Donostia / San Sebastián, Spain

Pre-pandemic travels

The last year has really brought home the lesson that you should always try to do something when you have the chance. International travel is one of many things which we took for granted when we became confined to our homes for months on end. It got me thinking of the last holiday I took before the world turned upside down. And what a holiday it was: a spur of the moment week-long solo surf trip to Donostia/San Sebastián in the Basque country located in northern Spain.

Sea, Sun, Surf

In the summer of 2019, I was left with time on my hands during an extended notice period at work. So I decided to scour the web for interesting European surf spots to improve my rather basic skills. I came across San Sebastián, which ticked all the boxes: it had accessible waves for a beginner like me, a delicious food scene, and incredible beaches. Best of all, it could be reached via a direct flight from Amsterdam to Bilbao, where you then take an hour long bus ride to reach the city.

I signed up for a week of lessons at Zurriola Surf Eskola, which was a fantastic experience. Each morning we would head out to Zurriola, the city’s main surf beach, and try our luck at catching a wave. I can’t recommend surfing enough to anyone, it’s quite a co-ordination challenge but once you get the hang of it the feeling of riding a wave is amazing and it quickly becomes addictive. The main challenge I faced was my limited Spanish skills, as most teachers and students were from Spain. I nevertheless managed to get by with a mangled mix of French, Italian, and hand gestures.

San Sebastián’s beaches are something else. Both the surf-focused Zurriola and the much calmer Concha beaches are within walking distance from almost anywhere in the city. The sand at either one is soft, the water is clean and blue, and the views are majestic.

Food, glorious food

Surfing is a great workout and three hours on the water works up quite the appetite. Thankfully, San Sebastián can safely be described as a “foodie” destination, so there are a vast array of culinary options available to satiate. So after an afternoon siesta, I hit the streets to sample the abundant pintxo bars and restaurants. Pintxo (or Pincho) are Basque snacks that are mainly characterized by the toothpicks or skewers which pierce through them. There are so many different pintxos to choose from that there’s an app you can get which helps you keep track of them. I did my best but didn’t even scratch the surface of what’s out there. If you wanted, you could easily spend your entire holiday gorging on the plethora of food and drink crammed into the city’s Old Town. If it wasn’t for the surfing, I surely would have packed on a few pounds!

If you want to take the dining up a notch, you came to the right place. San Sebastián boasts the second most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world (Kyoto is first). There are a mind-blowing eleven restaurants holding Michelin stars in and around the city, three of which have three stars. These establishments don’t quite suit a solo surf traveler and I didn’t budget for such a visit, so all the more reason to return to this stunning part of the Basque country.

What I did to make up for the lack of fine dining was to sign up for a local foodie tour via AirBnB. Hosted by the affable Luis, we sampled some of the best pintxos the city had to offer. His tours are popular and conclude with a visit to a secret culinary location which I won’t disclose, so make sure to book to find out!

Direct Flights to San Sebastián

San Sebastián has an airport, but I believe it only serves domestic travellers. Your best bet is to fly into Bilbao (105km away by bus) or Biarritz Airport in France (47km away by bus). These airports are connected with most major European cities, but largely on a seasonal basis. Of course, only travel when it is safe to do so – hopefully we’ll see San Sebastián again sooner rather than later!