Looking ahead a few weeks when I will need to get from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Barcelona...likely in the Nov 9 to 12th timeframe. Someone has suggested finding my way to San Sebastien and taking a Vueling flight to Barcelona. I have been on the SNFC web site and for Nov 12th there seems to be a train journey which involves St. Jean to Bayonne, Bayonne to Irun, Irun to Vitoria, Vitoria to Barcelona...yikes!
Can one get from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Pamplona and where there must be many train connections to Barcelona?
if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate hearing from you.
Guy
The train looks complicated because there are several networks involved that use different rail gauges and have different electical systems. Here are some useful links:
Irun train station:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irun_railway_station
Hendaye train station:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_d%27Hendaye
SNCF intercites and TGV trains run from Bayonne to Irun. If you catch a train that goes as far as Irun then it is just a matter of crossing the platform to catch a Renfe train.
SNCF website
http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers
The TER Acquitane train is regional. TER 62 runs SJPdP to Bayonne. TER 61 goes from Bayonne to Hendaye. I haven't checked but I think the TER trains run more frequently than the intercites and TGV trains. If you take a TER train you need to find a way to make the 3 or 4 km from Hendaye to Irun to catch the Renfe trains.
SNCF TER Acquitaine description (use the SNCF site to get the schedule)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TER_Aquitaine
There is an Euskotren that runs at least once per hour between Hendaye and Irun .
Wikipedia description of EuskoTren
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuskoTren
Renfe trains connects Irun to Barcelona twice a day. 6.5 hour trip.
It is also possible to go Irun to Miranda de Ebro and transfer to a train that goes on to Zaragosa. The train from Miranda de Ebro might go on from Zaragosa to Barcelona or there may be a requirement to transfer again. Scheduling might make this an option as there are quite a few more trains on each of these three legs even if it takes a couple hours longer.
Renfe website:
http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html
Pamplona is a bus hub but it is not a rail hub; it just has a rail station. The same train that starts in Irun stops in Pamplona on its way to Barcelona.
There is a bus that runs from SJPdP to Pamplona twice per day in summer. As near as I can tell it does not run in November. Here is Pamplona bus station information:
Estacion de Autobuses Pamplona
http://estaciondeautobusesdepamplona.com/Inicio.aspx
