We are staying in San Sebastián in Spain and want to catch a morning high speed train from Hendaye France to Paris. Are we going to have border crossing issues if we take a taxi from San Sebastián to Hendaye to catch the French high speed train? Should we stay in Hendaye the night before we leave and get all the border crossing issues handled before our train leaves early the next morning? Thanks for your input.
Posted by
Bristol, UK
619 posts
What issues are you anticipating? There are normally no checks when you cross from Spain into France. All you will probably see will be a sign welcoming you to France. The taxi will not even slow down.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
We crossed by car once from Hendaye into Spain and hardly noticed we had done so.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6621 posts
Unless there's a terrorist attack and the borders get closed, as another respondent stated, the taxi will hardly slow down.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
I was in San Sebastián with my parents as well as my friends from Barcelona. After a late finish at dinner my folks were retiring to the hotel while we were debating whether we should drive to Biarritz and kick the night along. The border is no barrier but as our passports were at the hotel we decided against it.
Pre Schengen (1995) the Irun-Hendaye border crossing, along with the one at Portbou-Cerbere, would involve a passport check and a bogie change for the train, as Spain has a wider rail gauge. More modern trains between France and Spain operate with variable gauge carriages. New high speed AVE trains in Spain operate on standard gauge track.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
During much of the day, there's cross-border service every half hour by EuskoTren. But it does not start early enough to meet a 6:25 a.m. departure from Hendaye. See the Donostia-Hendaia winter schedule.