Quarantine Diary: Beaches and Tapas in San Sebastian, Spain
Because we love the beach, one of our first spring or summer trips always included a beach. In 2020, we wanted to go to the number one beach in Europe! We would have the best beach and the finest tapas in San Sebastian, Spain!
The Idea
As I was doing my normal wanderlust research, I came across the recently rated number one beach in Europe! Once I mentioned it to Mary Frances, we immediately had to start planning it!
Planning our Travel
Since we had to travel over a normal weekend, we had to be a little creative!
Flights
To start any London to San Sebastian trip, one must begin with flights because it is a little tricky. Because there are not any direct flights, we had to fly into Bilbao, Spain. Once we put a Google Alert on our planned dates, we sat back and waited for the right price.
Finally, we booked a flight from Gatwick to Bilbao on Friday night on Vueling, a budget subsidiary of Iberia. For our return, we would fly British Airways on Sunday evening back to Heathrow.
Lodging
Because our flights were late into Bilbao on Friday night, I had to find a good AirBnB close to the bus station. Yes, we needed to take a bus from Bilbao to San Sebastian! With a very thorough AirBnB research, I found a wonderful cozy place within 5 minutes of the San Sebastian bus station.
Once in San Sebastian, we wanted an ideal hotel so we could see the beach, enjoy the fine tapas, and drink while watching the sunset! While the Off Beat Guesthouse definitely not the most luxurious hotel, it offered three beds which is what we needed and we could leave our bags while we explored on Sunday.
San Sebastian Food & Drink
To be honest, we were going to rely on a friend’s advice for most of our meals. I found a really useful guide on the Telegraph’s website to 48 hours for San Sebastian.
Sunny Activities
First and foremost, we were there to soak in the sunshine. We were likely to be sun burnt, but we were going to enjoy the vitamin D! Then, to nourish ourselves or to forget that we were sunburnt, we would pintxo hop!
- Beaches: By sitting right on the coast, San Sebastian has plenty of awesome beaches! From Zurriola to Concha, we definitely would have spent a day in the surf and sand.
- Food & Drink: From every article I read, finding great food and drink would not be a problem! The city has more Michelin star restaurants per capita and more bars per person.
The Fail
As soon as we realized Spain was under a lot of COVID strain, we were losing hope. Although this trip was in the middle of May, we knew it was not likely and cancelled everything. We cancelled the hotels and waited for the flights to be refunded. Despite the loss of this excellent beach trip, we are not losing hope and want to return at some point in our long travels.