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San Sebastián to Bayonne

Posted by on

Good morning. We are traveling in Northern Spain and will end up in San Sebastián and plan to turn in our car to avoid fees for taking across the border into France. From San Sebastián we were planning to get to Bayonne and pick up a car and drive to Bordeaux where we will spend a night in St. Emillion and then head to the Loire Valley and Normandy.

I am struggling with trying to find the best way to get from San Sebastián to Bayonne. Would I be better off going to Biarritz or should I think about taking a train from San Sebastián to Bordeaux and then rent a car. We don't want to go on a bus but don't mind the rain.

We would be transition from Spain to France on the morning of April 26th.

Thank you so much for your help.

Posted by
302 posts

I used trains and buses extensively for my visit almost 10 years ago. I like Rome2Rio for it's easy interface and overview- have you tried it? The Basque history museum in Bayonne was fantastic, be sure to see it- it's not that large. I don't know how or if Covid has changed anything about the border, but it's a short train trip otherwise.

Posted by
6993 posts

I am struggling with trying to find the best way to get from San
Sebastián to Bayonne.

You take the train. It as easy trip with one change. Why the struggle?

or should I think about taking a train from San Sebastián to Bordeaux
and then rent a car.

If you don't have any stops planned before Bordeaux, that would be my choice.

Posted by
594 posts

From Donostia to Hendaye you can take the Eusko Tren. It stops at the Hendaye station.

You can get a car there, or the train to Bayonne. Unless you want to visit Bayonne I'd would go straight through to Bordeaux.

Posted by
7304 posts

To clarify, the Euskotren to Hendaye stops at Amara station in San Sebastián / Donostia. The "Donostia" station is served by other trains which do not go to Hendaye.
Euskotren is a regional train, almost a metro, and does not need or take ticket reservations.
However, many of the trains from Hendaye to Bayonne or Bordeaux are TGV (long-distance high-speed trains) and require reservations (in advance for best price), on SNCF Connect ideally (or Trainline, or Rail Europe, if you struggle with SNCF Connect).
I join everyone who recommends taking the train all the way to Bordeaux. The drive between Bayonne and Bordeaux is possibly the most boring in all of France - 70% of it is dead straight through a man-made pine forest.

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