Getaria, Zarautz and Hondarribia from San Sebastián: Which Coast Trip?
Updated October 20, 2026 · 5 min read
Pick Getaria if you want fish and wine, Zarautz if you want a long beach, and Hondarribia if you want an old walled town with a fishing quarter. None of them needs a tour: the nearer two can be reached from the city on public transport, and a tour mainly saves you the timetable. The most-reviewed trip ashore is the Hondarribia, San Pedro and San Juan tour: €55 per person, 4 hours, 4.7 stars from 155 reviews.
Getaria: fish, wine and a fashion museum
Getaria is a small harbour town of about 2,900 people, west of the city between Zarautz and Zumaia. It is known for restaurants that serve grilled fish, for its own white wine, txakoli (it has a protected designation of origin, Getariako Txakolina), and for Juan Sebastián Elcano, who completed the first circumnavigation of the world. The Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum is also here, for the fashion designer who came from the town. The hill that closes the harbour is Monte San Antón, called the Mouse because of its shape; it was an island until the 16th century.
By public transport, search results put the bus at roughly one hour from San Sebastián with departures about every 30 minutes. Treat that as a guide, and check the current timetable before you go.
The Getaria txakoli wine tour is a four-hour tour from the city at €145 per person (4.7 stars, 46 reviews). That is a lot more than the ticket to Getaria itself, so you are paying for a guided tasting and transport, not for access. If you only want a glass of txakoli and a grilled fish at the harbour, going alone is the cheaper way.
Zarautz: the beach town
Zarautz lies about 20 km west of the city, and Euskotren trains connect it with San Sebastián and Bilbao. A search listing gave a journey of about 30 minutes with trains roughly every half hour; confirm on the Euskotren timetable.
The reason to come is the beach, 2.8 km long and described as the longest in the Basque Country. It is a surf beach with consistent waves, and it hosts a stop of the World Surf League’s qualifying series. In summer the town of about 23,500 people swells to around 60,000. It is a town for a beach and a long lunch, and we found no listed tour for it, so there is nothing to book.
Hondarribia: walls, a fishing quarter and an airport
Hondarribia sits on the Bidasoa estuary in the east, facing the French town of Hendaye. It has an old quarter with walls and a castle, plus the Marina, the old fishermen’s quarter by the port. The town marks the lifting of the 1638 French siege with a parade, the Alarde, on 8 September, which is worth knowing because the streets are busy that day. A small boat links the town with Hendaye across the bay.
San Sebastián’s airport, which serves domestic flights, is in Hondarribia’s municipality. We did not find a reliable travel time to quote, so look up the Lurraldebus timetable if you go alone.
What the Hondarribia tour adds
The tour from San Sebastián heads east to Hondarribia, San Juan and San Pedro, with views of the coast from the Jaizkibel viewpoint and time for tapas. The listing does not say how long you stay in each place or what the tapas cost, so ask before you book if that matters. San Juan and San Pedro are the two small port districts on Pasaia Bay; we found no public-transport times for them, so this is where a tour saves the most planning.
Comparison
| Trip | Time | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hondarribia, San Pedro and San Juan | 4 hours | €55 | Three places and a viewpoint in one go |
| Getaria txakoli tour | 4 hours | €145 | A guided wine tasting by the sea |
| Two bays cruise with cava | 2 hours | €79 | Seeing Pasaia Bay from the water |
The cruise goes east along the cliffs and into Pasaia Bay; it is a boat tour rather than a day trip, but it shows the same two villages from the sea.
See dates and prices for the Hondarribia tour
When to skip it
If you have only one day in the city. The old town, the bay and the pintxo bars already fill it; our guide to the Monte Igueldo and Monte Urgull views shows how much fits in.
If you hope for beach weather out of season. All three towns are on the same Atlantic coast as the city.
If you want a big sightseeing day. These are small towns. Half a day each is plenty.
How to choose
If you travel by train and like to wander, go to Zarautz or Getaria on your own. If you want one tour with several villages and no timetable, the Hondarribia tour is the one with the most reviews. For a sit-down meal that is part of the plan, look at the pintxo tours or the cider house tour. All the trips are listed under day trips from San Sebastián, and the boat to the island is in the Santa Clara guide.
