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Advice on planning London - San Sebastian way in advance with some schedule info missing

  • 15 February 2024
  • 9 replies
  • 121 views
D

I am planning a trip in June. I have a global flexipass. I know that some train info is missing right now (mid February).

The two legs I would like to plan are:

London - Paris - San Sebastian all in one day on Weds June 5th.

Bordeaux - Paris - London all in one day on Fri June 14th.

I’d like to reserve the Eurostar tickets now. What has me confused is that I’ll be assuming I can make the rest of those journeys without knowing for sure (because the other schedules aren’t out yet).

Can anyone tell me if those trips are common/easy/achievable? Or am I being ambitious? I want to avoid making Eurostar reservations now and then finding out closer to the time that I can’t make the rest of each of those trips work in one day.

If anyone has experience / advice to share I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance. 

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Best answer by thibcabe 15 February 2024, 21:25

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9 replies

T
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You can already book your Eurostar reservations right now if you want.

There will definitely be TGVs running. Schedules will be published on 7th March and sales will open on the same day. Expect pretty much the same ones as next week’s Wednesday (or Friday) with 3-5 min difference basically.

Those journeys are totally doable in a day. Start the day early in London and allow good margin in Paris, for example :

  • Eurostar London St. Pancras - Paris-Nord 07:01 - 10:23 30€
  • RER B Gare du Nord - Gare Montparnasse (Eurail not valid, tickets at the Eurostar Café)
  • TGV Paris-Montparnasse - Hendaye 12:11 - 16:47 10-20€
  • Euskotren Hendaye - San Sebastian : service every 30 min. Eurail not valid, tickets at the station for 3-4€

Plenty of people cross France every day. I’ve done it a few times and never had any issue. :)

Questions welcome.

A
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Just use the current times for next week as a guide, schedules don’t change that much from one period to the next but make sure you are not leaving a tight connection.

For San Sebastian you need to look for trains to Hendaye in France, from there you can take the frequent Euskotren which is not included in Interrail.

D

You can already book your Eurostar reservations right now if you want.

There will definitely be TGVs running. Schedules will be published on 7th March and sales will open on the same day. Expect pretty much the same ones as next week’s Wednesday (or Friday) with 3-5 min difference basically.

Those journeys are totally doable in a day. Start the day early in London and allow good margin in Paris, for example :

  • Eurostar London St. Pancras - Paris-Nord 07:01 - 10:23 30€
  • RER B Gare du Nord - Gare Montparnasse (Eurail not valid, tickets at the Eurostar Café)
  • TGV Paris-Montparnasse - Hendaye 12:11 - 16:47 10-20€
  • Euskotren Hendaye - San Sebastian : service every 30 min. Eurail not valid, tickets at the station for 3-4€

Plenty of people cross France every day. I’ve done it a few times and never had any issue. :)

Questions welcome.

Thanks so much. That is so helpful. 

I am just learning that OUIGO trains are not covered by my Eurail pass. Do you know if there are likely to be regular TGVs from Paris - Bordeaux - Hendaye that just haven’t appeared in the booking system yet? Or will I have to buy a OUIGO ticket? 

Either way works for me - just curious if you’d know the answer. 

Thanks again for your help.

D

Just use the current times for next week as a guide, schedules don’t change that much from one period to the next but make sure you are not leaving a tight connection.

For San Sebastian you need to look for trains to Hendaye in France, from there you can take the frequent Euskotren which is not included in Interrail.

Thanks for this. Very helpful. 

T
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Userlevel 7
Badge +5

Yes as I said regular TGVs will become available on 7th March. They will run very similarly to this or next week. Your pass is valid on them.

Ouigo are low-cost high-speed (or regular) trains and they appear sooner on planners (because SNCF...). Your pass is not valid on them.

D

Yes as I said regular TGVs will become available on 7th March. They will run very similarly to this or next week. Your pass is valid on them.

Ouigo are low-cost high-speed (or regular) trains and they appear sooner on planners (because SNCF...). Your pass is not valid on them.

Great - just checking that I understood correctly. I’m looking forward to my trip now. You got me from confused to excited :)

R
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Userlevel 7
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Also, book on raileurope.com, because Interrail will unnecessarily prevent you from booking the TGVs more than 90 days in advance and add a booking fee.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
BrendanDB
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This is a very smooth and doable connection, did it a couple of months ago.

I can also recommend to visit Bayonne/Anglet/Biarritz, to enjoy the ocean and the very laidback cities, if you have some days to spare between San Sebastian and Bordeaux.

D

This is a very smooth and doable connection, did it a couple of months ago.

I can also recommend to visit Bayonne/Anglet/Biarritz, to enjoy the ocean and the very laidback cities, if you have some days to spare between San Sebastian and Bordeaux.

Thanks - I just started thinking about a few day trips from Bordeaux (to use up all the days of my rail pass). I’ll look into those options.

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