Best time to visit San Sebastián

Spain · Europe

All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.

The year in San Sebastián

Tap a month for its page

Sweet spot
Good
OK
Avoid
Busy

Go in Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug or Oct — these months score within a whisker of each other; 17C max, 12 rainy days. May is the next best.

Plan this trip

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Flights

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Where to stay

Things to do

Car hire

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Things to do in San Sebastián

Artzain Onaren Katedrala Cathedral in Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain
Palacio de Congresos y Auditorio Kursaal Convention centre and auditorium in San Sebastián, Spain
Santa María del Coro Cultural property in San Sebastián, Spain
San Telmo Museum Wide ranging museum partially in a 16th century Dominican convent and a new building.
Castillo de la Mota Building in Spain
Mount Ulia A small hill providing views of the bay area.
Victoria Eugenia Theater Theater located in San Sebastián, Spain

Tours and tickets in San Sebastián

Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank

Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (San Sebastián), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.

Month by month

No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.

Month	Max °C	Rain days	Humidity	Sun h/day	Verdict	Why
Jan	12°	14d	79%	5.3h	avoid	12C max, 14 rainy days
Feb	15°	12d	77%	6.7h	ok	15C max, 12 rainy days
Mar	16°	14d	75%	8.2h	ok	16C max, 14 rainy days
Apr	17°	12d	77%	9.1h	sweet spot	17C max, 12 rainy days
May	20°	13d	81%	10.4h	ok	20C max, 13 rainy days
Jun	23°	10d	83%	10.4h	sweet spot busy	busier than usual
Jul	24°	7d	82%	11.2h	sweet spot busy	busier than usual
Aug	25°	8d	82%	10.7h	sweet spot busy	busier than usual
Sep	23°	10d	80%	9.8h	okbusy	busier than usual
Oct	21°	11d	78%	7.4h	sweet spot	21C max, 11 rainy days
Nov	16°	16d	79%	5.9h	avoid	monsoon: 16 rainy days, 232mm
Dec	14°	14d	80%	5.0h	ok	14C max, 14 rainy days

Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.

Weather read at the city centre, by La Concha, 16 km from the airport (EAS): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.

A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.

How busy it gets

Busiest from June to September; quietest from October to March.

Then and now

San Sebastián's June days now average 22.9°C, 3.1°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 9 of 12 months are clearly warmer.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1981–90	10.9°	11.6°	13.1°	14.7°	17.1°	19.8°	22.4°	22.4°	22.0°	19.0°	14.6°	11.9°
2017–26	12.1°	14.6°	15.6°	17.5°	19.7°	22.9°	24.2°	24.9°	23.3°	20.9°	16.0°	13.9°
Change	+1.2°	+3.1°	+2.5°	+2.8°	+2.6°	+3.1°	+1.8°	+2.5°	+1.4°	+1.9°	+1.4°	+2.0°

The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.

Getting there

Fly into Bilbao (BIO), then drive. The flights under Where to book are to Bilbao.

Bilbao (BIO)	the drive is not measured yet
Hondarribia (EAS)	the drive is not measured yet

The drive from each airport is the road's, from openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT: typical, not a schedule.

How far San Sebastián is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.

Before you go

Type C and F plugs at 230 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the Euro. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Everything for Spain: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.

Being there

On arrival

Paying — Credit and debit cards are widely accepted. Some shops ask for ID, sometimes a passport, before taking a card.
UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
Tipping — Not expected; at better restaurants leave 5 to 10% in cash for exemplary service. Round up taxi fares if you like.

Getting around San Sebastián

Buy an anonymous Mugi card (€5, no photo or ID needed) at some kiosks, bookshops and tobacconists and load it with money: it takes 60% off fares on Dbus city buses and Lurraldebus coaches and also works on Euskotren and Renfe local trains, and on Dbus one card can pay for several people, tapped once each. A Barik card from Bilbao also works on Dbus, at Mugi fares. From Bilbao airport, Lurraldebus line DO04 runs to Donostia about every hour and is part of the Mugi system; from San Sebastián's own airport, Lurraldebus buses run to the city, and the airport's duty-free shop sells the Mugi card.

Apps — Rides: Bolt, Cabify, FreeNow, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp.

You can see Donostia on foot and by taxi. Taxis only pick up passengers at designated taxi stops or when booked by phone. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on San Sebastián, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Help

Emergency — 112 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Sources (50)

San Sebastián in pictures

San Sebastian La Concha 20120902 RM 125922 — i

Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Castillo de San Sebastián Cádiz 1 — i

kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

San Sebastián Statue — i

Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

San Sebastian at night from Monte Urgull — i

Phillip Maiwald (Nikopol), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Plaza Saltos in Saltos, San Sebastián, Puerto Rico — i

The Eloquent Peasant, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What San Sebastián is like

Donostia-San Sebastián (Basque: Donostia; Spanish: San Sebastián) is a major city in the Basque Country, an Autonomous Community of Spain. Donostia/San Sebastian boasts one of the best in-city beaches in Europe. More on Wikivoyage

Worth seeing: From top of Mount Igeldo at the West end of Kontxa/La Concha bay, enjoy great view of the town Visit the Miramar palace and its park over Loretope/El pico del Loro… More on Wikivoyage
Worth doing: Beach - there are two main beaches, one on either side of the river. Kontxa/La Concha, on the west side is the larger, is protected from the sea and has an island and boats in the bay. More on Wikivoyage
Getting in: Trains from France arrive at Hendaye (in France), from where it is possible to take a local train Euskotren to Donostia/San Sebastian. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on San Sebastián, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.

Around San Sebastián

Also in Spain

Nearby

Kind of place

San Sebastián is in Spain, Europe. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.

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