San Sebastián in the Basque Country, Northern Spain is known for it's unbeatable food scene from Michelin Star Restaurants to Pintxos, beautiful beaches and totally unique culture. Apart from wine it also has a totally unique beer drinking tradition.
Who's heard of a Zurito & what is a Caña?
They are both on tap draft beers but it's all about the size.
A Caña is the larger of the two, about a half a pint but with a more generous pour.
A Zurito is a smaller about half the size of the Cana and a regular half of beer.
Why small beers are the locals way to go in San Sebastian
They both pair perfectly with Pintxos and give you the chance for multiple bar stops without getting too full. More importantly keeping the beer short keeps it ice cold, just right for those hot, Summer days. There's no hugging warm pints on these streets!
Not breaking the bank, a zurito usually costs around €1.60, while the caña €2.50.
How to order like a local?
"Un zurito, por favor." (for a small beer)
"Una caña, por favor." (for a slightly larger half beer)
& for those balmy, hot sticky days at a beach side Txiringito we love it with a quarter lemon, "yes please!"
We would totally recommend paring it with some tasty olives, the iconic gilda pintxo, tortilla de patata (we love Bar Adamo) or some grilled Foie in Bar Sport.
It's a Cheers, Chin Chin, Salud or we like to say Topa!
So next time skip the oversized pint and enjoy beer the Basque way: small, fresh, and always with great company!
For a full deep dive into the Pintxo food scene here, what's the new, where's those hidden spots, the best wines to pair with what, plus beer spots and where we love to have cocktails The BEST Pintxo Experience in San Sebastian
Thinking of surfing in San Sebastian and the Basque country? We'll tell you the best time of the year to come, where and why.
One guarantee is you'll get waves whatever time of the year you come! The Basque coastline feels the full front of the Atlantic, with it's deep trench not far off the shore it picks up a lot of swell and makes it one of the most consistent places for surf.
There's a huge variety of waves to suit whatever surfer you maybe, from the pumping beachies of South West France to long pointbreaks and slabby reefs.
Lets take a deep dive into the real deal of surfing in this vibrant coastal region.
SPRING SWEETNESS
As the Basque countryside bursts into bloom, so do the surf possibilities. No frills, just consistent swells and relatively quiet beaches with a relaxed local crew. The water's still cold, as in a 13 degrees chill so the 4'3 wetsuit is on and there's that core crowd who don't mind the odd ice cream head. It's the season for the surfer who appreciates a quiet line up, chunky swells, cosy bars and a step into cider season with a post-surf sidreria.
SUMMER HAZE
Warm water, head high pealers, glassy mornings, hot, silky sunsets, surfing in boardies, surf schools and more surf schools. It's Summer and everyone's in the sea and it's blinking delightful. There's still swell but if you really want to get good waves this is the time to escape the hot mess of the city's and towns and head out to the countryside. Up to the lesser known beachies of South West France or West into craggy coast of Spain. There's plenty of spaces and places off the Euro surf hotline where you can get a quiet surf with easy vibes, nice peaks and pealers.
It's the smallest time of the year which makes it perfect for beginners, kids and it's a longboarding heaven.
Hazy days, festivals, beach chiringitos, alfresco everything, Summer is always a good plan in the Basque Country.
AUTUMN MAGIC
Hands down Autumn for us is the golden ticket. September comes and the general scene quietens down, kids go back to school, the world seems more relaxed and those ground swells start to appear on the long range.
In recent years Autumn has felt more like Summer; hot, dry and the water stays warm enough for boardies rolling into October. All those memories of surfing the good spots start to come back as the coast lights up and surfing becomes exciting once more. There's a mellow mood in the line ups as the forecast says offshore and waves for days.
There really is no where else we'd rather be surfing from September through to November in the Basque Country.
WINTER WONDER LAND
I mean is Winter really that cold in the Basque Country anymore?
Recently there's been no wetsuits hoods and only a few ice cream heads. More importantly empty beaches and quiet line ups with consistent swells. Winter surfing is not for the faint hearted, the swells are bigger, the currents are stronger and there's a chill but there's a rawness about surfing in winter with a camaraderie that goes with it. Post festivities the waves can get huge and the wind can howl onshore but there's always the in-between slices of dream, wintery scenes.
And you know if it doesn't all work out you can hotfoot it to the Pyrenees for some snow & vin chaud.
We have a fantastic team of surf guides and instructors, please see the full lowdown on all our surf experiences here
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
With ten days of freezing cold conditions and a week long run of snow. It didn’t quite reach the sandy shores of San Sebastian but you only had to take a step outside the city and head up into the Basque Country hills and the Winter Wonderland was yours for the taking.
We decided to take the camera with us for our adventure up Bianditz, about 20 minutes drive from San Sebastian. We met some skiers along the way, sucked in view after view and Borja our main guide didn’t let us down as he braved the icy river for a brain freeze swim post hike.
At Experience San Sebastian we offer a huge range of bespoke hiking tours so just drop us a mail https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/ and tell us what you like and your level and we’ll tailor make the perfect adventure for you.
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/
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.
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!
It was an absolute pleasure to host local lady Leire’s 30th Birthday who surprised all her friends with a trip down the river on our “Rolling River Escape” tour.
The BIG SUP seemed the only way to go along with 2 regular stand up paddles. We had the river to ourselves with conditions as calm as calm can be.
With a picnic stop off on the river bank we spotted wild horses and cheered to local cider and txakoli before heading down stream to throw the birthday girl in the sea.
We provide San Sebastian day tours all year round. If you would like more details on our SUP tours or any of our other activities please get in touch https://www.experiencesansebastian.com/contact-us/
River bank stop of to cheers the birthday girl
The girls switched from BIG SUP to the small ones
Cruising down stream with not a soul in sight
We hardly had to paddle as the current took us with it
Sunrise, stand up paddle board, marriage proposal, what could possibly go wrong?
Well absolutely nothing of course. This lovely couple went for the Sunrise SUP tour in beautiful La Concha bay and little did she know what his cunning secret plan was. It was a perfect morning, cloudless sky, flat calm, no wind and not a soul around.
Off we set heading straight for Santa Clara island, we made it ashore and they climbed to the top where the deed was done and it was a great big YES!! We greeted the very happy couple with some bubbles and the best breakfast.
It was an honour to be part of such a special moment. The second proposal for Experience San Sebastian. Please check out The City From The Sea stand up paddle tour for all the details.
If you have a unique idea, let us know and we will try our hardest to make it happen.
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/
Arriving at Santa Clara Island
The sunrise over San Sebastian old part
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/
Waiting for the set with a good view
