Train Travel between Lisbon, Portugal and San Sebastian, Spain
 

We are traveling from Lisbon to San Sebastian and plan to take the train because of the exorbitant car drop-off charges between countries. We are two adults, one teen and one child. I looked into flying but that was really expensive too.

We can (1) take the Lusitania hotel train to Madrid and rent a car there for our trip north;
(2) take a regular train from Lisbon to Salamanca, arrive at 12:30 a.m. (7 hours on the train), or (3) take the regular train all the way to San Sebastian (12 hours).

Does the non-hotel train have sleeping cars? Is it air-conditioned? We were inclined to travel to Salamanca but the train gets in after midnight and that will disrupt sleep for some of my family. Also, we would need to stay in a hotel but it would only be til the next day, when we would rent a car and head to Segovia on our way north.

Thank you.

There is a direct overnight train. Lisbon d.16h38 - San Sebastian a.06h34. It has a couple dozen stops. See http://tinyurl.com/c9jp54. For an introduction to night trains see http://tinyurl.com/y57vft.

That is very helpful. Thank you. Do you know if the train has air conditioning?

Chances are that the train has AC.

check these sources for possible info on trains on that line - I thought the overnight hotel train was the only direct train - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Of course www.renfe.es Spanish Railways site has scheduled.

You probably could take the train to Badajoz, which is the closest Spanish town on the border where a car can be obtained via Kemwel.

The overnight train from Lisboa to San Sebastian is a hotel train, similar to the one to Madrid. There are very few other trains across the border from Portugal to Spain.

Vueling flies Lisbon to Bilbao. And Bilbao is little more than an hour from San Sebastian.

We flew Vueling last year, nice newish planes & young happy crews
Have fun!

There is also an bus service between Portugal and Spain that might be as efficient as the train on short distances.

http://www.alsa.es/portal/site/Alsa#capa_internacional

thank you all! These are some really helpful websites and posts. I appreciate it!

Look no further than the excellent air-conditioned hotel train, the latest incarnation of the famous Express (Surexpresso or Surex).

It's a little articulated train with 4-berth tourist class sleepers, 1 and 2 bed Preferente sleepers with washbasin, and 1 and 2 bed Gran Clase sleepers with en suite toilet and shower. The train also has a cafe-bar with full length polished wooden bar and bar stools and an elegant restaurant car with proper tablecloths, crockery and metal cutlery.

It leaves Lisbon Santa apologia at 16:30, arrives San Sebastian-Donostia at 06:36 next morning.

The fare is around 94 euros with bed in 4-bed, 138 euros with bed in 2-bed Preferente, 174 euros in Gran Clase 2-berth, all prices per ticket. The gran Clase fare includes a 3-course dinner with wine, coffee and liqueurs on the restaurant car, and breakfast - the Preferente fare included breakfast.

You can book it easily at the station or try www.renfe.com and print your own ticket (tip: if at any stage a sleeper type selection box fails to populate in the english version, sworn back to Spanish, I've seem that quirk come up a lot when booking sleepers at renfe.com.

Isnt predictive text great? That should have been Lison Santa Apolonia and the train is the famous Sud Express.

I did the overnight from San Sebastian to Lisbon. It is a good train.

When it stops in those stations in Portugal look out the window at the magnificent tile images on the walls.

Spain and Portugal are in different time zones so set you watch ahead when you cross the border.

The Portuguese conductor will probably hold your ticket so the Spanish conductor doesn't have to wake you up. He may also hold your passport even though there are no border controls. Old habits are hard to break.

does the train still run from san sebastian to lisbon? I don't see the route offered unless SS train station has a different name. Thanks.

schedule lobo mau shows says San Sebastian but at times locals only refer to S S as Donostia, the much preferred Basque name over the despised by many basques the Castillian Spanish name of San Sebastian.

IMO pay extra for Grande Class (sp?) on this train!

I am looking for a train from Lisbon to San Sebastian. How far ahead can I make a booking. I will be travelling in June. I have checked it out in www.renfe.com it states that there is a train leaving at 16:30 arriving SS 06:34. When I try to make a booking the answer I got is "No trains have been found".

60 days in advance.