San Sebastián has 3 airports (2 international) within just over 100 km of the city.
Only 20 kilometres away from the city centre, San Sebastián Airport has connections to the major Spanish cities; Madrid and Barcelona.
Bilbao Airport, with connections to all Europe, is 105km away from the city, and Biarritz Airport, served by French and international low-cost companies, is only 47km away from the city.
| Airport | Airport Bus |
| San Sebastián Airport (EAS) – 20 KM | SAN SEBASTIAN Airport shuttle service to SAN SEBASTIÁN |
| Bilbao Airport (BIO)- 105 KM | BILBAO Airport shuttle service to SAN SEBASTIÁN |
| Biarritz Airport (BIQ) – 47KM | BIARRITZ Airport shuttle service to SAN SEBASTIÁN |
| Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT) – 101KM | There is no shuttle service. Alsa and Pesa bus companies offer this service from the Vitoria-Gasteiz Bus Station. |
RENFE
The company RENFE rail service offers both long-distance train and suburban.
The train station in the centre of San Sebastián, the “Estación del Norte“, offers connections to numerous Spanish cities including Madrid and Barcelona, and to international destinations such as Paris and Lisbon.
Train journeys to and from San Sebastián will gain enormously in speed with the new Tren de Alta Velocidad (high speed train), in order to connect the city with other destinations in the near future.
EUSKOTREN
There is also an underground railway, the Metro Donostialdea, a narrow-gauge train connection with Bilbao and cities along the Basque Coast, such as Zarautz. The service links the city also with Hendaye (France) and the SNCF, french rail service, and with Lasarte passing through Donostia. The train is popularly known as the “Topo” or “Mole”.
SNCF
The French company SNCF connects with world capitals such as Paris from Hendaye train station, which is the SNCF´s closest train station to Donostia.
SCHEDULED SERVICES
The San Sebastian new bus station has lines to cities throughout Spain and part of Europe.
The bus station “Estación DONOSTIA Geltokia”, is situated in Paseo Federico García Lorca 1, near the RENFE train station – Estación del Norte. Contact
The underground station has 21 bays, a café, newsstand and a left luggage office with 66 lockers where you can leave your belongings. Navilens and Navilens Go app system signals posts are available all around the station. It also has two floors of parking space for up to 384 vehicles.
Eight of the city’s Dbus lines will stop in the area around the station, on the ground level: the lines 17, 24, 37 and 45 in front of Renfe train station; 9, 41, 42 at Duque de Mandas street and 27 at Gernikako Arbolaren pasealekua next to María Cristina bridge.
On the DBUS buses you can pay cash (maximum 20€ bills), with SSCARD and BASQUECARD tourist cards, with MUGI, BAT and BARIK transport cards or with contactless credit cards.
Private cars that need to leave or take friends and relatives at the bus station can use the “Estación” underground parking 15 minutes for free.
In addition to national and international routes such as those from Madrid, Barcelona, Santander, Asturias, Logroño, Pamplona, Bayonne – Biarritz or Paris the following provincial routes also have their departure / arrival at the new bus station: DO01, DO02, DO03, DO50B, DB02, DB03, DB07 and UK01.
Getting to San Sebastián by car is extremely easy. The city is connected to the rest of Spain and France by the N-1 (the national highway connecting Madrid to Irun), the AP-8 (Bilbao-Irun) and A-63 (Paris-Irun) motorways and the A-15 highway (Pamplona-San Sebastián).
Another comfortable way to get in San Sebastian is parking your car in Ficoba Exhibition Centre in Irun (at the French border, 20 Kms from San Sebastian) and take the Euskotren train to San Sebastian (40 minutes ride).
Once in San Sebastián, you can leave your car in one of the more than 6,000 parking places found in different parts of the city.
- Underground pay parkings all around the town
- Park and Ride free car parks with bus connection to the city centre.
- You can park on the street but only on TAO / OTA blue areas where parking is limited by time.
- Download the San Sebastián parking map | PDF (2 MB)
MAIN VENUE
KURSAAL
The Centro Kursaal – Kursaal Elkargunea, S.A. is a complex destined for the celebration of meetings of high interest, as well as cultural events of the highest prestige.
Address
Zurriola Hiribidea, 1, 20002 Donostia – San Sebastián.
Kursaal Congress Centre – Auditorium
Located in the heart of the city and facing the sea, the Kursaal is an avant-garde building designed by Rafael Moneo and won the Mies van der Rohe Prize for the best building in Europe in 2001.
It has 2 auditoriums and multipurpose rooms equipped with state-of-the-art-technology, and an experienced team of staff, which makes it the ideal venue to host both small business meetings and large-scale congresses, product presentations, conventions or trade fairs.
In addition, it has 1500 square metres of facade with LED lighting available to customers as a communication tool.
Its location allows easy access to most hotels, restaurants and shops. A team led by Andoni Luis Aduriz, a two Michelinstar chef, is in charge of the restaurant service which involves in-situ preparation.
- Environmental Management certificate: ISO 14001:2004 (2008)
- Global Accessibility certificate: ISO 17001:2001 (2007)
- Managenement Quality: Silver Q-EFQM (2005)
For more information click here
Practical information
Currency
Euro, commonly used throughout the European Union.
Climate
Warm climate, characterised by mild temperatures, high humidity, frequent clouds and regular rain spells all year-round.
Time zone
GMT + 1 (Paris).
Electric network
In San Sebastián, the common voltage is 230 V. The frequency is 50 Hz. Plugs and sockets are type F.
Healthcare
Hospital Donostia and Policlinica Gipuzkoa – Grupo Quirón Salud
Water
Tap water is high-quality and drinkable.
Taxis
Taxis usually allow clients to pay with a bank card; however, we suggest asking before getting in.
Telephone – Use of mobile phones
There are no roaming charges in the European Union. If you have a SIM card from a member state of the EU, you will be able to use your phone with no additional charges for calls, texts or internet use in any other member state.
Wifi
No password is needed in the majority of establishments and meeting venues. It is available outdoors in gardens, streets, markets, squares and bus stops. (There is a map of the free municipal Wi-Fi areas).
Banks and cash
More than 180 bank branches are open on midweek mornings. There is an extensive network of 24-hour cash machines, this means you can take money out whenever you like.
Bureau de change
Bureau de change Navinet (C/Narrika, 12). Open from 10:00 to 22:00, Monday to Sunday (exchange only available for U.S. dollars and British pounds).
Tourist tax
There is no tourist tax.