Spain - Use San Sebastian as the hub?
 

I posted this yesterday but think I put it in the wrong category. Hope I get it right this time!
We plan to spend 5 days in the Basque area in early April. At first I thought we would spend a couple of days in San Sebastian, rent a car and drive around the area for 3 more days staying someplace different each night.

I am now having second thoughts about this. My boyfriend is getting on in years and this might be too much for him. Do you think staying in San Sebastian for 5 nights and taking day trips is a good idea? Would it be better to explore taking train or bus on day trips?

What is the driving like in that area? Would it feel rushed to rent a car and do day trips from San Sebastian? Which nearby towns do you recommend visiting?

Thanks, as always, for your help!

I think it would depend on how far you would like to day trip. You could also not rent a car at all, base in SS and use the bus for your day trips. The car gives you more flexiblity, but parking in SS is expensive and a hassle.

I would either spend all five nights in SS or split it 3/2.

I would recommend to stay in fabulous San Sebastián and do day-trips. You can go along the coastline towards vibrant Bilbao. Along this stretch you find great little villages such as Getraia, Mutriku, Lekeitio etc. Not at least excellent sea-food.

Along the coast towards France, I recommend to visit pictoresque little Donibane/San Juan or Hondarribia/Fuenterrabia close to the French border. Much smaller than San Sebastián, but well worth a visit.

You can also go inland to Tolosa or Hernani.

All these places would be within one hour from San Sebastián by the excellent public transportation in the area, mostly buses (Bilbao is 1h 15mins).

Thanks!!!!
I have really been obsessing about this. You have convinced me since you both agree. Stay in SS and take buses to visit nearby towns for the day.

We will be staying in Bilbao for 2 nights before we head to San Sebastian. Do you think I should cut that down to one night and have the extra time in SS?

Kimhe - thank you for your advise about which towns to go to. I have read about some of the towns you mention and will definatly head in that direction.

Bilbao is definitely worth two nights. I'm sure you know about the Guggenheim museum: http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao

Apart from that, Bilbao has plenty to offer. Here are some suggestions from a local, both about things to do and where to eat:
http://mugalari.wordpress.com/2010/0...ar-the-basics/
http://mugalari.wordpress.com/2010/0...ably-never-go/

And if you are in Bilbao the 9th of April, you might be in for a real treat. Then the 26 year old dance genious Rocío Molina premieres her new show in Teatro Barakaldo just outside town. She recently won the Premio Nacional de Danza, the most prestigious award in Spanish dance.

Through the past few years she has been praised by Spanish critics for creating a new school in flamenco dance, and she has toured the most prestigious stages in Spain, US, UK, the rest of Europe and in the Middle East to full houses and raving reviews. Little more than a year ago New York Times presented her as "one of the finest soloists in the world today".

I would regrettably not have the chance to see the performance in Bilbao, but plan to be there when she stages it in Sevilla in May.

Here in Oro viejo/Old gold (2008): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_sV6R14Mrs

San Sebastian is absolutely worth spending 5 nights. You won't want to leave town but if you do the bus and train system is excellent and rentals are very expensive. If you want to experience a night in one of the beautiful, quiet towns like Lekeitio or Getaria, spend one night in Bilbao, one in Lekeitio and then head to San Sebastian and enjoy the 5 nights, they go fast. It does rain there a lot though.

The Pays Basque in France is a nice day trip and it's not far from San Sebastian: St-Jean de Luz and the villages in the foothills of the Pyreenes..Ascain, Ainhoa, Espellette, Sare..

HappyTrvlr, We have a night or two between San Sebastian and Paris-do you think St. Jean de Luz would be a good spot to visit on our way to Paris?

Kimhe:

Thanks for the articles - already printed with maps done. Getting really excited. I CANNOT believe you are mentioning Rocio Molina. I saw her dance in New York last winter and fell in love with her! So much so that I came home and watched her You Tube stuff over and over again. She is amazing and exciting. Regrettably, we will not be in Bilbao for her performance. By then it will be Madrid.

Egbert & Happy Trvlr: The problem I always have is wanting to cram too much into the time I allot for a trip. I was planning to spend a couple of days in SS and then a couple of days going to other towns.

You all have so many wonderful suggestions it is hard to figure which places to go to especially since we will not have a car. So, not able to go from one town to another on a single day. We were going to spend 3 days in Madrid but the more I look at Basque Country, the more I think I just might change my ticket and stay there.

I have some homework to do and look at all of the towns you mention before I change my ticket. Now we are leaving for Barcelona 3/29 and leaving Madrid for USA 4/13. It is a total of 14 nights but maybe I should leave Madrid for another trip.

Thanks to all of you for your enthusiasm and advice. Much appreciated.

Funny about Rocío Molina. Seen her seven times during the past three years...

Here the fabulous Guajira from Oro viejo little more than a week ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1UppjudfVs

Three places along the coast:

I always take first time vistors to San Sebastián to close by San Juan/Donibane for a great lunch at the waterfront. Frequent buses from central San Sebastián takes some 30 mins.
http://www.euroresidentes.com/eurore...s/san-juan.htm

Had the meal of my life in the harbour area in charming Getaria back in 1996. Expensive, but you'll never forget it: http://thepauperedchef.com/2007/12/elkano-in-getar.html

Maybe stay overnight in Getaria in Hotel Saiaz.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/geta...hotela.en.html

Lekeitio closer to Bilbao is also well worth a visit. Mikel, who lives in Bilbao, strongly recommends Lekeitio:
http://mugalari.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/lekeitio/

Thank you so much! Last night I was rethinking this trip and need to discuss with my boyfriend since our tickets are all paid for. I hate to incur the expense of changing our tickets.

Kimhe, partly due to you telling me about the performance in Bilbao. We were supposed to be in San Sebastian by then but it might be worth coming back to Bilbao or just staying there a little longer in order to catch the performance. I will look up her dance schedule and decide from there. Don't even know if tickets will be available.

Am seriously thinking to scrap the whole Madrid thing and spend the extra 3 days in San Sebastian area. I looked up all of those towns last night and will look up the others you mention tonight. They look AMAZING and it will be a calmer experience this way.

I should have thought this out more carefully before I paid for the ticket. Oh well...live and learn.

Thanks again for all your help.

How long is your trip? Is it only 5 days? I have reread your post but maybe I missed it. We were in the basque country for one week and it wasn't nearly enough.

Tickets for Rocío Molina in Teatro Barakaldo are available on http://www.generaltickets.com/. I've used it several times and no problems. If you have problems with the language, I'm sure one of your hotels are happy to help you.

I have very high expectations for this work. She has announced that she is turning more back to her roots from her past two and very innovative productions, especially the latest. Perhaps more in line with Almario (Soul closet), her definitive breakthrough in 2007 when everyone spoke about a new school being created? Voted best flamenco dancer by Spanish critics both in 2008 and 2009. Probably she will surprise everone once again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUlWnXGUVLw

Here's another fabulous clip, from Barcelona last spring. Then one of the two most influential flamenco magazines described her as a "new Carmen Amaya". Amaya (1913-1963) is widely held to be the greatest flamenco dancer of all times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-jNDBUZ_So

But as you know, nothing beats seeing her live...

Is there a place one can find information on the bus system in San Sebastian to use for day trips as suggested by kimhe above ?? We will be in SS in late May for 4 days and would like to do some exploation of the smaller towns and countryside.

The tourist office at Boulevard, 8 will give all the information you need. The buses to the nearby towns mentioned above leaves from different places in central San Sebastián, many from nice Plaza Guipúzcoa or from Avda de la Libertad.

The bus to Bilbao leaves from the bus station, about one km south of the center towards the Anoeta sports stadium. PESA buses run every 30 mins (70 mins to Bilbao).
http://www.pesa.net/pesa/horariosBD/ctrl_horarios.php

Bus: www.alsa.es
train (in Basque country): www.euskotren.es

If you have 4 days in San Sebastian I would enjoy them and not try to see too many things out of town. If you must,I recommend a daytrip to Getaria for lunch at Elkano or Kaia, it's almost a must.

Micheline:
We have a total of 14 nights for the trip. Originally it was to be 6 days in Barcelona, 1 in Bilbao, 4 in SS, 2 for Madrid and 1 for Toldeo. It is all changing as a result of these great Fodor posts. Tomorrow I will change my ticket to be in Barcelona 6, Bilbao 2 and 6 for SS. Will make it so I can catch the performance kimhe informed me about and am TOTALLY PSYCHED!!!

kimhe: THANK YOU so much. I just looked at the link you sent and watching her dance just gives me such excitement and exhilaration. I just wrote to the theater to find out about buying tickets. Much of the reason I am changing things around is because you told me about Rocio Molina and the towns you and

EGBERT mentioned.

EGBERT: Thanks for the links to the transportation too.

One final Rocío Molina clip. From her latest and very experimental work. Among other things, inspired by Japanese Butoh dance. I saw this both in Madrid and Sevilla last year and loved it.
http://www.deflamenco.com/videos/ver...igo=FLA%7C3276

>Here the fabulous Guajira from Oro viejo

Thanks for sharing Kim He.

((I))

A couple of years ago, under the guidance of Mikelg, I made a similar trip with no car.

Flew into Bilbao and did two nights there. I was impressed. I had read comments over the yerts that Bilbao was industrial, etc so wasn't expecting much. Wrong. Downtown is very impressive and cosmopolitan. Clean and neat. Two days worked great for me, particularly since the first was "recover from the flight" day.

I cabbed from Hotel Nervion over to the Bilbao bus station and caught the bus to Leiketio. 1 hr+-. The bus stop in Leketio is about 200 yards from Hotel Zubieta, a wonderfully restored building. Short walk and great room. Two nights there. Happened to on the weekend and there was plenty going on down by the waterfront. It's about a 15 min walk from the hotel. This was in May and I felt as tho I was about the only "outsider" there. Perfect.

The next morning I caught the bus at about 9 am fromn Leketio to San Sebastian. Again, a bit over an hour as I recall. Best check schedules as I don't believe there are frequent busses from L to SS.

One easy day trip from SS via bus is Pamplona. As I recall it was about 1 hr 10 min and I think they ran fairly frequently. A short but nice trip is via "city" bus up to Hondarribias. Like SS, terrific food in that town. I haven't done it, but it looks like a jaunt to Biarritz would be doable.

I am thinking about going back this May and my plan is to fly to Bilbao, rent a car and head west along the cost for 2-3 days, then drop down into the mountains and work my way to SS on an inland route. I'll drop the car the minute I arrive SS and then spend a week or so there. I was there two weeks last time and still get enough!

if you go to Hondarribia stay in St. Nicolas square where there are often cultural activities going on. We saw folk dancers and a wedding while we were there. You can take a boat to Hendaye every 20 minutes.

Doesn't look like I will make it to see Rocio Molina. The fee to change my tickets were $500. Too steep a price to pay to see the performance. Will have to wait for her return to the USA.
Kimhe - the latest clip you sent is brilliant. Thank you.

Weber - The Hotel Zubieta looks great. Don't know yet if I will spend any nights outside of SS but this one looks like a serious contender. How was the Nervion? Just looked it up too but seems kind of cold - not that I ever spend too much time in the hotels anyway! Also, what do you mean by "city" bus - regarding SS to Hondarribias?

This is shaping up! How does this sound?

6 nights Barcelona,
Bilbao - we arrive in the morning, spend the day and night (don't have a hotel yet) then take a bus to either
Leketio where we can spend the night then go to

SS where we have another 5 nights.

Getaria was recommended by more than one of you. Sounds like the food there is worth the trip and we can spend the day there for lunch and dinner. It looks close to SS so a day trip should be no problem.

Donibane, Hondarribias and St. Jean de Luz all sound wonderful too. Which one? I tend to get frenetic wanting to do more than time comfortably allows. So, which one?

Do I need to get bus reservations ahead of time or can we do it when we are there? Should I check the trains out too or is it enough to just stay with buses?

You guys are great. Thank you.

Weber, if you´re coming next May it´ll be a pleasure to meet you, if you have the time and the will!!

BTW, http://www.blogseitb.us/basquetouris...tle-of-butron/

For a day-trip, Hondarribia (pop 16 000) would be my choice. Nice town, lots of great restaurants/pintxos bars and more to see than in very small Donibane. Perhaps just grab a taxi and go to Donibane for lunch in ten minutes? Buses to both Donibane/San Juan and Hondarribia/Fuenterrabia (some 30 mins) from central Plaza de Guipúzcoa every hour.

I'm sure Molina will be back in New York soon. She danced there in both 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

"...seems to lead an audience into the heart of flamenco at its purest and extend it by making it new" NEW YORK TIMES (2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/ar...0Molina&st=cse

"She does with flamenco what Picasso did with the female nude". FINANCIAL TIMES (2010)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dadc5198-1...#axzz1DAdrd1SZ

Thanks for all the advice.

Just realized that since we return from Madrid, we can arrive a day before and go to the Prado after all - yay.

As for Molina - I saw her program last year during the Flamenco Festival. There was a "fashion show" of flamenco costumes at the Guggenheim. Many performers did short dances but she was, by far, the most exhilarating female dancer there (the costumes were remarkable as well). My favorite male dancer was Manuel Linan.

VG information

Mikelg: Deal.

Hotel Nervion: I felt is fine and a value. The lobby area is rather cold and spartan, but apparently like you, all I did was walk through it. Room was updated and quite nice. When I was looking it was about $20 less than comparable hotels. I located it through "Totally Spain", aan agency located in/near Bilbao. As you would imagine, great local knowledge. I felt the ocation was fine. Very close to the older area, across the river from the Guggenheim, 8-10 minute walk, and easy access to the downtown area. I'd do it again.

Re "city bus". I should have explained. The bus I took to Hondarriba was the same type of bus used by the transit company in SS as opposed to the larger, more luxiourious, "intercity" busses such as those used by ALSA, etc. I caught it at a square in downtown SS.

Egbert: HOw does one get to Getaria from SS?

Pardon my jumping in on this thread but does anyone have experience with the Hotel Astoria in SS ??

Euskotren has a bus line that goes from San Sebastian to Zumaia, stopping in Zarautz and Getaria. It leaves from the square Pio XII in San Sebastian every half an hour, some of them use the motorway and some of them the main road.
http://www.lurraldebus.net/Hors.aspx
Look for Donostia and Getaria, I couldn´t find an english timetable.

Bye, Cova

If you are going to use a few buses, the "tarjeta turística" looks interesting, specially because more than one person can use it.
Check it here :
http://www.lurraldebus.net/downloads/TarjetaTurista.pdf

Bye, Cova

Weber - Hotel Nervion. Will check it out.

Last night I found a B&B called Aliciazzz and wrote to her. Seems it is on the main street of the old town and the shops all close at 8PM. It is moderately priced and looks charming. Do you recommend staying in that part of town? The early closings don't bother me since I assume I will not be awakened by noise.

Great to have the info about buses. Do the city buses run as often as the others? Are there trains from one small town to the other as well?

I also meant to ask if transportation arrangements can be made there (bus or train for the short jaunts from SS) or if I should do that from here. I was hoping not to lock myself in to a schedule there so far in advance. It would be much chiller to be able to just when we want to once we're there.

Goldie, which day of the week will you be staying in Bilbao? It is true that shops close relatively early in Bilbao, but Sombrereria, the street where the B&B is located ( it does look charming ) is a main thoroughfare for people going to the bars in the Plaza Nueva and other places in the Old Town. In that sense, it is a very well located. There will be less people walking around at the beginning of the week than at the end. I´d see go for it, specially if the rooms don´t face the street and if you don´t mind a bit of noise, just in case.

I only go back home every month or so, and Mikel lives there, but I think he might agree with me.

Regarding the transport in Gipuzkoa, no, I don´t think that you need to make arrangements beforehand (unless you are thinking of getting a train or a bus to Madrid, something long-distance). If you are just thinking about moving around town and in the province, it is like getting the metro or the bus in your city, no need for it, and it is better to wait until you know about the weather ... it can be raining a lot and you wouldn´t fancy to be traipsing across the countryside on a downpour.

BTW, bring umbrellas or raincoats, just in case. It is the north of Spain, and it rains ;)

Bye, Cova

Euskotren from SS to Zumaia and then walk along the ocean promenade if it's a nice day for an unforgettable experience to Getaria (half hr. walk, just make sure to get there before restaurants close for lunch). Or if you don't want to walk just take the bus from SS to Getaria. Take the bus back to SS, very easy. Don't worry about making any more daytrips, enjoy San Sebastian, if you get some nice weather you will want to return. I might cut 2 or 3 days from Barcelona to add to the Basque country if you really want to go to Hondarribia, St. Jean, Guernika, etc.

St-jean de Luz would be a good place to spend a night. One of the nearby villages in the hills, such as Ainhoa, would be a delightful place to stay as well.

OMG - you people are soooo fabulous!

Cova - I will be in Bilbao on Thursday and Friday so I think staying at this place would be good regarding throngs of people going to their destinations. Is the street it's on a nice one? I would always rather be in a neighborhood than on main drags.

I always take umbrella and raincoat. A few years ago we were in Riomaggiore and it POURED the whole time there. We couldn't take walks because the paths were shut down, the boats in Cinque Terre didn't run because of storms. It was sooo disappointing but still, we had a great time. So gorgeous.

Egbert - I already bought tickets to fly from Barcelona to Bilbao but they were so reasonable I could scrap them and fly North sooner. Truth is, I have been thinking the same thing myself. Basque country sounds so wonderful and just what my soul needs right now! That ocean walk makes my heart race! If paths are not closed due to weather, the rain doesn't deter me.

I recently met a young couple from Barcelona who keep encouraging us to spend more and more time in their city but since I usually don't go back to places (if only to be 20 again!), I think to cut one day from Barcelona is a good idea.

Thanks again. I am getting so psyched.