Portugal is in the south-west corner of Europe, far from the more populated central area of the continent. This makes that travelling by train to the country is time consuming, and even became more time consuming and complicated recently.
Until March 2020 there was a direct night train (Sud-Express) from Hendaye, at the French-Spanish border, to Lisboa. However with the Covid-19 pandemie this train was suspended. Also the night train (Lusitania) between Madrid and Lisboa was suspended. With the most severe effects of the Covid crisis fading away, the Portuguese railways (CP) wanted to reinstate those trains, but the Spanish railways (Renfe) refused and took the opportunity to abandon all night trains and put the rolling stock out of service. As a result there are no direct train services anymore between Portugal and Madrid and the rest of Europe.
The only remaining options to travel by train to Portugal require several changes of train and staying overnight in at least one location en route. This article gives a summary of the current (September 2022) possibilities.
For travel planning and booking check the official sources!
- French railways SNCF.
- Spanish railways Renfe.
- Portuguese railways CP.
- Basque railways Euskotren.
- The user interface of the German railways DB travel planner is superior to any of the others, but it relies on the supply of information by the other railway companies. The Euskotren time-tables fail in this travel planner, with the result that DB doesn’t give routes via Hendaye, but only routes via Barcelona.
There are daily direct High-speed trains from Marseille via Montpellier to Barcelona and Madrid, from Lyon via Montpellier to Barcelona and from Paris via Montpellier to Barcelona. From Paris there are daily multiple direct High-speed trains via Bordeaux to Hendaye at the Spanish border. At the Spanish side of the border trains depart from Irún. Euskotren, the Basque railway, provides a frequent service between Hendaye, Irún and San Sebastian. Detailed descriptions about how to change from SNCF trains in Hendaye to Renfe trains in Irún or San Sebastian v.v. are given and the end of this page, together with how to transfer between stations in Madrid and Vigo.
There are only three trains daily between Portugal and Spain. Twice daily there is a train connecting Porto with Vigo and once daily a train between Entroncamento and Badajoz. So any trip by train to Portugal must go via Vigo or Badajoz.
The shortest way to Vigo is a cross-country route. However the high-speed railway between Madrid and Galicia makes that travelling via Madrid is faster as using the cross-country route.
The fastest routes are via Madrid. But for all routes at least one, but often two night overs are necessary.
Renfe publishes the time-tables only one to two months in advance, sometimes only two weeks in advance. So all information available is what’s at this moment (September 2022) valid, not for what’s valid in the future as the schedules aren’t known yet.
All the time-tables in this article for Spain are those as valid in SEPTEMBER 2022. For travel planning check the official Renfe sources!
From France to Portugal via Barcelona – Madrid – Badajoz
| Train | AVE 9731 | TGV 9713 | AVLO 6308 | AVE 3180 | AVE 9743 | AVE 3202 | AVLO 6310 | TGV 9715 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Gare de Lyon | 10:14 | 15:14 | ||||||
| Lyon Part-Dieu | | | 14:35 | | | |||||
| Marseille St-Charles | 8:02 | | | | | | | ||||
| Montpellier St-Roch | 9:39 | 13:46 | 16:32 | 18:46 | ||||
| Barcelona Sants | 12:50 | 16:54 | 17:25 | 18:25 | 19:32 | 20:00 | 21:10 | 21:54 |
| Madrid Atocha | 15:45 | 19:55 | 20:55 | 23:17 | 23:55 |
| Train | IC 190 | AVE 3662 | RE 17902 | RE 18770 | Regional 5500 | IC 731/527 | Regional 4432 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona Sants | 7:40 | ||||||
| Madrid Atocha | 8:50 | 10:10 | 10:55 | ||||
| Mérida | 12:47 | 15:05 | 15:31 | ||||
| Badajoz (Spanish time) | 13:24 | 16:11 | 16:24 | ||||
| Entroncamento (Portuguese time) | 18:14 | 18:30 | 18:44 | ||||
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | | | 20:20 | |||||
| Coimbra-B | 19:29 | ||||||
| Porto Campanhã | 20:53 |
From France to Portugal via Hendaye – San Sebastian – Madrid – Badajoz
| Train | TGV 8531 | TGV 8537 | TGV 8541 | TGV 8549 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Montparnasse | 7:11 | 10:11 | 12:11 | 16:11 |
| Bordeaux Saint-Jean | 9:20 | 12:20 | 14:20 | 18:20 |
| Hendaye SNCF | 11:47 | 14:47 | 16:47 | 20:47 |
| Hendaye Euskotren | 12:03 | 15:03 | 17:03 | 21:03 |
| Irun-Colon | 12:08 | 15:08 | 17:08 | 21:08 |
| Donostia-Amara | 12:40 | 15:40 | 17:40 | 21:40 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer between Hendaye and Irún or Donostia – San Sebastian and the transfers between the stations in Irún and Donostia – San Sebastian.
| Train | Alvia 4056 | Alvia 4086 | Cercanias 32746 | Alvia 4166 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irún | 8:45 | 16:17 | ||
| Donostia – San Sebastian | 5:02 | 9:02 | 16:43 | 17:03 |
| Madrid Chamartin | 9:57 | 13:56 | 22:03 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Madrid between the Atocha and Chamartin stations.
| Train | IC 190 | RE 17902 | RE 18770 | Regional 5500 | IC 731/527 | Regional 4432 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid Chamartin | 8:30 | |||||
| Madrid Atocha | 8:50 | 10:55 | ||||
| Mérida | 12:47 | 15:05 | 15:31 | |||
| Badajoz (Spanish time) | 13:24 | 16:11 | 16:24 | |||
| Entroncamento (Portuguese time) | 18:14 | 18:30 | 18:44 | |||
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | | | 20:20 | ||||
| Coimbra-B | 19:29 | |||||
| Porto Campanhã | 20:53 |
From France via Barcelona – Madrid – Vigo to Portugal
| Train | AVE 9731 | TGV 9713 | AVLO 6308 | AVE 3180 | AVE 9743 | AVE 3202 | AVLO 6310 | TGV 9715 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Gare de Lyon | 10:14 | 15:14 | ||||||
| Lyon Part-Dieu | | | 14:35 | | | |||||
| Marseille St-Charles | 8:02 | | | | | | | ||||
| Montpellier St-Roch | 9:39 | 13:46 | 16:32 | 18:46 | ||||
| Barcelona Sants | 12:50 | 16:54 | 17:25 | 18:25 | 19:32 | 20:00 | 21:10 | 21:54 |
| Madrid Atocha | 15:45 | 19:55 | 20:55 | 23:17 | 23:55 |
| Train | AVE 3662 | AVE 3112 | AVE 3150 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona Sants | 7:40 | 11:00 | 15:25 |
| Madrid Atocha | 10:10 | 13:45 | 17:55 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Madrid between the Atocha and Chamartin stations.
| Train | Alvia 4115 | Alvia 4165 | Alvia 4185 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid Chamartin | 11:20 | 16:00 | 19:15 |
| Vigo Urzaiz | 15:38 | 20:12 | 23:46 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Vigo between the Urzáiz and Guixar stations.
| Train | Celta 420 | IC 720 | Celta 422 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo Guixar (Spanish time) | 8:58 | 19:56 | |
| Porto Campanhã (Portuguese time) | 10:20 | 10:38 | 21:18 |
| Coimbra-B | 12:02 | ||
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | 14:00 |
From France via Hendaye – San Sebastian – Madrid – Vigo to Portugal
| Train | TGV 8531 | TGV 8537 | TGV 8541 | TGV 8549 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Montparnasse | 7:11 | 10:11 | 12:11 | 16:11 |
| Bordeaux Saint-Jean | 9:20 | 12:20 | 14:20 | 18:20 |
| Hendaye SNCF | 11:47 | 14:47 | 16:47 | 20:47 |
| Hendaye Euskotren | 12:03 | 15:03 | 17:03 | 21:03 |
| Irun-Colon | 12:08 | 15:08 | 17:08 | 21:08 |
| Donostia-Amara | 12:40 | 15:40 | 17:40 | 21:40 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer between Hendaye and Irún or Donostia – San Sebastian and the transfers between the stations in Irún and Donostia – San Sebastian.
| Train | Alvia 4056 | Alvia 4115 | Alvia 4086 | Alvia 4165 | Cercanias 32746 | Alvia 4166 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irún | 8:45 | 16:17 | ||||
| Donostia – San Sebastian | 5:02 | 9:02 | 16:43 | 17:03 | ||
| Madrid Chamartin | 9:57 | 11:20 | 13:56 | 16:00 | 22:03 | |
| Vigo Urzaiz | 15:38 | 20:12 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Vigo between the Urzáiz and Guixar stations.
| Train | Celta 420 | IC 720 | Celta 422 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo Guixar (Spanish time) | 8:58 | 19:56 | |
| Porto Campanhã (Portuguese time) | 10:20 | 10:38 | 21:18 |
| Coimbra-B | 12:02 | ||
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | 14:00 |
From Portugal via Vigo – Madrid – San Sebastian – Hendaye to France
| Train | Celta 421 | IC 523 | Celta 423 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | 15:30 | ||
| Coimbra-B | 17:30 | ||
| Porto Campanhã (Portuguese time) | 8:13 | 18:52 | 19:10 |
| Vigo Guixar (Spanish time) | 11:35 | 22:34 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Vigo between the Urzáiz and Guixar stations.
| TRAIN | Alvia 4087 | Cercanias 32737 | Alvia 4254 | Alvia 4157 | Cercanias 32753 | Alvia 4167 | Alvia 4354 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo Urzaiz | 9:20 | 13:20 | |||||
| Madrid Chamartin | 8:43 | 13:42 | 14:50 | 17:38 | 17:36 | ||
| Donostia – San Sebastian | 13:37 | 14:06 | 19:42 | 20:10 | 22:40 | ||
| Irun | 14:33 | 20:37 | 23:00 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer between Hendaye and Irún or Donostia – San Sebastian and the transfers between the stations in Irún and Donostia – San Sebastian.
| TRAIN | TGV 8530 | TGV 8534 | TGV 8540 | TGV 8544 | TGV 8550 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donostia-Amara | 6:15 | 8:45 | 11:45 | 15:15 | 17:15 |
| Irun-Colon | 6:47 | 9:17 | 12:17 | 15:47 | 17:47 |
| Hendaye Euskotren | 6:52 | 9:22 | 12:22 | 15:52 | 17:52 |
| Hendaye SNCF | 7:12 | 9:36 | 12:59 | 16:12 | 18:12 |
| Bordeaux Saint-Jean | 9:40 | 12:08 | 15:43 | 18:40 | 20:40 |
| Paris Montparnasse | 11:55 | 14:23 | 17:53 | 20:58 | 23:00 |
From Portugal via Vigo – Madrid – Barcelona to France
| Train | Celta 421 | IC 523 | Celta 423 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | 15:30 | ||
| Coimbra-B | 17:30 | ||
| Porto Campanhã (Portuguese time) | 8:13 | 18:52 | 19:10 |
| Vigo Guixar (Spanish time) | 11:35 | 22:34 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Vigo between the Urzáiz and Guixar stations.
| Train | Alvia 4484 | Alvia 4254 | Alvia 4354 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo Urzaiz | 5:50 | 9:20 | 13:20 |
| Madrid Chamartin | 10:20 | 13:42 | 17:36 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Madrid between the Atocha and Chamartin stations.
| Train | AVE 3113 | AVE 3151 | AVE 3191 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid Atocha | 11:30 | 15:00 | 19:00 |
| Barcelona Sants | 14:42 | 17:30 | 21:30 |
| Train | AVE 9736 | AVLO 6301 | TGV 9702 | AVE 3093 | AVLO 6303 | TGV 9704 | AVE 9724 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid Atocha | 6:20 | 9:30 | 10:30 | 13:25 | |||
| Barcelona Sants | 8:15 | 8:50 | 9:10 | 12:37 | 13:15 | 14:00 | 16:36 |
| Montpellier St-Roch | 11:21 | 12:26 | 17:13 | 19:45 | |||
| Marseille St-Charles | | | | | | | 21:26 | |||
| Lyon Part-Dieu | 13:22 | | | | | ||||
| Paris Gare de Lyon | 15:46 | 20:46 |
From Portugal via Badajoz – Madrid – San Sebastian – Hendaye to France
| Train | IC 520 | IC 541 | Regional 5501 | RE 18777 | RE 17907 | IC 193 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porto Campanhã | 6:37 | |||||
| Coimbra-B | 8:04 | |||||
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | | | 8:15 | ||||
| Entroncamento (Portuguese time) | 9:00 | 9:23 | 10:24 | |||
| Badajoz (Spanish time) | 14:14 | 14:30 | 17:36 | |||
| Mérida | 15:16 | 15:25 | 18:20 | |||
| Madrid Atocha | 19:38 | 22:04 | ||||
| Madrid Chamartin | 22:18 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer in Madrid between the Atocha and Chamartin stations.
| TRAIN | Alvia 4087 | Cercanias 32737 | Alvia 4157 | Cercanias 32753 | Alvia 4167 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid Chamartin | 8:43 | 14:50 | 17:38 | ||
| Donostia – San Sebastian | 13:37 | 14:06 | 19:42 | 20:10 | 22:40 |
| Irun | 14:33 | 20:37 | 23:00 |
At the bottom of this page are details for the transfer between Hendaye and Irún or Donostia – San Sebastian and the transfers between the stations in Irún and Donostia – San Sebastian.
| TRAIN | TGV 8530 | TGV 8534 | TGV 8540 | TGV 8544 | TGV 8550 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donostia-Amara | 6:15 | 8:45 | 11:45 | 15:15 | 17:15 |
| Irun-Colon | 6:47 | 9:17 | 12:17 | 15:47 | 17:47 |
| Hendaye Euskotren | 6:52 | 9:22 | 12:22 | 15:52 | 17:52 |
| Hendaye SNCF | 7:12 | 9:36 | 12:59 | 16:12 | 18:12 |
| Bordeaux Saint-Jean | 9:40 | 12:08 | 15:43 | 18:40 | 20:40 |
| Paris Montparnasse | 11:55 | 14:23 | 17:53 | 20:58 | 23:00 |
From Portugal via Badajoz – Madrid – Barcelona to France
| Train | IC 520 | IC 541 | Regional 5501 | RE 18777 | RE 17907 | AVE 3203 | IC 193 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porto Campanhã | 6:37 | ||||||
| Coimbra-B | 8:04 | ||||||
| Lisboa Santa Apolónia | | | 8:15 | |||||
| Entroncamento (Portuguese time) | 9:00 | 9:23 | 10:24 | ||||
| Badajoz (Spanish time) | 14:14 | 14:30 | 17:36 | ||||
| Mérida | 15:16 | 15:25 | 18:20 | ||||
| Madrid Atocha | 19:38 | 20:40 | 22:04 | ||||
| Barcelona Sants | 23:55 |
| Train | AVE 9736 | AVLO 6301 | TGV 9702 | AVE 3093 | AVLO 6303 | TGV 9704 | AVE 9724 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid Atocha | 6:20 | 9:30 | 10:30 | 13:25 | |||
| Barcelona Sants | 8:15 | 8:50 | 9:10 | 12:37 | 13:15 | 14:00 | 16:36 |
| Montpellier St-Roch | 11:21 | 12:26 | 17:13 | 19:45 | |||
| Marseille St-Charles | | | | | | | 21:26 | |||
| Lyon Part-Dieu | 13:22 | | | | | ||||
| Paris Gare de Lyon | 15:46 | 20:46 |
Cross-country, not going via Madrid
Daily there is a train between Barcelona and Galicia. On Sunday, Wednesday and Friday the destination is Vigo. On the other days the train goes to A Coruña with in Ourense a connecting train to Vigo. In the opposite direction the train to Barcelona departs from Vigo on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. On the other days there is a connecting train from Vigo to Ourense where can be changed for the direction Barcelona. Travel time between Barcelona and Vigo is almost 14 hours. In Vitoria/Gasteiz can be changed from/to San Sebastian. Although by distance the shortest, this isn’t the fasted route to go to/from Portugal. Travelling via Madrid with use of the high-speed lines takes less time. Two intermediate night overs are required If travelling to/from Portugal with this cross-country train.
| TRAIN | IC 281 | Alvia 622 | Alvia 626 | MD 12477 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona Sants | 9:30 | 9:30 | ||
| San Sebastian | 12:13 | | | | | |
| Vitoria/Gasteiz | 13:58 | 14:16 | 14:16 | |
| Ourense | 21:21 | 21:21 | 21:31 | |
| Vigo Guixar | 23:12 | 23:12 |
| Train | MD 12474 | Alvia 625 | Alvia 621 | IC 282 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo Guixar | 7:42 | 7:42 | ||
| Ourense | 9:11 | 9:16 | 9:16 | |
| Vitoria/Gasteiz | 16:33 | 16:33 | 16:45 | |
| San Sebastian | | | | | 18:35 | |
| Barcelona Sants | 21:35 | 21:35 |
Transfer in Madrid between the Atocha and Chamartin stations
Transfers from Atocha to Chamartin v.v. can be done with the Cercanias (Renfe suburban trains). In Atocha these trains depart from the platforms 1 & 2, In Chamartin these trains depart from platform 8. They run every 5 to 10 minutes. The journey takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Tickets can be bought from machines or the counter. When travelling with a Renfe long distance ticket, the Cercanias ticket can be gotten free.
Transfer from Hendaye to Irún or San Sebastian v.v.
In Hendaye the Euskotren station is on the forecourt of the main station. Train departures are every half hour at -.03 and -.33 from 5.33 (weekends 7.03) until 22.33. The station has only one platform and all trains go via Irun to San Sebastian. Leave the train at Irun-Colon, this is the second stop after departure from Hendaye and the trip takes five minutes.
Instead of making the change between Euskotren and Renfe in Irun, it can also be done in San Sebastian, or called with its Basque name Donostia. The distance between the Euskotren station Donostia-Amara and the Renfe station San Sebastian is with about 800 m significant more than in Irun. However at the moment because of works that last until 2024, the number of Renfe trains between Irún and San Sebastian is limited. That means in most cases an extra change is needed in San Sebastian between a Cercanias train and a long distance train. Also if a night over is planned near the border, San Sebastian is the better option.
To get to San Sebastian (Donostia-Amara) just take the Euskotren train departing every half hour at -.03 and -.33 from Hendaye. In the opposite direction the trains depart every half hour at -.15 and -.45 from Donostia-Amara to Hendaye. The trip between Hendaye and Donostia-Amara takes 37 minutes.
Transfer in Irún between the Euskotren and Renfe stations
When leaving the Irun-Colon station go to the right, after about 60 m use the pedestrian crossing, also cross the side street and continue to follow the busy road for one more block. (Red line on the map) You’ll come on a kind of square. Actually this is a very wide viaduct above the tracks of the Renfe. At the left you see a building, behind this building at the right side is an escalator down to the platform from where the long distance trains of Renfe depart. The track on the right is of the long distance trains. The left track is the normal gauge where in the past the SNCF trains arrived. On the platform is a station building with a counter and a vending machine for the long distance trains. The Renfe Cercanias (sub-urban trains) depart from the platforms at the right. For the station building of the Cercanias follow the dotted red line on the map. The distance from the Irun-Colon station to the escalator is about 150 m, to the Cercanias station building about 400 m.
Opposite direction. If you arrive on the Cercanias platforms leave the station building and walk straight ahead keeping the railway at your right hand until the busy road (dotted red line on the map). Turn to the right. The Euskotren Irun-Colon station is about 150 m further at the left side of the road where the bus stop is. If you arrive at the long distance trains platform, walk on the platform ahead to the escalator at the end of the platform. Go up and to the right. The Euskotren Irun-Colon station is about 150 m further at the left side of the road where the bus stop is. Euskotren trains to Hendaye depart every half hour at -.17 and -.47 from 6:47 (weekends 7.47) until 23:17, the trip to Hendaye takes five minutes. In Hendaye the Euskotren station is on the forecourt of the SNCF railway station.
Transfer in San Sebastian between the Euskotren and Renfe stations
The distance between the Euskotren and Renfe stations in San Sebastian is about 800 m. The Euskotren station is called Amara-Donostia, Donostia being the Basque name of San Sebastian. The Renfe station is called Donostia-San Sebastian.
From Amara (Euskotren) to the Renfe station: leave the station building and immediately go to the right. Walk ahead until the river and then go to the left. Walk along the riverside until the bridge, cross the bridge and you’re in front of the Renfe station.
From the Renfe station to Amara (Euskotren): Leave the station, cross the bridge and go to the left. Follow the river for about 430 m until the bus-stop. Go to the right, cross the road and go ahead for about 200 m and you’re in front of the Amara station. The trains to Hendaye depart every 30′ at -.15 and -.45 from 6.15 (weekends 7.15) until 22:45. The trip to Hendaye takes 37 minutes.
Transfer in Vigo between the Urzáiz and Guixar stations
The trains from or to Madrid use the station Vigo Urzaiz. The trains from or to Porto use the station Vigo Guixar. There is a direct urban bus, line L24, but this rides irregular with a rather low frequency.
The Urzáiz station is in the lower part of a shopping mall complex: “Centro Comercial Vialia de Vigo”. This complex has two entrances. The walking distance from Guixar to the western entrance (Praza da Estacion) is about 1.2 km, to the southern entrance (Via Norte) about 1.0 km. However the latter route is trough a rather desolate area and includes stairs, while the first route follows relative wide streets with shops and restaurants. When walking from Guixar to Urzaiz keep in mind there is also a level difference between both of about 60 m with Urzaiz being the higher one.
Have a good trip!