Which station in San Sebastian? See location map
San Sebastian, or in Basque Donostia, has two stations: Amara is a 7-platform terminus which handles the frequent metre-gauge electric trains to/from Hendaye on the French border and to/from Bilbao. The Renfe station handles mainline Iberian gauge trains to/from Madrid & Barcelona. Both stations are centrally located a short walk from San Sebastian's lovely old town, you can walk between these stations in 10 minutes.
San Sebastian Amara
Amara station handles the metre-gauge Euskotren service to Irun & Hendaye on the French border (for trains to Bordeaux & Paris) and to Bilbao, see location map. It's a small terminus with 7 platforms, sometimes you'll see it listed as San Sebastian - Donostia Amara, sometimes Donostia Amara, sometimes as plain Amara. It's all the same place, in downtown San Sebastian. There's been a station near here since 1895, but the current building only dates from 1990. There are plans to replace the station with an underground loop for trains to/from Hendaye by the late 2020s, removing the need to reverse at Amara.
There are no luggage lockers either here or at the Renfe station, but the bus station has lockers, next to the Renfe station.
Amara station early on a quiet Sunday morning in May.
Another view, from the bandstand in the square in front of Amara station.
Ticket office, in the ticket hall inside the main entrance. Taken at 07:30 on a Sunday morning when the ticket windows (on the left) aren't open.
Ticket machines, on the right as you walk in. The touch screen can be switched to English, they accept bank cards as well as notes and coins. Easy enough to use, the first one objected to my UK debit card, but the one next to it accepted it without a problem and issued a ticket to Hendaye.
Ticket gates between concourse and platforms.
Platforms 1-7. There are 7 platforms, lined up in front of you, numbered right to left. The LED board at the entrance to each platform clearly shows the train's destination, and if you're going to Hendaye the train will have Hendaia on an LED display above the rear cab window.
San Sebastian Renfe station
San Sebastian's Renfe station handles Iberian-gauge trains to/from Madrid & Barcelona, see location map. Some trains continue to Irun on the French border, but for France you're better off using the Euskotren service from Amara station as these are more frequent and go all the way to Hendaye where the French trains start.
You'll usually see this mainline station referred to as plain San Sebastian, sometimes as San Sebastian Renfe, and (although I've never seen it referred to this way myself) San Sebastian's North station. The Basque name for San Sebastian is Donostia, so you may also see it referred to as San Sebastian - Donostia, or plain Donostia.
The station is currently being rebuilt to handle high-speed trains arriving via a new line, this is work in progress. Please let me know if you find that any major progress has been made!
There are no luggage lockers either here or at Amara, but the bus station has lockers, it's next door to the Renfe station, underground.
Construction work in 2024: Taken from the pedestrian overbridge, looking south. The two operational platforms are on the left. The city centre is to the left.
The station entrance is on the east side of the tracks, on the opposite side from the city centre. You must first cross the tracks on a footbridge, then circle round to this entrance. The passenger facilities (such as they are) are beneath the platforms.
The cramped concourse is beneath the tracks. Note the ticket gates to access to the platforms if you have a Cercanias (suburban) ticket. The passengers here are waiting to access the platform for a train to Madrid, through a manual ticket check. Photo courtesy of a seat61 contributor.
Two platforms: In 2024, there are just two platforms in use. This is the afternoon Alvia from Barcelona, arrived in San Sebastian.
How to walk between stations
Amara ► Renfe
It's an easy level 10 minute walk from Amara station to Renfe station, see walking route.
You cross the Maria Kristina Zubia bridge across the river Urumea, see the photo below. You'll see a remnant of the old station's facade in front of you (photo, lower right). Turn left and look for the steps (with lift) up to the footbridge crossing all the tracks, see the photo at lower left. Cross the tracks and descend by lift or steps on the far side, then follow the signs around to your right to the station entrance.
Crossing the Maria Kristina Zubia bridge over the river Urumea, opened in 1905.
Above right, a remaining part of the old station's facade, in front of you as you cross the bridge.
Above right, this is what you're looking for, 50m to the left of that old facade: Steps (and lift) up to the footbridge to the other side of the tracks.
Renfe ► Amara
It's an easy level 10 minute walk from the Renfe station to Amara station, see walking route.
From the platform, go down the steps to the station hall below and leave via the main station exit. You're on the east (wrong!) side of the tracks, so follow the signs to the city centre around to your left, to find the steps and lift up to the big footbridge across all the tracks.
Once across, look to your left for the Maria Kristina Zubia bridge across the Urumea river.
Hotels in San Sebastian
If your budget will stretch, the Hotel de Londres y Inglaterra is San Sebastian's landmark hotel. The place has great character, perfectly located on the sea front a few minutes walk from the old town and 10 minutes walk from Amara station. Ask for a room with balcony overlooking the bay.
For somewhere cheaper, the Pension San Ignacio Centro is 10 minutes walk from San Sebastian Renfe station and gets great reviews. If you want somewhere in the old town try the Pension Garibai or Pension Alameda.
