Where to go after San Sebastián?

If you were renting a car I'd suggest the Picos de Europa area, but as it is, I have no brilliant ideas. Barcelona may indeed be your best bet; there are always child-friendly activities in cities, and without a car, you are somewhat limited in your ability to move around the countryside.

There are lots of good day-trips from San Sebastian. These places are all accessible by public transportation: Hondarribia, Zarautz-Getaria-Zumaia, Vitoria-Gasteiz (interior, not coastal). I prefer much Bilbao to San Sebastian. The trip to Bilbao is faster by bus than by train. The train route is very scenic, but I doubt that your kids will care.

How about going to the Rioja wine area, Logroño? the Pyrenees? Look at
Zaragoza too.
Nearer to Madrid, Toledo, Segovia or farther Salamanca are all wonderful towns/small cities to explore.
Or travel to French Basque area, St-Jean de Lux and explore beautiful villages in the foothills such as Ascain, Saré, Ainhoa, Espellette. .
We had a car so can’t help you with public transportation. Six people and luggage is a lot to get on and off of trains.

Ah yes, so many options... so little time. My first piece of advice would be, if not already planed, to definitely check out Bilbao, the more grounded brother to San Sebastián. With its contrasting old and new architecture and nice riverside area, I actually like Bilbao better than San Sebastián. The main draw is the Guggenheim, one of the leading contemporary art museums in the world. I think your kids may like the whimsical and interactive art of the Guggenheim.

From San Sebastián, one can travel with an ALSA Bus (2:30 hr) south east to the medieval town of Olite. The Royal Palace of Olite was the seat of the Kings of Navarre. For me, it's one of the more impressive medieval palaces in Europe. There's even a Parador Hotel inside the Palace that one can spend a night or two, I think it'll be a hit with the kids! :)

If you continue to bus south east you will reach Zaragoza, the capital of the neighboring region of Aragon. The city has more than 2,000 years of history including Roman ruins of the city walls, forum, and amphitheater, as well as the Aljafería; an 11th-century Moorish palace. The best part, Zaragoza is relatively undiscovered as far as major Spanish cities go. I would look into canoeing down the Ebro river as a fun experience for the kids.

From Zaragoza, one can take the AVE high speed train east or southwest and be in either Barcelona or Madrid in less than 2 hrs, respectively. Personally, I would opt for more time in Barcelona, if you are not keen on classical art museums. Some place that may be of interest for you kids: Maritime Museum of Barcelona, Tibidabo Amusement Park (oldest in Spain), and definitively la Sagrada Familia.

The palace in Olite might well be a hit, but I wouldn't want to make a 5-hour round-trip to see it. I don't know whether transportation links would support an overnight stop there. I arrived by bus and was simply dropped off on the street. There was no bus station where I would have been able to store luggage, but it didn't matter because I was spending the night there.

Zaragoza is quite striking, but that city can be killer-hot in the summer. That wouldn't prevent a one-day visit, but be aware that miserable heat is to be expected. The train/bus station is about a 30-minute walk from the historic center. The Moorish palace is at about the mid-way point. There seems to be frequent bus service from the train/bus station; use it. If you decide to keep Barcelona on the itinerary, I think I'd rather have an extra day in Barcelona than a day in Zaragoza. Or Olite, for that matter. But I am uncommonly fond of modernista architecture.

Thank you so much @acraven @suki and @carlos.
I will research all the places you mentioned. I really appreciate the guidance!

I would suggest:
Irunea (aka Pamplona) (2+ hour train ride)
Zaragoza (2+ hour train ride)
Madrid (1.3 hour train ride)

We spent 2 nights in Irunea (should have made it 3).
https://www.yelp.com/biz/parque-de-la-taconera-pamplona
https://www.yelp.com/biz/parque-de-la-ciudadela-pamplona
https://www.yelp.com/biz/alhambra-pamplona

We spent 3 nights in Zaragoza.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/museo-del-fuego-y-de-los-bomberos-zaragoza
https://www.yelp.com/biz/emoz-zaragoza
https://www.yelp.com/biz/palacio-de-la-aljafer%C3%ADa-zaragoza
https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-méli-del-tubo-zaragoza

Hi Jennifera1944,
I think that Madrid would make a worthy base with kids and you say that your return flight leaves from Madrid. El Retiro park, El Prado, Plaza Mayor, and Palacio Royal should appeal to kids. Maybe a visit to one of the big football (soccer) stadiums. The beauty of Madrid is that there are many great daytrips in the general area easily reached on public transportation. Segovia with its Roman acueduct and alcazar is beautiful and should most definitely appeal to kids. Nearby is La Granja de San Ildefonso, an impressive royal palace and gardens. The walled city of Avila is nearby. I liked Avila. Beautiful Toledo is a quick half hour away on the AVE train. I would recommend staying a night or two in Toledo. It is so beautiful at night. If you were to stay there for two days your kids would very much enjoy Consuegra, with its windmills and castle standing guard on the hill over the plains below. You could get there by public bus or hire a driver or look for a tour that includes Consuegra. You would have no trouble filling your 8 days.

If you are set on Barcelona, maybe a stop in Zaragoza. Barcelona would also have many neat daytrip options but in the end you have to get back to Madrid for your return flight so I think I, personally, would save Barcelona for a future trip.

Difficult without a car. Buses will get you from one place to another, one day for each leg, but they don't work well for stopping then continuing on later. Train service in Spain is good in roughly a C pattern that includes Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, and Granada. On those routes, Zaragosa and Cordoba are easily reached as intermediate stops. Toledo is also easy as a separate spur from Madrid. Outside of that "C", train service is spotty at best. Many times when you book a train ticket, part will be on a bus.

I love Olite, one of my favorite castle visits in Europe. It's about 20-30 minutes, by car, from Pamplona so plenty of lodging (when you're driving).

I was driving. After San Sebastian (visited following Olite and Pamplona from Zaragosa) we drove a loop through Vitoria-Gastiez, Burgos, Valladolid, Zamorra, Salamanca (saw Pinafiel, La Mota and Coca castles in the area), Avila, Segovia and Toledo. Any of these places is head and shoulders above Madrid (except for El Prado) in my book.

Besides trains consider buses to get around. They are better than trains in that part of Spain. And while there are tons of great places to visit (many suggested above - I loved Olite for example, as well as the wine region around Laguardia) those places are probably too much trouble to get to without a car for just a short visit. You could consider Burgos for a few days and then on to Madrid (Burgos is on the way and easy to do San Sebastian to Burgos and Burgos to Madrid and it breaks up the trip). From Madrid do day trips to both Segovia and Toledo. For buses check out busbud.com

Thanks everyone! These are all wonderful suggestions, now I just need to decide. It is really tough, wish we had more time!

Curious why no car? You would have more time and options with the increased efficiency of a car. Plus, aren't 6 tickets about as expensive as a daily car rental?

Curious why no car? You would have more time and options with the increased efficiency of a car. Plus, aren't 6 tickets about as expensive as a daily car rental?

We live in a place that requires our family to drive sometimes 2 hours a day to get kids to school, activities, our jobs, etc. So, on our vacations we prefer to change it up. Plus, 4 kids in a car (bickering, complaining) can often be very painful for the parents LOL. Our kids get along much better in public spaces!

Hi Jennifer,
you don't say when in June, but the 8th to the 12th in Logroño is fiestas. The old town turns in to a medieval village and there are many things to see and do. You can get to Logroño easily from San Sebastian. Also if you kids like dinosaurs, you can take a bus from Logroño to Enciso where there are a lot of fossilized dinosaur tracks and a dinosaur museum.

From Logroño you can also get a bus to Madrid quiet easily.

Changed to a PM

Dlindstrom's post has reminded me that the very atmospheric hilltop village of Laguardia (located between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Logrono) has a festival late in June during which young bulls are let loose to run though the (barricaded) streets. I have no idea what happens afterward (bullfight ending in death of a bull??) because I had to rush off to catch a bus. Laguardia is very near the LaRioja wine region, and the village has some wine bars.

Unfortunately, I don't know the date of the fiesta.

The Vitoria-Gasteiz to Logrono bus stops at Laguardia. On fiesta days it stops at the bottom of the hill, but there's an elevator to the upper town.

I'm never too keen on running around like a headless chicken and I always recommend to check around the nearest places before thinking in taking a 6h journey to the other side of the country (assuming mid-sized countries!).

To this effect, I would suggest exploring neighbouring regions before taking a decision.

• This is the map of the different regions in Spain.
• This is the Tourism Board for CANTABRIA
• This is the Tourism Board for ASTURIAS
• This is the Tourism Board for NAVARRA
• This is the Tourism Board for ARAGON
• This is the Tourism Board for LA RIOJA

See what catches your eye.

Enjoy!

PS: Having said all this, not visiting CATALONIA and its capital city BARCELONA is really an unforgettable sin you will later regret. Just sayin' :)))

Enric, last I checked, La Rioja is a neighbor of Euskadi, not Asturias nor Aragon. ;-)

This is the Tourism Board for La Rioja.

... besides "border with", the term "neighbouring" means "close to" as well :))) All of the above are at less than 3h drive.

... and yes, I forgot to include LARIOJA in my list, apologies. And I would like to add that in June there are several interesting events happening there, the medieval days in Briones -a sure blast for your kids-, the battle of the wine in Haro or the San Bernabé festivities in Logroño.

Needless to say that there are as well plenty of festivals and events happening in many places in all of Spain all year round, check the tourism board sites mentioned above. Heritage plays an important role in all of the different cultures of the territories of this so-called "country".

Enric, totally agree with you. And we both gave no love to Castilla, which even has a small part IN the Basque country.