Santander to Oviedo on FEVE

[WolvertonWorks]

Trying to see if it is viable to do a Spain by boat and train trip end of May/early June and looking at the ferry (Portsmouth-Santander) it looks like I am already too late to get a lot of choice of cabins.

One option is Friday evening 30th May from Portsmouth arrive Santander 8am Sunday 1st June, alternative is arrives Wednesday 4th June.

I wondered if Sunday was going to be a bad day for the FEVE to Oviedo but from what I can see online there are two trains a day whether it is Sunday or Wednesday - 8:29 and 15:28.

I'd prefer the morning train but a) we'll need time to purchase tickets and b) some food and drink to last us for the ride as nothing available on the train so is it realistic to expect to catch the 8:29 coming off the Santander ferry?

Once I've got that bit sorted I'll be back with more questions about the rest of the route.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

I did Plymouth to Santander a couple of weeks ago - the FEVE / RENFE stations are just a short walk from the ferry terminal - but there was a lot of faffing around getting off the boat and going through immigration and getting your passport stamped. There was a surprising number of foot passengers - some doing the Camino de Santiago. 29 mins wouldn't be nearly enough time I'm afraid. There is a booking office at the FEVE station as well as ticket machines.

 

[stuu]

Trying to see if it is viable to do a Spain by boat and train trip end of May/early June and looking at the ferry (Portsmouth-Santander) it looks like I am already too late to get a lot of choice of cabins.

One option is Friday evening 30th May from Portsmouth arrive Santander 8am Sunday 1st June, alternative is arrives Wednesday 4th June.

I wondered if Sunday was going to be a bad day for the FEVE to Oviedo but from what I can see online there are two trains a day whether it is Sunday or Wednesday - 8:29 and 15:28.

I'd prefer the morning train but a) we'll need time to purchase tickets and b) some food and drink to last us for the ride as nothing available on the train so is it realistic to expect to catch the 8:29 coming off the Santander ferry?

Once I've got that bit sorted I'll be back with more questions about the rest of the route.

No chance, unless the ferry arrives early. When I went there, we arrived on time but it took a good hour to get off the boat

 

[dutchflyer]

Simply buying the ticket is a matter of seconds-maybe 1 minute. The faff-British will know that far better as me, is thus getting off the boat and in what is now foreign=non-Schengen territory for you. Normal Espanol shops as supermarkets etc are mostly closed sundays. Some small kiosks or the like will be open=less choice, higher price.
You did not state how to come back. If that is also by this ferry or maybe flying off Bilbao-that dreaded Ryan-check if it perhaps makes more sense to do this little narrow gauge thing the other way and take a BUS (coach mayby in your vision)=far quicker and more often via the motorway.

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Thanks, you've confirmed my thoughts.

It's just occurred to me that we could do the trip the other way round and return to England on the ferry rather than arrive in Spain by ferry. Will have a look at the timings there.

After a few days in Oviedo - which may include a trip to Leon or Leon may be part of the return route - we want to do the train route via Hendaye and the western side of France back to England rather than go over to Madrid and Barcelona and then do the high speed to Paris.

I shall have some questions about that I'm sure so appreciate your input.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Santander to Oviedo is very scenic and well worth doing, but it is a long old ride and it can get a bit wearing stopping at the umpteen lamposts en-route. Santander to Torrelavega is heavily built-up with an electrified suburban service, but it is then very rural to the coast to Llanes. From there it runs along the coast to Ribadesella, but it then turns inland through the mountains to Oviedo. One suggestion would be to spend the morning in Santander, take the afternoon train to Llanes - a pleasant stopover - continuing to Oviedo the next day.

All the main line trains to Irun / Hendaye are terminating at San Sebastián for the foreseeable due to infrastructure works , so something to watch out for. You have to transfer to Cercanías services or the Eusko Tren narrow gauge line.

 

[30907]

The Wednesday ferry from Plymouth would allow you 2.5h for the connection, as would the return sailings on that route.

 

[calopez]

If you do travel from Oviedo to Leon, you really should try to take the old line over the Pajares pass. It's utterly spectacular.

One train per day still uses this route. Whether it will continue to run into next summer, I don't know, but it is bookable for January, so it's survived the December timetable change, at least.

Incidentally, the (ex-)FEVE regional trains - such as Santander - Oviedo - can be booked on the RENFE website, though discounted fares are a bit tricky.

 

[HS2isgood]

If you do travel from Oviedo to Leon, you really should try to take the old line over the Pajares pass. It's utterly spectacular.

One train per day still uses this route. Whether it will continue to run into next summer, I don't know, but it is bookable for January, so it's survived the December timetable change, at least.

Incidentally, the (ex-)FEVE regional trains - such as Santander - Oviedo - can be booked on the RENFE website, though discounted fares are a bit tricky.

For now, lots of freight uses the slow route, because the new route is electrified at 25 kV AC, which the old Class 269 locos running a lot of the freight can't run on. That's why there's no immediate threat of closure. The passenger service also runs on 3 kV DC series 470 units, so it has to go the ramp way. It's definitely one to do now, as it's threatened with new class 480 arriving late 2026.

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Having looked further at the ferry we've decided to give that a miss and do a round trip by train.

So current plan - and I need to get Eurostar tickets booked asap now - is (stops are just overnight unless otherwise shown):

Eurostar to Paris

Paris to Bordeaux

Bordeaux to Bilbao (two nights in Bilbao)

Not sure then which order to do Ribadesella, Ovieda and Leon (will be staying a couple of nights at each).

The question then is which way to return to Paris for Eurostar - we could go to Barcelona and the high speed train next day to Paris, or a more interesting route including through France.

Where we are just overnighting I like to try and plan an early departure arriving at the next place by mid afternoon so we have the rest of the day to explore.

The train journeys are a fundamental part of the holiday - I like riding on trains and looking out of the window - not just a means of getting from place to place.

Any input on possible routes very much appreciated. Thanks

 

[calopez]

Unless you particularly want to see Bordeaux (admittedly, a very attractive city), I would suggest, if the timings work for you, going all the way to Irun on the first day. That way you would get to Bilbao much earlier, where, from a transport point of view, there is a great deal to see.

You may also find that the Paris - Hendaye fares aren't much more than Paris - Bordeaux.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

The Barcelona to Paris TGVs tend to be expensive and oversubscribed. RENFE are now running AVEs to Marseille and Lyon from Barcelona and the former starts back from Madrid. So an overnight in Montpellier or Lyon might be an option.

 

[nwales58]

If via Barcelona you still have choices for Leon-Barcelona. There is the through Alvia or via Madrid is a couple of hours faster and more choice of times. Madrid-Barcelona you could try Iryo (or Ouigo for that matter). As it's Spain there are loads of interesting places to stop on the way, Pamplona on the through Alvia, both go through Lleida which is far more relaxed for a night if you already know Barcelona. Or push on to Figueres or the inevitable Puigcerda/La Tour de Carol recommendation. Nimes, Montpellier, Avignon for another night or push on to Lyon. From those you can go direct to Lille avoiding Paris.

For a wander through France I would probably go back via Hendaye with a night in San Sebastian as you're not stopping there outbound. Then maybe through the Massif Centrale, Aurillac-Clermont-Ferrand is still just about doable (though dodging bus replacements can be tricky) then either via Paris or via Lyon direct to Lille. Or a night in Limoges. Or Blois. Or loads of choices.

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Thanks very much - rather fancying Montpellier. Will investigate further. Thanks again

 

[peterblue]

Having looked further at the ferry we've decided to give that a miss and do a round trip by train.

So current plan - and I need to get Eurostar tickets booked asap now - is (stops are just overnight unless otherwise shown):

Eurostar to Paris

Paris to Bordeaux

Bordeaux to Bilbao (two nights in Bilbao)

Not sure then which order to do Ribadesella, Ovieda and Leon (will be staying a couple of nights at each).

The question then is which way to return to Paris for Eurostar - we could go to Barcelona and the high speed train next day to Paris, or a more interesting route including through France.

Where we are just overnighting I like to try and plan an early departure arriving at the next place by mid afternoon so we have the rest of the day to explore.

The train journeys are a fundamental part of the holiday - I like riding on trains and looking out of the window - not just a means of getting from place to place.

Any input on possible routes very much appreciated. Thanks

If you still want to incorporate a ferry into your trip there are quite a few nice towns in the northwest of France sailing from Portsmouth/Plymouth. Maybe if you did that you could work your way down the west coast including the stopover at Bordeaux you wanted, and eventually get to Bilbao and beyond, without going through Paris. Then you could return to the UK via another route or via Eurostar.

How comfortable are you with sleeper trains? I will be the one to inevitably recommend the la tour de carol train
Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend getting a direct Paris-Barcelona or vv train as they're very popular, expensive and busy.

May also be worth looking at flights (one way) as they can be very cheap.

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Thanks - still missing the wonderful TrenHotel we did Paris-Madrid on overnight in 2012. I will look at sleeper route.

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Well the trip is all booked for the end of May, not quite the route I originally intended but should be an interesting trip.

I have a question for those who are familiar with Hendaye please.

We are booked on the 9:22 train from Bordeaux to Hendaye on a Wednesday, due to arrive at 11:47.

The intention is to try and take the Euskotren service from Hendaye to San Sebastian at 12:03 BUT we need to purchase tickets when we arrive at Hendaye - is this going to be realistic? I'm assuming we just use a TVM but there will be queues and we only have around 15 minutes assuming the train from Bordeaux arrives on time.

Any tips on getting the tickets quickly?

Just looking at the timetable online it looks like these trains run half hourly so we should be OK for the 12:33 if we miss the 12:03 though.

Thanks

 

[calopez]

When I was there last September, we arrived from Paris at 1647, and easily caught the 1703 - and I had to get my FIP ticket from the booking office, which involved having my passport photocopied. There is a TVM (maybe two, I forget now) as well, and, as I expect you're aware, you will need a ticket to Donostia rather than San Sebastian! The station was quite busy with passengers off the TGV, but I don't think anyone got left behind.

As you say, the trains are half-hourly, so missing one isn't a disaster.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Using the ticket office is sometimes quicker than the machines if folk are faffing around wondering how to use them. Most of the locals have passes. If all else fails, there is a bar just across the road from the SNCF station to wait for the next train!

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Thanks - your advice appreciated.