Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By Bus
San Sebastián's “bus station,” called Amara (for the neighborhood), is a congregation of
bus parking spots next to the big Hotel Amara Plaza, at the Plaza Pío XII (on the river,
four blocks south of EuskoTren Station; take bus #21, #26, or #28 from Boulevard). Some
schedulesarepostedatvariousstops,butconfirmdeparturetimes.Youmustbuyyourtick-
ets in advance at the bus companies, with offices on either side of the block north of the
station area (toward downtown, along Avenida deSancho el Sabio andPaseo deVízcaya).
Busticketsarenotavailablefromthedriver.ThePesaoffice,whichservesSt-Jean-de-Luz
andBilbao,islocatedatAvenidadeSanchoelSabio33(tel.902-101-210,
www.pesa.net
).
The Alsa office—which serves Madrid, Burgos, and León—is just beyond Pesa at Sancho
el Sabio 31 (tel. 902-422-242,
www.alsa.es
)
. Conda—which serves Pamplona and Bay-
onne—shares an office with Alsa (tel. 943-461-064,
www.conda.es
)
. The Vibasa of-
fice—which serves Burgos, Pamplona, and Barcelona—is on the other side of the block
along the river, at Calle Vizcaya 15 (closed 13:30-15:00, tel. 902-101-363,
From San Sebastián, buses go to
Bilbao
(2/hour, hourly on weekends, 6:30-22:00,
1.25 hours, get ticket from Pesa office, departs from Amara; morning buses fill with tour-
ists, commuters, and students, so consider buying your ticket the day before; once in Bil-
bao, buses leave you at Termibús stop with easy tram connections to the Guggenheim
modern-art museum);
Bilbao Airport
(a Pesa bus leaves directly from Plaza Pío XII,
hourly, 1.25 hours, get tickets from Pesa office),
Pamplona
(8-10/day, 1 hour, Conda of-
fice),
León
(1/day,6hours,Alsaoffice),
Madrid
(8/day,6hoursdirect,otherwise7hours;
a few departures direct to Madrid's Barajas Airport, 5.25 hours; Alsa office),
Burgos
(7/
day, 2-3.25 hours, Alsa or Vibasa office), and
Barcelona
(2/day and 1 at night, 7 hours,
Vibasa office).
To visit
Hondarribia
(described next), you can catch bus #E21 or #E23 much closer
to the center at Plaza de Gipuzkoa (1 block south of TI; about 3/hour, 35 minutes, #E21
goes to airport en route to Hondarribia).
Buses to French Basque Country:
AbusgoesfromSanSebastián'sAmarabussta-
tion to
St-Jean-de-Luz
(Mon-Sat only, 2/day at 9:00 and 14:30, none on Sun, 1 hour, re-
turn trips at 12:45 and 19:15, only 1/week off-season, get ticket from Pesa office), then
continues directly to
Biarritz
(1.25 hours from San Sebastián) and
Bayonne
(1.5 hours
from San Sebastián).
