Hi,
I am planning on using my interrail pass across northern Spain next month, but according to the planning app, many of the routes take a ridiculously long time, eg. Oviedo to Santander = 6 hrs 37min and Santander to san sebastian 9 hrs 30 min. San sebatian to Bilbao = 4hrs 38.
It looks like part of the issue is the route given involve traveling a significant distance inland, changing at Palencia, and then traveling back to the coast. Is this right. Should I just get bus tickets? Any advice?
Answer
Northern Spain- should i just get busses
Best answer by ralderton
Oviedo - Santander
There are direct regional trains, taking about 5h40. Not always shown in Rail Planner, but you can see them on Renfe.com.
Santander - Bilbao
Same as above, taking about 3h10.
Bilbao and Donostia/San Sebastián
There are direct trains, but they’re operated by Euskotren - which isn’t part of Interrail. Schedules here, it’s 2.5 hours and €7.00.
+8Oviedo - Santander
There are direct regional trains, taking about 5h40. Not always shown in Rail Planner, but you can see them on Renfe.com.
Santander - Bilbao
Same as above, taking about 3h10.
Bilbao and Donostia/San Sebastián
There are direct trains, but they’re operated by Euskotren - which isn’t part of Interrail. Schedules here, it’s 2.5 hours and €7.00.
+8No worries.
If you want to travel on those regional trains, you can get the timetable from Renfe, then add them manually.
What I don’t know is whether you need a reservation for these services, and if so how to buy them. The best information I could find was that local ticket offices were incorrectly charging railpass users a 50% price for these trains.
There are some other knowledgable posters on here, so I;ll let them chime in,
What I don’t know is whether you need a reservation for these services, and if so how to buy them.
There are no reservations on these regional services. However, since many stations have gates, especially in the cities, it is often a good idea to ask for a €0 ticket at the Renfe Feve ticket office, so you can open the gates yourself.
The best information I could find was that local ticket offices were incorrectly charging railpass users a 50% price for these trains.
Interrail has been 100% valid on Feve since 1/4/2015 (!), so I wouldn't expect this anymore.
However, since the fares are quite low, it may not be worth to use a travel day on a flexipass for these journeys. Even Oviedo to Santander is just €16.35 at the full fare. Santander to Bilbao is €8.90 full fare.
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.
+6Buses on this routes are far faster, more reliable, more frequent and possibly even more comfortable. However, the train is an experience and scenic.
Thanks
+8Agreeing with Schelte. The bus San Sebastian/Donostia - Bilbao is roughly an hour, has good seats, USB-charging equipment and good frequencies.
Euskotren trains are more like metros, with plastic seats. Not the best option for such a long route, best split it up and discover some of the smaller Basque towns along the line.
Around Zumaia there’s a quite impressive coast line, or try to catch lunch in a town like Durango to make it a bit more comfortable and worthwile ;)
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