San Sebastian day otherwise known as "Dia San Sebastian" is back after a 2 year hiatus!

20th January celebrates the Patron Saint of San Sebastian and it's one of the most beloved days for local Donostiarras. The official start to the amazing 24hr fiesta is midnight 00.00 when the city's iconic blue and white flag is raised and the city fires up.

We head to the nucleus of the "Old Part" Plaza Constitution where the official celebration kicks off. Tamborradas, drumming with local dancers and singers.  It is a completely unique experience and the atmosphere is absolutely electric. It's usually a cold night and this years not looking any different but we have never really had an issue with the freezing or the wet, it comes with the territory.

Over the next 24hrs the whole community will be out in force celebrating through the streets of the city with an open door policy on the usually private cooking societies.

And what's with all the drumming?

Arguably the drums and dress up all started back in 1836 in the local carnival celebrating San Sebastian day but for the drumming tradition you have to go way back when.....
Rumour has it the French soldiers, brass band in tow were marching through the city showing off. The local chefs and artisans used to come out taking the mickey by banging barrels imitating the soldiers and there you have it!

There are now around 150 different Tamborradas in San Sebastián who all have an designated area and time that they play and march through the city. Each Tamborrada is made up of a mix of soldiers and chefs each with up to 50 drums and 100 barrels  accompanied by a brass band and flag-bearers bringing one huge winter tune and party to the streets of Donostia.

We are open all year round, if you would like more details on all our adventures please get in touch. [email protected]

YES Autumn might just be our favourite time of the year in San Sebastian!

This season September, October, November in the Basque Country is ticking all the boxes.

Here's our "TOP 10 REASONS" why you should book your trip post Summer.

1. It's probably the driest months of the year, yes folks it rains in San Sebastian but consistently less in Autumn than Spring.
2. The weathers still on point, between 18 - 30 degrees. Fresh mornings, sunny, hot days and cool nights, is there anything better?
   
3. The sea's still warm so Swimming, Sailing, Surfing and Stand up paddleboarding are all on the cards.
4. It's harvest time which means if you like wine  a visit to La Rioja is an absolute must. See the inner workings of the wineries at their most exciting when all the magic happens. An absolute treat to see the art of vino.
5. They don't call it the beautiful Basque Country for nothing and rolling into Autumn it's spectacular, whether it's hiking inland or out on the coast, bike rides through the woods or exploring up into France on those clear cut days.
6. It's a whole lost quieter, Summers finished and there's a relaxed vibe everywhere from the beaches to the bars.
7. Less people means it's easier to get into exclusive hotels, restaurants and visit our favourite pintxo spots.
8. It's swell season, after days and days of small surf September is when those ground swells start to roll in and the whole coast lights up.
9. There's still so much going on with the San Sebastian International film festival in September being a full highlight.
10. It's sunset time, brooding red skies for days & days.

We are open all year round, if you would like more details on all our adventures please get in touch. [email protected]

San Sebastian’s been voted a top spot for foodies for many years but it has so much more than that, jaw dropping beaches being one of them. There are 3 beaches right on the cities door step all worth a visit but which one is for you?

La Concha Bay – A beautiful white natural sandy beach, the most famous of the three and the one that hogs the limelight. Its the beach closest to the old part, the centre of the city and the harbour.
It gets busy in Summer especially on a big high tide but the further you walk the less people there are. It’s super safe with no waves and its fun to swim out to the floating platforms.

Ondarreta – A stunning wide enclosed beach and a firm favourite with locals. It’s usually calm in Summer although with a good swell small rideable waves peel down the city wall. Sitting in front of an affluent area of the city with the busily main street of Antiguo a short walk away. Its the closest point to Santa Clara island if you fancy a swim out for an ice cream with a pitstop at the diving boards. Absolutely great for families and well worth the walk.

La Zurriola – This is the cities surfing beach which works well for all levels you just need to choose your spot. Its a consistent beach break picking up waves with even the most smallest of swells and holds its size up to 2 – 3m. A large beach in front of the cool up and coming area of Gros with a good atmosphere and plenty of people spotting. Head to the far end for beers and to watch the sun go down.

Our top trip tip is to walk the 3 beaches including paseo nuevo, around a 10k stroll of gob smacking views and dreamy scenes. If walking isn’t for you join us on the San Sebastian City bike tour and cruise the shoreline for a real behind the scenes moment.

We provide San Sebastian day tours all year round. If you would like more details on our sightseeing, explore tours or any of our other activities please get in touch https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/

La Concha bay in all it’s Summer glory.

Dreamy scenes of the harbour and the corner of La Concha beach

Santa Clara with Ondarreta beach

There is only one Basque blue.

La Zurriola, the surfing beach of the city.

A birds eye view of the waves in La Zurriola

Sometimes it just all comes together!

We headed East to France on our latest surfing tour, there was a light offshore breeze, perfect small waves and then the storm hit out back and then this rainbow happened. Be sure to have a memorable time what ever adventure you come on with us!

We provide San Sebastian day tours all year round. If you would like more details please get in touch https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/

Taking it all in.

Waiting for the set with a good view

Our latest bespoke tour was three days we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

We kicked off with a pintxo tour of the old part, all our favourites on the menu and definitely off the beaten path from the usual hot spots, topped off with goblets of gin and tonic and a cheesecake surprise.

The next day we had a mellow start by hopping aboard the incredible Lucretia, a beautiful ninety seven year old, sixty foot, wooden hull yacht. There was a light breeze making the perfect conditions to cruise down the coast, we stopped off at Getaria for a superb lunch, wandered the streets of the lovely old fishing port where we spotted the old tradition of fixing the nets, before heading back to San Sebastian.

The final outing started with a trip East to Txakoli territory, with a full tour of the grounds and vineyard, we took a breather on the patio surrounded by vines we had a taster and tapas session.
We didnt want to get too full as next on the list is the cooking class in one of the top seafood restaurants in the area and of course we got to eat our hard afternoons work. Overlooking the sea we relaxed, filled our bellies and sipped the areas finest vino.

We provide San Sebastian day tours all year round. If you would like more details please get in touch https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/

The beautiful yacht Lucretia

Fine tuning as we head down the coast.

Repairing the nets

Cooking class starts with pescado

Onto to the art of slicing the ham

The best part!

Stand up Paddle tour

Kayak or Sup in beautiful La Concha bay

Sailing tour

Kayak in La Concha bay

Surf check

The view from the sea

This view is always worth it.

There are some tricky parts

Taking it all in on our tailor made bike tour

City bike tour breather watching the surf

Biking round the old part of town

Pintxo pitstop

It has been a mixed bag of weather this Spring with our San Sebastian Tours from rain to hot, sunny days we have definitely had it all. But who cares when your “Out of Office” signature is on. We have had some great crews visiting for team building and corporate days where we mixed some amazing active, outdoor tours with a healthy dose of Basque food and drink. Our favourite combination is our bike ride “THE TRAIN TRACK TRAIL” followed by the food and drink taste explosion “BACK TO THE BASQUE ROOTS”

We provide San Sebastian day tours all year round. If you would like more details please get in touch https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/

Cider house, tour and traditional lunch

The train track trail mountain bike tour

Txakoli wine tour

Txakoli tasting & tapas session

Experience San Sebastian boat day tour

Team building bike tour

Walking at sunrise, biking adventures when you never know what's round the corner, SUP-ing on clearest river, surfing with the best crew and even a marriage proposal. We love Autumn here is San Sebastian

If you would like any more information on our San Sebastian tours, please get in touch [email protected] .

If you would like more information our our unique adventure tours please get in touch and lets go on an adventure. [email protected]