Biarritz to San Sebastian by car and back June 2008

We traveled in northern Spain by car last March. We stayed in San Sebastian for three nights and drove to Biarritz for a day trip. We noticed that prices were much more expensive in Biarritz so it's my guess that it would be better to rent a car in San Sebastian. It was very expensive to park in San Sebastian--about $20.00 per day in an underground lot--I'd check that out and rent your car when you're ready to day trip from there. You can check car rental rates at kayak.com to get an idea about rates.

Also, if you rent your car in Spain you'll have the reflective vests provided. You'll have a great time in northern Spain!

Thank you Sharon! We are looking forward to this trip :) ! I am checking on Kayak, nice to have rates to compare across different rental agencies - not sure what car to get yet, don't recognize what they are by name :\

We are thinking about getting a shuttle/taxi to San Sebastien from the Biarritz airport - for four people that may be reasonable cost wise, and no issues about getting lost etc. Then we could have the shuttle drop us at whichever place we decide to rent a car. Looks like there are different places to pick up a rental car (Airport, Train station, "downtown"...).

We are staying at the Hotel Codina and they have parking but its 25 euros/day... Pretty pricey. I read elsewhere on these boards that there are public-secure parking lots where it is more like 10 euros - it it hard to find a public lot spots (and have it somewhat handy it for day trips) in June?

Hi Mark,
Making all of these travel connections does get complicated. Were you able to compare the costs of renting a car in Biarritz vs. San Sebastian? I'm not sure how much it would cost to rent a taxi or shuttle to San Sebastian. I believe that San Sebastian is about a 30-45 minute drive from Biarritz. It's possible to take the train from San Sebastian to Irun, Spain (very near San Sebastian)or even San Sebastian but again, you'd have to compare the cost of 4 train fares vs. shuttle service cost.

I'm not sure where the $10.00 a day lots are in San Sebastian. We stayed in the Old Town section of the city and as I mentioned we found parking to be very expensive and difficult--I would plan for $20-25 per day and if it's less that's a bonus. If we had it to do again we wouldn't rent a car.

Continuation of previous post...Not sure where you're planning to day trip to but I would factor the cost of gas, tolls, parking and car rental vs. bus or train travel. As mentioned on this site, ViaMichelin.com is a great way to map travel routes and get information about distances, tolls, etc. Rick mentions that you can take a bus or train to Bilbao for example. You may want to check that out as well. Planning is part of the fun! I know you'll have a great time!