Northern Spain advice

[Notstrongandstable]

Hi,

Thinking of a summer holiday based around flying in to Santander or Bilbao, doing a few days in either/both with a car. We'd like to surf/bodyboard too, with a nice Airbnb for our main destination.
Can anyone recommend any nice towns/beaches on that northern coast of Spain? DH just had a look but is struggling to find nice looking villages etc to stay in, obviously the scenery is stunning but also want a nice town to base in. Kids not massively into cultural stuff so I think more than a couple of days in Bilbao/San Sebastian/ Santander might be enough

for surfing and a beach holiday you want to go to San Sebastián.
I wouldn’t bother with Santander personally. It’s a bit industrial with little to offer in the way of holiday stuff.
bilbao is best for a city break, Guggenheim is a must-see and the food there is amazing 🤤

How about santillana del mar. Lovely place.

I haven't stayed in either, just visited for the day, but we liked Ribadesella and Llanes

We spent 5 days in San Sebastian and 2 in Bilbao in August.The former has huge beach and a fireworks competition for the week. Bilbao was more of a cultural festival. We had a great time.