. It starts from 40 Euros per person for a party of 6 people to 95 Euros per person for a party of 2 people.
It’s the most comfortable option and it’s not expensive if you share a transfer with another party. If you need assistance to book a transfer (private or shared with another party), check our Bilbao-Rioja transfer options.
How far is Rioja from San Sebastian?
The beautiful San Sebastian is only 166 km (103 miles) from Logroño. Public transport is not wide, so the quickest and most convenient way to travel is by car, either rental or a private transfer.
It’s a scenic 2-hour drive that will allow you to appreciate how much the landscape changes from the ever-green Basque territory to the vineyard and cereal land as you head to the south and enter Rioja.
Duration: 2h
The best route is via Autovía A-15: it takes 2 hours (157 km out of the total 166 km are on a motorway). Drive southeast following the A-15 to Pamplona and then from Pamplona drive southwest to take the A-12 highway to Logrono.
On this route you will only use the Autopista for about 6km of the journey and the estimated cost is around 15.73€ (Tolls 2.20€ + Fuel consumption 13.53€). You can check the San Sebastian to Logroño route here.
Most people who come to the Rioja wine region want to enjoy the wine, so driving yourself is fine as long as you don’t need to drive back on the same day.
TIP: If you wish to do a trip to Rioja within the day, play safe and book a transfer from San Sebastian. That way you don’t need to have a designated driver and all of you will be able to enjoy the wine. It will also allow you to soak up the dramatic scenery, relax and take a nap on the way back.
Duration: 2h 15min
There is only 1 daily bus, which leaves San Sebastian at 12:45pm and arrives in Logroño at 3pm. The ticket is 17.45 Euros per person. The bus company is La Estellesa.
If you are flexible on arrival time, the bus could work for you. You could leave San Sebastian after check-out and explore Logroño in the evening to find your bearings. However it’s not suitable if you intend to do any activity that starts early in the morning.
Our advice is: choose the bus only if your travel arrangements allow you to spend an extra day in Logroño.
Duration: 3h
Unfortunately there aren’t any direct trains from San Sebastian to Rioja.
The nearest train stop is in another province (Burgos), which means you would still need transportation from there to La Rioja. There is a train leaving San Sebastian at 8:57am and arriving in Miranda de Ebro (Burgos) at 10:52am. The extra drive time from Miranda to Logroño is 1 hour.
Conclusion: we don’t recommend this option as it involves extra travel arrangements and you don’t really gain much time if you compare it with driving directly from San Sebastian.
Madrid is very well-connected to La Rioja by plane, car, bus and train. Flying is the quickest and driving is the second fastest route.
The distance from Madrid to the Rioja wine region is approximately 201 miles (324 km).
Duration: 2h 30min
You need to fly to Bilbao (BIO) and then drive to La Rioja. Flight time is 1 hour, and from Bilbao airport you can rent a car to Logroño, which takes around 1.5 hours. Total travel time is around 2h 30min.
Duration: 4h
Renting a car is a good idea if you are thinking of moving around within Rioja or are heading afterwards to northern areas (Basque country, Asturias, Cantabria).
Spain has one of the most modern and well-maintained infraestructures in Europe, there are plenty of high-speed roads so driving from Madrid to La Rioja is comfortable, fast and easy.
The best options to drive from Madrid to Rioja are:
A-2 Autovia Madrid-Logroño
Via the Autovia A-2 through Burgos: takes 4 hours (224 km out of the total 324km are on a motorway). Drive north and then east following the A-2, N-120 and A-12.
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