We absolutely advise against renting a car in Pamplona during the Running of the Bulls fiesta. While it is possible to rent a car, you can't actually drive it in the Old Quarter of Pamplona where the festival take place.
For the duration of the festival, from July 6 to July 14, the streets are blocked off for anything besides delivery trucks and street-cleaning trucks between the hours of 9:00am and 12 noon, daily, and ambulances during the bullruns. In other words, if you rent a car during the festival, you won't be able to take it anywhere besides away from the festival. Even if you're staying outside of the Old Quarter and you want to drive in, you likely won't be able to park your rental car anywhere near the Old Quarter.
If you do decide to bring a car, parking is sometimes available at the airport, or you may get lucky and find a parking spot along the perimeter of the Parque de la Taconera. Some hotels, like Hotel Occidental, also offer parking to their guests for a small fee every day. Free parking is also often available in the residential area called "Rochapea", across the Río Arga from the old city, which is about a 20 minute walk to the fiesta. However, please be warned that parking overnight in Pamplona can be risky during the festival.
If you decide you'd rather avoid the stress of bringing a car to Pamplona, don't worry! There are plenty of transportation options for visitors coming to Pamplona. Here are some of the options you can consider:
Traveling from Another City
When it comes to arriving in Pamplona, by far the easiest and best way to arrive in Pamplona is by train. Train schedules for July will be made available in early May, and you can reserve your tickets then for round-trip travel to and from Pamplona and just about any city in Spain.
Traveling Within Pamplona
Once you're in Pamplona, getting around is easy! Here are some of the transport options available to you:
1. Hail a cab
There are plenty of cabs driving to and from the Old Quarter of Pamplona all day and all night long during the festival. Cabs are available just outside the Old Quarter (about a three-minute walk from the very central Plaza del Castillo in the Old Quarter).
2. Call an Uber or Cabify
We recommend that you download the Uber and Cabify apps on your smartphone. With these apps, you can call a driver to your location, and they will bring you as close as possible to your destination.
3. Take the public bus:
A public bus can take you from all over Pamplona, including the train station and the airport, to just outside the Old Quarter. If you're entering or leaving the Old Quarter, there are bus stops at several places around the Old City, including at Calle Yanguas y Miranda, Paseo Sarasate, and Calle Taconera. You can pay with coins on the bus.
4. Walk!
Once you're in the Old Quarter, you should plan to walk between destinations. Fortunately, the majority of the party is contained within a 1-2 mile radius, so you'll never have to walk too far! Many visitors also choose to walk to and from the New City, including to and from the train station. Pamplona is a very small city, so you can usually walk between any destinations within the city.