Camino de Santiago de Compostela

[georgiesmom]

Because of time constraints I've settled on El Camino Ingles for my first camino. What would be the best and perhaps least expensive way to travel from the U.S.? I've been playing around on some travel websites and it looks like flying to Santiago de Compostela and then taking a bus to Ferrol is the most direct way, but does anyone have any experience with alternate routes?

Thanks!
Karen

[tyrrek]

Hi Georgiesmom

Ideally you'd fly into La Coruna (then get the bus to Ferrol) and fly home from Santiago.

The two cities are only about 45 minutes apart on the train (cost about 6 Euros), so if it's cheaper just to get a return flight to one or the other it's not a problem. I was only flying from London, but it was cheapest for me to fly both to and from La Coruna.

Wherever you fly to you won't be able to fly directly from the States, as Santaigo and La Coruna are both small regional airports. You'll probably have to change planes in Madrid or elsewhere. Depending on where you're flying from in the States it's possible that you could get a cheap deal to somewhere else in Europe (Barcelona, London, Paris etc) and organise the connecting flight separately, but that might just complicate things!

Buen Camino!

Keith

[falcon269]

from in the States it's possible that you could get a cheap deal to somewhere else in Europe

Strange things happen with the airlines all the time, usually bad, so it is possible that this would happen, but it is not likely. Almost everything from the U.S. goes to Madrid. If you try for a cheap fare to England, you have to switch airports, then deal with Ryanair. The usual connections to reaching Madrid are Chicago, New York, and London.

From Madrid you can reach most places in Spain by bus or train. The A Coruna train leaves daily at 14:30 from the Madrid train station, costs about 47 Euros, and takes 6 hrs. 40 min. (arriving at 21:10, pretty late for anything but a hotel reservation). The bus leaves the airport terminal, costs about half that, and takes about 10 hours.

[tyrrek]

I agree that it's unlikely that organising flights separately would save much money, and the connection times could be inconvenient.

However, for the Camino Ingles there is a flight with Vueling from London Heathrow to La Coruna, which would avoid switching airports. The competition on transatlantic routes from Heathrow is such that you could just be lucky and get a good deal.

[falcon269]

The Vueling daily flight is currently at 17:15, arriving in A Coruna (La Coruna in British parlance) at 20:20. It does leave from Heathrow, so avoids the aggravating trip to Stansted. The fare ranges from 115 to 160 Euros.

[tyrrek]

Ha ha! I use 'La' Coruna as that's what the airlines seem to use (and the soccer team of course).

You're 100% right about not switching airports. In London at least, apart from the inconvenience, it will probably cost as much as the flight!

[georgiesmom]

Thanks to both Tyrrek and Falcon for the helpful info. The airlines are indeed crazy to work with, and I didn't see any flights to A Coruna from U.S airports, so I'm guessing that the best ways to go are either through Heathrow with a connecting flight to A Coruna, or the train from Madrid, which would be a nice way to see a bit of the country. Ryanair doesn't appear to operate in the U.S, which is too bad because their rates are very inexpensive. Since I will probably not be going on pilgrimage until 2013 I will have plenty of time to do research!

I look forward to learning a lot about the camino on these boards. Thanks again.

Buen camino!
Karen

[falcon269]

Ryanair doesn't appear to operate in the U.S, which is too bad because

Be careful what you wish for!! Except for low fares, Ryanair has a very poor reputation for being customer-friendly. Considering the terrible reputation of U.S. airlines (in what other industry can you count on being lied to every time you talk to them? OK, not counting used car sales.), maybe Ryanair would fit right in.

[WolverineDG]

I got a good fare in 2009 on Expedia, from my hometown to Paris, via Heathrow with a return from Madrid, again via Heathrow (but I was walking the Frances). I would check Expedia to see what options you have there, flying into either Madrid or Heathrow, then make your other arrangements accordingly.

As for Ryanair, they copied the Southwest model except for customer service.

Kelly

[cmsmith]

The Vueling daily flight is currently at 17:15, arriving in A Coruna (La Coruna in British parlance) at 20:20. It does leave from Heathrow, so avoids the aggravating trip to Stansted. The fare ranges from 115 to 160 Euros.

We used, from Chicago, the London Heathrow-A Coruna/A Coruna-London Heathrow route in September and it worked very well. There is an airport bus that takes you from the A Coruna airport to the bus terminal. As it is an evening arrival, you would probably want to stay at a hotel in A Coruna and then take a morning bus. There are hotels near the bus terminal. We liked Hotel Moon. The CSJ Guide has the internet address for checking bus times between A Coruna and Ferrol. They are frequent. You will need to get from the Ferrol bus depot to the harbor and start of your hike. We took a taxi to our hotel, so I can't tell you exactly how far you would have to walk or if there is local bus service.

CMSmith

[tyrrek]

I'll try to stop being parochial, but it will be interesting to see how the merger between British Airways and Iberia affects direct flights from North America to Spain over the next year or two on these airlines.

Buen Camino!

[falcon269]

the merger between British Airways and Iberia affects direct flights from North America to Spain

Washington, DC to Madrid, Spain has been dropped as a start.

[lynnejohn]

We stopped using Heathrow as a mid-way point to getting budget airfare to Madrid.

Heathrow's "taxes, fees, charges and surcharges" are now at $614.90 CAD for a return flight from North America. They were $500.00 when we stopped landing there. Ironically, Air Canada is offering flights right now for $97.00 each way, but when you add the fees there are essentially no savings. They're not filling those seats. Basically you're paying 615 bucks up front, and THEN you buy your ticket at whatever the market will bear.

Most other airports are not quite that high, but ridiculously high anyway. And by the way, this isn't an Air Canada charge, it's a Heathrow charge - other international airlines all list the same fees.It may vary by a few bucks depending on the price of your ticket, etc, but basically around $600. overall.

I would investigate other airports or just fly straight to Madrid (fees are around $480).

lynne

[Sojourner47]

You will need to get from the Ferrol bus depot to the harbor and start of your hike. We took a taxi to our hotel, so I can't tell you exactly how far you would have to walk or if there is local bus service.

CMSmith[/quote]

The main square in Ferrol is about 20mins walk from the bus station (for Tourist Office/sello/map etc), and the harbour steps are another 20mins walk from there.

[fraluchi]

Since I will probably not be going on pilgrimage until 2013 I will have plenty of time to do research!

Flights from the US are plentiful, but it would help to state from where you intend to start, in order to receive a useful suggestion. In Europe, at the present time, you can have "cheap flights" by Easyjet and Ryanair from many destinations.
You should also consider holiday periods, during which prices can be steep on airlines, and also the caminos are well-traveled.

[georgiesmom]

Since I will probably not be going on pilgrimage until 2013 I will have plenty of time to do research!

Flights from the US are plentiful, but it would help to state from where you intend to start, in order to receive a useful suggestion. In Europe, at the present time, you can have "cheap flights" by Easyjet and Ryanair from many destinations.

I would be starting from Detroit, which is a major hub with international flights all the time. Occasionally one has to transfer in Chicago, but usually not for Europe-bound flights.

Karen