Madrid to SJPP, via Pamplona or San Sebastián

[Brightmore]

Hey everyone,

I am so sorry to ask such a basic question but I feel I must be missing something.

I fly into Madrid late on May 26th and hope to travel to SJJP the next day.

It’s tricky, as I could pretty easily get to Pamplona from Madrid, but as my train would arrive arrive 1300 on 27 May, and the ALSA bus departs an hour beforehand, I am anxious I will not find l affordable onward travel. I appreciate there are taxis, they cost around €115, and if I’m lucky, I can find someone to share the ride, but I don’t want to risk the solo fare.

This has me opting to fly into San Sebastián and get the bus, then two trains to SJJP, as I at least know they’re running.

(I researched this, as much as I could, I will happily post my route, if it will help others)

Unfortunately this will likely get me into SJJP much later than via Pamplona, roughly 7PM, as the trains to SJJP aren’t frequent.

Have you any advice, please? Am I missing something?

Thanks, all!

 

[C clearly]

The tag "travel to bayonne/biarritz/sjpp" has been placed under the title at the top of this thread. If you click on it, you'll find a lot of threads on that topic - travelling from various places to SJPP. Perhaps if you browse through those threads, you'll find something helpful.

 

[Bradypus]

I am travelling with a friend in August. We are leaving London in late evening - arriving in Madrid near midnight then taking a flight to San Sebastian early in the morning. The alternative would have been to overnight at a UK airport anyway. It is only about 5km from the airport to the Hendaye SNCF station. Once there there are several trains per day to Bayonne and then to SJPDP. We should arrive in SJPDP in early afternoon.

Looking at 27 May it seems that you could make the same journey that morning - fly Madrid to San Sebastian (Iberia) and then train from Hendaye to SJPDP and arrive by 12:25. San Sebastian is a very small airport and with no customs or immigration formalities to complete you should pass through it quickly.

 

[Vacajoe]

There is always the option of taking the bus the next day after spending the night in Pamplona. Or simply start your Camino from Pamplona itself. In the past, pilgrims started from wherever they lived and didn’t do travel gymnastics to reach a far-off city in a belief that it qualified as a “full Camino”.

 

[Bradypus]

There is always the option of taking the bus the next day after spending the night in Pamplona. Or simply start your Camino from Pamplona itself. In the past, pilgrims started from wherever they lived and didn’t do travel gymnastics to reach a far-off city in a belief that it qualified as a “full Camino”.

I've done both those things - some years ago I walked from my home in Wales to Santiago in stages and I have also travelled to SJPDP to begin walking from there. My journey this summer starts in SJPDP deliberately to show my friend the extraordinary spectacle of SJPDP and Roncesvalles in the full three-ring-circus of a summer Camino!

 

[Brightmore]

I am travelling with a friend in August. We are leaving London in late evening - arriving in Madrid near midnight then taking a flight to San Sebastian early in the morning. The alternative would have been to overnight at a UK airport anyway. It is only about 5km from the airport to the Hendaye SNCF station. Once there there are several trains per day to Bayonne and then to SJPDP. We should arrive in SJPDP in early afternoon.

Looking at 27 May it seems that you could make the same journey that morning - fly Madrid to San Sebastian (Iberia) and then train from Hendaye to SJPDP and arrive by 12:25. San Sebastian is a very small airport and with no customs or immigration formalities to complete you should pass through it quickly.

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Unfortunately, my flight arrives into San Sebastian at 1300! I will see if it is possible to swap for an early departure. Thank you!

 

[Brightmore]

There is always the option of taking the bus the next day after spending the night in Pamplona. Or simply start your Camino from Pamplona itself. In the past, pilgrims started from wherever they lived and didn’t do travel gymnastics to reach a far-off city in a belief that it qualified as a “full Camino”.

This is true, but I would much rather get the journey out the way. Certainly something I will keep in mind now, so thank you.

 

[Brightmore]

Unfortunately, my flight arrives into San Sebastian at 1300! I will see if it is possible to swap for an early departure. Thank you!

Unable to change my flight and Vueling won’t let me cancel for a credit refund, despite it being part of my tickets conditions, because they sold me an Iberian flight I really need to stop using those guys!

 

[J Willhaus]

There is also a bus on the Artieda line to Roncesvalles at 1300 and 1350 if you wanted to start your pilgrimage from there. It does not go across the French border though. I am wondering if your changes actually saved you any money? Others might be interested to know for future reference.

 

[Brightmore]

I have my heart set on SJJP, but I will deffo update how it goes! Pity it’s so tough to get from Roncesvalles to SJJP.

 

[J Willhaus]

Two different countries. Each has its own businesses and rules.

 

[giteportesaintjacques]

Hey everyone,

I am so sorry to ask such a basic question but I feel I must be missing something.

I fly into Madrid late on May 26th and hope to travel to SJJP the next day.

It’s tricky, as I could pretty easily get to Pamplona from Madrid, but as my train would arrive arrive 1300 on 27 May, and the ALSA bus departs an hour beforehand, I am anxious I will not find l affordable onward travel. I appreciate there are taxis, they cost around €115, and if I’m lucky, I can find someone to share the ride, but I don’t want to risk the solo fare.

This has me opting to fly into San Sebastián and get the bus, then two trains to SJJP, as I at least know they’re running.

(I researched this, as much as I could, I will happily post my route, if it will help others)

Unfortunately this will likely get me into SJJP much later than via Pamplona, roughly 7PM, as the trains to SJJP aren’t frequent.

Have you any advice, please? Am I missing something?

Thanks, all!

There are buses from Pamplona to Roncesvalles and then get a taxi to SJPP.

 

[Brightmore]

Trying to avoid that kind of expense, but thank you.

 

[Felice]

Right, if you get into San Sebastian at 13.00, you should be able to get into the centre of town to the bus station by 15.00.
According to Trainline, there's a 15.30 Flixbus to Bayonne which arrives at Bayonne at 16.55. You then walk across Bayonne to the train station where you can catch the last train to SJPP which is around 18.30.

Check out that I am correct, but it looks doable unless I have missed something.

 

[Felice]

Just looked at the SCNF website - looks like there is a train from Bayonne at 17.13 which gets in to SJPP at 18.18. You should be able to get that one, especially if you are able to catch the earlier bus from San Seb at 14.45 which gets into Bayonne at 16.20.

Just make sure you know how to get from the bus station to the train station!

 

[Brightmore]

Thank you so much, Felice.

I figured out that I can either catch a bus or walk from San Sebastián airport to Hendaye Station, train to Bayonne and, yes, the 1830 train to SJJP - I will miss the 1430 departure quite narrowly and have to hang around Bayonne for a few hours, but that may be quite pleasant!

 

[Brightmore]

Just looked at the SCNF website - looks like there is a train from Bayonne at 17.13 which gets in to SJPP at 18.18. You should be able to get that one, especially if you are able to catch the earlier bus from San Seb at 14.45 which gets into Bayonne at 16.20.

Just make sure you know how to get from the bus station to the train station!

Super helpful - thank you!

 

[trose]

Hey everyone,

I am so sorry to ask such a basic question but I feel I must be missing something.

I fly into Madrid late on May 26th and hope to travel to SJJP the next day.

It’s tricky, as I could pretty easily get to Pamplona from Madrid, but as my train would arrive arrive 1300 on 27 May, and the ALSA bus departs an hour beforehand, I am anxious I will not find l affordable onward travel. I appreciate there are taxis, they cost around €115, and if I’m lucky, I can find someone to share the ride, but I don’t want to risk the solo fare.

This has me opting to fly into San Sebastián and get the bus, then two trains to SJJP, as I at least know they’re running.

(I researched this, as much as I could, I will happily post my route, if it will help others)

Unfortunately this will likely get me into SJJP much later than via Pamplona, roughly 7PM, as the trains to SJJP aren’t frequent.

Have you any advice, please? Am I missing something?

Thanks, all!

Like so many others, I don’t arrive Pamplona until the late afternoon. I tried so many options but decided to have a leisurely dinner/evening there and catch the noon bus the next day. This gives me some time to also explore SJJP and chill a bit before starting out the following day. But of course everyone has a way that works best for them. Buen Camino!

 

[J Willhaus]

There is an earlier train from Madrid. I leave at 7:45 or so and arrive in Madrid at around 10:30. I I think it depends on whether you want to overnight in Madrid or Pamplona or just take a cab to SJPDP. It probably all costs about the same in the end.

 

[Brightmore]

There is an earlier train from Madrid. I leave at 7:45 or so and arrive in Madrid at around 10:30. I I think it depends on whether you want to overnight in Madrid or Pamplona or just take a cab to SJPDP. It probably all costs about the same in the end.

Thank you! So long as i find someone to share share the fare.

 

[Brightmore]

Like so many others, I don’t arrive Pamplona until the late afternoon. I tried so many options but decided to have a leisurely dinner/evening there and catch the noon bus the next day. This gives me some time to also explore SJJP and chill a bit before starting out the following day. But of course everyone has a way that works best for them. Buen Camino!

It’s tempting to stay over. Current plans, via San Sebastian, will take all day.

 

[Brightmore]

Booked the refundable train from Madrid to Pamplona and hoping to share a taxi to SJJP! I booked a cab via a company that tries to group pilgrims together to share the fare, but no luck yet regarding May 27th. Am I missing something? Seems odd that the only bus is at 12, given the popularity of the route.

 

[trecile]

Seems odd that the only bus is at 12, given the popularity of the route

I agree!

 

[isawtman]

You can see exactly how I did the route from Madrid to St Jean in my handout for my Camino Presentation which is located here: http://tmanshikes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/canoecopiacaminonotes.pdf I hiked the Camino last September and did a presentation at Canoecopia

 

[Brightmore]

You can see exactly how I did the route from Madrid to St Jean in my handout for my Camino Presentation which is located here: http://tmanshikes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/canoecopiacaminonotes.pdf I hiked the Camino last September and did a presentation at Canoecopia

Thank you! I can see you took the ALSA bus from Pamplona, but unfortunately I will miss that that departure.

 

[isawtman]

Thank you! I can see you took the ALSA bus from Pamplona, but unfortunately I will miss that that departure.

Well, see if there are any other Pilgrims available to take a taxi. Or start from Madrid on the early train like I did.

 

[Brightmore]

Early train is no longer available and I’ve already booked a taxi with a company that tries to fill the car with as many folk as possible. I’ve also put a thread on this form asking if anybody wishes to share the ride. It’s just frustrating that getting from Pamplona to SJJP isn’t straightforward, as so many must seek to do this trip during the season. Makes me think that I’ve missed something

 

[trecile]

Early train is no longer available and I’ve already booked a taxi with a company that tries to fill the car with as many folk as possible. I’ve also put a thread on this form asking if anybody wishes to share the ride. It’s just frustrating that getting from Pamplona to SJJP isn’t straightforward, as so many must seek to do this trip during the season. Makes me think that I’ve missed something

You will probably see other pilgrims on the train from Madrid.