GETTING TO SPAIN

 

We are using Lorea’s hometown of Pamplona in northern Spain as a base to get to and from the wedding venue at Irrisarri. For those booking international flights to Spain from the U.S. or elsewhere, we recommend looking into flights to the following cities:

  • Pamplona (PNA): There are no direct flights from the U.S. or other countries, but there are multiple flight options a day with a layover in Madrid. Prices may fluctuate - sometimes booking round-trip tickets to Pamplona are more expensive than direct flights to Madrid, but sometimes they are less expensive.

  • Madrid (MAD): Direct flights from many major U.S. cities including New York, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, LA, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, and Dallas multiple days a week if not multiple flights per day. Easy onward transport options to Pamplona (see below).

  • Barcelona (BCN): Direct flights from many major U.S. cities including New York, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, LA, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, and Dallas multiple days a week if not multiple flights per day. Easy but slightly longer onward transport options to Pamplona (see below).

GETTING TO PAMPLONA

 

Pamplona is well-connected for those coming in from Madrid or Barcelona:

Madrid:

  • Flight: 2-3 flights per day to Pamplona operated by Iberia (~ 1 hour)

  • Train: 3-4 trains per day leaving from Atocha Station in central Madrid (~ 3 hours)

  • Bus: Multiple bus options leaving from both central Madrid and the Madrid airport (~ 5 hours)

  • Driving: Easy and well-maintained highways to Pamplona (~ 4 hours)

Barcelona:

  • Flight: No flights to Pamplona, but 1-2 flights per day to San Sebastián (1 hour away) operated by Vueling

  • Train: 2-4 trains per day leaving from Barcelona-Sants Station, southwest of the city center (~ 4 hours)

  • Bus: Bus options leaving from both Barcelona-Sants and closer to the city center (Barcelona Nord) (~ 6 hours)

  • Driving: Easy and well-maintained highways to Pamplona (~ 5 hours)

Booking trains in Spain:

  • Spanish trains are comfortable and reliable. The official Spanish train system is Renfe – their website is usually pretty good but can sometimes be a bit frustrating to navigate

  • There are also a couple of newer private high-speed train services (Ouigo and Iryo) now competing with Renfe – third-party platforms like Trainline or Omio can sometimes be easier to navigate different options from outside Spain, but may add an additional fee vs. booking direct with Renfe

  • As with flights, ticket prices typically get more expensive closer to the departure date

  • IMPORTANT NOTE: Tickets for trains (and some buses) may not be available until 60 - 90 days before the day of departure, so if you’re not seeing anything yet for June, check back in late March/April

GETTING TO IRRISARRI

 

We’ve arranged a bus from Pamplona to take guests to the wedding venue at the Palacio de Irrisarri (see the Schedule tab for more details and where to meet).

  • Departure from Pamplona: Friday June 20th at 4:00 pm from Lorea’s parents’ restaurant (Obas). Feel free to meet us there anytime starting from 2:00 pm!

  • Return to Pamplona: Sunday June 22nd leaving Irrisarri at 1:00 pm (arriving by 2:30 pm back to Pamplona). We recommend accounting for some buffer time for any onward travel plans from Pamplona just in case.

You are very welcome to take the bus only one way if your plans include traveling elsewhere – say, leaving from Pamplona on Friday but heading to San Sebastián on Sunday, or arriving just in time for the ceremony on Saturday but taking the bus back to Pamplona on Sunday.

Uber is not available in either Pamplona or San Sebastián, but taxis are widely available and can be arranged from both, and we’re happy to help coordinate. Additionally, we have friends and family arriving later on Friday and Saturday morning so we may be able to help arrange a ride.

Let us know your preferences for the bus and any other transport questions or issues via the questions in the RSVP form, and we will try our best to help!

DRIVING

For those planning on driving your own car, getting around northern Spain is easy. Roads are well-maintained, Google Maps is reliable, and rental cars are widely available. The Palacio de Irrisarri is about a 1-hour drive from Pamplona, and a 45-minute drive from San Sebastián. Note that once you arrive at the venue, you won’t need a car to get around.

OTHER CITIES AND AIRPORTS

If Pamplona doesn’t fit in your travel plans, there are a few other cities and airports that are near our venue at Irrisarri:

  • San Sebastián (EAS): Nearby in Basque Country, San Sebastián airport has connections to Madrid and Barcelona as well as the islands of Mallorca and Menorca (~ 45 minute drive to Irrisarri)

  • Biarritz (BIQ): Just across the French border, Biarritz airport has direct connections to Paris, London, and several other French and European cities (~ 1 hour drive to Irrisarri)

  • Bilbao (BIO): Also in Basque Country, United Airlines is opening new direct flights to Bilbao from Newark, NJ in May, the first from North America. Otherwise, Bilbao is well connected throughout Europe (~ 1.5-2 hour drive to Irrisarri)

All of these have rental car options, and we can also help coordinate taxis if needed. Let us know if you have any questions!