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.
- It's probably the driest months of the year, yes folks it rains in San Sebastian but consistently less in Autumn than Spring.
- The weathers still on point, between 18 - 30 degrees. Fresh mornings, sunny, hot days and cool nights, is there anything better?
- The sea's still warm so Swimming, Sailing, Surfing and Stand up paddleboarding are all on the cards.
- 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.
- 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.
- It's a whole lost quieter, Summers finished and there's a relaxed vibe everywhere from the beaches to the bars.
- Less people means it's easier to get into exclusive hotels, restaurants and visit our favourite pintxo spots.
- 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.
- There's still so much going on with the San Sebastian International film festival in September being a full highlight.
- 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]
And snow it did. For two whole days it dumped it and the whole area was on orange alert. Whilst we had a smattering in San Sebastian and the beach turned white, up in the hills there was serious snowfall. We hit the slopes and hiked our favourite tour “Into the wild”
https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/whatweoffer/hike/
We were met with over a foot of the white stuff with magical views of a snowy Basque Country. We topped it off with hot caldo, chorizo and morcilla pintxos. We are open all year round, if you would like more details please get in touch [email protected]
San Sebastian walking tours
Experience San Sebastian – Into the wild tour
Experience San Sebastian – private tours
So the San Sebastian Summer of 2020 wasn’t quite what we expected. After the main lockdown finished we were relieved to see you still wanted to travel and come to San Sebastian but understandably a lot less than previous seasons which meant we had a lot more time on our hands.
It was great to spend it with friends and family and it gave us the perfect opportunity to go and explore and re-wild ourselves in the Basque Country once again.
We went on some crazy hiking missions, paddle boarded down rivers where no paddleboarder has ever been before, joined forces for extraordinary cycling tours, did far too many early bird surfing escapes and explored the depths of the back country where we found exciting new local experiences and real, traditional Basque food at its absolute best.
Here’s a glimpse of what we did. I think there will be some new San Sebastian Day tours on the horizon for 2021.
We provide San Sebastian day tours all year round. If you would like more details on our hiking, stand up paddle boarding or any of our other activities please get in touch https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/
Reaching the top of Aneto at 3404m the highest peak in the Pyrenees.
There were some shallow parts on this new SUP adventure
With mountain bikes and 85km under our belts we rode some crazy single tracks.
The line up at Guethary never tasted so sweet with good swell, light winds and a mellow crowd.
Lumbier Canyon for an incredible hike, icy swim and vulture spotting.
Aralar area was full of surprises but this waterfall was our top spot.
We’re super pleased to announce our new Kids Summer Adventure weeks are up and running.
This is something we’ve been planning to do for a long time and this season seemed like the perfect time especially after we’ve all been cooped up inside all Spring. We are all in need of a heavy dose of the great outdoors especially the kids. So we’ve created a brilliant week of action and fun for exclusive small groups of children 10-14 years in English.There will be a huge focus on safety with the introduction of new rules inline with the government advice for the prevention of Covid 19. So no need to worry you’re kids are in safe hands!We’ll hike, bike, sup and sail our way round the Basque country. So who wants to come on an adventure?
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 “[email protected]”
Hike Adarra
Not a soul around on the river Oria
Cycling along the old railway track of Leizarán
Sailing the Basque Coast
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 Contact us
Surprise, surprise! That’s exactly what San Sebastian was in February and March with temperatures soaring and people heading to the beach instead of the mountains.
We had perfect conditions for surfing and really enjoyed taking our friends from Japan and the US to explore the area and some surf in some of the best spots.
We hiked up to one of the top snowy peaks of the Basque Country with some great Canadians and we biked our way round glorious San Sebastian with some brilliant groups from here there and everywhere.
We had a windy stand up paddle board tour of La Concha with incredible guests who were completely up for the challenge.
La Rioja called us where we visited a unique and very traditional winery where we were treated like family and had a day we’ll never forget.
If that was then we can’t wait for what’s coming.
We provide San Sebastian day tours all year round. If you would like more details on our SUNRISE SUP tours and SUNSET SAILING trips or any of our other activities please get in touch https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/
Our friend from Japan loved his surf trip with good waves and empty line ups .
Dreamy sunsets at La Zurriola
The view from Miramar Palace on the San Sebastian City Bike tour
Stand up paddle boarding in San Sebastian harbour
Stop off at the blow holes on the San Sebastian city bike tour
T-shirt weather in February!
Well May has arrived with a bang and there’s been plenty of outdoor action on our San Sebastian Tours.
We hit the single tracks and trails of Ulia for a brilliant tailor made mountain bike tour with the best Canadian crew. There were some challenges with crazy sea views and all the terrain you could ask for, topped off with our classic Basque picnic in the sunniest of spots.
If pottering round is more your style, we have loved pedalling round the city streets on our San Sebastian city bike tours, stopping at cooking societies with pintxo pitstops. This towns looking pretty special at the moment, the blossoms out and everything’s green. The terraces are starting to get lively as the days get longer and everyone comes out to play. Summer feels just around the corner in the Basque Country.
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/
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
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 tasting & tapas session
Experience San Sebastian boat day 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] .
