
Kaia Kaipe
What to order: whole grilled fish, such as turbot, or lobster, with Getaria txakoli
geocalia
Day itinerary · 43.29° N · 2.19° W
You see the Balenciaga museum, climb the Ratón of Getaria, eat grilled fish above the harbour and walk to Zarautz beach. Half an hour from San Sebastián and an hour from Bilbao.
Part of Getaria and ZarautzBay of Biscay
The plan
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
via the AP-8 or the N-634 along the coast; park at the entrance to Getaria
€14, free up to age 18; 1 h 30
1 h return along the harbour
San Salvador church and the streets of the old town before lunch
Kaia Kaipe · grill over the harbour · €€€€ · Sunday 13:00 to 15:30, booking
General Arnao, 4, 20808 Getaria · +34 943 140 500
on foot along the seafront promenade, 1 h to 1 h 30
the beach and the Iñurritza dunes; bus back to Getaria to collect the car
in San Sebastián around 19:00
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Getaria is a fishing village with a hill attached to the harbour, the Ratón, and Zarautz, four kilometres away, is a long beach of surf and dunes. Between the two there is a seaside walk. This Sunday starts at the museum of Cristóbal Balenciaga, the couturier born in Getaria, continues through the Ratón and the old town and stops for lunch at a grill above the harbour, where the grill houses put the fish out on the street. In the afternoon you walk lunch off to Zarautz.
9:30 · Set off. From San Sebastián, half an hour on the AP-8 or a little longer on the coast road. From Bilbao, an hour. Park at the entrance to the village: the old town and harbour are narrow.
10:00 · Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum. It is at the top of the village. The couturier's collection and its temporary exhibitions take an hour and a half. Admission costs €14, €9 reduced, and under-18s do not pay. In winter it opens Wednesday to Sunday.
11:45 · The Ratón. Monte San Antón, joined to the village by the harbour, is shaped like a mouse seen from Zarautz. You climb past the harbour to the lighthouse: an hour there and back, with views of Zarautz and the coast.
13:00 · Old town and harbour. Before lunch, the Gothic church of San Salvador, built on a slope with a passage underneath that goes down to the harbour, and the medieval streets that lead down to the harbour.
13:30 · Lunch at Kaia Kaipe. A grill above the harbour, with a winter and a summer terrace. On Sundays it serves lunch from 13:00 to 15:30 and is closed on Tuesdays. Book: it is the most expensive meal of the plan.
16:00 · From Getaria to Zarautz on foot. The walk follows the coast beside the road, about four or five kilometres in an hour or an hour and a half. The other option is to go up the Camino de Santiago among txakoli vines, via Santa Bárbara.
17:30 · Zarautz beach. The longest stretch of sand on the Basque coast and the Iñurritza dunes at the end. Go back to Getaria on the Lurraldebus bus to get the car, or leave the car in Zarautz in the morning and do the walk the other way round.
The museum is free for under-18s and the Ratón is a short climb. With teenagers, the Pukas school in Zarautz runs weekend surf courses of three hours. If the plan is on a Saturday, swap the museum for the visit to the vineyard and winery of Txomin Etxaniz, with a tasting of txakoli, anchovy and bonito, for €22; it does not do visits on Sundays or from September to November.

Where to eat
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.

What to order: whole grilled fish, such as turbot, or lobster, with Getaria txakoli

What to order: the five-half-portion tasting menu, or something informal on the bar terrace

What to order: the grilled turbot, and let them advise you on the fish of the day
Map
With where to park at each one.
Getting there
When to go
All year, best from April to October for the terrace and the beach. In winter the museum opens Wednesday to Sunday. Kaia Kaipe is closed on Tuesdays, not Sundays.
Tips
The harbour grill houses fill up at midday with people from San Sebastián and Bilbao.
You will have it at your back.
Questions
€14 general admission and €9 reduced. Under-18s enter free.
Yes, at midday, from 13:00 to 15:30. Closed on Tuesdays.
Between an hour and an hour and a half along the seaside walk.
Yes. The Lurraldebus UK10 bus links San Sebastián with Zarautz and Getaria.
Txomin Etxaniz does visits Monday to Saturday, except from September to November. Not on Sundays.
More plans like this
geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/getaria-and-zarautz/itineraries/balenciaga-raton-and-harbour-grill
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/getaria-and-zarautz/itineraries/balenciaga-raton-and-harbour-grill