Looking for some fun day trips from San Sebastian Spain? We got you covered! Recently, we spent two amazing weeks in this popular destination in northern Spain. This gave us time to not only explore the city, but take some incredible San Sebastian day trips along the Basque Coast. Here’s our 3 favorite day trip options from San Sebastian, along with details about our wonderful experience in Basque Country.
Our Visit to San Sebastian
San Sebastian was a place that had been on our radar for a long time. So when we finally moved full-time to Spain, it was an easy decision to go!
It also just so happened that our favorite travel conference was being held there this past May. We decided to combine the event with our own visit to have an extended stay in northern Spain.
San Sebastian is full of history, beaches, and outdoor activities. Yet, what it’s truly become known worldwide for is the food! The city plays host to dozens of Michelin Star restaurants and has become a top place to visit for foodies in Europe.
Our trip was concentrated around the vibrant old town area, where we had a chance to try around 15 of the famous pintxo bars. This is a fun style of eating similar to tapas, where you hop from bar to bar and get a small taste of the local specialties.
Read all about the pintxos tour we took with Devour here, which ended up being the ultimate eating experience! San Sebastian is also famous for its cider, so be sure to try it in your own visit.
In addition to the fabulous food, we also had plenty of time to experience the outdoors. Our trip in mid-May was perfect timing for the beaches, hiking, and even a boat ride around the harbor. As you’ll see next, there are so many great day trips to take from San Sebastian as well!
San Sebastian Day Trip Tips
- ✈️ San Sebastián Airport is around 25 minutes from the city centre. We used this website and found flights for just $30 USD each from southern Spain.
- 🛌 Some of the highest rated hotels are Hotel Boutique Villa Favorita (lux), Pensión Sarriegi (mid-range), and Surf Hostel (budget).
- 🚗 After this, we took an epic road trip through Spain! Check out the cheapest car rental prices from San Sabastian here.
- ⛵️ Besides jumping on an awesome food tour, you can find hundreds of activities using Get Your Guide.
- ☀️ Never travel abroad without insurance like SafetyWing.
- 🎒 Scan through our Amazon packing lists, electronics and camera gear & long flight essentials.
- 🇪🇸 Read all our Spain articles to help plan your next trip to Europe.
About Day Trips From San Sebastian Spain
Although we easily could have stayed in San Sebastian for the entirety of our visit, we yearned to see more of the beautiful Basque Coast. After our travel conference, we decided to rent a car and check out more of northern Spain.
We always use this website to book rental cars in Spain. It allows you to filter through all the companies to find the best deal for your trip.
There is also a bus service available throughout the Basque Country, especially in between the larger towns and cities. However, to truly have the freedom to get around on your own, you’ll definitely want to have a car.
One of the best parts about this region is that everything is pretty close together. This means you can take one long day trip from San Sebastian and see everything, or separate it into smaller drives to spend more time in each place.
Our San Sebastian day trips took us both ways along the Basque Coast, to scenic beaches and unique historical towns. Know that we did a ton during our visit, but these were our top 3 places we recommend traveling to!
3 Epic Day Trips From San Sebastian
Mundaka & San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
Our first epic San Sebastian day trip would be to the small town of Mundaka. Over the years, this coastal village has become an epicenter of surfing.
It’s long been considered the best left-hand wave in Europe and really put Basque Country on the map in the popular water sport. It’s located on the golden sand Laidaitxu Beach inside the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve.
The famous Mundaka wave is for experts only, so we didn’t try our hand at surfing here. We did manage to get out on the water and do some kayaking, which was a highlight of our day trip from San Sebastian. You can rent kayaks and even take a guided tour with the outdoor company UR Urdaibai.
Besides the stunning nature, another reason to visit Mundaka is the colorful old town. It’s a great place to grab lunch or even a quick coffee during your Basque coast excursion.
If you have time, you should also take the hike at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. It was actually the filming site for Dragonstone in Game of Thrones, and the views from the top are absolutely magical!
This stunning nature reserve is just 25 minutes drive from the shores of Mundaka. Combining the two spots will make for the perfect day trip from San Sebastian Spain.
City of Bilbao, Spain
San Sebastian truly lived up to the hype and is so deserving of its world recognition. Nevertheless, there is another city worth seeing on your trip to the Basque country!
Honestly, we thought Bilbao was severely underrated after our own trip here. It’s most well-known attraction is the Guggenheim Museum, which is one of the most famous art displays in all of Europe.
In addition to checking out the art scene, you’ll find all kinds of unique architecture around Bilbao. We enjoyed an awesome boat tour down the Nervión River and even took the lift up to the unique Vizcaya Bridge.
The bustling city has its own special food scene separate from San Sebastian. You’ll have to trust us when we say they hold their own!
Our first night here included an 8 course tasting menu at Los Fueros restaurant. If you’ve been following us for awhile, then you know we’ll never turn down the opportunity to eat at a Michelin Star restaurant!
Bilbao also has a lively nightlife scene thanks to the two big universities in the city. It’s certainly walkable, but we utilized the efficient subway system to get around. We loved Bilbao so much, we ended up going back there for two more nights at the end of our Basque coast trip!
Oma Forest is also worth seeing while you’re in the area. It was created out in nature during the early 1980’s by the well known sculptor and painter Agustin Ibarrola. Here you can take a self-guided tour through the painted trees, which create different works of art when lined up correctly.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Ready for a trip over the border?? Well, you should know that San Sebastian is just a 15 minute drive from France!
I don’t know about you, but we find it difficult not to visit another country when it’s so close during our travels. So one sunny morning, we decided to take a drive over to one of the beach towns across the border.
Before our day trip from San Sebastian, we honestly had no idea the Basque country extended into France. Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a small fishing village that sits at the Nivelle River. It also doubles as a popular beach vacation town on the Atlantic Coast.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz’s claim to fame was being the site of the marriage between King Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse of Spain in 1660. You can still visit where this took place at Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church right in town.
In addition to the beautiful beach, the stunning architecture and cute cafes really drew us in. We took a San Sebastian day trip early one morning here and stopped at Café Vauban for breakfast.
The croissants came hot and fresh right out of the oven, and we enjoyed them with jam and a delicious café au lait. It was amazing to experience a whole separate culture and culinary specialties so close to where we were staying in Spain.
After breakfast, we strolled through town and took a long walk along the beach. Of course, before leaving, we grabbed some French eclairs for the “long drive” back to San Sebastian!
You can also consider making a longer day trip out of it in France. Other towns along the Basque coast worth visiting include Ciboure, Biarritz , Uruggne, and Bayonne.
Have any questions about this article or want to share your own favorite day trips from San Sebastian Spain? Leave us a comment below!
Safe Travels,
Brigitte & Jake
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We’re Brigitte and Jake! American travel bloggers currently based in Spain. If you can believe it, we started Nothing Familiar way back in 2015 on an Ipad in the Ecuadorian jungle. Ever since, we haven’t stopped traveling! We’ve now been to over 60 countries around the world, with our expertise being Europe and Southeast Asia. We love outdoor adventures, tasting local specialties, and island hopping through tropical destinations. Hopefully, our guides and authentic experiences will inspire you on your own travels!
