San Sebastian is one of the rare destinations in the world that can claim to have ‘something for everyone’. Here us out with this one. A coastal town located in the Basque region or Spain, San Sebastian has one of the best rated beaches in the world. It is world renowned for incredible cuisine, including some of the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. There is also the ‘pintos’, Spanish tapas that are famous in the region. Add into the mix famous surf beaches, and a whole suburb and beach adjacent to the old town that is basically a surf town. There’s hikes, day trips nearby, a good coffee scene, famous Basque cheesecake.. it’s got something for everyone, both high and low budgets. Read on for a guide to San Sebastian, and some insight into our visits (or cancelled visit in Tess’s case).
Our visits to San Sebastian
Tess had a false start..
San Sebastian has always been a bucket list destination for Tess, so when she had a ‘week spare’ in Europe she decided to organize a trip with Alex (her brother) and Fiona (her close friend). They planned a long weekend of adventures, pintos, picnics, beach days and of course Basque cheesecake. Arriving at the airport on the 19th of July, they happened to be flying on the day Microsoft crashed, and worldwide travel ground to a halt. Sadly, after hours of waiting at the airport, flights were cancelled and the trip fell apart. Luckily, they all managed to salvage the weekend, and spend some quality moments together, however Tess has vowed to return in the future.. for now it’s still on the bucket list.
Ky & Tim’s visit
Ky and his friend Tim had planned on visiting 3 weeks after Tess, and aimed to ‘build upon’ what she had done. However, without Tess visiting, it was a clean slate. Ky and Tim had a bit different of a trip planned, focusing more on surfing and exploring, however still tried some of the famous tapas. Both Ky and Tess are keen to visit again together in the future.
A few impressions of San Sebastion:
The city and coast is very clean, elegant, and feels very safe both day and night. It is a romantic destination, perfect for couples, but also lots to do for groups of friends. As mentioned previously, the region is a bit of a chameleon, with lots of differing ways to experience it. We feel that you could visit San Sebastian multiple times and have a varied experience every one. Summer in San Sebastian is a vibe, not for ‘heatwave weather’.. it can rain in summer, but the water temperature is warm, the days mild (sometimes humid), the beaches and bars are pumping. If you can.. try to visit in the summer as San Sebastian is a real ‘outdoorsy’ and summer style trip. Read on for some tips and a few recommendations from San Sebastian.
Getting to San Sebastian:
- San Sebastian Airport: The international airport in San Sebastian is the closest to the town, and located around a 25-30 minute drive from the town. A taxi will cost around 40-50 euros, ask for the meter. You can also get a bus which runs every 1-2 hours and costs around 3euros per person and takes around 40 minutes. However, not many countries and airlines fly into this airport, and flights can often be more expensive.
- Bilbao Airport: The nearby town of Bilbao is the most popular entry to the Basque region. The airport is bigger, and has more connecting flights. However, it will take around 1-2 hours via bus to get from Bilbao to San Sebastion, so factor this in.
- Driving: the roads and Basque region is easy to drive around, and arriving via car from neighbouring regions or road-tripping through is a good option. We didn’t hire a car so can’t comment on hire prices.
- Train: there are limited train routes from smaller nearby cities, however there aren’t currently connecting routes from big nearby cities via train.
- Bus: a common bus route is from nearby cities like Madrid or Bordeaux with companies like Flixbus, however be prepared for reasonable travel times (e.g. above 4-5 hours typically).
A few recommendations when visiting San Sebastian:
Try the cuisine including pintos and famous restaurants!
There’s something for all price brackets with the food in San Sebastian. Want fine dining? Perfect, search up some of the many Michelin star restaurants in San Sebastian. Want to try the tasty and often chaotic pintos bars? Awesome! They’re a great experience and we highly recommend it! We have provided a list of a few recommended streets and bars below to try for pintos in this truly ‘San Sebastian experience’.
Enjoy the main beach and promenade:
Rated one of the best beaches in Europe, La Concha Beach is a beautiful sight. A wide sandy beach in the bay with calm waters backing onto the town and a paved promenade. Bring you camera, you’ll take a heap of photos! Walk, run or cycle along the promenade.. it’s beautiful all times of day, including at sunset. Spend some time on the beach, it’s very family friendly due to the lack of surf waves.
Try surfing!
Home to some of the best waves in the region, San Sebastian is a popular surfing destination in Europe. The waves range from more advance breaks, to easier ‘beginner friendly’ waves, meaning there’s something for everyone. The Zurriola beach is the most popular, around a 10 minute walk from the old town. The beach backs onto the popular area of Gros, an excellent spot to stay, filled with surf shops, cafes, bars and great vibes.
San Sebastian has a large number of surf schools, with lessons costing around 30-40 euros for a group session, and up to 70-100 euros for private lessons. You can easily book these when you arrive from one of the many surf schools. Pukas is probably the most popular and organized in the Gros region. You can also just hire board and wetsuits from many of the surf shops in Gros and along the beach. While prices vary, from 15 euros up to 100s of euros if you hire for multiple days. Ky hired from the legends at Hawaii San Sebastian for 2 days and it cost him around 60 euros.. great value for the 6 or 7 surf sessions he go in.
Taste the best Basque cheesecake in the world!
Okay, this may be a grand claim, however San Sebastian is the home of the famous Basque cheesecake. It’s a must try when you’re in the area, and many restaurants and bakeries will sell this tasty desert. The most popular and best option is at La Vina, located in the old town. It’s busy, chaotic, but definitely worth it! It will cost you around 4 euros per piece of incredible cheesecake!
Browse the shopping boutiques:
There’s a large range of shopping boutiques in San Sebastian, with everything from luxury brands, surf shops and pop-up stores only found in the region. We enjoyed browsing, and despite our full suitcases, we did get sucked into a few awesome purchases.
Hike to the view points:
There’s many great views in San Sebastian, from the promenade near La Concha beach, the beach itself, to the elevated views you need to put in some effort to reach. There are some ‘hikes’ to some top views.. see a few of the best options below:
- Monte Urgull (Mount Urgull): This short but steep hike is located in the old town, offering views of Zurriola Beach on the way up and La Concha and the town at the peak. A top must do hike in San Sebastian. There is an established trail, but wear decent shoes
- Monte Igueldo (Mount Igueldo): Located at the end of the promenade, this hike gives arguably the best view of San Sebastian. There is a cable car that runs up the mountain, costing around 5 euros.
Explore Gros
The ‘cool’ area of San Sebastian is full of cafes, eateries, good tapas bars, shopping boutiques, surf shops and so much more. Home to the popular surfing spot, Zurriola Beach, this is good for beginners and more advance surfers with it’s varied surf breaks (see more above). Head to the ‘happening streets’ of Eiga Street or San Francisco Street for boutiques, bars and pintos locations. Visit Cristina Enea Park for a picnic or to enjoy the greenery. Gros has a lot to offer and it is our recommended ‘where to stay’ location in Sab Sebastian (see below).
Day trip to nearby regions:
There are multiple excellent day trips nearby San Sebastian, including visiting Bilbao (with attractions like the Guggenheim Museum), Pamplona (home to running of the bulls, around 1-2 hours bus inland), French Basque Country (towns like Sant-Jean-de-Luz), and the Game of Thrones set of Dragonstone – San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (located near Bilbao).
A list of great restaurants, pintos, cheesecakes and cafes in San Sebastian:
Where to try pintos in San Sebastian:
There are excellent tapas and pintos bars all around San Sebastian, but streets like ‘Fermin Calbeton Kalea’ in the heart of the old town and ‘San Francisco Street’ in Gros are great options.
- Bar Sport – Famous in the old town pintos tapas bar. It’s chaotic, popular, but worth visiting!
- Borda Berri – Another popular pintos bar in the old town to visit!
- Bardulia Donostia – Not sure you want to wait for Bar Sport, well walk 20m down the road to another top tapas bar.
- Txepetxa – Add this to your list of tapas bars to hop around to in San Sebastian.
Where to try cheesecake and baked goods in San Sebastian:
- La Vina – The famous Basque cheesecake bar in the old town is a must visit!
- There are heaps of great bakeries, like Gogoan Kafetegia, La Pastelería de Elena, Aramendia Pastelería, Loaf and more.
The best coffee in San Sebastian:
- Old town coffee
- Syra Coffee – San Jeronimo coffee
- Simona specialty coffee club
- Lasai Matia
A few other good eateries in San Sebastian:
- Gosea – Awesome Bahn Mi right in the heart of Gros. A top lunch option!
- Lasai Matia – A cute little café along the river that does excellent brunch options.
- Arnoldo Izozki-denda – On the edge of the promenade, this popular icreamery had awesome flavours. Try the mandarin.. trust us!
How many days should you spend in San Sebastian?
This town and region is awesome, and as you should have seen by now, there’s heaps to do. How long you spend really depends on your plans, and how much time you have. We recommend at least 3 days, however up to 5-7 days would be a great amount of time. If you are surfing, or relaxing on the beach, spending a few more days might be ideal.
Where should you stay in San Sebastian?
The whole region is a little spread out, but easily reached walking 10-20minutes in all directions. We would recommend staying in Gros, the ‘cooler’ area with cafes, surf shops and a good vibe. Otherwise there’s lots of options along the main promenade and near the old town. We have listed a few good options below, but be prepared it’s a little pricier than many other regions.
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See other accommodation options in San Sebastion here.
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