Spain · autonomous community · official name País Vasco
Bathing water quality in Basque Country, Spain
Basque Country has 62 official bathing waters in the EEA dataset for the 2025 season (30 transitional (lagoon/estuary), 27 coastal and 5 lake). 72.6% were classified Excellent — 14 points below the 86.6% across Spain — and 2 were Poor. By province, the Excellent share is highest in Araba/Álava (100% of 5) and lowest in Bizkaia (61.8% of 34). 40 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025.
Calidad de las aguas de baño en País Vasco
De 62 zonas de baño oficiales de la UE en País Vasco, el 72,6 % fue «excelente» en 2025; zonas con calificación «insuficiente»: 2.
62
official bathing waters
72.6%
Excellent in 2025
2
Poor in 2025
Not live: these are annual official classifications. Check the competent authority for today’s notices before swimming.
Map of official bathing waters in Basque Country
Excellent 45Good 13Sufficient 2Poor 2
Basque Country by province
Sites are placed in the Eurostat NUTS 3 provinces that contain their reported coordinates.
| Province | Sites | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor | Not classified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bizkaia | 34 | 21 (61.8%) | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Gipuzkoa | 23 | 19 (82.6%) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Araba/Álava | 5 | 5 (100%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sea, lakes and rivers in Basque Country
| Water type | Sites | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor | Not classified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal | 27 | 25 (92.6%) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Transitional (lagoon/estuary) | 30 | 15 (50%) | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Lake | 5 | 5 (100%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Coastal waters are assessed against stricter bacterial limits than lakes and rivers but are diluted far more; see how the classes are calculated.
Most consistent Excellent sites
40 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025; the first 24 are shown and every site is in the full list below.
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 02 PM1 11 seasons · Araba/Álava
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 03 PM1 11 seasons · Araba/Álava
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 04 PM1 11 seasons · Araba/Álava
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA BARRUNDIA 02 PM1 11 seasons · Araba/Álava
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ELBURGO/BURGELU PM1 11 seasons · Araba/Álava
- PLAYA DE ARITZATXU PM1 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE ARRIATERA-ATXABIRIBIL PM1 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE ARRIATERA-ATXABIRIBIL PM2 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE ARRIATERA-ATXABIRIBIL PM3 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE ARRIGUNAGA PM1 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE AZKORRI PM1 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE BAKIO PM1 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE BAKIO PM2 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE BARINATXE PM1 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE BARINATXE PM2 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE DEBA PM1 11 seasons · Gipuzkoa
- PLAYA DE EREAGA PM1 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE EREAGA PM2 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE GORLIZ PM2 11 seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE GROS/LA ZURRIOLA PM1 11 seasons · Gipuzkoa
- PLAYA DE GROS/LA ZURRIOLA PM2 11 seasons · Gipuzkoa
- PLAYA DE GROS/LA ZURRIOLA PM3 11 seasons · Gipuzkoa
- PLAYA DE HONDARRIBIA PM1 11 seasons · Gipuzkoa
- PLAYA DE ITZURUN PM1 11 seasons · Gipuzkoa
Rated Poor in 2025
For a Poor site the Bathing Water Directive requires management measures, including a bathing prohibition or advice against bathing, so check the authority before visiting.
- PLAYA DE LAS ARENAS PM1 Poor in 1 of 11 classified seasons · Bizkaia
- PLAYA DE TO?A PM1 Poor in 1 of 1 classified seasons · Bizkaia
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (1)
- PLAYA DE EA PM1 Sufficient → Good
Declined (10)
- PLAYA ARMINTZA PM1 Good → Sufficient
- PLAYA DE GORLIZ PM1 Excellent → Good
- PLAYA DE ISUNTZA PM1 Excellent → Good
- PLAYA DE LAIDA PM2 Excellent → Good
- PLAYA DE LAIDATXU PM1 Excellent → Good
- PLAYA DE LAS ARENAS PM1 Sufficient → Poor
- PLAYA DE SANTIAGO PM1 Excellent → Good
- PLAYA LA ARENA - MUSKIZ PM1 Excellent → Good
How Basque Country rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 62 | 45 | 72.6% | 2 |
| 2024 | 61 | 53 | 86.9% | 0 |
| 2023 | 61 | 55 | 90.2% | 0 |
| 2022 | 61 | 59 | 96.7% | 0 |
| 2021 | 61 | 56 | 91.8% | 0 |
| 2020 | 60 | 56 | 93.3% | 0 |
| 2019 | 59 | 54 | 91.5% | 0 |
| 2018 | 60 | 53 | 88.3% | 0 |
| 2017 | 60 | 51 | 85% | 0 |
| 2016 | 60 | 48 | 80% | 0 |
| 2015 | 61 | 49 | 80.3% | 1 |
Places with the most bathing waters in Basque Country
Each site is matched to its nearest named place (GeoNames, within 8 km in a straight line), so beaches of one resort or lake shore can be compared together. Select a place to show only its sites in the full list.
| Place | Province | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donostia / San Sebastián | Gipuzkoa | 8 | 8 (100%) | 0 |
| Sopela | Bizkaia | 5 | 5 (100%) | 0 |
| Elexalde | Bizkaia | 5 | 1 (20%) | 0 |
| Leintz-Gatzaga | Araba/Álava | 3 | 3 (100%) | 0 |
| Zarautz | Gipuzkoa | 3 | 3 (100%) | 0 |
| Mundaka | Bizkaia | 3 | 1 (33.3%) | 0 |
| San Julián de Muskiz | Bizkaia | 3 | 1 (33.3%) | 0 |
| Algorta | Bizkaia | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Bakio | Bizkaia | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Elantxobe | Bizkaia | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Getaria | Gipuzkoa | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Mutriku | Gipuzkoa | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Deba | Gipuzkoa | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 |
| Ea | Bizkaia | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 |
| Hondarribia | Gipuzkoa | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 |
All 62 official bathing waters in Basque Country
Grouped by province, alphabetical within each group. Open a site for its 2015–2025 history, nearby alternatives, weather forecast and the national profile link.
Download all 62 sites as CSV (classes 2015–2025, coordinates, nearest place; EEA data, CC BY 4.0)
Bizkaia 34 sites · 61.8% Excellent · 2 Poor
- PLAYA ARMINTZA PM1 · Elexalde Sufficient Good → Sufficient since 2024
- PLAYA DE ARITZATXU PM1 · Bermeo Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ARRIATERA-ATXABIRIBIL PM1 · Sopela Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ARRIATERA-ATXABIRIBIL PM2 · Sopela Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ARRIATERA-ATXABIRIBIL PM3 · Sopela Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ARRIGORRI PM1 · Ondarroa Excellent Excellent 8 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ARRIGUNAGA PM1 · Getxo Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE AZKORRI PM1 · Berango Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE BAKIO PM1 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE BAKIO PM2 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE BARINATXE PM1 · Sopela Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE BARINATXE PM2 · Sopela Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE EA PM1 Good Sufficient → Good since 2024
- PLAYA DE EREAGA PM1 · Algorta Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE EREAGA PM2 · Algorta Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE GORLIZ PM1 · Elexalde Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- PLAYA DE GORLIZ PM2 · Elexalde Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE GORLIZ PM3 · Elexalde Good
- PLAYA DE ISUNTZA PM1 · Lekeitio Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- PLAYA DE KARRASPIO PM1 · Lekeitio Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE LAGA PM1 · Elantxobe Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE LAGA PM2 · Elantxobe Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE LAIDA PM1 · Mundaka Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE LAIDA PM2 · Mundaka Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- PLAYA DE LAIDATXU PM1 · Mundaka Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- PLAYA DE LAS ARENAS PM1 · Portugalete Poor Poor in 1 of 11 classified seasons
- PLAYA DE OGELLA PM1 · Ea Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE PLENTZIA PM1 · Elexalde Good
- PLAYA DE TO?A PM1 · Axpe-San Bartolome Poor Poor in 1 of 1 classified seasons
- PLAYA LA ARENA - MUSKIZ PM1 · San Julián de Muskiz Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- PLAYA LA ARENA - MUSKIZ PM2 · San Julián de Muskiz Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- PLAYA LA ARENA - ZIERBENA PM1 · San Julián de Muskiz Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA MURIOLA PM1 · Plentzia Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA SAN ANTONIO PM1 · Axpe-San Bartolome Good Excellent → Good since 2024
Gipuzkoa 23 sites · 82.6% Excellent
- PLAYA DE ANTILLA PM1 · Orio Excellent Excellent 10 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE DEBA PM1 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE GAZTETAPE PM1 · Getaria Excellent Excellent 6 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE GROS/LA ZURRIOLA PM1 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE GROS/LA ZURRIOLA PM2 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE GROS/LA ZURRIOLA PM3 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE HONDARRIBIA PM1 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE HONDARRIBIA PM2 Good
- PLAYA DE ITZURUN PM1 · Zumaia Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE LA CONCHA PM1 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE LA CONCHA PM2 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE LA CONCHA PM3 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE MALKORBE PM1 · Getaria Excellent Excellent 8 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE MUTRIKU (ONDAR GAIN) PM1 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE MUTRIKU (PUERTO) PM1 Excellent Excellent 7 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ONDARBELTZ PM1 · Deba Good
- PLAYA DE ONDARRETA PM1 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ONDARRETA PM2 · Donostia / San Sebastián Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE SANTIAGO PM1 · Zumaia Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- PLAYA DE SATURRAR?N PM1 · Ondarroa Sufficient
- PLAYA DE ZARAUTZ PM1 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ZARAUTZ PM2 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PLAYA DE ZARAUTZ PM3 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
Araba/Álava 5 sites · 100% Excellent
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 02 PM1 · Leintz-Gatzaga Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 03 PM1 · Leintz-Gatzaga Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 04 PM1 · Leintz-Gatzaga Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA BARRUNDIA 02 PM1 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ELBURGO/BURGELU PM1 Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
Compared with other autonomous communities in Spain
| # | Autonomous community | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andalusia | 382 | 96.6% | 2 |
| 2 | Murcia | 85 | 96.5% | 0 |
| 3 | Canary Islands | 218 | 95.9% | 0 |
| 4 | Catalonia | 263 | 92.8% | 1 |
| 5 | Galicia | 519 | 89.2% | 5 |
| 6 | Valencian Community | 293 | 88.4% | 5 |
| 7 | Asturias | 73 | 86.3% | 2 |
| 8 | Cantabria | 40 | 85% | 1 |
| 9 | Basque Country | 62 | 72.6% | 2 |
| 10 | Balearic Islands | 191 | 69.6% | 3 |
| 11 | Navarre | 15 | 66.7% | 0 |
| 12 | Castilla–La Mancha | 38 | 60.5% | 7 |
| 13 | Aragon | 21 | 42.9% | 1 |
| 14 | Castile and León | 41 | 36.6% | 7 |
| 15 | Extremadura | 29 | 31% | 11 |
Autonomous communities with at least 15 official bathing waters. Size, water type and how densely sites are designated differ, so the table is context rather than a verdict.
Quick answers
- How many bathing waters in Basque Country were rated Excellent in 2025?
- 45 of 62 (72.6%) in the official EEA 2025 classification; 13 were Good, 2 Sufficient and 2 Poor. That ranks Basque Country 9 of 15 Spain autonomous communities by Excellent share.
- Which province of Basque Country has the highest share of Excellent sites?
- Araba/Álava: 100% of its 5 sites were Excellent in 2025. Gipuzkoa follows with 82.6%. Only provinces with at least five sites are compared; see the full table.
- Which beaches in Basque Country have the best long-term record?
- 40 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 02 PM1, EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 03 PM1, EMBALSE ULLIBARRI GAMBOA ARRAZUA-UBARRUNDIA 04 PM1. See the ranking.
- Which places in Basque Country have the most official bathing waters?
- Donostia / San Sebastián (8, 100% Excellent), Sopela (5, 100% Excellent), Elexalde (5, 20% Excellent). See the place table; places are the nearest named settlement to each site.
- Were any bathing waters in Basque Country rated Poor?
- Yes, 2: PLAYA DE LAS ARENAS PM1, PLAYA DE TO?A PM1.
- Where do I check whether swimming is allowed today?
- On NÁYADE (Ministry of Health) (Ministry of Health (NÁYADE system) and the regional health authorities). Temporary bans, pollution alerts and closures are published there and on signs at the water, not in the annual EEA class.
Spain overview · All autonomous communities of Spain · Bathing season dates
Sources and method
Bathing-water records: European Environment Agency (EEA), data and coordinates reported by Spain, licensed CC BY 4.0. Region and province boundaries: Eurostat NUTS 2024 (© EuroGeographics for the administrative boundaries). Place names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). A site belongs to the area that contains its reported coordinates; a site up to 10 km off the generalised coastline is placed in the nearest area of Spain. Counts, shares and rankings are calculated by BathingWaterFinder from the official records.