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San Sebastian in the off season

I am hoping to travel to San Sebastian this year, but will probably be doing so in early November, which I understand will be the off season there. Any reasons why I shouldn't go there during the off season? Will it still be worth it? I know it won't be beach weather but will enough desirable restaurants and attractions be open that it will be worth making the trip?

Any other advice on traveling to and around San Sebastian/Basque country would be much appreciated including:
-Transportation options in the area and ease of transport without renting a car
-Budget flights from London and easiest way to get to San Sebastian from London
-Good destinations and attractions for people who are very active and prefer to be outdoors away from crowds
-Best restaurants and good quality but still affordable restaurants.

THANKS!

Posted by
27111 posts

I don't do off-season trips so am not sure what the restaurant situation will be like. San Sebastian is not overly blessed with major "attractions" in the traditional sense. I think the San Telmo Museum is probably the most important. You can check its website to see what its hours are in November. The fairly small historic district (which is where a lot of the restaurants and tapas bars are located) will of course be available for wandering.

San Sebastian is a geographically convenient base for visiting the coastal towns of Hondarribia (the largest of the ones I'm mentioning) and Zarautz/Getaria/Zumaia. Some are bus destinations; others can be reached by train. I am sort of doubtful about November in those places, especially the three smaller ones. They are little, historic, former fishing villages with restaurants/cafes on the water. I don't know how many of those will be open in November.

The fastest way to Bilbao (which has more museums, a larger historic district, and fewer tourists--at least in peak season) is by bus. I'm not the only person on the forum who preferred Bilbao to San Sebastian, but I am not a bar-hopper and S.S. is very popular. Bilbao is a larger city, much less tourist-driven, and will not be closed in November.

The interior capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz is another possible destination. It has a large medieval district on a hill and some museums that I'm sure will not be totally closed in November, because Vitoria-Gasteiz is not terribly tourist-focused. I think V-G is over an hour from both Bilbao and San Sebastian.

Bilbao's airport is considerably busier than San Sebastian's, so you may have more flight options there. I don't know the details, but I'm sure there's decent bus transportation from the Bilbao airport to San Sebastian. You can look for flights on skyscanner.com.

Basque Country weather tends to be cool and damp even in mid-summer, so you should be prepared for the possibility of a dearth of sunshine and the certainty of fairly short days.

Posted by
847 posts

San Sebastian is a major city (population almost 200,000). It does not close down in the winter months. However, San Sebastian is all about the gorgeous beach/ promenade/ views from the two hill tops. In cloudy/rainy weather those will be greatly diminished. And you are more likely to get that kind of weather in November than in say July. But you could get sun in November or rain in July, it's just a case of how likely it is. Some of the restaurants on the promenade could be closed but there are tons of others that won't be. But it's not like some place like say, Ibiza, where hundreds of shops and restaurants and bars close down for the off season and the atmosphere is completely different.