San Sebastian/Donostia

I would not spend 17 nights in San Sebastian. It will prove logistically inconvenient with your list of sightseeing targets, and it's a very touristy place with comparatively high lodging costs. I'd split the time between multiple bases.

I preferred Bilbao to San Sebastian for its larger historic center, fewer tourists and the Guggenheim. YMMV. Gernika and the coastal town of Lekeitio (which I haven't seen, but it's recommended in guidebooks) are more easily reached from Bilbao.

I liked Vitoria-Gasteiz, to which I day-tripped. That's a lot faster from San Sebastian than from Bilbao but still takes about 2 hours. Pamplona didn't impress me and looks like a rather long day trip from San Sebastian. It's about an hour by train from Vitoria-Gasteiz. Also reasonably near Vitoria-Gasteiz (requiring a bus) is the atmospheric hill town of Laguardia.

The French Basque towns of Bayonne, Biarritz and St-Jean-de-Luz are roughly 2 hours each way from San Sebastian. Bayonne could about fill a day, so rather than making multiple trips to that area, I'd tend to stay there for perhaps three nights.

You'll need buses for some of your destinations, I think. Between Bilbao and San Sebastian the frequent buses are a lot faster than the train, though the train route is scenic and worth taking in one direction if you have time.

The train route from Madrid to San Sebastian makes several stops. The ones I've been to and can recommend are the pilgrimage destination of Burgos and the aforementioned Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Taking day trips for that many days would get old very quickly and you’d be spending a lot of time just traveling to/from places. To reduce the amount of travel time I too recommend a few bases for that length of time.

Since I always get a rental car I can’t speak to the public transportation aspect of your trip. There are plenty of very small villages and sites in that area. Acraven mentioned Laguardia, but it’s just one of many. For example, within 13 miles of Laguardia are Briones and San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Unfortunately, without a vehicle it would probably be impossible to see all in the same day.

I enjoyed Pamplona, but to me, there are more interesting towns.

I explored the coastal region by public transport, but we changed bases. For the interior small towns, I would absolutely want a car.
The only way I know how to sort it all out is to write it out day by day and really dial in to how long you wish to spend in a car per day. Driving in and out of SS will be kind of a drag so choose carefully for location and parking.
Look at the Oka river inlet (Urdaibai Biosferaren Erreserba), for hiking, canoeing/kayaking, surfing, birding. That’s one area I’d really like to return (also to explore the interior parks near Bilbao). The flysch coastal walk near Zumaia is a must (and I never use that word!).

Hi Ann Marie,
As the others have said, 17 days in San Sebastian is too long. Even with a car as a home base.

Breaking it up into 3 or 4 stops might be the best. From Madrid, you could take a bus to Logroño. In Logroño you have several wineries to visit, plus going for tapas in calle Laurel and calle San Juan. There is a regular bus to Laguardia so you could make a day trip there. There is also a good regional bus network, so you could make a day trip to San Vicente de la Sonsierra. It is a nice town with some wineries and a castle. There are also so hiking routes out of town through the vineyards.

After Logroño you could head up to San Sebastian. There is a direct bus daily, but it does not go through Pamplona, so if you want to visit there you'd have to make a connection. As mentioned, not really a lot to see there.

I would also suggest that instead of visiting St Jean de luz, Biariritz, and Bayonne as day trips from San Sebastion, pick one and spend two nights there. There is a local train and it allows you to go between the three very easily. You could even take the train to Pau or to Bordeos for the day.

Bilbao is good for a few nights, and there are better people then I with day trips from there.

If you find Logroño an interesting option, the 9th of June is the Day of La Rioja, and the 11th is San Bernabe, the patron of the city. Probably starting on the 7th they will start the fiesta. The town turns medieval as it recreates the French siege of 1521. It is a nice atmosphere, much better than San Mateo, the wine harvest in September.

To finish, there is a saying in Spanish " Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo" or Don't take off your cloak until the 40th of May (June 10th). We have had San Bernabes with perfect spring weather, and others with cold rainy drizzle.

I think you would do well with a base for the Pays Basque....so you could see Bayonne, St Jean de Luz, St Jean Pied de Port, Espelette, etc......look up the train and bus routes and choose the most central for a base.

Burgos would be a good two-day overnight en route to Madrid.

As a Basque local:

• You probably already know, but take into account that all northern Spain tends to be wet and rainy, and weather is quite unpredictable. Donostia-San Sebastian does not have very reliable weather and rain is a strong possibility. Summer months are drier, but that may mean several rainy days in a month, too.

• D-SS is well located to visit the French Basque Country and Iruña-Pamplona (I´ve just returned from a weekend in this city), as well as Hondarribia, Getaria, Pasai Donibane...

• Bilbao is better located if you want to explore Lekeitio, Ea, Elantxobe, Gernika, Gaztelugatxe, Rioja...

• There are hundreds of hikes in the area, also boat trips, beautiful landscapes, excellent food...

• Public transport is excellent and will take you practically anywhere, but in order to make the most of your time, renting a car for some of your stay makes a lot of sense. Buses are, very frequently, the best option (cleanest, safest, cheapest, very reliable and very frequent).

• And, in my very personal opinion, maybe 17 days in D-SS are way too much...a beautiful city, no doubt about it, but not that much to do after the second or third day. If you want to split days, Burgos, Zaragoza, somewhere in the Rioja wine country..., would also be a good idea.

I totally agree on stopping in Burgos.

If you made Burgos your last stop, you can take an early morning bus from Burgos straight to Terminal 4. The 07:30 bus has you at the airport at 10:10 am, for example.

With a transatlantic flight in the offing, I would not spend my last night in Burgos, much as I enjoyed that city. My policy is to be within an affordable taxi ride of my departure airport in case something goes wrong with the public transportation I plan to use. Burgos is close to 150 miles (230 km) from the airport. Having to buy a last-minute, one-way replacement ticket would probably be extremely costly.

Thank you for all of the great recommendations. I am going to adjust the plan to the following:

• Fly into Madrid spend 3 nights (we have been to Madrid before, we love the city)
• Take the train to San Sebastián spend 10 nights (explore SS and day trip to surrounding areas)
• Take the train to Bilbao spend 4 nights (explore Bilbao and day trips to surrounding areas)
• Take the train to Burgos spend 3 nights (explore Burgos and day trips to surrounding areas)
• Take the train to Madrid spend 1 night then fly home the next day

This is our first time trying to travel throughout a country by using only public transportation. However if along the way we get frustrated we will rent a car. We are fortunate that we have a relative that works for a car rental company.

Thank you again for all the suggestions. Appreciate all of you!

If there’s a chance of renting a car, ensure the driver(s) gets an IDP before going over.