If you want a great tour of the Basque Country, choose Basque Tours. If you want an ok tour, choose any of the other tour companies. Let me explain. Jon and the staff at Basque Country Tours are Basque. They speak Basque. They know Basque history, Basque culture, and every nook and cranny in the Basque country Spanish and French. For example, on our tour from Bilbao to San Sebastian, we had originally not planned to go to Guernica. When Jon from Basque Country Tours met us, we told him that we'd like to go to Guernica (we knew about the bombing during WWII and wanted to see it). No problem, Jon rearranged our itinerary and took us to Guernica. He not only knew about the bombing, but the history of Guernica back to the 12th century, why it was important to the Basque people, and how it fit in with Franco's treatment of the Basque people. He shared personal stories of family members who lived through those times. Touring with Jon and his staff was touring with a friend who happened to be a Basque expert.
With guides from other tour companies, when you got to site A they recited speech A, site B speech B and so forth. The guides didn't have the in-depth knowledge Jon and his staff had or their passion for the Basque Country. Lacking the knowledge and passion, they were either not able or not willing to customize their tours to our interests. Other tours might be less expensive, but if getting a real understanding of the Basque Country from an engaging guide is important to you, there is no question, go with Basque Country Tours.