September trip to Basque region and my itinerary needs help and candid input

In my (single) experience, 3 days in 2016, the historic area of San Sebastian is a very, very touristy place. Just about every building has been turned into a restaurant or bar. I didn't find the atmosphere appealing, but I'm a non-drinker who doesn't like to hang around a food source, eating in a vertical position--especially if the place is so crowded it's hard to order food. I either want to sit down in a restaurant, or I want to get food I can take back to my hotel room where I can relax. So San Sebastian was never going to thrill me. However, the city is very pretty and the beach is special (at least to look at; it's often not swimming weather unless you have a wetsuit).

I agree that not seeing San Sebastian at all would be a shame if you're going to be nearby. There are other places you could stay and day trip to San Sebastian. I liked Bilbao a lot, despite its being about twice as large as San Sebastian. Aside from the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao doesn't get a lot of foreign tourists. As of 2016 the large historic area had few establishments focused on foreign tourists; it was great for wandering around. There are frequent buses (much faster than trains in this instance) between Bilbao and San Sebastian; the trip takes just under 1-1/2 hours. The much-longer train ride is scenic.

On the other side of San Sebastian, very near the French border, is the attractive town of Hondarribia. That bus trip could take as little as 25 minutes.

Donostia-San Sebastian has become a very "trendy" city based on its gastronomy and beautiful setting in the bay of La Concha, as well as for its size and proximity to the French Basque Country. Its International Film Festival starts on Friday Sept 22, so prices of hotels (normally already very expensive) will be even higher and scarcer rooms available. You can easily see SS in just one day, it´s small and walkable, and there aren´t drunken celebrations at all. As previous poster has said, there are many bars and restaurants in the touristy old quarter, but they´ve always been there, it´s not tourism that has put them there. I do think that staying in Bilbao is a very good idea, as it´s a very short one hour ride to SS and as said before, you can see it in one day or less. And Bilbao offers many more ammenities than SS and easy access to many interesting places. Hondarribia would also be a very good option.

I agree with the others’ suggestions. With as many times as I’ve been in that area, my wife and I have never stayed in SS, opting for smaller towns like Zumaia, Getaria, or Hondarrbia.

This must be our year for festivals. We were in Greece last year and had planned to stay in a small coastal town then found out they were going to have an international jazz festival at that time. We opted for another, smaller town and were very happy. It's hard not to be happy in Greece. Now the San Sebastian film festival is going on when we were going to go there. No wonder the prices!
Anyway, this Basque trip. I am leaning more and more towards Bilbao as a base. I am also really interested in the three smaller towns (Getaria, Hondarriba and the other one I can't remember and would have to go look it up. Please excuse me if I mispelled anything). So - if I have a week to explore this area what would you suggest timewise? We will have a car but taking public transportation to San Sebastian makes sense and I will plan to spend a day there. Any thoughts on where to spend these days and lodging suggestions?
Many, Many thanks to you all.

I´m copying and adapting one of my posts for a similar request on RS, "Bilbao has excellent connections with the rest of the Basque Country using public transport, but renting a car is a very good option. Bilbao itself deserves at least two full days, and on the rest of the days you can visit Donostia-San Sebastian (bus is the best option), for a full day excursion. Also, on an easy subway ride (clean, safe, efficient, cheap) you can also visit Getxo and the Puente Bizkaia and fishing port of Algorta, Plentzia. Further east, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Bermeo, Mundaka, Gernika and one of the oldest parliaments in the world and so symbolic for us Basques (you may need a car for this trip, it can also be done on public transport but of course it´d be more complicated and time-consuming). And south, Rioja Alavesa wine region, so different from the rest of the BAsque Country, very medieval and with walled towns such as Laguardia, Labastida, Elciego...Bus is a possibility, but I´d drive there for a better profitability of your time. Vitoria-GAsteiz, the capital, is also a good visit, nice medieval quarter, easy access on the bus". I should add Hondarribia (easy access by public bus from Donostia-San Sebastian, clean, efficient, cheap buses) and Getaria (same).

Sorry if this is more a train of thought rather than something more concrete but as I was staring at the calendar it occurred to me after reading all these comments that it might make sense to find an apartment to rent in the Bilbao area and use that as a base to explore all the wonderful places that have been mentioned. I would love to have a base where I could walk in the morning for a coffee and pastry to enjoy on some pleasant square and then head off in a car (we will have a car) or public transport for a day of adventure, stopping at local market(s) and picking up provisions. We could return to base and decide whether to eat from our acquired bounty or head off to a restaurant. It sounds like this region would be perfect for that. Would it? Your collective wisdom would be appreciated before I go too far down this road. Would Bilbao be a good base or is there some place else I should consider. Ideally it would have an amazing bakery, good coffee shops, a reasonable selection of restaurants. Don't want much, do I?

Even without a car, Bilbao makes a good base for many places in the BAsque Country, as it´s very well linked by road or public transport to most places. It´s also full of cafés, pastry shops and nice restaurants (also San Sebastian and practically any city in Spain), it also has a nice food market (La Ribera) and the old town (pedestrian) is full of life and atmosphere. I´m biased, as it´s the city I live in, but it really has all you´re asking for.

We stayed at apartments in both San Sebastian and Bilbao last year and highly recommend Bilbao. San Sebastian is beautiful but crowded with tourists. It felt hectic and the bars take over in some parts.

Bilbao is also beautiful but so much more interesting with many wonderful options for coffee, bakeries, wine, and food. The vibe is more relaxed, but fun. We are going back there in early September!

That is great to hear. I have just rented an apartment for our stay in Bilbao! Glad to have crossed that hurdle. I'm very excited about this decision.

My daughter was very concerned that Bilbao would not be suitable for my husband and me but she had spent only one night there and in the modern part of the city. From what I can tell we are staying in the old town. I reread all your comments and reread parts of the Bradt guidebook on the Basque Country (great resource) and am feeling confident we have made the right choice.
Part of the goal of this trip was to take the road less traveled. Between Bilbao and SS, Bilbao seems to be on that road.
I would not have come to that conclusion without your input. Again, thank you all.

I live in Bilbao, so if you have any doubts or questions please just ask or PM me. Why is your daughter concerned?

So our current plan is to stay in Bilbao for 2 days instead of 4 and spend the additional 2 days in Getaria. That means that an apartment in Bilbao is out as most have a 4 day minimum. We have found a place to stay in Getaria but are looking for a reasonable hotel in Bilbao. We have a car so access to parking is important. I know we don't need a car in Bilbao but we have it nevertheless. We are looking forward to visiting the very walkable and interesting city of Bilbao.

With a very good relationship quality-price, Hotel Ría de Bilbao, Barceló, Vincci Consulado, Coliseo, Miró, Meliá, Jardines de Albia, Abando...are very good options. Not sure how many offer car parking, it´s fully advisable to leave your car in the parking and forget about it during your two days, unless you want to visit nearby places on your vehicle (the amazing Puente Bizkaia, the old fishing port of Algorta, Plentzia...but all three places fully accessible on the metro system - modern, very clean, very safe, very cheap). Speed limit in the city is 30km/h (18mph), there´s a "war" against cars in the city by the City Hall, so take this into account as this speed limit will be enforced by radars.

To add to your consideration, maybe Pamplona would be of interest. Travelers tend to identify that city with the running of the bulls, but Pamplona is so much more than that. A truly delightful place. One of RS best guides lives there - hiring him for a walking tour would be an amazing experience.
As you know, the RS Basque Tour begins in Bayonne and ends in Bilbao, with overnight stops in Pamplona and San Sebastian and a day stop in Guernica. Although each of those locations are charming and beautiful, my least favorite was San Sebastian. I often consider a revisit to the Basque region, but I would skip San Sebastian if I were to go, again. In fairness, most people consider San Sebastian the jewel of the Basques lands.

Since you’ll be in Getaria try and make it the 6km or so over to Zumaia to see the flysch rock formations by the beach. Walk up the hill to Érmita San Telmo and walk out onto the point. There are some great views. When we were there we parked along Julio Beobide Ibilbidea. It was free in 2017, but no idea if it still is. From where we parked we walked everywhere since parking is limited up by the chapel and overlook. There are a number of public lots in town, but some walking to get to the beach is necessary.

Paid parking and areas limited to residents only in Zumaia, from June till end of September.

Just got my Michelin maps for our trip and I am looking at the route options to drive from Elizondo to Getxo, just north of Bilbao. I do not want to go along the coast as we will be going that way when returning to Bordeaux. One suggested route is to take the big highways and go through Pamploma and stopping there for lunch. I also see that there are much smaller roads like the NA 170 and GI2634 that go more directly but still take as much time because they look very twisty. If the area is scenic it might be worth the extra effort to navigate the back roads and hope we can find gas and don't get lost. On the other hand there is much to be said for speedy, well marked roads with facilties. Any thoughts? Thanks!!

We will be spending 3 days in Getxo, 2 days in Getaria and 3 days in St. Jean de Luz so I think that will give us enough time to explore the coast. Any thoughts on areas to explore there? Again, thanks!

I live in Getxo, a coastal town not far from Bilbao, very easily accessible on our clean, cheap, efficient metro (subway) system or by bus (same). Great old fishing port and a unique UNESCO World Heritage Monument, Puente Bizkaia, a surprise to many. Bilbao is a must, not just for the Guggenheim. If you have the time, get the metro to Plentzia, you´re going to love it and no foreigners go there ever. Not sure if you´ll have a car, but there are plenty of beautiful coastal towns nearby (Mundaka, Bermeo, Armintza, Lekeitio, Ea, Elantxobe...). Inland, Elorrio is well worth a visit (on the way to or from Donostia-San Sebastian).

Just a note about Spanish roads. Generally speaking, the more numbers, the more rural the road. For the GI2634 expect it to be narrower, possibly with no painted markers in areas, and possibly not in as good of repair as other roads. Look at it on Google maps street view for the area you’ll be driving to get an idea what the road is like. I’ve only been on a few Spanish roads in the past 20 years that were in really poor condition. Most often they are in good repair.

That road, as I would say of all roads in the Basque Country, is in excellent condition. But as Jaime says, it´s a minor road linking towns internally

A highlight of our wonderful September 2019 trip to Basque country was the Chillida-Leku sculpture garden. In San Sebastion, our favorite spot was the Peine del Viento (also by Chillida) located at the end of Ondarreta Beach. And, we had the best Pintxos (and Txakoli!) of our entire trip in Hondaribbia at Bar Gran Sol. Have a great trip!