Basque Country with Kids: 4-Day Road Trip & Where to Stay

We spent four days in the Basque Country with kids at the end of December 2019. Damian was 6, Marc was 3, and there were eight of us in one rented 9-seater: my parents, my sister’s family and us. We flew into Bilbao, drove the coast east and flew home from San Sebastián. I’d been dreaming about this trip for more than a year, and it still sits in my top three road trips in Spain.

This is the hub for everything we wrote about that trip: the route we drove, where we slept (including why we slept in France), what it cost, and what I’d change with kids the age mine were then.

Quick answers

• How long? Four days covers the coast from Bilbao to the French border. Five or six lets you slow down, which you’ll want with under-5s.
• Car? Yes. Gaztelugatxe, Zumaia and the fishing villages are awkward by public transport with small kids.
• Best base: one night near Bilbao, then 2–3 nights at the eastern end. We used an apartment in Hendaye, 500 m from the Spanish border, which was cheaper than San Sebastián.
• Winter with kids? Worth it. We had sun on two of four days, no crowds at Gaztelugatxe, and Christmas in the streets.

Our 4-day Basque Country road trip with kids

Day 1: Bilbao old town and pintxos

We left Barcelona at 5 am for the early flight, so day one was deliberately gentle. We walked the Casco Viejo, crossed the river, saw the Guggenheim from the car and ate our first pintxos standing at open-air bars. They were €2–2.50 each in 2019 and beautiful enough to photograph before eating. The sun lasted until lunch, then the Bilbao rain arrived on schedule. We checked into the ibis in Barakaldo at 8 pm and everyone was asleep by nine.

Full guide: things to do in Bilbao with kids.

Day 2: Getxo and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Breakfast in Getxo at a bar looking over the yachts, with surfers already in the water in December. Then San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the chapel on a rock at the end of a stone bridge that played Dragonstone in Game of Thrones. We walked all the way down and all 241 steps back up with three kids. It took us three hours instead of the one we’d planned, and I have never been prouder of them. From there it was about two hours’ drive east to our apartment in Hendaye.

Full guide: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe day trip with kids.

Day 3: San Sebastián, Zumaia, Getaria and Zarautz

San Sebastián in the morning: the old town, La Concha, and the funicular up Monte Igueldo for the view everyone photographs. After lunch we drove west to Zumaia and climbed to the San Telmo hermitage above the flysch cliffs. The town was full of Christmas music and people handing out sweets. We came back along the coast through Getaria and Zarautz as it got dark.

Full guides: San Sebastián with kids · Zumaia with kids.

Day 4: Hendaye beach and Hondarribia

Christmas morning on Hendaye’s long Ondarraitz beach, watching surfers, then across the bay to Hondarribia’s walled old town before the short drive to San Sebastián airport. The airport is literally next to Hondarribia, so this is the easiest last morning I’ve ever planned.

Full guides: Hendaye with kids · Hondarribia with kids.

Where to stay in the Basque Country with kids

I spent 14 years on the hotel side of the travel industry, and Bilbao was one of my destinations as an account manager. The single most useful thing I can tell you is this: San Sebastián has some of the most expensive hotel rooms in Spain, and family rooms there sell out first. Don’t try to base a whole road trip in it.

What worked for us:

• Night 1, Bilbao side: something with free parking near the motorway. Our ibis in Barakaldo was 12 km from the centre, with a car park, which was exactly right after a 5 am start. Rooms take a maximum of three, so a family of four needs two.
• Nights 2–3, the eastern end: Hendaye, just over the border in France. Our apartment was 500 m from Spain and about 1 km from San Sebastián airport. It was cheaper than anything comparable in San Sebastián, it had a kitchen, and Zumaia, San Sebastián and Hondarribia were all day trips. See apartments in Hendaye.
• If you’d rather be in San Sebastián: NH Collection Aránzazu is one of the few hotels there that sells proper family rooms (two connecting 23 m² rooms for up to six).
• For one special night: the Parador de Hondarribia, a castle inside the old town walls, or duplex apartments at Hotel Jauregui, a few streets away (sleeps up to 6, with a kitchen).

Continuing west? Our Barcelona–Asturias–Cantabria road trip starts where this one ends, and Santander with kids is 1 h 15 from Bilbao.

How to get there and get around

We flew Barcelona–Bilbao and San Sebastián–Barcelona for about €70 return per person (2019 prices). We picked up the car at Bilbao airport and dropped it at San Sebastián airport. The one-way drop-off fee, full insurance and child seats all cost extra, so price them in before you compare rental companies. We book through Auto Europe.

Driving is easy: good motorways, short distances. Bilbao to San Sebastián is about 100 km. City parking is the only stress. In San Sebastián we used an underground car park by the seafront, and it was busy even in December.

Is the Basque Country good for a family holiday?

Yes, with one condition: you have to like the weather you get. The Atlantic coast is green because it rains, and it’s never Mediterranean-hot. In return you get empty beaches in winter, surfers everywhere, food that’s good in every bar, and towns so clean I remember thinking there wasn’t a single cigarette butt on the ground.

What my kids loved: running around at Gaztelugatxe, the funicular, the carousel in San Sebastián’s old town, and the Christmas music in Zumaia. What didn’t work: the Guggenheim. They refused to go in, and at 6 and 3 I didn’t push. Under-18s are now free, so it costs you nothing to try.

By age:

• Toddlers (Marc was 3): bring a carrier for Gaztelugatxe, not a pushchair. Pushchairs are fine in Bilbao, San Sebastián and Hondarribia.
• School-age (Damian was 6): the sweet spot. Gaztelugatxe feels like an adventure, and Game of Thrones locations work even if they haven’t seen it.
• Teens: add a surf lesson in Zarautz or San Sebastián’s Zurriola beach, and the Flysch boat trip from Zumaia.

Basque culture in two minutes

Signs and menus are in Euskara first, Spanish second, and often French too near the border. Euskara isn’t related to any other language in Europe. People are proud of it the way Catalans are proud of Catalan, which, living in Barcelona, I understand completely. Learn kaixo (hello) and eskerrik asko (thank you) and watch the reaction.

What I’d do differently

• Five days, not four. We saw the Guggenheim from the car and Artxanda not at all.
• Check Gaztelugatxe’s booking calendar first. In December 2019 we just walked in. Today, busy dates need a free timed ticket.
• Go down to Itzurun beach in Zumaia at low tide. We only saw the flysch from San Telmo because it was getting dark.

Planning your Basque trip? Compare apartments in Hendaye or hotels in San Sebastián.

Basque Country with kids: FAQ

How many days do you need in the Basque Country with kids?

Four days is enough to see Bilbao, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, San Sebastián, Zumaia and Hondarribia by car. With children under five, plan five or six days so each day has one main stop.

Do you need a car in the Basque Country?

For a family, yes. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Zumaia and the coastal villages are slow or awkward by bus and train with small children, and the drives between them are short.

Where is the best place to stay in the Basque Country with kids?

Split the trip: one night near Bilbao, then two or three nights at the eastern end. We stayed in an apartment in Hendaye, just over the French border, which was cheaper than San Sebastián and close to Hondarribia and the airport.

Is the Basque Country worth visiting in winter with kids?

Yes. We went at the end of December and had sun on two of four days, no crowds at Gaztelugatxe and Christmas celebrations in every town. Expect some rain and temperatures well below the Mediterranean.

Is San Juan de Gaztelugatxe suitable for young children?

Yes, with a carrier for toddlers and plenty of time. There are 241 steps to the chapel; it took our group with three young children about three hours in total.