How to get to san juan: Getting To The San Juan Islands
Getting to San Juan Island | Pacific Northwest | MT Sobek
Washington San Juan Islands Multi-Adventure
Several great options for getting to San Juan Island!
There are no bridges to the San Juan Islands; therefore, all travel from the mainland is either by water or by air.
You can drive to the town of Anacortes, WA and catch the Washington State Ferry, or fly via charter plane to Friday Harbor.
By Air
Air service to the San Juan Islands is provided by the following:
Fly from Seattle area to San Juan Island
Kenmore Air – departs to/from Seattle/Boeing Field to/from Friday Harbor (San Juan Island) and Eastsound (Orcas Island)
Friday Harbor Seaplanes departs to/from Renton Municipal Airport/Lake Washington to/from Friday Harbor (San Juan Island)
Fly from Anacortes to San Juan Island
San Juan Airlines – departs to/from Anacortes or Bellingham, to/from Friday Harbor (San Juan Island) and Eastsound (Orcas Island)
By Ferry
Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, WA
Called the gateway to the San Juan Islands, the Washington State Ferry departure from Anacortes, WA is the #1 way our guests travel to San Juan Island. Voted one the most beautiful ferry rides in the world, a leisurely ride on a Washington State Ferry gives you a taste of the archipelago’s beauty. For GPS users, the Anacortes Ferry Terminal is located at 2100 Ferry Terminal Road, Anacortes, WA 98221.
Anacortes – Friday Harbor ferry schedule – The ferry schedule changes each season. Please ensure you view the correct ferry schedule for your tour departure date. Schedules for the upcoming season are released two months prior to schedule change.
Please allow at least 1-hour in between arriving at Friday Harbor and your tour departure time if you are walking on the ferry.
Passenger only or private charter ferries that serve the San Juan Islands.
Victoria Clipper Passenger Ferry – Departing from downtown Seattle, the Victoria Clipper Passenger Ferry is a great option for traveling to San Juan Island.
Puget Sound Express provides passenger-only service from Port Townsend, on the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula, to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.
North Shore Charters provides high-speed water taxi service to all of the main San Juan Islands.
By Car
Driving to the start of the trip and parking a car in Anacortes?
Driving Directions From Downtown Seattle to Anacortes
Allow at least 1.5 – 2 hours driving time.
Take Interstate 5 north to the Burlington exit, #230. Turn west (left) on Highway 20 until you reach Anacortes.
Once in downtown Anacortes, follow the signs (San Juan Island Ferries) to the ferry landing.
Parking Options
Washington State Ferry Terminal Lot
Skagit Transit – March Point Park & Ride
Prefer to shuttle from SeaTac Airport to Anacortes or Friday Harbor?
Bellair Charters – From SeaTac airport to the ferry terminal in Anacortes.
Island Airporter – SeaTac airport directly to San Juan Island
Have Questions?
Getting Around — The Guide to the San Juan Islands
Transportation to the 3 Major San Juan Islands
Traveling by Ferry Washington State Ferry fares are round trip from Anacortes; i.
e., there is no charge to return to Anacortes. Here is the ferry schedule (make sure you select the right sailing season): http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/
You can either take your car on the ferry or park it at the ferry terminal and walk aboard, thus avoiding ferry lines.
However, you need a vehicle to explore each island (exception, see San Juan Island topic, below).
Important Tips Regarding Ferry Travel from Anacortes Seattle to Anacortes Ferry Terminal, plan on a two hour drive. The ferries are not frequent and the wait for the next is several hours long. If you take a very early morning ferry to the San Juan Islands, arriving at the terminal an hour beforTransportation to the 3 Major San Juan Islands The islands are accessible by ferry, plane, private boat and charters.e departure is probably fine. For later sailings, it might be wise to arrive at the terminal two hours prior to departure. There’s some birding around the terminal, rest rooms, a little cafe.
Very early morning ferries are best as they involve less waiting time in the ferry lines and allow more time for the islands.
The WSDOT bulletin page posts cancellations and changes to the scheduled sailings. Webcams at the Anacortes, Friday Harbor and Orcas Island ferry terminals provide current ferry line status, but the situation can change quickly. You can set up an email alert account with WSF: https://secure1.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/…
Ferry Terminal Vehicle Best Travel Times
To help avoid long ferry waits, WSF added color-coded sailing schedules to its website that suggest both the least and the most congested sailing times, by day of week and season, for drive-on passengers. See the tab titled “Best Travel Times” on the right side of each route schedule page.
Good News! Ferry reservations now available; see the website. http://tinyurl.com/ncaffx6
Waiting for Your Ferry In all cases, it’s a good idea to ask ferry employees when to be in line for your desired ferry.
Also, see Wait Time advice on each ferry terminal website.
Anacortes Terminal – Terminal has restrooms, a small snack bar and gift shop.
Friday Harbor Terminal – While the car sits in its designated lane, you can walk around, dine, shop.
Orcas Island Terminal – Nearby is a grocery store, restaurants and shops.
Lopez Island Terminal – Waiting room and food service.
Without a Vehicle If you want to visit the San Juan islands without a vehicle, there are several ways.
1. The Victoria Clipper (passenger only) boat leaves from downtown Seattle and goes directly to the town of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The Clipper also provides a combo whale watch and visit to FH. The trip takes about 3 hours each way. You can find out more by going to: http://www.clippervacations.com/clipp… or by calling (800) 888-2535. To get to the Victoria Clipper from SeaTac: http://www.clippervacations.com/direc… If you wish to continue by boat to Victoria or to Vancouver (city) from Friday Harbor, you must board the WA State Ferry to Sidney, north of Victoria, then cab or bus into Victoria or to Swartz Bay for the BC Ferry to Tsawwassen and Vancouver.
http://www.bcferries.com/schedules/ma…
2. The Airporter shuttle has daily year round service between SeaTac Airport, downtown Seattle, and the Anacortes ferry terminal. This shuttle bus makes several stops and involves a transfer to a connecting bus to get to the Anacortes terminal. You’ll need reservations. Airporter Shuttle: http://www.airporter.com/schedules/sc… 1-866-235-5247
3. The Island Airporter runs from/To Sea-Tac to Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island, only. http://www.islandairporter.com/.
4. Kenmore Air takes passengers by van from SeaTac to one of their three Seattle area terminals for a land or seaplane bound for Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands. Kenmore Air – 866-435-9524 http://www.kenmoreair.com/San-Juan-Is…
5. San Juan Airlines has scheduled service to the islands from Bellingham and Anacortes and will do charters from Seattle. http://sanjuanairlines.com/
If You Don’t Bring a Car to the Islands from Anacortes You can leave your car in the designated ferry parking lot(s) at or near the ferry terminal in Anacortes.
Balance your needs for flexibility against the costs of bringing your own car Most recommend bringing a vehicle or renting a car or moped in the islands. If you walk on the ferry there is cab service on San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands. In the summer months on San Juan Island a shuttle van service runs to the most popular tourist spots: http://sanjuantransit.com/ .
Distances from the Ferry Terminal to Towns Friday Harbor on San Juan Island is a located at the ferry landing. Eastsound, on Orcas Island, and Lopez Village, on Lopez Island, are roughly 15 – 20 minutes driving distance from their ferry docks.
San Juan de Gaztelugache. Where is it, how to get there + legend.
San Juan de Gastelugache is a chapel located 35 km from the city of Bilbao. It is located next to the Urdaibay Biosphere Reserve and is surrounded by the Bay of Biscay and Mount Burgoa.
- How to get to San Juan de Gastelugache
- Visiting schedule
- Booking tickets
- When is the best time to visit San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
- Rise time
- Tips for visiting San Juan de Gastelugache
- Legend of San Juan de Gastelugache
How to get to San Juan de Gaztelugache
Bus
If you are traveling by bus, you need to take the Bizkaibus bus (line A3517).
In summer, the route goes to Bermeo, passing through Gastelugache. The bus can be taken in the city of Bilbao at San José Square. And also in small towns — Munguia, Bakio or Bermeo. nine0003
The stop where you need to get off is called Gastelou Begi.
From the beginning of autumn to the end of spring, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe can only be reached from Bermeo or Bakio.
Car
If you are traveling by car, there will be three car parks where you can leave your car. Next, you have to walk. It will not be possible to drive to the place by car.
San Juan de Gastelugache is on the road between Bakio and Bermeo. Right at the turn there is a small parking lot (on the map below « Parking 1 «).
Next is « Parking 2 » and « Parking 3 «. All of them are free and are within walking distance from the beginning of the short road.
To go up to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, you have to choose one of the trails. One goes through the right side and it’s a long way.
The second is through the left side and this path is much shorter.
Narrow trail — 1.4 km or more steep and winding. On rainy days it can be a bit slippery.
Long trail slightly less steep and easier road 2.8 km long. nine0003
If you are going on a long trail you will have « Parking 4 » at the end of the road. From here it is 2.8 km to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. See below for the difference between the two paths.
Schedule of visits
The road is always open, so you can visit it at any time. But the chapel itself is open only on holidays and during the high season.
The islet is connected to the mainland by a stone bridge. The bridge turns into a stone path, consisting of 241 steps.
As you climb up to the islet, you can watch from both sides how the sea beats against the rocks and turns into foam. A bewitching spectacle!
When you reach the chapel, be sure to ring the bell three times and make a wish.
There is a belief that it will come true.
Booking tickets
Access to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is free. But there are a lot of people who want to visit this place, so in order to control the capacity and to control the limit of visitors who can pass the stairs at one time, you need to reserve a ticket online. nine0003
Reservations can be made on this website — tiketa.eus/gaztelugatxe .
The process itself is very simple. You just need to choose the day and time of the visit, indicate the number of people, personal data and tickets will be sent to you by e-mail for free.
It is not necessary to print them. It is enough to show the QR code of the ticket directly on your mobile phone.
Best time to visit San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
In my opinion the best time is early in the day or close to sunset. Firstly, at this time there are fewer people and there is an opportunity to take pictures. Secondly, the sunset time in this place is just super.
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Rise time
It takes about 40-45 minutes to get to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. Average travel time is approximately 2 hours round trip.
Tips for visiting San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
- Wear comfortable and closed shoes.
- Take a bottle with you. At the beginning of the steps there is a fountain with fresh and very tasty water.
- The best time to visit is summer. But in the summer there are sooo many tourists. Least of all from autumn to spring. nine0008
- Be sure to watch the sunset!
The Legend of San Juan de Gastelugache
A legend is written on the photo of the booth near Gastelugache.
Legend has it that John the Baptist landed at the port of Bermeo and after only three steps reached the chapel. His footprints were found at three points along the way.
The first trail is located under the arch of San Juan, in the very urban area of Bermeo.
The second track is located in the Arena area.
The third one is on the last step of the chapel. nine0003
Have a nice trip to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe!
Irina Osipova.
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Holidays in Spain (Alicante). Accommodation, excursions, transfers, information.
The official name of this most convenient form of transport is tram, so that the name «tram» and not «metro» has taken root among the Russian-speaking population.
In addition, it is more intercity than urban.
Perhaps the most convenient type of public transport: understandable, logical, runs on schedule, inside — clean, comfortable, rarely crowded (never — like in Russian big cities, no tight hugs :)), with places for wheelchairs and disabled people armchairs. And also — with beautiful views from the window on many lines. nine0003
On the photo: one of the stops on the beach, view from the tram window.
Website (Spanish, Valencian, English)
Metro lines:
This transport in Alicante is quite new, construction began only in the 2000s. At the moment there are 5 branches:
- L1 — red line , connects the cities of Alicante and Benidorm, has intermediate stops, but not many, only the main ones like El Campello, length is about 40 km, runs 2 times per hour, the duration of the trip is the whole route is about an hour. nine0008
- L2 — green line , connects Alicante and the suburb of San Vicente del Raspeig (university, outlet center).
- L3 — yellow line , connects Alicante and the suburb of El Campello (El Campello), length about 15 km, runs 2 times an hour, the final one is El Campello.
- L4 — purple line , connects Alicante and the suburbs of San Juan (San Juan), runs throughout Cabo De Huertas, about 10 km long, runs 2 times an hour, many frequent stops. nine0008
- L9 — gray line , connects the cities of Benidorm and Denia. The train on this route is already different, an ordinary electric train. The length of the route is about 40-50 km, it runs once an hour, the duration of the trip along the entire route is 75-90 minutes.
In the more distant future, it is planned to build a branch line to the airport.
Introductory map of stops and branches near Alicante:
The map (on the site) is interactive, when you click on any stop, its name and branches are displayed on which this stop is located. nine0245
You can download the map here, select the desired line or general map — General map/Zone map
Here you can download maps of all routes: either by zones, or maps of cities where there are stops.
Zones:
The most convenient way to get acquainted with the division into zones is on this map (we do not present it here, it is quite large, and it must be considered on a large scale).
What do you need to know about zones in practice? The cost of the ticket depends on the number of zones captured by the route. Zone A is located from Alicante to El Campello, that is, it is considered that within these limits CITY transport runs with the corresponding price (1.45 euros for a single trip). If you are going somewhere further, then before the trip you buy a ticket from the machine, indicating the destination, and the machine itself will give you the correct price (more about payment — how and how much, current tram fares can be found here). nine0003
Stops within the center of Alicante:
(marked in red, blue — landmarks)
Part of the stops is underground (within Alicante), the rest of the way runs on the surface of the earth. The easiest way to find an underground station is to find a glass elevator shaft that opens up to the surface.
Stops along the way from Alicante to the San Juan area and to the city of El Campello are marked on this map.
Main stops within the city 6, the most important first 2-3:
- Plaza Luceros — city center. Closest to the railway station (as a result, they promise to make the final one at the station itself) and to the bus station, 5-7 minutes on foot. Stop underground, more precisely, under this square, which is Plaza Luceros.
- Mercado (Spanish for «market») — at the central market. The best stop to go for a walk in the center: exit to the right and down towards the sea. Again, you can easily go from the suburbs to the market for fresh fruit (the market is open every day, except Sunday and Monday_ until 2 pm). The stop is underground. nine0008
- MARQ- Castillo — the name of the station was given by the nearby archaeological museum MARQ and the beginning of the road to the fortress (castillo) Santa Barbara. Suitable if you are heading to this very museum or planning a hike to the mountain with Santa Barbara Castle — the most understandable road goes from here, automobile, paved — you will not get lost. Underground station.
- Plaza Mar 2 — Green line stop only, elevated. There is a large shopping center Plaza Mar 2, a significant part of which is occupied by the Alcampo hypermarket with the Auchan logo familiar to Russians. Here you can also find many small shops with clothes, shoes, cosmetics. More about shopping. nine0008
Suitable if you are heading to this very museum or planning a hike to the mountain with Santa Barbara Castle — the most understandable road goes from here, automobile, paved — you will not get lost. Underground station.
- Sangeta — it’s completely useless to go for a walk here, there is absolutely nothing there — the railroad tracks are fenced.
Relatively long trips:
Keep in mind: air conditioners work at full power in summer, it’s pretty cool in the cabin, you’ll freeze in shorts for an hour or more.
For example, in Benidorm it is very convenient, and besides, it is beautiful: the tram travels along the mountains along the sea for a long distance, the views are amazing.
Often there is also music playing. It is comfortable to sit, although there are few seats, but the trams are almost never crowded, except perhaps during the peak season — in August. Do not forget to look at the maps, where you should choose which stop in Benidorm, they are all located far from the center. nine0003
Before reaching Benidorm, there is an interesting for walking town of Villajoyosa, very contrasting, famous for its multi-colored houses built on the city wall, and the Valor chocolate factory, where they lead free tours (yes, with tasting! :)) More about the town , factory and opportunities on our website.
The pretty town of Calpe with its majestic rock-reserve, the views from which you will not forget for a very long time. It’s a long way to go, with a change in Benidorm. Plan on a trip of at least 2 hours one way. It is far from the tram station to the center, you will have to get there by city bus. nine0003
Start of tram routes:
- from Plaza Luceros Alicante (lines L1.
