How to get to San Sebastian

To get to the city of San Sebastián we have several options among which we must consider issues such as time, price, location… Mainly, one of the most important points will be whether we decide to arrive in San Sebastián or the adjoining city of Bilbao.

Direct arrival to San Sebastian

The direct arrival to San Sebastián will be possible on many occasions if the infrastructures exist. The San Sebastián airport is small and only has a few flights, finding only some national ones such as Madrid or Barcelona.

In addition, San Sebastián connects through a railway network to other cities and autonomous communities, where arrival will be direct to the San Sebastián train station.

The most common way of direct arrival is the airport, so we will address how to get to San Sebastián city directly from the airport.

Bus: a good quality-price-time

The journey in this means of transport to the city is 25 minutes and its price does not exceed 3 euros. In addition, we advise you to download the official app of this public transport in the city called Ekialde Bus to be able to be informed of all the schedules and locations of each line and not only know how to get to San Sebastián but also to be able to move to other points.

Car: comfort and freedom

In many cases we need to move quickly and independently for work, family reasons… In these cases, the car will be the best option to get to San Sebastián.

The drive is approximately 20 minutes depending on traffic. On the one hand, there is the option of taking a taxi, where the price will be around 35 euros and you can take it directly at the airport gate.

If otherwise, you decide to hire a rental car, we will find many factors that will intervene in the final price of this. Some of these factors may be how far in advance you reserve it (the sooner the better), the type of car, the kilometers, the driver, the type of insurance…

In any case, the decision to rent a car will be very personal and you must take into account the type of trip you are going to make so that it is a useful means.

Arrival from Bilbao to San Sebastian

Another option that is usually given to many travelers is to arrive in Bilbao, since it is a city with better infrastructures in terms of passenger arrivals, so access from other parts of the country or abroad is easier and cheaper.

The reality is that both cities are separated by around 80 kilometers, so knowing how to get to San Sebastián from Bilbao can be very important before your trip.

Bus: somewhat longer but cheaper

The distance that we have mentioned above, it takes about 1 hour and twenty minutes by bus. The departures of these buses from the airport to the bus station in San Sebastián are every hour and their price does not exceed 20 euros.

Car: choosing the right one

De nuevo, en el momento en que decidimos que nuestro medio de transporte será el coche, podremos decidir cómo llegar a San Sebastián, sí mediante taxi o coche de alquiler. En este caso, el trayecto durará 1 hora.

En el caso del taxi, el precio será de unos 180 euros. En este caso es en os que podríamos barajar de manera coherente alquilar un vehículo ya que, en muchos casos el precio del alquiler será más inferior a este y la forma de como llegar a San Sebastián es la misma, incluido el tiempo.

Arrival from Bilbao to San Sebastian

Tren: el punto intermedio

Muchas veces queremos más rapidez que un autobús pero no coger la carretera por motivos como el tráfico. El tren en San Sebastián es una muy buena opción para trasladarse en viajes donde no hay mucho equipaje y queremos ir al centro de la ciudad.

The Euskotren has a route through different stops that include both Bilbao and San Sebastián.

Accessing a city from different points, especially if it is for the first time, can become a risky sport, but we are sure that with this little guide on how to get to San Sebastián it will be a much easier task.

San Sebastián is an incredible city to enjoy so, if you decide to do so, there are many excursions in Donostia and visits that will make you fall in love with it.