Irún to San Sebastián - how long?

[Peakseeker]

My train from Barcelona drops me at Irún around 1 pm tomorrow. Would reaching San Sebastián by nightfall be a realistic feat or might I consider staying in Irún and starting bright and early the next day?

 

[grayland]

It would be a pretty good haul to make it after traveling all day. Many people elect to make it in two days from Irun to SB under good conditions....so just an afternoon would not make a lot of sense when just starting out. Why not strart out from Irun and stay after a couple of hours. That way you will be into SB fresh and early the next day. San Sabastian is really a great place and is worth extra time.

 

[OzAnnie]

https://www.gronze.com/etapa/irun/san-sebastian

Hi @Peakseeker
I’d enjoy Irún on you arrival day unless you are really in a hurry.

The stage (see the gronze link ) is roughly 25k but felt longer for me with jet lag. I started in the morning from albergue in Irún but still stopped at 16k point ‘ Pasajes de San Juan’. Enjoyed the afternoon there too. May not be easy to find accommodation in pasajes if you arrive later though -
Buen Camino
Annie

 

[trecile]

I started from Irun at almost 2:00 pm, and stopped in Pasajes de San Juan. The albergue there is very small, so I made a reservation at a small guest house there - Casa Txurdin, tel +34 685 47 57 33 . The cost was 25 Euros for a private room with shared bath and breakfast.

 

[Anamya]

I agree with @trecile. If you are really keen to start, maybe stopping at Pasajes de San Juan is a more realistic option. It all depends on listening to your body and choosing the best option for yourself at the conditions you will be at arrival

 

[wes]

If you decide to overnight in Irun, then Hendaye, which is effectively a twin town, is well worth a look too. It was the location of a famous/notorious meeting between Franco and Hitler in WWII, quite a story.

 

[gypsy9]

bright and early the next day....

 

[gloria lowe]

I did Irun to SAN Sebastián in the pouring rain. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. We took a cab the last 7km from the water cab spot. I would allow a whole day so you get to San Sebastián early and really enjoy it. Beautiful place.

 

[amancio]

If you decide to overnight in Irun, then Hendaye, which is effectively a twin town, is well worth a look too. It was the location of a famous/notorious meeting between Franco and Hitler in WWII, quite a story.

Indeed... Franco arrived 20 minutes too late and Hitler said something like "You cannot do anything serious with these guys"... Just crossing the old bridge to Hendaye and reliving the steps of thousands of Spanish refugees fleeing Franco's army is an amazing feeling.

I am not sure you can do that stretch in peace, days are getting shorter and shorter, and it is a TOUGH stage. I would book a bed in Passaia/Pasajes, or else would spend the afternoon visiting Hondarribia/Fuenterrabía or even Saint Jean de Luz on the French side, Irun is not a particularly attractive town itself.

 

[peregrino_tom]

My train from Barcelona drops me at Irún around 1 pm tomorrow. Would reaching San Sebastián by nightfall be a realistic feat or might I consider staying in Irún and starting bright and early the next day?

Given your forum name is Peakseeker, I feel there's a hint here that you might be quite fit and a fast walker? In which case, if you are squeezed for camino days and don't want to sacrifice one right at the start, you could probably do it. Someone else to confirm but I'm guessing it's dark by 6.30pm. So you'd benefit from having a good headtorch (to see waymarks) to get you down the Ulia hill and into the outskirts of San Seb. And it'd ease the pressure if you have a place to stay already booked. But if your train is delayed or the weather is bad, I'd either hold up in Irun or just go over to Pasajes as suggested above.

Just crossing the old bridge to Hendaye and reliving the steps of thousands of Spanish refugees fleeing Franco's army is an amazing feeling.

If you find yourself kicking around Irun for half a day, yes, worth going over the old bridge to Hendaye. Note the architectural contrast. In the civil war the Germans bombed Irun hard, but avoided its French sister town on the other side of the river.