San Sebastián Transportation

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Getting to San Sebastian / Donostia is a snap by bus. The buses are comfortable and those working at the bus station and the drivers are pretty good about helping with times. The ticket office in San Sebastian is around the corner from the bus parking area. Also, many people refer to San Sebastian using the Basque name of Donostia. The only downside with the bus station in San Sebastian is that it is about a mile away from beach and old town. There are local buses that you can pick up.

When I was in Biarritz last month (6/2006), I decided to take a day trip to San Sebastian. It is quite easy, but you do need to change train once. First, it is a 25-minute train ride to Hendaye, then when you get out of the train station, head to your right to take the "blue" train to San Sebastain. The train makes numerous stops (Irun.....) and finally stops at "Donostia Amara". A round trip ticket costs about 3 euro. Good thing I brought a map of San Sebastian with me, so I got my bearing when I arrived at the station. A taxicab ride to Old Town costs 6 Euro. In less than 10 minutes I was on my way to my favorite restaurant in San Sebastian -- Bar Martinez. In retrospect, it was quite biazzare, in a matter of hours, my lingo changed from "s'il vous plait", "merci", "l' addition" to "por favor", "gracias" and "la cuenta"!

IT IS A CITY WHERE YOU CAN USE YOUR LEGS FOR TRANSPORTATION. BUT IF THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOU, DON'T WORRY, ALL THE CITY POINTS ARE VERY WELL CONNECTED WITH THE DIFFERENT BUS LINES, WHICH ARE ALSO ADAPTED FOR WHEEL CHAIRS. THERE ARE ALSO MANY TAXIS AROUND. BUT IF YOU CAN, I WOULD RECOMEND YOU WALKING, BECAUSE IT WILL LET YOU SEE PLACES OF THE CITY YOU WOULDN'T KNOW OTHERWISE. TRUST ME...
TO GO FROM THIS CITY TO ANY OTHER IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY OR ANY OTHER TOWN, BUSES OR TRAINS CAN BE TAKEN. THERE ARE VERY GOOD CONNECTIONS THAT WILL TAKE YOU ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY. IF YOU DECIDE YOU RATHER MAKE A MORE COMFORTABLE TRIP, YOU CAN TAKE A PLANE AT THE AIRPORT THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO SOME CITIES IN SPAIN.

For our trip to San Sebastian we flew from London Stansted in the UK to Bilbao with Easyjet (www.easyjet.com).
From the airport we ended up in the middle of Bilbao and then made our way to San Memes where there is a bus station for locations outside of Bilbao.
Here you can catch a bus to San Sebastian. We used a company called "PESA". A one way ticket was 8 Euro's each. In San Sebastian you are dropped off just off Plaza Pio XII.

everyday at 12,there is a bus from Bayonne(place des basques) to san sebastian,via biarritz.
You can also travel by bus or train to Hendaye,then take the eusko-train in hendaye-gare.
Use the passbask,for 8 euros,a pass all the day long between bayonne and san sabastian by train.
the picture is the beach of san sebastian

If you are travelling between San Sebastian and Bilbao, bus is best. A coach trip takes 1 hour, 10 minutes, the train about 3.5 hours. Granted, the scenery is pretty by train, but does not justify the extra time. Nor is there a cost saving.

I studied in San Sebastian. I lived on the north-east end of town, and the univeristy was on the south-west end of town. I walked to and from class every day (I'm slow and out of shape). The walk took me between 40-45 minutes. You can walk or bike through this town with ease. If you don't have too much time, take the bus. There are buses running all over town and the bus routes are easy to understand. But if you're not in a hurry, walk it.

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The Euskotren runs from over the border in Hendaya France to Irun Spain and San Sebastion and along the north coast of Spain to Bilbao etc. Sometimes the train called Metro.