A day from San Sebastián
Day trips from San Sebastián
Fishing villages a quarter of an hour away, the flysch coast, Biarritz across the border, Bilbao and the Guggenheim, and the valleys and caves of Navarre: from San Sebastián there are day trips in every direction.
Updated 20 October 2026 · How we make our guides
The Gipuzkoa coast
Half an hour or less away.
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SpainPasaia
Pasai Donibane, a one-street fishing village along the bay, where Victor Hugo once lived. You cross over on a small launch.
What to see in Pasaia -
SpainHondarribia
A walled old town of houses with colourful balconies and the fishermen’s quarter of La Marina, facing France.
What to see in Hondarribia -
SpainGetaria
Elcano’s home town, with the “mouse of Getaria” headland above the sea and txakoli vineyards on the slopes.
What to see in Getaria -
SpainZumaia
The flysch of Itzurun beach, layers of rock dropping into the sea like the pages of a book.
What to see in Zumaia
Across the border
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FranceBiarritz
The Grande Plage, the Rocher de la Vierge and surf waves in the elegant seaside resort of the French Basque Country, less than an hour away.
What to see in Biarritz
Biscay and Navarre
An hour or so away.
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SpainBilbao
The Guggenheim, the Casco Viejo and the estuary, an hour away by motorway.
What to see in Bilbao -
SpainBermeo
A colourful harbour and, next to it, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the hermitage on an islet joined to the coast by a stairway.
What to see in Bermeo -
SpainPamplona
The old town of the San Fermín festival, the walls and the Plaza del Castillo.
What to see in Pamplona -
SpainZugarramurdi
The witches’ cave and the story of the Inquisition trials, in a village in the green valleys of northern Navarre.
What to see in Zugarramurdi -
SpainElizondo
The Baztán valley, with white farmhouses, meadows and forests.
What to see in Elizondo
Frequently asked questions
What day trips can you take from San Sebastián?
Pasaia, Hondarribia, Getaria and Zumaia on the coast; Biarritz, across the border; and Bilbao, Gaztelugatxe, Pamplona, Zugarramurdi or the Baztán valley, an hour or so away.
Can you visit Biarritz from San Sebastián in a day?
Yes, it is less than an hour away by car or bus, and you can combine it with Hondarribia.
Is it worth going to Bilbao from San Sebastián?
Yes: in an hour you are at the Guggenheim, and the Casco Viejo and the estuary are easy to see in a day.
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Reviewed 20 October 2026. Dates and seasonal warnings: the same data the Bagintravel app uses. Sources and method.
Cover photo: FreeCat (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons.