London to Ponferrada.

[Bernard duffy]

Hey folks and fellow pilgrims,i will be returning to the Camino to walk with a friend from Ponferrada where her Camino finished last year,i will be flying from London,what is the best way to get to Ponferrada,many thanks for any advice,Buen Camino.,Bernie.

 

[tyrrek]

Hi Bernie. It depends where you are in London, but also on specific dates. The timings of low-cost flights vary from day to day, which will affect options for onward travel. Ponferrada has bus and train links from Madrid and Santiago, but as far as I know you'd have to leave from Stansted to fly directly to Santiago. Search the forum; I've a feeling there's a bus direct from Madrid airport to Ponferrada. Good luck!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Airport to Ponferrada:

 

[Al the optimist]

The bus from SDC to Ponferrada takes about 4 to 4.5 hours.

 

[scruffy1]

Ponferrada? I understand why you are starting from Ponferrada, personally it's not a place I really like, similar feelings towards the albergue there. The so called "Templar Castle" attracts some but it is best admired from afar. The Basilica de la Encina is much more interesting, the legend more intriguing. The tapas here are vastly overrated. The walkout a bit tedious. Watch your timing! Should you want to arrive and walk on, it's a good, say, 25 kilometers on to Villafranca del Bierzo, not difficult but not something you want to start after lunch. Cacabelos is still a stretch, has a funny round albergue plus plenty of alternative cheap accommodation. Villafranca is a place I like very much, plenty to see and nose about, good food, and great wine. Plan well.

 

[whariwharangi]

Airports in Spain are operated by AENA. You can find airline and destination information for each. Probably the closest airport to Ponferrada in terms of travel time is Vigo followed by Santiago. Madrid would have significantly more flights per day.

Renfe operates several trains daily to Ponferrada from Vigo, Santiago, and Madrid.

ALSA provides bus service to Ponferrada from Madrid and Lugo (and Santiago via A Coruna). Empresa Freire operates buses from Santiago to Lugo. Monbus provides bus service from Vigo to Lugo.

AENA
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/HomeAena

Renfe
http://www.renfe.com/index.html

Ponferrada bus station
http://www.ponferrada-virtual.com/autobuses-ponferrada/2-14-4-14.htm

ALSA
http://www.alsa.es/en/

Monbus
http://www.monbus.es/es

Empresa Freire
http://www.empresafreire.com/html/castelan/seccion0.php

 

[Bernard duffy]

Ponferrada? I understand why you are starting from Ponferrada, personally it's not a place I really like, similar feelings towards the albergue there. The so called "Templar Castle" attracts some but it is best admired from afar. The Basilica de la Encina is much more interesting, the legend more intriguing. The tapas here are vastly overrated. The walkout a bit tedious. Watch your timing! Should you want to arrive and walk on, it's a good, say, 25 kilometers on to Villafranca del Bierzo, not difficult but not something you want to start after lunch. Cacabelos is still a stretch, has a funny round albergue plus plenty of alternative cheap accommodation. Villafranca is a place I like very much, plenty to see and nose about, good food, and great wine. Plan well.

Hi Scruffy,my frind finished her Camino there to rush back home to Canada as her brother took ill and he sadly passed away,i have already finished my Camino but we walked together for a few days and i want to finish her Camino with her,i didn't like Ponferaada at all.

 

[Bernard duffy]

Thank you so much for the replies,as always a this site and it's members are a fountain of info,bless you all.

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Hey folks and fellow pilgrims,i will be returning to the Camino to walk with a friend from Ponferrada where her Camino finished last year,i will be flying from London,what is the best way to get to Ponferrada,many thanks for any advice,Buen Camino.,Bernie.

ryanair or easyjet to madrid. then ALSA bus from 'Estación Sur' (metro méndez álvaro) in madrid to ponferrada's only bus station. easy

 

[whereisnick]

Hi Bernie,

I'm currently living in Ponferrada and I would suggest your cheapest option would be to fly to Barcelona and take the train (I lived in Barcelona prior to Ponferrada). British Airways often has the cheapest flights (if travelling with luggage) and has a stack of flights all through the day to choose from. Typically you can get a seat for £60 in advance. (I checked randomly for 11th Feb).

There are two trains a day from Barcelona to Ponferrada, one in the morning at about 0930 and takes 9.5 hours and the other is overnight (2230 to 0630). The overnight train is a fully reclining seat or a bed. Again in advance (Again I checked for seats mid Feb) and you can get a seat on either train for 30€!!

If you take the daytime train you will of course be closely following the Camino Frances. If you take the overnight train then you can set off walking immediately and don't have to stay in Ponferrada.

And travelling via BCN also means that you can take in the stunning Sagrada Familia.

My second option would be Madrid and catch the bus (4.5 hours) - there are two different tariffs, the more expensive (called 'supra economy') one is for a more direct bus and also more comfortable seats (more legroom) which is important for me at 190cm tall.

Hope this is helpful and good luck in your plans,

Buen Camino

Nick

 

[ThisIsSpain]

ryanair or easyjet to madrid. then ALSA bus from 'Estación Sur' (metro méndez álvaro) in madrid to ponferrada's only bus station. easy

Why go all the way into Madrid (Yes, Estación Sur) when one can go DIRECT from Madrid Barajas to Ponferrada?

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Why go all the way into Madrid (Yes, Estación Sur) when one can go DIRECT from Madrid Barajas to Ponferrada?

so true!

 

[whariwharangi]

Why go all the way into Madrid (Yes, Estación Sur) when one can go DIRECT from Madrid Barajas to Ponferrada?

Because not all of the buses leaving from Estacion del Sur make a stop at T4.

 

[ThisIsSpain]

Very valid point. Thanks

 

[Bernard duffy]

Hi Bernie,

I'm currently living in Ponferrada and I would suggest your cheapest option would be to fly to Barcelona and take the train (I lived in Barcelona prior to Ponferrada). British Airways often has the cheapest flights (if travelling with luggage) and has a stack of flights all through the day to choose from. Typically you can get a seat for £60 in advance. (I checked randomly for 11th Feb).

There are two trains a day from Barcelona to Ponferrada, one in the morning at about 0930 and takes 9.5 hours and the other is overnight (2230 to 0630). The overnight train is a fully reclining seat or a bed. Again in advance (Again I checked for seats mid Feb) and you can get a seat on either train for 30€!!

If you take the daytime train you will of course be closely following the Camino Frances. If you take the overnight train then you can set off walking immediately and don't have to stay in Ponferrada.

And travelling via BCN also means that you can take in the stunning Sagrada Familia.

My second option would be Madrid and catch the bus (4.5 hours) - there are two different tariffs, the more expensive (called 'supra economy') one is for a more direct bus and also more comfortable seats (more legroom) which is important for me at 190cm tall.

Hope this is helpful and good luck in your plans,

Buen Camino

Nick

Thank you so much for this advice my friend,do you know a good place to stay in Ponferrada ?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The albergue in Ponferrada is among my least favorite. There is a new one http://www.gronze.com/guia-del-camino-frances/albergues/albergue-alea.

I like this place; it is close to the bus and train stations, and right on the Camino when you depart in the morning:

http://hostalrioselmo.com/

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Very valid point. Thanks

If you check the detailed itinerary of the bus runs, almost all of the daily T-4 runs go through Estacion Sur. A couple of the runs on specific days of the week (S and D) originate at ES. If you check the arrival time in the above chart, you can see that it is the same bus at T-4 and ES. It is pretty safe to say that the bus that you catch at Estacion Sur started out at the airport! Unless you want to wander Madrid, I suggest that you take the bus from the airport.