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FLYING TO PAMPLONA -
IBERIA, the only
airline currently serving the
city on a daily basis, offers
a few discounted fares on the
Madrid-Pamplona and
Barcelona-Pamplona routes, 119
EUR (Madrid-Pamplona 8
flights/day) and 166 EUR
(Barcelona-Pamplona 3
flights/day), including taxes
and fees, for a roundtrip
ticket. Regular fares can run
as high as 637 EUR from either
Madrid or Barcelona.
These
routes is a very popular
during the fiesta and
discounted seats sell out
early. Check the
IBERIA
web site for the most current
flight information and
schedules, or contact
Sara
at Scan East West Travel to
book your flight.
An
alternative to flying to
Pamplona from Madrid or
Barcelona, would be to fly to
the smaller regional airport
of San Sebastian-Donostia
(Hondarribia), with 9 non-stop
flights daily from Madrid and
3 non-stops from
Barcelona. Once there,
you can then either rent a
car, take a taxi or a bus
(from San Sebastian), or we
can arrange a private transfer
to your hotel in Pamplona.
Plaza
del Castillo, the center of
the fiesta
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FLYING INTO BILBAO -
Bilbao, Spain's leading
business center in the Basque
Country, is located 130 kms
northwest of Pamplona, on the
Basque coast, and is served by
a number of international
carriers. SpanAir
(www.spanair.com) and Air
Europa (www.aireuropa.com)
also offer daily service to
Bilbao from various airports
within Spain and on connecting
flights from the rest of
Europe and North
America.
Flying
to Bilbao is often the least
expensive option when
traveling to Pamplona for the
fiesta. In addition to the
non-stop flights from Madrid
and Barcelona, there are
non-stop and connecting
flights from the UK (Heathrow
& Stansted), France (CDG
Paris) and Germany (5
locations), Belgium
(Brussels), Italy (Milan)
& Portugal
(Lisbon).
Once
you arrive at Bilbao, you can
either take the bus from the
city's Termibus terminal,
which will bring you to
Pamplona in about two hours at
a reasonable cost, rent a car,
hire a taxi, or we can arrange
for a private transfer.
A private transfer is the
fastest way to reach Pamplona
from the Bilbao airport, and
reasonably priced for four or
more people traveling
together.
Check Iberia
and Spanair
for their updated flight
schedules.
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TRAVELING BY TRAIN -
There is excellent train
service from Barcelona, Madrid
and San Sebastian-Donostia to
Pamplona.
Barcelona - There are
two morning and one afternoon
trains from Barcelona to
Pamplona. Reservations are
required.
- The
ALVIA departs Barcelona at
07:35, 09:20 and 15:35
daily. There is an
additional train running
three days/week, departing
Barcelona at
16:35.
Madrid
- There are now four daily
departures from Atocha Station
to Pamplona. Advanced
reservations are absolutely
essential for these
trains.
- The
ALVIA departs at 07:35,
10:35, 15:05 and
19:35.
- The
07:35 and 10:35 trains do
not run on
Sunday.
- The
07:35 train does not run on
Saturday.
San
Sebastian-Donostia - There
are two daily departures from
Donostia to Pamplona.
Advanced reservations are
highly recommended for these
trains during the
fiesta.
- The
ALVIA departs daily at
07:48 (1hr 43 min), 16:13
(1hr 42 min).
- All
trains begin in Irun, at
the French-Spanish
frontier.
You
should check the
Renfe
schedule at least 62 days in
advance of your departure date
to see if there are any
schedule changes and to book
your ticket.
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PARIS TO PAMPLONA BY
TRAIN - SNCF, the French
national railroad, shows two
TGV trains from Paris
Montparnasse station to
Pamplona, one connecting
through Vitoria-Gastiez, the
capital of the Basque country,
while the faster connection is
through Irun (7h45m).
There
is still one overnight train,
departing Paris-Austerlitz
station at 11:14 pm,
connecting in Hendaye-Irun the
next morning, arriving in
Pamplona at 12:32
pm.
There
are several daily TGV trains
from Paris-Montparnasse to
Biarritz and Hendaye.
Bookings are generally
available 90 days in advance
through the SNCF
web
site.
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DRIVING UP FROM MADRID -
The shortest route (391
km) is to take the A-2 to the
A-15/N-111 and then north on
the A-15 to the AP-15
(Autopista), which takes you
into Pamplona on Avenida
Zaragoza. We usually follow
the A-1 north to Burgos,
stopping overnight at the
Parador in Lerma, before
heading to the Rioja and then
up to Pamplona on the A-12,
driving into the city on
Avendia de Pio XII.
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DRIVING IN FROM BARCELONA -
From Barcelona head west
to Lérida (Lleida),
then past Zaragoza toward
Logroño. At Exit
17, take the A-15 Autopista to
Pamplona. This route
covers 483 km and should take
you around 5 hours.
There is another more
picturesque Pyrenees route
through Huesca and Jaca but
adds about an hour to your
driving time. Both
connect to the A-15 and
finally to the N-240 (Avenida
Zaragoza) into Pamplona.
If you follow the more scenic
Pyrenees route we suggest
lunch in Jaca at La Cocina
Aragonesa at the Hotel Conde
Aznar. If you decide to
spend the night, we suggest
the Sos
del Rey Catolico
Parado,
about one hour east of
Pamplona. This
historical monument set in a
charming medieval town, the
birthplace of Ferdinand of
Aragon, is an excellent place
to spend a restful night
amidst the beauty of the
surrounding countryside.
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DRIVING IN FROM SAN
SEBASTIAN-DONOSTIA - It is
an easy one hour drive in from
the Basque coast following the
A-15 (82 km), entering the
city of Pamplona from the
northwest.
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DRIVING FROM FRANCE -
You have two main
options.
Coming
from the coast, the
Biarritz-St. Jean-de-Luz area,
either drive to San Sebastian,
following the A-15 or take the
N-121 from Irun at the border
through the more scenic
Bidasoa Valley, which brings
you into the city from the
north. This route is
about a 1-1/2 hour long drive
from the airport or train
station in
Biarritz.
If
driving in through the area
between Toulouse and Pau, head
towards St. Jean-Pied-de-Port
and take the N-135, following
the pilgrims' route of Saint
James over the Pyrennes at
Roncesvalles, arriving in
Pamplona 76 kms away.
This drive usually takes at
least 1-1/2 hours and connects
to the N-121 as you enter
Pamplona from the north.
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PARKING IN PAMPLONA -
Parking has always been a
problem during the fiesta,
even with the addition of
several new underground
parking facilities located
around the city, including the
underground parking garage in
the new bus station,
Estación
de Autobuses de
Pamplona
on the north side of the
Ciudadela.
The
majority of street parking is
paid parking only, but
the city has, the last couple
of years, allowed everyone to
park free beginning on 6 July,
and as such, finding a place
to park on the street can be
difficult during the
fiesta.
Rental cars can be dropped off
at either the airport or at
one of the downtown
locations.
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RENTAL CARS -
National-Atesa, Europcar,
Avis and Hertz are the four
companies with offices in the
city and at the airport.
You can hire a car directly
through them, or through
Auto
Europe.
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TRAVELING BY BUS - Bus
service in Spain is very
comfortable, affordable and
efficient. Pamplona is
served by Conda
from Madrid and
Vibasa
from Barcelona.
Reservations are highly
recommended.
There
is also daily bus service from
Bilbao, San Sebastian-Donostia
and Biarritz.
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LOCAL BUS SERVICE - You
can check the lines, routes,
schedules and cost of the
city's excellent bus service
on the official website:
City
Bus
Service
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CITY TAXI SERVICE -
Check the taxi service and
zones on the official website:
City
Taxi Service and
Zones.
The city has 313 taxis working
during the year, but only
about half the fleet will be
working each day during
fiesta.
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