Bus from Leon to La Virgen del Camino -- specifics, please

[design4life]

I arrive in Leon late afternoon to joyfully begin my third Camino. I would like to catch the early morning bus from Leon to La Virgen del Camino and begin walking from there. In researching this bus, I have seen two options:

On the Alsa website, there is a bus that departs from the Leon bus station and arrives in Virgen 10 minutes later.

There are also many references on this forum and elsewhere to a city bus called Autobus - A1 Trobajo La Virgen, leaving from Plaza de Santo Domingo in front of the BBVA. https://www.horarios.info/buscar/horario-transporte. This link also calls the bus an Alsa bus. The trip takes 38 mins.

I would prefer the second, as it's an easy walk for me.

Has anyone here actually taken the bus from Leon to La Virgen and can tell me the exact place of departure, the frequency, whether I can buy a ticket with cash as I board the bus, and anything else I ought to know????

This bus is frequently alluded to on this forum but I don't seem to see the kind of confidence-building details that I need at the crack of dawn, before coffee. Thanks.

 

[Anniesantiago]

If you look at a map of Leon, you will see a road that leads from the Cathedral to dead end at a point where there is the train station and autobus station. I'm sorry but I don't have a map in front of me right now. Anyway, once you reach that dead end, BEFORE you cross that street, turn to your RIGHT and go to the first bus stop. A city bus runs from there to Virgen del Camino every morning. I know you can also catch this city bus from other stops. Perhaps you can ask around.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You pay on board. It departs in front of the BBVA bank on the Plaza de Santo Domingo. It is a fairly short ride, leaves every 30 minutes on the 15 and 45 weekdays (every two hours weekends), and costs 3E. You can debark at the corner of the street that leads to the airport (the bus no longer goes to the airport), or at the departure end of La Virgen (you will miss the 1960's church if you ride all the way to the end).

 

[andycohn]

I've taken it. Real simple. Last stop is intersection with the Camino. To the left is downtown Virgen, if you need a cup of coffee. But if you're already fueled up, just turn right and keep on trucking. A few hundred yards down the road is the option point, where you either keep straight to Villadangos or fork off left to Mazarife. We also caught the bus in Leon by the BBVA bank bldg, but there's more Info. on different places to catch it in tourist office where they speak English.

 

[Carol06]

And whatever you do, do not stay at Virgen del Camino. It was a seriously creepy little town with the most unwelcoming people I have ever met.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

And whatever you do, do not stay at Virgen del Camino.

It has one of my favorite albergues and an incredible church for a door knob, sello and mass.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Don't do it! Walk the quite short walk to Virgin del Camino, and enjoy it for what it is. It is absolutely a part of the Camino experience.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Haha! Funny how everyone has a different opinion.
I hate that walk from Leon to Virgen del Camino through the industrial area.

 

[design4life]

I walked SJPP to Burgos in 2013 and Burgos to Leon in 2015. There were a few bus and taxi rides along the way, and I have no problem adding one or two more when the spirit moves or the feet fail. I've actually been to that bus stop next to the BBVA in Leon before. On my last walk, I took two days off in Leon, and one of those days I hopped a city bus back to Puente Castro to visit the El Centro de Interpretación del León Judío y Centro de Recepción de Peregrinos, which is a small museum illustrating the intersection of Judaism, Islam and Christianity in the region of Leon. I mustered all my Spanish for an hourlong chat with the knowledgable docent/caretaker and highly recommend a stop there!
Thank you all for your help with the bus to La Virgen del Camino. I'll be walking from there to Mazarife, I suppose, and the on to another adventure ...

 

[Carol06]

It has one of my favorite albergues and an incredible church for a door knob, sello and mass.

I love the range of experiences we all have. For us it was a creepy little town. But we did not stay at the albergue so there you have it.

 

[Bella2017]

We have booked to stay at virgin del camino what was so bad

 

[Deleted member 3000]

We have booked to stay at virgin del camino what was so bad

I have stopped there a half-dozen times, and love it. Walk toward the airport and there are additional restaurants. The bars are good, there are plenty of shops, and you can catch a bus back into Leon for the nightlife, if you want. It is only 1E.

 

[MarianG]

You pay on board. It departs in front of the BBVA bank on the Plaza de Santo Domingo. It is a fairly short ride, leaves every 30 minutes on the 15 and 45 weekdays (every two hours weekends), and costs 3E. You can debark at the corner of the street that leads to the airport (the bus no longer goes to the airport), or at the departure end of La Virgen (you will miss the 1960's church if you ride all the way to the end).

Couldn't find a more recent conversation about this, so....Could anyone confirm that this information about the bus from Leon to La Virgen de Camino is still accurate. Muchas gracias.

 

[mspath]

Couldn't find a more recent conversation about this, so....Could anyone confirm that this information about the bus from Leon to La Virgen de Camino is still accurate. Muchas gracias.

MarianG,
The best way to get current bus info is to ask when you are in Leon at the Tourist Office,
Plaza de la Regla, 2.

This office faces the main entrance of the cathedral. The staff is multi-lingual and can mark the bus stops on a map for you.