Airbnb Hunting

We stayed for 3 nights in San Sebastián (Donostia) in June 2022. We come over from London which meant flying to Bilbao and taking a two hour bus.

Where we stayed

This is one of the more forma feeling Airbnbs that we have rent. It felt very large for a 3 bedroom. That was a good thing as it rains a lot in San Sebastián. Another bonus is that it is central in town so we could easily pop out for a coffee or to a store.

Would We Stay Here Again?

Yes. We were only in town for 2 days so there was plenty that we didn’t get to see. For example, there is hiking and even skiing in the mountains. We also didn’t get any time in Bilbao.

The property is expensive for Spain as we paid $360 per night in June, so I’d expect July and August to be even more costly. Now that I have the lay of the city I think we would consider properties further away from the center city as every neighborhood that we walked through was charming.

Would we invest in a property in San Sebastián?

I have focussed on finding a property to acquire in San Sebastian. My reasons are:

• Regulations are currently friendly for short term rentals. In contrast Barcelona and other large Spanish cities prohibit or regulate short term rental investments.
• The food scene and the major convention center suggest that San Sebastian can bring guests year round.
• The climate is cooler than other parts of spain and with global warming’s progress more vacationers will seek out cooler beaches in summertime.
• Surfing – as surfing continues to grow in popularity I believe surf cities are a good investment.
• Pyrenees mountain range. We saw many people at the airport in mountainering gear. So you can surf and ski in the area.
• High speed trains are coming. That will bring more guests.
• It’s hard to find ugly buildings. There are some that need updates for sure but the building stock seems solid.

Investment Data

What’s to like about San Sebastián?

• Two major beaches, plus other beaches. The city feels unique not only for being a large city on a beautiful beach but also because it has one beach that is largely protected from waves (La Concha) and a second beach, Zurriola, that has waves. In fact there are several beaches.
• Surfing. My son who grew up surfing in Calfironia said that his day renting a board and surfing San Sebastian was one of his best days surfing in his life.
• It’s very green. Thanks to all the rain, the hills of San Sebastian are green in the summer.
• The dining scene. San Sebastian might be most famous for its fine dining. We didn’t do much planning but on arriving, we couldn’t check in so found the closest restaurant to us and in fact it was a memorable lunch.

I found some new developments like this one. They are not cheap, above 700K Euros for two bedrooms.

The Vibe