Day 1 Irun/San Sebastian -recommendations please

[Jesso]

Hi,

I am going to be a little tight with the number of days I have to walk from San Sebastián to Santiago. I’ve decided (for now) that I’m going to merge on to the Primitivo from the Norte.

I have read wonderful things about the first day of the Norte from Irun to San Sebastián and if possible, don’t want to miss at least a little of it, but I also want to take a bit of time to relax as the next few weeks leading up to my camino are pretty hectic.

I’ll be travelling from Singapore and have 2 nights in San Sebastián to before beginning my Camino. I arrive in the afternoon of the first night and have one full day to relax before I walk out of San Sebastián. I need to get my credential and would also like time to enjoy San Sebastián.

If I only have time to walk one section, would you recommend walking from Irun to Pasajes de San Pedro or Pasajes de San Pedro to San Sebastian (or the reverse direction)?

Thanks in advance for sharing your recommendations.

 

[ELHS220]

I just did this route yesterday and the day before. In my opinion, Irún to Pasaia is far and away the winner. I had two completely cloudless days and it was absolutely AMAZING. I took the high route (purgatorio) which gives views both north and south. If the weather is bad, rain, fog, etc., I wouldn’t do either one as you wouldn’t see anything and the trsil would be very dangerous.

 

[Jesso]

Thank you for your recommendation and sharing your photos, I’m excited to begin walking!

 

[TimH]

Suggest you start in the old town in Hondarribbia and go the whole way to San Sebastián. This shorts the day just a bit which helps make it more enjoyable. Seriously this is just about the best day on whole Norte. We walked it on a seriously cloudy day that turned to pure sunshine as the day went on. The high route on Jaizkebik was fanstatic with the mist coming and going, walking down to the Passaje was great and the coastline along from there really beautiful before the final descent to the wonderful San Sebastián. Just remembering it now makes me want to go and do it again!!

 

[Jesso]

Thanks, TimH. Good to know! It sounds like the best start to a month of walking!

Suggest you start in the old town in Hondarribbia and go the whole way to San Sebastián. This shorts the day just a bit which helps make it more enjoyable. Seriously this is just about the best day on whole Norte. We walked it on a seriously cloudy day that turned to pure sunshine as the day went on. The high route on Jaizkebik was fanstatic with the mist coming and going, walking down to the Passaje was great and the coastline along from there really beautiful before the final descent to the wonderful San Sebastián. Just remembering it now makes me want to go and do it again!!