# Cerca de San Sebastián

From San Sebastián almost everything starts on the coast. To the east, Hondarribia and the French Basque Coast, half an hour away; to the west, Getaria and Urdaibai along the AP-8; to the south, Olite and the Rioja Alavesa, and for two nights, Arcachon, Gavarnie and Ordesa.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/san-sebastian/getaways

## Planes de un día
- [Hondarribia: old town, the Marina and Jaizkibel](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/hondarribia/itineraries/walls-ferry-and-jaizkibel.md) (25 min en coche): You stroll round the walled old town and the Marina, cross to Hendaye by small ferry, eat at a grill house on the outskirts and in the afternoon see Jaizkibel from the sea. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Getaria: museum, the Ratón and grill](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/getaria-and-zarautz/itineraries/balenciaga-raton-and-harbour-grill.md) (30 min en coche): 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.
- [Biarritz with children: seals and a calm beach](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/biarritz-with-kids-aquarium.md) (30 min en coche): The seals and sharks of the Biarritz aquarium, a bar lunch at the market and an afternoon in the bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where hardly any swell enters. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Coastal path and boat along the corniche](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/bidart-cliff-walk-to-saint-jean-de-luz.md) (30 min en coche): You walk the first stage of the GR 8 along the cliffs from Bidart to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, eat chipirones behind the market and see from the boat the coast you have walked. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Saint-Jean-de-Luz: harbour and a fish restaurant](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/saint-jean-de-luz-harbour-chipirones-and-corniche.md) (30 min en coche): The old town and harbour of Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the morning, chipirones at a restaurant behind the market and a return along the cliff road. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Biarritz: surf at the Côte des Basques and the market](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/sunday-in-biarritz-surf-and-market.md) (30 min en coche): An hour-and-a-half surf lesson at Biarritz's learner beach, tapas and produce at the covered market and, in the afternoon, the Atalaye aquarium. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
- [La Rhune: rack railway and Espelette](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/sunday-la-rhune-and-espelette.md) (30 min en coche): You go up La Rhune on a 1924 wooden train, eat inland Basque cooking in Espelette and finish on the main street of Ainhoa. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Lapurdi villages and a castle above the sea](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/winter-ainhoa-espelette-abbadia.md) (30 min en coche): Ainhoa and Espelette without crowds in the morning, inland Basque cooking beside the pelota court and, in the afternoon, the neo-Gothic Abbadia castle on the Hendaye cliff. For when the La Rhune train is not running.
- [Gaztelugatxe, Mundaka and the Casa de Juntas](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/urdaibai/itineraries/sunday-at-gaztelugatxe-and-mundaka.md) (1 h 20 en coche): You climb to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe before the crowds arrive, stroll round Mundaka, eat above the estuary and finish at the Casa de Juntas in Gernika. About 40 minutes from Bilbao.
- [Olite: palace, grill and Ujué](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/navarre/olite/itineraries/royal-palace-grill-house-and-ujue.md) (1 h 35 en coche): You climb the Royal Palace towers, walk the medieval rúas, eat chargrilled food on the Rúa Mayor and finish at Ujué, on top of its hill. 40 minutes from Pamplona.
- [Laguardia, Baigorri and a night at Viura](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/glass-winery-and-sonsierra.md) (1 h 45 en coche): You arrive by bus in Laguardia, go down into its underground cellars, have lunch in Páganos, taste at the winery under Samaniego's glass cube and sleep in Villabuena. Wednesday or Thursday.
- [Laguardia: tower, calado and Riscal](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/wine-cellars-tower-and-marques-de-riscal.md) (1 h 45 en coche): You walk Laguardia inside the wall, climb the Abbey Tower, go down into a winery dug beneath the streets, eat with a view of the vineyard and taste at Marqués de Riscal. 20 minutes from Logroño.
- [Haro: winery, grill house and Briñas](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/la-rioja/haro/itineraries/station-quarter-wineries-and-lamb.md) (1 h 55 en coche): You stroll round the Barrio de la Estación, visit Muga with a tasting, eat lamb at a grill house from 1877 and finish at La Herradura and in Briñas, beside the Ebro. 40 minutes from Logroño and Vitoria.

## Hondarribia and France to the east, Getaria to the west

Three roads share out almost all the plans. The AP-8 to the east passes the airport on the way to [Hondarribia](/en/spain/basque-country/hondarribia) and crosses the Bidasoa at Irun; on the other side it continues as the French A-63 towards the [French Basque Coast](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast) and, much further up, the [Arcachon bay](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/arcachon-bay). The same AP-8 to the west leads to [Getaria and Zarautz](/en/spain/basque-country/getaria-and-zarautz) and, past Eibar, to the Gernika turn-off and [Urdaibai](/en/spain/basque-country/urdaibai). To the south, the A-15 via Leizarán drops to Pamplona and [Olite](/en/spain/navarre/olite), and the N-I via Tolosa and Etxegarate climbs to Vitoria, the gateway to the [Rioja Alavesa](/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa), [Haro](/en/spain/la-rioja/haro) and [Burgos](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/burgos).

Without a car, the two nearest plans on this side of the border have a Lurraldebus bus: the BI01 to Hondarribia and the UK10 to Getaria, about 40 minutes each. The Euskotren Topo reaches Hendaye and there the French coastal train begins. For the rest a car is best: Urdaibai, southern Navarre and La Rioja are far from direct lines.

## The coast half an hour away, on both sides of the Bidasoa

**Half an hour away** is the coast, on both sides. Hondarribia, at 25 minutes, with the wall, the Marina and the motor boat to Hendaye; Getaria, at 30, with the Balenciaga museum and the Ratón. Across the Bidasoa, at the same half hour, are the Sundays of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz and La Rhune, which are arranged separately in the Sunday plans near San Sebastián.

The day calls for an early start **between one and two hours**. Urdaibai, an hour and twenty away, combines Gaztelugatxe, Mundaka and Gernika; Olite, at 95 minutes, the Royal Palace and the climb to Ujué; Laguardia, an hour and three quarters away, the cellars and Marqués de Riscal, and Haro, almost two, the wineries of the Barrio de la Estación. Urdaibai and the Rioja Alavesa also have an overnight version: [Urdaibai with the estuary by canoe](/en/spain/basque-country/urdaibai/itineraries/urdaibai-canoe-gaztelugatxe-weekend) and [the Rioja Alavesa inside the Laguardia wall](/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/rioja-alavesa-wine-weekend-laguardia).

**From two and a half hours** the trip is a weekend one: [oysters at Arcachon](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/arcachon-bay/itineraries/oyster-weekend), at 2 h 30; [Burgos and Atapuerca](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/burgos/itineraries/night-with-atapuerca-from-valladolid), at 2 h 35; the [Gavarnie cirque](/en/france/cirque-de-gavarnie/itineraries/weekend-cirque-and-waterfall), three hours via Pau and Lourdes; [Llanes and the eastern Asturian coast](/en/spain/asturias/llanes/itineraries/llanes-eastern-asturian-coast-weekend), a little over three, and [Ordesa from Torla](/en/spain/aragon/ordesa-valley/itineraries/ordesa-weekend-torla-from-huesca), almost three and a half.

## November, one of Olite's best months

In winter the village-and-table plans work. Hondarribia and Getaria can be done all year, with the old town and the harbour as the main plan and the grill house as the second. Olite too: the palace can be visited in the cold, and November is one of its best months. Arcachon serves oysters all year, although out of season many cabins open only at weekends.

In spring it is best to look west. From May to September is the high season for Urdaibai, with canoeing on the estuary and the controlled-access days at Gaztelugatxe, for which you must book the ticket. May and June are also good months for Llanes.

Summer is the season of the Pyrenees. The path to the Gavarnie waterfall is free of snow from June to September, and in June it carries more water; in July and August the surrounding coast fills up and the mountain is welcome.

Autumn is for vineyards. In September and October, Laguardia, Haro and the cellars are at their best, and in Arcachon the cabins stay open with the Pilat dune free of queues. It is also a good season for Ordesa, with fewer people than in summer.

## The Balenciaga museum and a walk back to Zarautz

- **Without a car, in a day:** [Sunday in Getaria and Zarautz](/en/spain/basque-country/getaria-and-zarautz/itineraries/balenciaga-raton-and-harbour-grill). A 40-minute bus, the Balenciaga museum first thing, the Ratón lighthouse, grilled fish above the harbour and a walk back along the coast to Zarautz.
- **By car, in a day:** [Sunday in Olite](/en/spain/navarre/olite/itineraries/royal-palace-grill-house-and-ujue). An hour and a half along the A-15 to climb the Royal Palace towers, eat on Rúa Mayor and watch the sunset from Ujué.
- **With one night:** [Urdaibai, from the estuary to Gaztelugatxe](/en/spain/basque-country/urdaibai/itineraries/urdaibai-canoe-gaztelugatxe-weekend). A night in Mundaka to paddle down the estuary by canoe to Laida, see the Casa de Juntas in Gernika and climb the Gaztelugatxe steps before anyone else.

For the other side of the border, the [weekend on the French Basque Coast](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/weekend-from-san-sebastian) brings together in two nights what the Sundays spread out.