Hi, We will be in Barcelona and need to get to Bayonne for the Basque Country tour and are wondering what is the best way to travel this route? Train looks to be 10+ hours and includes 3 changes, so thinking a flight is the best way to go. However, this appears to involve 2 buses from San Sebastian. Is this tricky to figure out and when can we buy the bus tickets in advance? Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6790 posts
Unless you've got a lot of time to kill, I'd fly.
Looki here: Rome2Rio.com
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
If you have 2 days then make an overnight in Carcassonne.
Barcelona - Carcassonne
1) RSC 9702
Dep 09:25 BARCELONA SANTS (Spain)
Arr 11:27 NARBONNE (France)
2) TER76208
Dep 12:30 NARBONNE (France)
Arr 13:00 CARCASSONNE (France)
Carcassonne - Bayonne
1) IC 4760
Dep 13:28 CARCASSONNE (France)
Arr 14:15 TOULOUSE MATABIAU (France)
2) IC 14151
Dep 14:37 TOULOUSE MATABIAU (France)
Arr 18:05 BAYONNE (France)
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6790 posts
I like David in Brisbane's suggestion for a visit to Carcassonne. Since it's one of those too-popular places (ie badly crowded mid-day) end-of-the-day/beginning-of-the-day is the way to do it, too. Good timing, too.
That said, I'd only do that one-way (I loved Carcassonne, but no need to do it twice IMHO). If you're be returning to Barcelona, I'd fly on the return.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
If you want to take the direct train through Spain, the 7:30 a.m. departure from Barcelona is the best bet, ending at Irun at 14:13 (schedule valid to Sept. 16; mid-day trains take longer with a connection at Vittoria). From there, there are a couple of bus or train connections/tickets that you would not buy ahead, but they should be easy enough to purchase as you go, adding up to total travel time of about 8 hours.
The Euskotren (private, not shown on schedule links like DB or SNCF), runs about every half hour from Irun to Hendaye/Hendaia (4 minutes).
Once you're crossed the border, French regional trains run 1-2x/hour from Hendaye to Bayonne (55 minutes).