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Help Needed Bordeaux to San Sebastian - Train or bus?

Christian

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So we're going to Bordeaux for a week, followed by a week in San Sebastian (yay!). I've been looking for a way to go from Bordeaux to San Sebastian, but not by car (we don't drive). I find info on the Net that doesn't seem to be current. I understand it can be done by train with one transfer in Hendaye (if the information is still correct), but also by bus. I was on a site that showed that the only possible bus is in the middle of the night, arriving in the early morning! Is that right? What would be the best, cheapest, most practical and quickest way to travel between the two cities. Has anyone here done this? Is there a way to do it without any transfers? Thanks!
 
The bus from Bordeaux to San Sé would not be the quickest. It would be the cheapest.
The fastest is train to Hendaye then Euskotren (the Basque train line) to San Sé. It would not be the cheapest.
Most practical? Some people don't want to transfer. In that case they would think staying on a bus from Bordeaux to San Sé is most practical.
Others favor comfort. In that case train+train is more comfortable.
Best? Your best may not be my best.
I can only share what I would do, according to my preferences.
I would take a trains to Hendaye, then train to San Sé.
Te transfer between train stations in Hendaye is easy as pie.
You walk out of the French train station, walk one block to the Euskotren station, which has trains to San Sé every half hour.

As for the bus:
I have taken the bus from St Jean de Luz to San Sé. It is very nice but not as frequent as the trains. You may end up waiting a stretch of time between the two trains.
 
The bus from Bordeaux to San Sé would not be the quickest. It would be the cheapest.
The fastest is train to Hendaye then Euskotren (the Basque train line) to San Sé. It would not be the cheapest.
Most practical? Some people don't want to transfer. In that case they would think staying on a bus from Bordeaux to San Sé is most practical.
Others favor comfort. In that case train+train is more comfortable.
Best? Your best may not be my best.
I can only share what I would do, according to my preferences.
I would take a trains to Hendaye, then train to San Sé.
Te transfer between train stations in Hendaye is easy as pie.
You walk out of the French train station, walk one block to the Euskotren station, which has trains to San Sé every half hour.

As for the bus:
I have taken the bus from St Jean de Luz to San Sé. It is very nice but not as frequent as the trains. You may end up waiting a stretch of time between the two trains.

Thank you Parigi (how are you doing, btw?!) I looked on the SNCF website and it looks like there is only one train doing the route (leaving at 3:02pm and arriving at 7:08pm). Could that be right? Am I looking at the right place? We would be wasting a huge chunk of the middle of the day in travel! Would it be better to do the first half (Bordeaux to Handaye) with SNCF and the second half (from Hendaye to San Sé) with Renfe?
 
I'm fine but frozen in Paris.
"looked on the SNCF website and it looks like there is only one train doing the route (leaving at 3:02pm and arriving at 7:08pm). Could that be right?"
Uh, no.
There ought to be relatively frequent trains between Bordeaux and Hendaye, both ont he main line, averaging about a train every hour or every 90 minutes. I just checked picking a random date, a day of the week.
Are you looking at the English version of the SNCF sight? It does not have all the trains and is often much more expensive - about 200% - than the regular fare on the french-language SNCF sight.
You'll have a grand time in Bordeaux and in San Sebastian.
 
I'm fine but frozen in Paris.
"looked on the SNCF website and it looks like there is only one train doing the route (leaving at 3:02pm and arriving at 7:08pm). Could that be right?"
Uh, no.
There ought to be relatively frequent trains between Bordeaux and Hendaye, both ont he main line, averaging about a train every hour or every 90 minutes. I just checked picking a random date, a day of the week.
Are you looking at the English version of the SNCF sight? It does not have all the trains and is often much more expensive - about 200% - than the regular fare on the french-language SNCF sight.
You'll have a grand time in Bordeaux and in San Sebastian.

I did look at the French site (French is my first language, so it's easier for me!). It only gives me the option I mentioned. If I look at Bordeaux-Hendaye, it gives me a few more, and then on Renfe, I only see one train, arriving at 7:08pm!
Could it be that I'm WAYYY too early? I'm looking at dates in May, after all.
 
Normally SNCF timetable covers 4 months.
I'm geting confused.
The infrequent time that you cited, is that a bus? That would sound about right.
The mainline TGV trains are fastest and most frequent. And if you buy them early you can get very good price.
 
Sorry for the confusion. The infrequent time is on the train. I just tried typing in "Saint-Sébastien" instead of "San Sebastian" and I get more results. Problem is, the itinerary is absurd, taking over six hours and going via...Paris!! I'm totally confused, now. The bus ("OuiBus") seems to only be leaving at 2:45 in the morning!!!
 
A site I check when there are multiple forms of transportation and operators is www.rome2rio.com . If you search Bordeaux-San Sebastian and select Train, you get lists of frequent trains for both segments. It defaults to searching for "Today," so you can get an indication of how frequent the trains are; as Parigi indicates, if you're searching well in advance the schedules may not be loaded.
 
Thanks Andrew. I often wonder about the Rome2Rio website. I think it gives a pretty good idea of the possibilities between Point A and Point B, but sometimes redirects you to sketchy companies. For instance, the bus from Bordeaux to San Sebastian is with "Flixbus", for which I have read nothing but horrible reviews. Not very reassuring! I also just checked for the train for my date (May 17) and it says nothing is available "yet". So I think I will assume I'm too early and I'mm check again after February 17!
 
We traveled by Train from Bordeaux to San Sebastian, and it was relatively easy. As stated earlier, you need to transfer in Hendaye to Euskotren, the Spanish rail line. It's less than a block away. Here is an article on Euskotren , that provides some detailed information, likely more than you need, but interesting.
 
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So does it mean I have to book from Bordeaux to Hendaye with SNCF and then Hendaye to San Sebastian separately with Renfe? If Itry Bordeaux to San Sebastian on the SNCF website, it still only shows one train per day (at 3:02PM).
 
As I understand, the Euskotren is separate from Renfe: it's a commuter train that you don't "book"; you buy tickets from the machine at the station and board. Both segments appear to have approximately hourly service.
 
Andrew is correct. You will need to buy a separate ticket from Euskotren to get from Hendaye to San Sebastian aka Donostia. It is a downscale commuter train and the cost is a few euros, if I recall correctly.
 
I see. So it means I can book Bordeaux-Hendaye online in advance and once we're in Hendaye, I buy the tickets for San Sebastian in person through Euskotren. Last question (hopefully!): is the connextion done at the same train station? (I see Hendaye has more than one station!)
 
Christian, you are correct. You exit the French Hendaye station and walk across the way to the Euskotren station. Don't forget, you are now in Basque country and your ticket to San Sebastian may referred to as Donostia. The Euskotren station in San Sebastian / Donostia is called Amara. Here is another article that you may find useful.
 
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There's also this from the Seat 61 site. It's for Paris to San Sebastian, but just look at Step 2 for making the transfer at Hendaye.
 
I recently bought tickets for Paris-Hendaye and Hendaye-Bordeaux using Trainline, which I believe is a British site.
 
Seat61 web site, referred to by Andrew, is excellent for train related questions. I have found that the author will respond to questions, too.

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Wow! Great info! Thanks all! I just purchased our tickets for the first leg of the trip!! :)
 
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