We are traveling for an extended time in Europe this summer/fall. At the end of the trip we will be headed to Spain via Biarritz. We will be there around the 8th of October and plan on staying four nights. Which city should we stay in Biarritz or San Sebastion? Weather proably not good enough for sun bathing and hope to make a day trip to Bilbao.
Posted by
la rioja
593 posts
I would split the difference and stay in San Juan de Luz.
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2662 posts
San Sabastian if your are a foodie, but both are pleasant places to spend some time.
Posted by
OP
New Bern North Carolina
16 posts
Thank you.for your replies.
Our itinerary isn't finalized so I can change the amount of days. Is three full days enough? Currently we plan on having lunch in Biarritz and arriving in.San Sebastion late day for our first night of four.
Posted by
Washington DC
28094 posts
I stayed in Bayonne and day tripped to Biarritz. I didn't much care for Biarritz; I enjoyed St-Jean-de-Luz more. On the Spanish side of the border I preferred Bilbao to San Sebastian, but I would definitely choose SS over Biarritz if those were my only options. Aside from preferring it as a city, SS is much more convenient for visiting Bilbao. You'd have close to four hours of driving time on a Biarritz-to-Bilbao day trip; I have no idea how long it would take by train/bus.
If you're going to be traveling by car, I'd try to visit the mountain villages on the French side of the border, something that's not so easy to do if you're limited to public transportation.
Posted by
98 posts
San Sebastian for sure. A beautiful city and the food/tapas scene was wonderful. Plus easy to get to Bilbao (worth a trip for sure), or if you want something closer, try Getaria nearby (on the coast and beautiful also and much smaller and more manageable to see). If you like hiking consider walking a bit of the Camino Norte that goes right along the coast from San Sebastian to Getaria (beautiful hike along the coast)