Part of the Costa Vasca guide · San Sebastián to Hondarribia

San Sebastián to Hondarribia is the eastern end of the Costa Vasca: the coast of eastern Gipuzkoa from Monte Igueldo in San Sebastián to the mouth of the River Bidasoa on the French border, about 18 km in a straight line. It takes in San Sebastián (Donostia) and its three city beaches, the port of Pasaia with the fishing districts of San Pedro and Donibane, and Hondarribia and Irun on Txingudi Bay, facing Hendaye.

Updated 7 November 2026 · How CostaMap researches its guides

At a glance

• Where the coast of eastern Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country, from Monte Igueldo in San Sebastián east to the Bidasoa estuary and the French border at Hendaye.
• Towns San Sebastián (Donostia) and its districts, Pasaia (Pasai San Pedro, Pasai Donibane, Trintxerpe and Antxo), Lezo, Hondarribia and Irun.
• Best for city beaches, pintxos and food, surf at Zurriola, the cliff walks over Ulia and Jaizkibel, a walled old town and a day across the border.
• Getting there San Sebastián airport is in Hondarribia, about 16 km from central San Sebastián; Biarritz airport in France is about 25 km from Hondarribia (straight-line, OpenStreetMap).
• On CostaMap guides to San Sebastián, La Concha Beach, Monte Igueldo, Santa Clara Island, the GR 121 walk from Pasaia, Pasai Donibane and Hondarribia.

Map of San Sebastián to Hondarribia

The map shows the places in this stretch that have a CostaMap page. Tick a place type to filter, and click a marker to see the place in the panel.

Towns and villages

From west to east, with San Sebastián’s main districts in their own sections.

San Sebastián (Donostia)

San Sebastián, officially Donostia / San Sebastián, is the capital of Gipuzkoa, spread along a bay of white sand between Mount Urgull and Mount Igeldo (spain.info). Turismo Euskadi calls it a world capital of pintxos and the home of the International Film Festival every September, and an easy city to walk round, with city buses, more than 30 km of bike lanes and a Tourist Card for transport (Turismo Euskadi). See our San Sebastián city guide.

San Sebastián: Igeldo

Mount Igueldo (Igeldo), at the western end of the city, is the classic viewpoint over La Concha. A funicular with wooden cars has climbed it since 1912, and the summit has a small old-fashioned amusement park (see our Monte Igueldo guide). In the rural part of Igeldo beyond it is the Wecamp San Sebastián campsite.

San Sebastián: El Antiguo and Ondarreta

Below Igueldo, El Antiguo is the residential district behind Ondarreta beach. At the far end of the beach, Eduardo Chillida’s steel Peine del Viento (Wind Comb) grips the rocks, installed in 1977 with granite terraces by the architect Luis Peña Ganchegui; on rough days the sea shoots up through holes in the terraces (Turismo Euskadi). On the hill between El Antiguo and the centre, the gardens of the Miramar Palace, built for the regent Queen María Cristina, are open to the public; the building is normally closed (Turismo Euskadi).

San Sebastián: the centre and La Concha

The Centro, or romantic city, was laid out round the Alameda del Boulevard after the old walls came down. Spain.info points to the Victoria Eugenia Theatre and the Hotel María Cristina on the Urumea, the neo-Gothic Buen Pastor cathedral and the María Cristina bridge with lamps by Mariano Benlliure. On the seafront the former casino is now the town hall, and the promenade runs above La Concha Beach, with its painted iron balustrade, the Clocks and the La Perla spa (Turismo Euskadi). Santa Clara Island sits in the middle of the bay.

San Sebastián: Parte Vieja (Old Town)

The Old Town lies at the foot of Mount Urgull between the harbour and the Urumea, rebuilt after the fire of 1813 and packed with pintxo bars. It holds the basilica of Santa María del Coro, the church of San Vicente, the San Telmo Museum and the Plaza de la Constitución, whose numbered balconies recall its past as a bullring (Turismo Euskadi). Mount Urgull above carries the Castillo de la Mota and a statue of the Sacred Heart, with the Paseo Nuevo round its foot (spain.info).

San Sebastián: Gros

Across the Urumea, Gros is the district of Zurriola beach and Rafael Moneo’s Kursaal congress centre (spain.info). Zurriola was created by a sand nourishment project in the 1990s and is the city’s surf beach, with four surf schools (Turismo Euskadi). Mount Ulia rises behind, and the GR 121 walk from Pasaia comes down through the district.

Pasaia: San Pedro, Donibane, Trintxerpe and Antxo

Pasaia, about 5.5 km east of central San Sebastián, is four centres round a deep bay between Mount Ulia and Mount Jaizkibel: Donibane and San Pedro by the sea, and the more urban Pasai Antxo and Trintxerpe. Its port is Gipuzkoa’s most important commercial port. San Pedro has the birthplace of the sailor Blas de Lezo and Albaola, the Sea Factory of the Basques, where a replica of the 16th-century whaling ship San Juan is being built. A small motor boat crosses to Donibane, a single street of sailors’ houses with passages under the buildings and the house where Victor Hugo stayed (Turismo Euskadi). See our Pasai Donibane guide.

Lezo

Lezo, on the road round the inner bay of Pasaia, climbs to the top of Jaizkibel (545 m). Its Gothic basilica of Santo Cristo, on the coastal Way of St James, holds a crucified Christ without a beard, one of only three in Europe, and the old quarter has an 18th-century town hall (Turismo Euskadi).

Errenteria (inland)

Just inland of Pasaia, on the River Oiartzun that ends in the bay, Errenteria has the largest old quarter in the area and a Museum of Basque Costume in the Kapitainenea mansion (Turismo Euskadi).

Hondarribia: the walled old town

Hondarribia stands at the mouth of the Bidasoa at the foot of Jaizkibel, facing Hendaye across Txingudi Bay. Its walled old town is a Historic Artistic Monument; on the Plaza de Armas, the Castle of the Emperor Charles V is now a Parador hotel, near the Gothic church of Santa María de la Asunción and the Calle Mayor with its Baroque town hall (spain.info). The Alarde on 8 September fills it with parades (Turismo Euskadi). See our Hondarribia guide.

Hondarribia: La Marina

Outside the walls, La Marina is the fishermen’s quarter, possibly the oldest part of town, with painted houses along Calle San Pedro and pintxo bars with tables outside (spain.info, Turismo Euskadi). Beyond the fishing port are the 16th-century Castle of San Telmo and the Higuer lighthouse of 1883.

Irun

Irun is the border town on the Bidasoa, next to Hondarribia. Battles destroyed much of its heritage, but Turismo Euskadi points to the hermitage of Santa Elena, a place of worship for some 20 centuries, the church of Juncal, the Renaissance Urdania Palace and the hermitage of San Marcial above Txingudi Bay. Its own Alarde, for San Marcial on 30 June, recalls a victory over French troops in 1522 (Turismo Euskadi).

Beaches and coves

West to east. Sizes are from spain.info, services and lifeguard hours from Turismo Euskadi, checked November 2026.

• Santa Clara Island – a small beach by the island’s jetty that appears only around low tide, reached by the island boats from the old port (Turismo Euskadi, via our Santa Clara guide).
• Ulia and Jaizkibel – the GR 121 passes small coves such as Alabortza, just before Pasai Donibane (Basque Government route sheet); viewpoints on the walk rather than beach stops.

Things to do

Where to stay by town

The bases we would choose, west to east. For the film festival and the big summer festivals, spain.info advises booking accommodation in advance.

Getting there and around

A two-day route

On foot and by public transport, with nights in San Sebastián.

FAQ

Other areas of the Costa Vasca

Sources and freshness

Checked 9 November 2026. Turismo Euskadi (Basque Government tourism) on San Sebastián, its Old Town, the Paseo de La Concha, the Peine del Viento, the Miramar Palace, the San Telmo Museum, the beaches of La Concha, Ondarreta, Zurriola and Hondarribia, the towns of Pasaia, Lezo, Errenteria, Hondarribia and Irun, and the Plaiaundi Ecological Park; the Basque Government’s GR 121 route sheets for stage 1 and stage 2. Spain.info (Turespaña) on Donostia-San Sebastián and Hondarribia, and its beach sheets for La Concha, Ondarreta, Zurriola and Hondarribia. Airports, stations, bus stops and straight-line distances: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Not confirmed: bus and boat timetables and fares, museum hours and prices; the city and town tourism websites could not be reached. Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Zurriola from Mount Ulía and Zurriola beach by rheins (CC BY 3.0); Ondarreta by Sami Mlouhi (CC BY-SA 4.0); La Concha from Urgull by Jchmrt (CC BY-SA 4.0); Hondarribia beach by Romainbehar (CC0); Hondarribia from Hendaye by Txo (CC BY-SA 4.0); La Concha promenade by Smiley.toerist (CC BY-SA 4.0); pintxos by Kent Wang (CC BY-SA 2.0); La Concha and San Sebastián by Ermell (CC BY-SA 4.0); Pasai Donibane by Juan Lupión (CC BY 2.0); Hondarribia street by Jorge Franganillo (CC BY 2.0); Portugalete by Fred Romero (CC BY 2.0); Elantxobe and Zarautz by Giorgio Galeotti (CC BY-SA 4.0).