Meeting Your Trip in HENDAYE

This page offers help (concrete or informational) on reaching your trip. Topics include...

1. Where you Join Your Trip (see immediately below)
2. Our “Access Packages,” designed to help you to do so.
3. Suggestions on how to time your trip to the trip, whether you are having us arrange your travel, or doing it yourself.
4. Service information regarding train travel to your trip start location.
5. Suggested pre-trip visits, especially when these are not geographically obvious, but are rendered economical and convenient by direct rail connections.
6. Hopefully helpful hints for those setting up their own travel to the trip.

If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel.


1. WHERE and WHEN Do You Join Your Trip?

Your trip assembles at the Hendaye railway station, on the French/Spanish border, Saturday by 1p.
If you wish to more fully use the day, an earlier meet is offered upon arrival of the overnight trains, early Saturday morning. This lets you spend the bulk of the day on the beach at St.-Jean-de-Luz, instead of looking out a train window.

We will send you details of meeting time and place with your final itinerary.

If you wish to make your own way to the trip (in other words, not to set up your travel arrangements through us), a couple of hints on getting there are offered at the bottom of this page.


2. Our ACCESS PACKAGES
as of February 1, 2008

The closest intercontinental airports are Paris and Madrid. But Hendaye is still 6 hours by daylight train from either. If you are travelling intercontinental, reaching Hendaye in time for trip start on the date on which you land in Europe is dauntingly difficult. So, all among the variety of options on offer below include a bed (rolling or not) on Friday night.

Base (Starting) Access Package Price: 99€.
Ride the Bike Train Discount: 49€.
If you are a North American traveller, the $ price (US or Canadian) on your price chart applies until 35 days prior to trip departure. Otherwise euro prices are transcribed to your invoice in its currency, converted at the exchange rate of the day on which the package is requested (rounded to the nearest whole dollar). Current “mid-market” rates can be consulted from the site we use for conversion. We use the mid-market rate on the day of conversion, and add 2% to cover currency broker exchange commissions (our conversion rates are thus as good as, or better than, any you could obtain, including via your credit card, unless you are a professional currency trader).

Availability is normally guaranteed until 35 days prior to trip start (payment received by us). Within 35 days, availability must be confirmed, and costs may be higher (especially the costs of shipping rail tickets). Some extra-cost options have higher prices if ordered w/in 35 days.

Included:

• Train tickets to Hendaye from Paris, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, Madrid (via direct train: add 17€ for service via connecting train) or Barcelona.
  Included tickets are in 2nd class, but economical 1st class upgrades are available. See below.
  OR
  Friday overnight train from Paris or Barcelona. Price includes a couchette on board.
  - On train from Barcelona, sleeping car upgrades are available (to double or single cabins). On the Paris train, upgrades to “Comfort Couchettes” are available.
  - Night trains are artificially slowed down, in order to take 8 hours for the trip, and thus permit a fuller night’s sleep. These save a day otherwise lost to travel, though if you are not used to them, you will sleep restlessly.
  - Train tickets from France are not refundable or exchangeable once ordered. See below for higher cost flexible tickets.
  - Tickets from Spain can be returned to whichever of our offices issued them for a 50% refund (the tickets must be received by us at least 7 days prior to the travel date).
• Seat or bed reservations on your selected trains.
• A printed schedule / itinerary, highlighting any connections.
• Our “Route Sheet to the Trip,” helping you through your journey
• A Friday night hotel in Hendaye, based on shared occupancy (unless you have opted for the overnight train).
  Singles willing to share are guaranteed the share price (even if we do not wind up finding you a roommate), until 35 days pre-trip.
  

Bike Train:
The bikes travel to Hendaye on the overnight train on Friday night.
Ticket price includes a couchette on board. No upgrades are available, but you will typically share a private cabin with other Blue Marbles.

Options Offered at an Extra Cost (subject to availability)
Prices are in addition to the “Base” Access Package Price.
For a general discussion of train upgrades, see here. Topics include the relative comfort of first versus second class, and different types of accommodation available on overnight trains.

• Tickets from London. Add 69€ if you are also purchasing tickets back to London, 99€ if not, or if you prefer a changeable return (in 1st cl., add 99€ or 145€; 1st class tickets include meal service).
  Paris stop-overs are available for 15€ if travelling to Hendaye via daylight train, at no cost if via the overnight train. If you opt for the overnight train, you may use the Ride the Bike Train discount if available.
• Friday overnight train from Geneva or Nice: +14€. Includes couchette.
  Tickets are train-specific, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered.
• Friday overnight train from Lisbon: +32€. Includes couchette.
  Sleeping car upgrades available to triple, double or single cabins.
• Exchangeable / refundable tickets. +36€.
  Tickets are exchangeable, on a space-available basis, at any time until the train’s departure. In France, they may even be exchanged up to one hour after the train’s departure if you do so in the departing station. Cost is 5€ if you make the exchange yourself at the station, 10€ if you make it through us. Tickets are refundable less 20% before the train’s departure, 50% refundable afterwards (the physical ticket must be returned to the issuing office to obtain a refund).
  
• First class train tickets (in lieu of 2nd class).
  - From Madrid via express train: 39€.
  A meal service is included in the price on express services from Madrid.
  - From Paris or Charles de Gaulle Airport: 27€.
  This sharply discounted rate is a good deal for the long trip, but is not always available. The full-fare upgrade is 102€.
  - From Barcelona: 25€.
• Upgrade on overnight train:
  - 35€ to “Comfort Couchette” (available from Paris, Nice or Geneva)
  - 35€ / person to a double sleeping car cabin (from Barcelona or Portugal — entire cabin must be booked if coming from Spain, unless we can find you a cabin mate).
  Cabins on Barcelona train are “deluxe,” including ensuite shower and WC.
  - Private single cabin (Barcelona or Portugal only): 79€ from Barcelona, 99€ from Portugal.
  Cabins on Barcelona train are “deluxe,” including ensuite shower and WC.
  
• Paris airport train tickets, from Charles de Gaulle or Orly to Paris center. Follow this link for details.
• Friday hotel night in Paris or Madrid, Sa early train to Hendaye.
  - The 5a wake-up call implied is not recommended if this is your first night in Europe.
  - Singles willing to share are guaranteed roommates until 35 days prior to trip departure. +17€.
• Private single hotel room in Hendaye, Madrid or Paris, +36€.
  

Alternate Arrangements, in lieu of our usual packages (subject to availability)
Prices are complete (in other words, they are not in addition to the “Base” Access Package price).

• Hotel in Hendaye (additional nights, or without rail tickets, subject to availability — Hendaye hotels can be tough on summer weekend nights): 49€ shared, 69€ single.
  Shared rate guaranteed to singles on pre-trip Friday night only, and only until 35 days prior to trip departure.

3. TIMING Your Trip

Hendaye offers a pretty town center, and a beautiful beach. The latter is 2 kilometers from the station neighborhood, and from our usual hotels (taxi & bus service available, or the walk is pleasant). Anyway, arriving on Friday, with time to kill on Saturday morning, will not be a sacrifice.

Like airplanes, trains to Hendaye require reservations. You must not only tell us by which gateway you wish to arrive, but at what time of day you wish to travel. Allow ample time to connect from a flight: the railroad is not responsible for (chronically) late planes. Moreover, it can take intercontinental travellers up to 90 minutes to clear customs, immigration and baggage claim upon arrival. If you are attempting a tight connection, we suggest modifiable tickets.


4. Service Information
Schedules are approximate – exact timetables can be consulted at http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm.
Best trains are mentioned. Others are slower or have multiple connections.

• From Madrid. Travel time is a shade under 6 hours on an express, 7 on a local. Express trains run at 7a (from Atocha station) and 4p (from Chamartin). There is a local at 10a from Chamartin.
  Additionally, there is a service at 1:30p via a connection in Palencia (7 hours, 2nd class only), and an inconvenient overnight service, involving a 1a connection (couchette and sleeping car accommodation available on the second train, but it is still a short night — Hendaye arrival is at 7a).
• From Barcelona. Daylight train at 12:30p (arrive 9p). There is also an overnight train.
• From Paris. Travel time is 6 hours, 5 trains spread thru the day. Overnight train leaves from Austerlitz station at 11p.
• From Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport. 9a (one connection), 1:45p (one connection), 4:30p (direct). Trip time is about 6.5 hours.
• From Nice, Geneva, or Lisbon, overnight trains (Lisbon train departs Lisbon at 4:30p), arrival at 7:30a from Lisbon, 10:30a from points in France other than Paris..
• From London. Friday 9:30a departure, with a connection in Lille, arrive 8p (1 hour is lost to the time change). Or via Paris and the Friday overnight train (depart London circa 6p, earlier if you would like to stop for dinner in Paris).

5. Suggested PRE-TRIP VISITS

Lisbon is a beautiful and exciting city. While Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona are, too, it might be tougher to work Lisbon into your next trip.... If you do visit Lisbon, or Barcelona, treat yourself to a sleeping car upgrade for the trip to Hendaye. They are relatively economical on these routes, especially on the train from Barcelona.

Or, we have a nice hotel in Biarritz, if you would like a little time lounging on the beach....


6. Hints on TRAVELLING INDEPENDENTLY to the Trip
Guests subscribing to an “Access Package” need not read this section.

See also “Timing Your Trip” and “Service Information,” above, as either of these may additionally help.

We gladly provide travel consulting (schedule or routing information) concerning pre-trip individual travel. In particular, we have invested a great deal to become railway experts. Our service fees are reasonable: a 20€ charge for all but the most complex projects – or the most simple (for instance, only a 10€ charge applies if the service is limited to the preparation of a routine rail ticket). You will generally find them well-justified by the time they will save you in research, standing on line, overpaying for your tickets, or all three.

But, for some, this type of research is fun. So, here are some hints, intended to start off hardened “do-it-yourselfers.”

Trains. Schedules for all routes can be consulted on this web site:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm

Hendaye is on the French / Spanish border, and is a long way from any “major” airport. Overnight sleeper trains come from Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Geneva, Nice, and Lisbon, with connections from elsewhere. This is the least time-intensive way to get there, in that you don't sacrifice a day to travel (though you will probably sleep fitfully on the night train if this is not a mode of transport you are used to).

Planes. The tiny “San Sebastian” airport is a short taxi ride from Hendaye station, the trip meeting point.
Biarritz airport is also close by (half an hour by train). Bordeaux and Bilbao are slightly larger airports, both about 3 hours away by ground transport: Bilbao by bus, Bordeaux by train (there are also trains from Bilbao, but they take an hour longer than the bus).

Connecting in Madrid or Barcelona for a flight to San Sebastian would be the only way to arrive in Europe from North America on the morning of the trip start and still join the trip on time.

If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel.