Public transport - Santiago to Santander with bikes. Advice

[DougWatson]

Hi folks,

I wonder if anyone here can help me. I'm trying to figure out how best to get home once i reach Santiago. I need to get the ferry from Santander home on Monday 27th May at 15:15.

There are two of use travelling, we are biking the nothern route. So we need to get our bikes home.

We are tight on time unfortunately so if we are to complete our pilgrimage we need a slick plan!

There appears to be 2 options, the Feve train or the ALSA bus.

I'm really struggling to understand the train.. I don't speak Spanish and am finding information of the web hard to fathom. Can anyone help out on the route / itinerary that will get me to my ferry on the 27th. I know the route is slow.

The ALSA bus is easier to understand.. there is an early morning bus that leaves Santiago at 05:45 and arrives in Santander at 13:40. A little tight for the ferry but defiantly a tempting option.
I have two questions about the bus. How reliable is the schedule regarding timing? Missing the ferry is NOT a good option!
And apparently i need to put my bike in a box or bag. Anyone had experience with this? Any ideas of how i would organise getting a box in Santiago to fit a bike in! I was thinking about taking some gaffer/duck tape and using some plastic or similar and making an adhoc bag..I can take the bikes apart to a certain extent.. but its going to be a major pain, especially as we'll need to cycle the other end...any thoughts on this issue?

Any ideas or input on this subject would be greatly appreciated. We dont have much slack in out schedule, and it looks like the journey home might be quite challenging!

Thanks.

 

[mspath]

Doug,

The RENFE route would be one train from Santiago to Palencia then another from Palencia to Santander. You can easily check times on this RENFE website in English. >> http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/horarios.html

Good luck and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[Staggerlee]

Doug,

We're in the same boat, literally!
The RENFE train, via Palencia, won't get you to Santander in time for the boat.
I've booked to travel on Sunday and spend the night in Santander.
Dep SDC 08:42 Arr Palencia 14:14.
Dep Palencia 15:09 Arr Santander 17:50

You can use the link posted by Margaret.

Good luck

Andy

 

[DougWatson]

Thank you both very much, very helpful.

Might see you enroute Andy

I'm also now looking at hiring a car, taking the wheels off our bikes and driving back. The cost is not too bad, considering the extra time it gives us. £90 for a mid size car, pickup from Santiago on Sunday and returning it to Sandander on Monday. Do the drive Monday morning. I'd prefer to throw some money at the situation to allow us not to be so rushed on the road. The good thing is Eurocar will hold a reservation without taking any payment or even card details until 2 hours before we need it, so the car can be out fall back plan if we are running late!

thanks for your help.

EDIT: Just checked out the train, looks like the choice is easy, its going to cost us €90 for two train tickets, take 9 hours and we'll have to leave a day early, or £90 for the car, take 4 hours and leave on Monday...

On originally making this thread i did not know the one way car rental journey was possible. Its got to be a winner!

 

[freeflyer123]

This thread has been brilliant, as we, too, have been looking at options on how to get home once we have completed the camino. Fortunately, we are not on time constraints, so could, at a pinch, ride all the way back to France and catch a ferry at St Malo. However, the option of using a hirecar or catching a train or bus is nice to know. I will pack my drivers licence, just in case!