Flight from Australia on 1st of July?

[trueheart]

Hi its Therese, Im going to book a flight from Australia in next few days to start walk in early July from St Jean Pied De Port; should I fly in to Paris or Madrid. At the moment its Aus$200 cheaper for me to get to madrid, but I wondered if it is better to fly to France, please let me know I am a new person to all this, in fact its the first time Ive been away by myself in my enire 52 years of life! :|

 

[William Marques]

It is easier to get to SJPP from Paris airport than Madrid and you used to be able to get a train from Charles de Gaulle airport to Bordeaux and then on to Bayonne with only one change. Aus$200 is a lot of money especially now the dollar is worth so much and the return from Santiago will be easier from Madrid than from Paris.

It is a toss up but I would say take things slowly at the start (while you are getting over jet-lag etc) and go via Madrid and perhaps see about the cost of a flight to Pamplona added to your ticket.

Buen Camino
William

 

[jl]

Hi there, I Always fly Singapore airlines from Adelaide to Paris. William is correct in that it is very easy to get straight out of CDG on a TGV. Suffering from jet lag after such a long flight from Aust. I always find it easiest to get straight to where I am going. One friend stopped at Bayonne overnight to recover, and so it is really personal choice. I have returned twice from Santiago by train to Hendaye and then caught a train to Lyon and overnighted before catching the TGV direct to CDG early in the morning. However last time I changed this and flew Ryan air to London where I had a few days recovery / rest before heading home to Adelaide. I must say, there is something nice about travelling by train back to Paris - it sort of brings one back into the 21st century slowly (or at least the trip to Hendaye and then to Lyon does). I also know that Singapore airlines now fly out of Barcelona too.

Hope that helps, Janet

 

[LTfit]

Hi Therese,

Sorry can't help you with info re flights but I will be flying into Biarritz on July 2nd and will be making my way to SJPP late that afternoon hoping to start walking on July 3rd so maybe we will meet up!

If you are looking for a place to stay in SJPP, I can recommend L'Esprit du Chemin - run by a Dutch couple and very helpful (http://www.espritduchemin.org).

Depending where you fly into, there is also a travel service special for Pilgrims which picks you up at either Biarritz or Pau Airport (Express Bourricot) and takes you directly to SJPP rather than the bus/train route you may of read about. It operates from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and is run by Caroline, who also speaks English. You can phone ((0033) (0)6 61 96 04 76) or e-mail her. I have had contact with her as I come in at 16.45 and may miss the train bringing me in too late to get into the aubergue. But it is around 65 euros so most people share the costs. I am currently looking for others coming in on July 2nd.

Look forward to seeing you on the way and good luck with preparations!
Cheers,
LT

 

[Trudy]

Hi Therese, I've flown from Australia to both Paris and Madrid before walking the Camino.

From Paris I got the TGV to Bayonne, then took the local train to SJPP (think it's a bus now). You can find TGV train timetables at http://www.voyages-sncf.com

From Madrid it was a matter of getting the bus from Madrid to Pamplona, bus from Pamplona to Roncesvalles (only one per day), and a taxi met the bus in Roncesvalles for those going on to SJPP. I bought the Madrid to Pamplona bus ticket online at http://www.movelia.es Pricewise, travelling from Paris to SJPP was dearer, but from Madrid a little complicated.

On both trips I spent three days in Paris or Madrid to get over jet-lag before continuing to SJPP. I'm hoping to walk again next year and plan to fly in to Paris and fly out of Madrid, and am prepared to pay extra simply for the convenience.

Trudy

 

[trueheart]

Thanks for all the help, Ill definitely look in to the suggestions, as for arriving at SJPP, I havent booked my flight yet so Ill have to see what day/time I get to Paris and then the rest. I hope to do this tomorrow.

Cheers