Transport from San Sebastian to Ferrol

[philro]

After hunting around a bit I'm finding this information difficult to come by. There should be trains and buses covering (however roundabout) the route but I can't find the details. Any information and advice for a first timer would be appreciated.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola I'm no expert in this but I think you could take a bus from San Sebastian to Oviedo and then take the FEVE train to Ferrol. I know there are other forum members who have made this journey and I am sure they will advise.

John

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, philro,

I haven't made this trip either, but I have pretty good luck using the website movelia.es to find bus routes. Looking there, I saw that you can either go via Ponferrada or via Bilbao.

Option 1 -- SS - Ponferrada, leaves 9 am, arrives 6:30 pm (41 euros)
Ponferrada - El Ferrol, leaves 6:45 pm, arrives 9:30 pm (22 euros)

Option 2 -- SS-Bilbao (many buses, one leaving at 9:10 am gets you to Bilbao for the one bus daily to El Ferrol) (6 euros)
Bilbao - El Ferrol, leaves 1045 am, arrives 9:30 p.m (22 euros)

I always have a much harder time finding connection information on the RENFE website (trains) and I haven't been able to find an easy route, but there must be something. I can see there is an overnight train from Madrid to El Ferrol, so there must be a way to connect with it from the east.

And as JohnnieWalker says, there is the FEVE line, a narrow gauge train that runs along the coast. You can start on it in Santander, and then change in Oviedo. Getting to Santander from San Sebastián is easy, there are many buses each day. I would think the FEVE is a slow, but scenic option. Pricing from Santander to El Ferrol seems really cheap. FEVE has its own website, since it's a different train system completely.
http://www.feve.es/es

But as Johnnie says, I'm sure there's someone with actual knowledge who can sort this all out.

Good luck with this.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Hola,
The FEVE runs from Bilbao to Ferrol along the coast mostly. It is a long but beautiful ride and we broke it into sections.
1) Santander to Oviedo (4hrs) - (night at Hostal Oviedo maybe, opposite station)
2) Oviedo to Ferrol (7hrs) It is also possible to split this stage and stay in Ribadeo (eg. Hostal Garden)

If you are over 60 you may qualify for a Tarjeta Azul giving an even cheaper rate on the tickets (FEVE only)

We have not travelled on the Santander-Bilbao section ourselves but met a couple returning there, on our train from Ribadeo, earlier this year. Local buses or ALSA should link easily between San Sebastan and Bilbao.
Buen Camino

 

[miguel_gp]

Hi,

You can do this with train and bus in a (long) day.

RENFE from San Sebastian to A Coruna (approx cost EUR 50)


Bus (ALSA) from A Coruna to Ferrol (approx cost EUR 7)


It is approx 750m walk or a short taxi ride between rail station and bus station in Coruna.

Good luck with your plans!
Buen Camino
Mig

 

[philro]

Such a supportive community - I wander off to bed with a problem spinning around in my head - then wake up to a cup of coffee and some solutions! Thank you all very much!

The solutions are all very logical and sort of implied by the reading online but it's very re-assuring to know things about times and company and places our plans into a context.

There is no doubt that the internet has made independent travel much more possible and the planning / sense of anticipation more enjoyable. But it has raised the bar in terms of expectations (times, beds, route, transport etc). As a youngster, many years ago, travel preparation consisted of buying your plane ticket (for us in the Antipodes) a hip pocket with all too few travellers cheques and off you'd go for another two or three months. Travel information was gained in cafes and contacts made along the way and gee those trips were fun.

Roll on the clock 40 years and this trip is our first serious one to Europe and England / Italy / Spain and what we have is three months of fine tuned detail - already accommodation mostly booked (Airbnb is fabulous), transport sorted and awaiting the fateful departure date in mid-April.

No doubt the trip will be still FUN :lol: but makes me wonder if the internet hasn't killed our tolerance for seat of the pants travelling - or am I the only one who plans trips like an engineering operation.

But thanks again - this 'engineer' appreciates the contributions.

Phil

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I did the reverse of this on a very long night via an ALSA bus that left Santiago, and headed north to go to Irun. I am pretty sure we called into both A Coruna and Ferrol en route. I am sure you will find it is possible on ALSA but it is a very long way!
Margaret

 

[Tia Valeria]

A few further thoughts re using bus or train

The bus stops for 'comfort stops' occasionally (I think). Others will have know more about this.
The FEVE trains have an on board facility.

Some buses do not like you having food/water on board and packs all go in underneath storage.

On the train you have your pack with you and can carry your food and drink etc.

Buses are great for 1 or 2 hours but for long journeys we prefer the train.

If using the FEVE sit in the front section facing forward - otherwise you spend the whole journey watching one carriage's movement in relation to the other. The exception to this is leaving Oviedo for Ferrol. Here sit in the rear facing backwards; after about 10 minutes the train reverses direction and you are then front/forwards.

 

[Al the optimist]

I too have used AirBnB and have many friends across Spain as a consequence. The problem is that now the Camino has found another soul mate I no longer have time to visit them all!
Buen Camino
allan