San Sebastian, or Donostia in the local parlance, a town of slightly fewer than 200,000 people, isn’t really the type of place you visit to check things off of a list. Sure, there’s the iconic La Concha beach, Monte Urgull and its funicular, the tobacco-factor-turned-arts-center Tabakalera, the cider houses on the periphery of the city, and the legion of pintxos bars.
But after you’ve done all that it means you should take the opportunity to see a bit more of what the area outside of San Sebastian has to offer. And it has a lot to offer.
If you’re itching to get out of town, below are the best options for day trips from San Sebastian. Each day trip is in order of distance, with the shortest trips first and the longest day trips last.
Orio
If you confuse the seaside village of Orio with the iconic black-and-white cookie of the same name—but not the same spelling—you’ll be sorely disappointed when you turn up here at this lovely fisherman’s hamlet, just a short taxi or bus ride west of San Sebastian.
Wander around the 12th-century historical center and then settle into a lovely no-frills restaurant for a seafood feast, eating just-pulled-from-the-sea fish that is so fresh you’ll swear you thought that hake on your plate just moved.
- Distance from Orio to San Sebastian: 10 miles
- How to get to Orio: From Libertad 34 in the center of San Sebastian, take the UK11 bus to Orio. Journey time is about 23 minutes. A taxi takes about the same amount of time.
Hondarribia
With a walled old town and a series of narrow, medieval lanes, this seaside town of 17,000 denizens is a lovely escape from the “big” city of San Sebastian. Hondarribia is also home to a late-Medieval/early-Renaissance fortress that is fun to explore. Inside the labyrinth of street and near the marina are a legion of great bars and restaurants with which you can feast on freshly caught seafood delights.
Fans of dark 20th-century history might want to partake in a journey to see a prison that was used during the Spanish Civil War, inside the Fortress of Guadalupe—a 40-minute walk or a five-minute car ride to the west of the town.
- Distance from San Sebastian to Hondarribia: 14 miles
- How to get to Hondarribia: From the San Sebastian bus station (at the same location as the train station), take the E20. The journey takes about 45 minutes. A taxi or car takes about 30 minutes.
Getaria
Fashionista and foodies frequently make pilgrimages to Getaria, a classic Basque fishing village just to the west of San Sebastian. That’s because Getaria is the birthplace of famed fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga and admirers can even visit the Balenciaga Museum.
Foodies come here to hopefully eat at Elkano, a Michelin-starred restaurant that began as an outdoor seafood grill and is now an elegant restaurant that is on the list of menu foodies and chefs as their ultimate meal. If you can’t nab a table at Elkano, there are plenty of asadors (grill restaurants) and seafood spots that serve up great grilled turbot or hake cheeks and other Basque seafood specialties.
And, of course, you need not be a foodie nor a fashionista to enjoy this humble fishing village. It’s a tranquil place to spend a few hours. You can also take a vineyard tour that shows off some of the wineries nearby.
- Distance from San Sebastian to Getaria: 15 miles
- How to get to Getaria: Take the UK 10 or UK 11 at Libertad 34. The journey should take about 35 minutes via bus or 25 to 40 minutes by taxi or car, depending on traffic.
Biarritz
The posh seaside town of Biarritz is a sister city to San Sebastian. Starting in the 19th century, both towns attracted French and Spanish elites every summer and a tourism industry grew up around those visitors, which is why both towns have excellent tourism infrastructure to this day.
This resort town is crammed with fancy grand dame hotels, elegant outdoor cafes, long beaches, and boutique shops that are fit for a visiting king. It’s vaguely similar to San Sebastian but with a very strong French accent.
- Distance from San Sebastian to Biarritz: 28 miles
- How to get to Biarritz: From the main bus station in San Sebastian, take any Biarritz-bound bus. The voyage takes about an hour.
Bayonne
Located in French Basque country, Bayonne is a medium-sized city with three separate quarters: St. Esprit, Petit Bayonne, and Grand Bayonne. Hemingway said it was a nice town with a river running through it. He was sort of right.
There are actually two rivers running through this erstwhile Roman outpost: the Adour and the Nive. If you have limited time, stroll around the medieval and hilly Grand Bayonne. And if you time your visit for July when the annual weeklong Fêtes de Bayonne takes place, a raucous five-day street party, be prepared for a chaotic bash of French Basque proportions.
- Distance from San Sebastian to Bayonne: 32 miles
- How to get to Bayonne: While Bayonne may only be 32 miles east of San Sebastian, the bus journey usually takes about an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes. That said, the bus from San Sebastian’s main bus station is a picturesque one, so go for the journey as much as the destination.
Bilbao
The “Bilbao Effect” was coined after architect Frank Gehry’s dramatic, chaotic, and beautiful structure housing the Guggenheim Museum went up in 1997. That’s because the Basque Country’s largest city was chiefly off the radar with tourists until the museum flicked on its lights. And then, suddenly everyone had to come to see the architectural spectacle.
While the Guggenheim is certainly one of the wonders of the world, Bilbao is far from a one trick pony. This city of 350,000 people is teaming with energy and its streets are flanked by cafes and bars serving up appetizing pintxos and pouring a lot of txakoli, the Basque semi-fizzy wine. If you’re looking to have a bigger city experience while in San Sebastian, point yourself to Bilbao.
- Distance from San Sebastian to Bilbao: 65 miles
- How to get to Bilbao: There are frequent buses between San Sebastian and Bilbao, learning from each city’s main bus station. The journey takes about an hour and 20 minutes, depending on traffic.
Pamplona
Unless you have a Hemingway-level of testosterone and the patience of a saint to deal with a drunken madding crowd, it’s best to come to Pamplona during a weekend when they’re not setting a bunch of bulls loose on the streets to wreak havoc.
The capital of the region of Navarra, Pamplona has medieval city walls you can walk on and admire. You can also wander around Casco Viejo (the old part of town) where there are cafes and bars everywhere.
When you’re ready for a coffee, plant yourself at Cafe Iruña, a spot on Plaza del Castillo that’s been serving drinks and snacks in a neo-Baroque environment since 1888.
- Distance from San Sebastian to Pamplona: 50 miles
- How to get to Pamplona: Both trains and buses go between San Sebastian and Pamplona taking between one hour and one hour and 15 minutes.
Logroño
The capital of La Rioja, this medium-sized town of 150,000 denizens is a seriously off-the-radar destination that will reward you with a great tapas bar scene in which you may be one of the few tourists in town.
In the Old Town, in the shadow of the city’s cathedral (where there’s a painting attributed to Michelangelo), are two narrow, 100-yard (or 100-meter) streets:
- Calle del Laurel and Calle St. Juan are both crammed with diminutive tapas bars where the party spills out onto the streets.
- Some bars have an array of options while others may only serve one thing, such as an excellent take on the tortilla, crispy patatas bravas, or a pig ear sandwich.
The Camino de Santiago runs through Logroño, so don’t be surprised if you spot a few limping visitors trudging around the town at night looking for sustenance for the next day’s trek toward Santiago de Compostela.
- Distance from San Sebastian to Logroño: 100 miles
- How to get to Logroño: Bus is the best way to get between San Sebastian and Logroño. The journey takes about two hours and 15 minutes.
