The family OTS summer holiday is looking like a trip to northern spain / sw france is on the cards. We had a week in Guéthary last year which was great. Looking for somewhere similar. Small town with nearby beach(es), decent seafood, maybe a few nice bars in/around Bilbao / Santander. Any recommendations? Ta

Comillas is nice,about 30 miles west of Santander,nice beaches,its a Spanish style seaside resort,nice bars and food.It’s also not far from the Picos De Europa,if you fancy some mountains.

Don’t know about seafood, but I’ve been riding up and down that coast for years now and the standouts would be Plentzia, Sopelana, Lekeitio, Zarautz and Getaria, going east from Bilbao.
Tother way, Isla/Noja, Suances, Liencres, Comillas. We spend a few weeks a year camping out that way, hard to find a bad place really.

There was a similar thread on here earlier today, you might find tips there.

Liked Suances last time I visited, though was only passing through. The nearby beach at Liencres was great. Also really like the look of Getaria but not been yet; on the list though.

http://restaurantelahuertona.com/la-huertona-restaurant/

Not just seafood, but the tasting menu here was one of our best ever meals. Much better than the Michelin starred place down in Ribadesella town.

There are amazing towns dotted along the northern Spanish coast, all with bars & restaurants serving delicious seafood. It’s a beautiful part of the world.

Thanks for the recommendations so far. Looks like there are lots of options!

Also really like the look of Getaria

It’s a bit of a default place I take any visitors, easy on the bus from San Seb, easy to spend the morning there, pintxos and txakoli for lunch then a walk along the coast to Zarautz, up the Ratón (mouse shaped promontory) or up into the txakoli vineyards.
You can also get the Euskotren from San Seb to Zarautz, make a day of combining the two towns.
All these places get rammed in summer though, I make a point of spending August somewhere else! La Concha beach in August is a joke when the tide’s in.

+1 for Sopelana. Every Spring I do a 9 day Bikepacking trip from where I live in Cataluña to the Atlantic coast. We finish in Sopelana which is a lovely town with a range of hotels and a campsite, it’s also on the Bilbao metro line and costs about €2 to the centre of the city. There’s a great tapas bar overlooking the beach, I guess it gets very busy in the height of summer.

Villaviciosa area is nice, especially Tazones. Great seafood.