San Sebastián is a beautiful, charming city in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa, with a population of around 200,000 inhabitants. It is a very popular tourist destination and has some very pretty beaches. There are 3 city beaches and several other nice beaches in pretty villages just a short drive or bus journey from San Sebastián. Here is a description of the best beaches in and near San Sebastián. To see their exact location, see Map of the best beaches in San Sebastian or see a small version of the map at the end of this article.

• The Concha Beach. Located within the Concha bay, this is the largest and most central of San Sebastian’s 3 beaches. It has fine, golden sand and forms an arc covering about 2 kilometres. It is very good for swimming as it has calm water most of the time. It has lots of very good facilities like showers (indoor and outdoor), toilets, lockers, changing rooms and life guards. The blue and white sun shades which cover a large section of the beach during the holiday season can be hired daily, per week, per month or per season and form a typical feature of beaches in San Sebastian. There is also an area reserved for sports on the beach. See photos of Concha Beach.
  

• Ondarreta Beach is also situated in the Concha bay and is connected to the Concha beach by a narrow walkway which disappears at high tide. It is much smaller than the Concha beach but has the same facilities. In summer it has a childrens’ club with two swimming pools and canoes for hire. There is a large car park about 500 metres from the beach.
• Zurriola Beach went under extensive redevelopment in 1995 when it was enlargened considerably. It is located in front of the Moneo Cubes. This beach faces onto the open sea and attracts many surfers all year round. It has the same facilities as the Concha as well as a children’s club during the summer, a surfing school and surf boards for hire (all year round).
• Fuenterrabia Beach. This small beach has fine, golden sand and is located in Fuenterrabia, a fishing village about 20 kilometres from San Sebastian just on the border with France.
  

  It has good facilities such as showers, toilets and a large car park near the beach. You can see France on the other side of the bay from here. Some excellent places to eat, including Alameda Restaurant and Ramón Roteta .

• Hendaia Beach is located just inside France. It is opposite Fuenterrabia. It is wide, sandy beach several kilometres long. Popular with surfers.
• Zarautz beach is quite long with fine, golden sand. It faces onto the open sea and also attracts lots of surfers. It is about 20 kilometres from San Sebastian going towards Bilbao. One of Spain’s most famous chefs has his restaurant here, see Karlos Arguiñano
• Getaria has two small, sandy beaches with lifeguards, showers and toilets. It is a small fishing village some world-class restaurants including Elkano Restaurant and Kaia y Asador Kaipe

Orio, Zumaia, Deba and Mutriko also have small sandy beaches and are located within Guipuzcoa dotted along the coastline going towards Bilbao.

See larger version of map