Last Updated on November 8, 2026 by A Teaspoon of Travel

Easy 6 Day Northern Spain Itinerary Without a Car

Traveled in October 2019

Northern Spain is simply a delight for anyone who enjoys food. The pintxos are amazing, the Michelin star restaurants abound, and even a simple breakfast feels like a treat. But there’s more to this region than just the food. Although we originally planned our trip around eating our way through the area, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed the scenery, coastal views, and beautiful cities along the way. We explored San Sebastian, Bilbao, and Santander, all without renting a car. Getting between the cities using public transportation was surprisingly easy, making this a great option if you want to experience the food and sights of Northern Spain without having to drive in a foreign country. If you’re looking for a realistic six day Northern Spain itinerary that combines great food, beautiful scenery, and convenient public transportation, follow this guide!

Northern Spain Without a Car Itinerary

When to Go

I always prefer to travel in shoulder season to avoid the crowds and for cooler weather. Summer is definitely peak season in Northern Spain, but it gets HOT and crowded. We traveled in October, and the weather was pleasant for us, but a little cool for actually enjoying the beach. If you do want some beach time, then September or early June might be a good compromise of warm weather with less crowds. Winter weather might be more unpredictable with more rain. And since so much of the charm of these regions comes from exploring on foot, that might put a damper on the holiday. But if you do get lucky with good weather in the winter, you’ll find the least crowds and best prices.

How to Get There

The two biggest international airports in Spain are Madrid (airport code MAD) and Barcelona (airport code BCN). These two airports would be your best bet if looking for a nonstop flight from the United States. The high speed trains from Madrid and Barcelona to San Sebastian take about 5-7 hours from either city, so you could fly into either city. We booked train tickets through the Renfe website. There is also a smaller regional airport in Bilbao (airport code BIO) if you prefer to fly into Northern Spain rather than taking the train. We found a great deal on plane tickets to Barcelona, which is why our itinerary starts in Barcelona. If prices were the same, we would take the connecting flight to Bilbao to save time.

Booking tip: certain flight searches like Kayak, Skyscanner, or Google flights allow you to set price trackers that will alert you when the price of your flight changes. I never book a flight without tracking prices first because there is no better feeling than snagging a good deal! And I always book with a travel credit card because it includes travel insurance protections that I’ve taken advantage of (like delayed baggage reimbursements and trip delay reimbursements). Contact me for my recs on the travel cards that are worth their annual fee!

Bonus Booking tip: sign your kiddo up for frequent flyer accounts with airlines to start earning airline miles for them! Most airline miles do not expire for minors so your kiddo will thank you later.

Where to Stay in Northern Spain

For this itinerary, we stayed 2 nights in San Sebastian and 3 nights in Bilbao

When deciding where to stay in San Sebastian and Bilbao, I would choose the neighborhood based on how you plan to spend your time. In San Sebastian, we stayed in the Old Town to make it easier to head out to pinxto bars and explore on foot. In Bilbao, I preferred the Ensanche district for its convenient location near restaurants, transportation, and the Guggenheim museum.

If you want the TL;DR, here are my top picks to help narrow down your options:

• Best for pintxos in San Sebastian: Pension Iturriza (where we stayed, super convenient location near Old Town but tucked away on a quieter street)
• Best for more space in San Sebastian: Haizean Apartment (a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment for families or groups)
• Best budget-friendly stay in Bilbao: Bilbao City Rooms (where we stayed, basic rooms in a great location for sightseeing)
• Best for more space in Bilbao: Inside Bilbao Apartments (where we would stay now, an apartment-style hotel in the same location in Ensanche)
• Best for Old Town atmosphere in Bilbao: Pension Boutique Caravan Cinema (has both room and apartment options in the Old Town)

For our full breakdown of all the options we considered in San Sebastian and Bilbao, see our guide to where to stay in San Sebastian and Bilbao here.

How to Get Around

Renting a car is a popular way of exploring Northern Spain. And it is helpful to have a car if you want to explore more remote towns. However, as the title suggests, we did this entire itinerary without a car. We used high speed trains to get to Northern Spain, then used buses to travel between the cities in Northern Spain.

Show Me the Money

Spain is part of the European Union, so the currency used is the Euro. Credit cards were widely accepted, so we mostly relied on our no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card. We use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Always choose to pay in the local currency rather than USD for a better exchange rate. We did withdraw a small amount of Euros after we arrived in Spain just in case since we were traveling to some smaller towns. If withdrawing any cash, look for ATMS run by the local banks and always choose to withdraw the amount in Euros rather than USD for a better exchange rate.

Saving tip: to avoid ATM fees (from the foreign bank and your bank), look for a checking account that offers ATM fee reimbursements. I can personally recommend the Schwab investors checking account and the Betterment checking account for this purpose.

How to Stay Connected

Because we took this trip before e-sims were commonly used, we bought tourist prepaid sim cards for our cell phones during this trip. Orange and Vodaphone are two popular cell phone companies in Europe and sell prepaid tourist sim cards that can be used throughout Europe.

However, when we travel now we always use an e-sim from Airalo.

If you have an unlocked phone, then you can either purchase a prepaid sim card or you can use an e-sim. The e-sim is the cheapest way to get international cell phone data. We had a great experience using Airalo to purchase an e-sim on our trip to Canada, Switzerland, and Japan and it worked seamlessly. The downside is that you only have data and no phone service when using Airalo e-sims, so it’s a good option if you don’t anticipate needing to make phone calls.

• The Airalo website has great tutorials and I also watched this Youtube video for more installation tips. We usually start the installation process at home to load the e-sim into our phones, and then once we land at our destination we turn off our US e-sim and turn on the international e-sim.

Airalo offers local e-sims for specific countries or regional e-sims for all of Europe. For this Northern Spain itinerary, you could either buy a Spain e-sim, or get the regional Europe e-sim if traveling to other countries.

• Get a Spain Airalo e-sim here and use my referral code ATEASP4988 for $3 off
• Get the Europe Airalo e-sim here and use my referral code ATEASP4988 for $3 off

Northern Spain Without a Car Itinerary at a Glance

Day	Activity	Sleep in
1	Arrive in San Sebastian Monte Igueldo Lookout Pintxos crawl for dinner	San Sebastian
2	Monte Urgull Pintxos crawl for lunch Concha Beach Promenade	San Sebastian
3	Morning in San Sebastian old town and port Bus to Bilbao (1.5 hrs) San Mames Stadium tour or Dona Casilda Iturrizar Park Pintxos crawl for dinner	Bilbao
4	Guggenheim Museum Funicular de Artxanda Mercado de la Riberia	Bilbao
5	Day trip to Santander (bus 1.5 hrs) Palacio de la Magdalena and El Sardinero Beach	Bilbao
6	Depart Bilbao

Day 1: Arrive in San Sebastian

We took the train from Barcelona to San Sebastian. The Donostia-San Sebastian train station is a 15-20 minute flat walk from the Old Town. If flying, the closest airport is the Bilbao airport. So if flying, it would make the most sense to do this itinerary in reverse and start with Bilbao.

Monte Igueldo Lookout

We kicked off our time in San Sebastian by traveling up the funicular to the Monte Igueldo lookout for a bird’s eye view. The lookout gives a spectacular view of La Concha Bay below. It’s basically the postcard image of San Sebastian. There is also a small amusement park at the top of Monte Igueldo that has some small roller coasters and other rides, bumper cars, carousel, and a small zip line.

• How to get there: The funicular station is at the base of Monte Igueldo, at the opposite end of La Concha Bay from the old town. The funicular station is about a 40 minute walk from the old town along the beach promenade, or you can take a bus from the old town to the end of La Concha Bay for a shorter walk.

Pintxo Crawl

After all that walking, it’s time for tapas (or pintxos, as they’re known in San Sebastian)! The pintxos bars are the highlight of a visit to San Sebastian and there are some unique favorites at each bar. Some pintxos bars have plates of pintxos displayed on the counter, but you want to go for the cooked to order pintxos on the blackboards or wall menus to get the really good stuff. It can get crowded at peak times, so you just have to elbow your way up to the counter and order from the guys behind the bar. I’m amazing that they somehow magically keep track of what you have eaten without writing anything down. You let them know when you’re all done and pay at the end.

If visiting the pintxos bars on your own feels too intimidating, then go with a guided tour for your first introduction so they can help you order.

The pintxos bars are clustered on Fermin Calbeton street, San Jeronimo street, and 31 de Agosto streets in the old town. We found Google maps to be pretty reliable for leading you to the right address. La Cuchara de San Telmo was our favorite – definitely don’t miss that one.

Some of our favorite pintxos bars in San Sebastian and their specialties

• La Cuchara de San Telmo – modern pintxos. The menu is on the blackboard behind the counter. We loved the foie gras, cotxinillo (suckling pig), pulpo (octopus), carrillera de ternera (beef cheeks). But honestly everything on the menu is more delicious than anything you can find in the US (and we live in a foodie area). The two different prices are for half portion vs a full portion.
• La Vina – Basque cheesecake. OMG the cheesecake. We came multiple times a day for this cheesecake, and got some slices to take with us the day we left. There has been a Basque cheesecake boom in the Bay Area, but we haven’t found any that are as good as the original in La Vina.
• Gandarias – classic pintxos. Get the foie a la plancha, solomillo a la plancha (small piece of filet steak), jamon iberico, croquetas de jamon (croquettes).
• Ganbara – on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List. Their specialty is the Txangurro (spider crab tart). But don’t miss the seared seasonal mushrooms, grilled fresh prawns, and baby squid in its own ink.
• Bar Nestor – legendary tortilla (which is a potato omelette in San Sebastian, don’t expect a taco wrapper). Also known for its txuleta (steak). They only make 2 tortillas a day, so the ordering gets complicated and competitive. This website breaks it down nicely.
• Bar Borda Berri – seasonal pintxos. The menu changes seasonally, but order these if you see them: carrillera de ternera (beef cheeks), Risotto de “Puntalete” con Queso de Idiazabal (risotto with basque cheese), pulpo (octopus), bonito (tuna).
• Txuleta – T-BONE STEAK. This is a restaurant, but you can also order the Txuleta de Viejo by the kilo at the bar if you just want some steak, which is what we did. SO GOOD.

Day 2: Monte Urgull and Concha Beach Promenade

Monte Urgull

Monte Urgull is the mountain at the end of La Concha Bay that is closer to the old town. A military fortress used to stand on this hill, and you will pass by sections of the wall as you hike up to the castle at the top. Stop at one of the many lookouts along the hike to admire the breathtaking views. There are different paths up the mountain and you could just have a wander. But we followed this route from the tourism website:

• How to get there: take the path that starts from Zuloaga Plaza, next to the San Telmo Museum. Wind your way up the path to the summit, and wander around the castle. On the way down, take the path that leads to Paseo Nuevo. You will pass the Battery and the English Cemetary before reaching the Paseo Nuevo. The Paseo Nuevo runs right next to the water and ends at the aquarium. Following this path will lead you to the fishing port next to the old town.

Lunch can be another pintxos crawl to try some new bars or go back for some old favorites. Or, you could check out a Michelin star restaurant. The Michelin stars shine bright in Northern Spain, and going for lunch could be a more affordable way to get a taste. Michelin star restaurants in the area include: Akelarre, Arzak, Martin Berasetegui Restaurant, Amelia, Mugaritz, Alameda, Elkano, and Kokotxa. We tried Kokotxa and the seafood was so fresh and tasty.

Concha Beach Promenade

After lunch, walk along the Concha Beach Promenade to work up an appetite for dinner.

Day 3: Travel to Bilbao

We spent the morning having one last stroll around the old town and port of San Sebastian. Don’t forget to pick up a slice of La Vina cheesecake for the road!

The bus station in San Sebastian is next to the train station. The bus takes about 1.5 hrs from San Sebastian to Bilbao. There are 2 bus companies that travel this route, Alsa and Pesa. Check their websites for the timetables and to purchase tickets, or you can purchase tickets at the bus station.

My husband is a football fan, so we did the San Mames stadium tour. It is only mildly interesting if you are not a football fan. Another option for the afternoon could be taking a walk in the Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park. It is a nice green space with many walking paths and fountains.

If all that walking has made room for more food, then you’re in luck! Pintxos are plentiful and delicious in Bilbao as well. You won’t go hungry on this trip for sure. La Vina del Ensanche was our favorite in Bilbao – I even took a picture of the menu to remember the name of the Josellinis for future reference. Going on a pintxos crawl with a local guide is an easy introduction to the specialties in Bilbao.

Some pintxo bars in Bilbao we tried and their specialties:

• Bar El Globo – Gratinado de txangurro (spider crab gratin on toast), Alcachofas de Tudela (artichoke hearts)
• La Vina del Ensanche – Josellinis (jamon, melted cheese, and foie on bread. Had this on repeat.), croquetas de jamon (croquettes), hongos salteados (mushrooms), tempura de esparragos (asparagus tempura), carrillera iberica con pure de patata (beef cheeks with mashed potatoes)
• Irrintzi – crispy apple with peanut sauce duck, marinated anchovy with potatoes, mushrooms, and glazed onions, squid in their ink croquette
• Bar Gatz – bacalao pil-pil (cod fried in olive oil and garlic), tortillas (omelettes with potato, garlic, and ham)

Other pintxo bars in Bilbao I had bookmarked but did not get a chance to try:

• Cafe Bar Bilbao – bacalao pil-pil (cod fried in olive oil and garlic)
• Taverna Txiriboga – croquettes

Day 4: Explore Bilbao

Guggenheim Museum

We started the day at the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao’s iconic museum of modern art. Tickets available online here or can buy them at the counter. I don’t really “get” modern art, but I still enjoyed the creative and fun art installations both inside and outside the museum. Lots of good photo ops for the gram. If you want to go all out and have a fully fancy day, pair fine art with fine dining at Nerua, the Michelin star restaurant inside the Guggenheim Museum.

Funicular de Artxanda

For a panoramic view of Bilbao, we took the Funicular de Artxanda up to a park with a beautiful lookout where you can see the whole city laid out below.

Mercado de la Ribera

After all that walking, we headed to the Mercado de la Ribera to refuel. I always love checking out local markets for potential food souvenirs and snacking opportunities. The Mercado de la Ribera in Bilbao is one of the largest covered markets in Europe. You can find a ton of fresh produce there, and there is also a food hall for a quick snack.

For dinner we went back to La Vina del Ensanche for more Josellinis. But if you want to spare your arteries a second round of that cholesterol infusion, other highly recommended restaurants I had bookmarked were Cafe Iruna and La Gavilla Bilbao.

Day 5: Day Trip to Santander

Santander is a 1.5 hour bus ride from Bilbao. The bus station in Bilbao is next to the San Mames Stadium. You can buy tickets on the Alsa website or at the ticket machines at the bus station.

Santander is the capital of the Cantabria region. The landscape of white sand beaches surrounded by green mountains is just stunning. Throw in an elegant castle and you have a delightful day of promenading ahead. To fuel up for all that walking, we started at Casa Lita for some amazing pintxos on the waterfront. Casa Lita is run by a Michelin star chef, so you can bet the pintxos are interesting and delicious. From the bus station, Casa Lita is a 15 minute walk away along the harbor (just past the statues of the 4 kids diving into the water).

Palacio de la Magdalena

The Palacio de la Magdalena was the former summer residence of the King and Queen of Spain. The palace is located on a peninsula, surrounded by beautiful gardens with endless views of the ocean. The path that goes around peninsula through the gardens was a really picturesque easy stroll after a yummy lunch. Since it takes about 1 hour to walk from the bus station to the palace, it’s best to take a taxi or uber there.

El Sardinero Beach

There is a beach in the Magdalena peninsula, but for a different beach view we kept walking to El Sardinero beach. The walk from the Magdalena peninsula to El Sardinero beach is stunning as well. The rocky coastline surrounding the beach gives Mendocino on a sunny day vibes. And the sail boats make you feel like a royal on holiday. Reclining on this beach or strolling on the adjacent beach promenade is a relaxing way to close out the first half of this Northern Spain and Portugal itinerary.

If the views of Santander don’t look that interesting and you prefer a more food-oriented day trip, then doing a day trip to the La Rioja wineries is a must-do in this region. Going on a guided tour is best so you can fully enjoy the wine tastings!

Day 6: Depart Bilbao

To get to the Bilbao airport from the city center, take bus line A 3247, which takes around 15-20 minutes.

Want more delicious food travel? See how we combined this trip with a visit to Portugal in our complete Northern Spain and Portugal itinerary!