Anoeta away fans guide: your club's tickets, the walk from the centre and the wait after the whistle

If you are going to Anoeta with the visiting team, your ticket has to come from your own club, and on European nights the away section has been the upper tier around the north-east corner. On those nights the away fans have met in the city centre, walked to the ground together, some with an escort from the Basque police, the Ertzaintza, and gone through their own turnstiles well before kick-off with little more than a small bag. After the final whistle they were told to expect a wait. Lyon play there on Thursday 5 November and Viktoria Plzeň on Thursday 21 January, both at 18:45.

Information checked on 14 October 2026. Lyon had not published their travel information for 5 November by then, so the meeting points, times and bag rules below come from earlier European visits, most of them from Bournemouth's supporter guide for the match on 17 September. I will replace those parts when Lyon's information comes out.

Away tickets come only from your own club, and a home ticket can get you turned away

Real Sociedad's ticket FAQ says: "Visiting supporters must purchase their tickets through their own club and are required to sit in the designated away section." The checkout for home tickets adds that the club may refuse entry to visiting fans whose tickets came through other channels or are outside that section. Under article 3.2 of the ground rules, when the club's security coordinator orders it, anyone wearing the visiting team's clothing or accessories needs an away-section ticket and can be moved or kept out. Article 2.3 bans passing tickets on without the club's consent, so a borrowed season ticket is no way round it.

European visitors have had close to 2,000 seats. Bournemouth were offered up to 1,900 at €35 each, and Noticias de Gipuzkoa reported them sold out. For their first Europa League trip this season, to Anderlecht on 16 September, Lyon opened the sale to 2026-27 season-ticket holders and members of their Programme Sympathisants. If you are neither, check what Lyon announce for Anoeta before you book the trip.

The away section is the upper tier of the north-east corner

For Bournemouth's visit the away section covered blocks F, V1, V2, V3 and E4, which on Real Sociedad's seat plans sit in the upper tier around the north-east corner. Local reports from before the 2026 expansion described a clear acrylic screen across the front and netting overhead, and one in January 2026 called the section a "small cage". That same month Celta's fans complained about sitting there in the rain, so bring a waterproof. Your colours are fine in the away section.

Real Sociedad decide where in that corner the visitors sit according to how many tickets the away club sells, and in September the section took in F, which is on general sale for league matches. Where else to sit is in the Anoeta seating guide.

Meet where the police tell you, then walk out together

Paris Saint-Germain's fans met at Alderdi Eder, the gardens by the bay, at 19:00 in March 2024 and were walked to Anoeta by the Ertzaintza. Ajax's set off from the Kursaal at 18:15 that November, escorted along the Urumea river. Bournemouth's meeting point was Alderdi Eder, with a fan walk from the Kursaal at 18:30 that takes about 30 minutes. All three games kicked off at 21:00, and an 18:45 start pulls everything earlier: before Manchester United's 18:45 kick-off in March 2025, the local press expected the away fans to cross the city at about half past five. Be wherever Lyon and the police tell you, at the time they give.

Before the walk, around 2,000 Bournemouth fans filled the Parte Vieja, the old town, without incident. Drink in the bars and on their terraces, because Basque law bans selling alcohol on the street. When Lyon played the Champions League play-off here in August 2013, chairs were thrown in the old town and four Real Sociedad supporters were hurt, and in March 2026 a masked group attacked French fans in a Vigo bar the night before Lyon played Celta. Because of both, I would not hang around the old town in a group in Lyon shirts, and I would use the police meeting point.

Through the away turnstiles early, with a small bag and no power bank

Real Sociedad normally open the gates an hour before kick-off. Bournemouth told their fans the turnstiles would open two hours before kick-off and that everyone would be searched. Each fan's name and passport number were taken at purchase and had to match the person attending, and their guide warned of likely ID checks and recommended a passport. Power banks were barred, there was a luggage drop at the away entrance, and their list of what fans could bring showed only small bags, about A5. If Lyon's night runs the same way, the turnstiles open at 16:45.

Real Sociedad's ground rules set no bag size and do not mention power banks. I would still pack to that list: a bag no bigger than A5, a charged phone and no battery pack.

The ground rules do ban flares, fireworks and anything flammable, and things that are harmless one at a time but risky in numbers, such as tennis balls and toilet rolls. Spanish rules add glass and metal containers of any size and anything over 500 ml or 500 g that could be thrown. Drums and megaphones come in only through a supporters' group on the club's register. In September flags and banners needed approval in advance, could be no bigger than 2 by 3 metres and could not be on poles.

There is no alcohol inside. Basque law bans its sale where sport is played, and the ground rules ban bringing it in, drinking it and being under its influence. The same law makes sports facilities non-smoking, open-air areas included, and in September vaping was banned inside as well.

Expect to be held in after the whistle, and leave slack for the trip home

In September the away fans were told to expect a hold of at least 45 minutes after the final whistle. After an 18:45 kick-off, that would put you outside at around 21:20 at the earliest, so leave time before any train, bus or flight that evening.

Plaza Aita Donostia stays closed to traffic for 15 minutes after the final whistle, and Real Sociedad ask city-bus users to be patient. After home matches this season Euskotren, whose Anoeta station is about 160 metres from the stadium, has run special trains towards Hendaia, Pasaia, Lasarte-Oria and Zumaia. Check on the day whether they run after a European game.

Atlético's league trip is done for this season

Atlético played at Anoeta on 13 September and won 3-0. Atlético sell away tickets to members through the club, as set out in our Atlético away tickets guide. Real Sociedad's ticket and ground rules above cover league matches too, but the meeting points, turnstile times and hold-backs come from European nights, and a league allocation is far smaller: a little over 500 seats in 2024 reporting.