BASQUE COUNTRY MINI GUIDE

Caleb and I LOVED road-tripping across the Basque Country! It’s not as “touristy” as other spots in Spain (well, maybe minus San Sebastian). The food is AMAZING and the countryside is stunning with many local experiences!

You could just see San Sebastian, but we strongly recommend you explore more and we hope our guide helps you do so!

We think the best way to experience the Basque Country is to rent a car (it’s cheap!) and drive around, staying in multiple cities.

The 2 main cities are Bilbao and San Sebastian and you will want to stay in each of them instead of using one as a base and day tripping! They are close by so you won’t have to drive much and you can then experience the off-the-beaten path countryside!

Below, you’ll find our itinerary with where we stayed in each city (they have parking. We have shared where we stayed, and then what was our second pick for variety. We’ve picked options that balance comfort with affordability, so you can save your euros for all the delicious food & wine that the Basque Country has to offer!

We love Discover Cars for car rentals. You can compare prices across all vendors!

DAY 1: Land in Bilbao and use today to explore

WHERE TO STAY: Hostal Gurea (not a hostel) Spirit Hotel OR Sercotel

NOTE: free parking is almost non-existant – These are paid, but the hotel rates are good so it balances! Plus, street parking is SO HARD to find. We tried.

DAY 2: spend this in Bilbao. We LOVED it and found it so underrated

DAY 3: if you land very late on day 1, you may want to stay in Bilbao; otherwise, it’s time to pick up your car!

*We don’t recommend picking up your car until you leave , you don’t need to park it for no reason!*

Today you are going to explore the countryside, and you have options. You can either visit a winery in the beautiful fishing village of Getaria and do a Basque wine tasting experience, OR you can visit a Basque cider house (called sagardotegias), which is a VERY local experience.

Winery options: GAINTZA or GANETA. We did Ganeta and LOVED the wine so much! They produce the local txakoli wine, which is very light and fizzy and good with all the seafood in the region.

Most cider houses are open from January to April (ish) as this is cider season. But, if you are not going this time, there are a few that are open year-round: THIS one is the tourist favorite open year-round that we went to and it did NOT feel touristy at all. It was one of our favorite experiences EVER!

We did the gastronomy experience, where you get the tour, then the MASSIVE, long traditional lunch with SO MUCH CIDER. If you go this route, we recommend dropping off your car in San Sebastian and taking a 20-minute bus (no drinking and driving) Uber is not available. The cider house can call you a taxi for the way home. Have money for the bus – no card!

You could also do both on separate days if you have the time!

WHERE TO STAY: Pension Penaflorida, or Catalonia Donosti or The Social Hub

(Either way, you will want to stay in San Sebastian tonight, most likely. If you go to Getaria, you may want to stay there. It’s cute but more “beachy,” which wasn’t our vibe.

DAY 4 and 5: Eat through San Sebastian (or do the cider house if you did the wine experience yesterday)

DAY 6: If you didn’t stay in Bilabo an extra day and have this day free, we recommend a day trip to France. We went to Saint-Jean-De-Luz and loved the chill vibe. Biarritz is also popular. This could also be cider/wine day.

Depending on when your flight is tomorrow, you may also need to head back to Bilbao in the evening.

DAY 7: Leave!

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WHAT TO EAT

SO many good places to eat here, but 3 of our favs:

• Petritegi Cider House (MUST-DO experience!)
• Borda Berri
• KBZÓN TXIKI

WHAT TO DO

We’ve linked some of our favorite tours along with some of the must-see spots. Don’t miss any of the spots we outlined in the itinerary either! We have the best eats and wineries on there!

• This food tour completely changed how we ate in San Sebastian. AMAZING!
• Learn how to make Basque food at a cooking class
• Do a wine and food tour in Bilbao
• Visit Getaria and do wine tasting by private tour so you don’t have to drive
• Visit the San Telmo Museum in San Sebastian to learn about Basque Culture
• Visit a Michelin Star restaurant in San Sebastian – it has the most in the world per capita!
• Visit La Concha beach in San Sebastian
• Explore San Sebastian by e-bike
• Or, explore Bilbao by e-bike
• Make sure you eat your way through the Pintxo bars in both cities (we have our fav spots on our map)
• Visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
• Vistit the Mercado de la Ribera in Bilbao (the biggest covered market in Europe!)