8-9 Days on the Camino!

[brooklynpilgrim]

Hi all,

I'm a schoolteacher from Brooklyn, New York (USA) planning to do the beginning section of the Camino in August. I've tried to glean as much information from these forums and other sources so that I don't ask redundant questions, but I'm afraid there's still a lot of information that is unclear to me! So please bear with me if you will ...

1. I will be traveling from Rome to SJPP in one day - what is the best way to do this? (Fly? Bus? Which airports/stations?) How much time should I plan for this to take?
2. I have about 8-9 days to walk. It seems like I will be able to get to Logrono in this amount of time. Is this a fair estimate? I am in pretty good shape, do a lot of hiking at home.
3. Once I'm in Logrono, what's the best way to get back to Rome for my flight back to the US? How much time will it take to do this?

Thank you for any help you might be able to offer. I really appreciate it and hope I can someday return the favor!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I have about 8-9 days to walk. It seems like I will be able to get to Logrono in this amount of time. Is this a fair estimate?

It is about 163 km from St. Jean to Logrono, so that is 8 days of 20 km each, a pace that is quite achievable. I have no experience on your other travel plans. Have a great walk!

 

[Sagalouts]

Hi and welcome to the forum
I had fun trying to work out a route from Rome in one day,better minds will come up with better routs but here is mine by plane and bus.
cheap flights by ryanair- Rome to Milan italy( 27 euros at the moment) Milan to Lourdes France similar at the moment only flying tuesdays and saturdays.
then either walk to SJPP (good walk I believe) or taxi (not sure about bus or train.
coming back train or bus to Burgos Spain and bus to Madrid then direct ryanair flight back to Rome.
the ryanair airport in Rome is Ciampino not sure how far from the international airport it is.9days is doable 20k a day.
good luck with your camino-hope people come up with better ideas.
Ian

 

[Sagalouts]

An Alternative is fly from Rome (ciampino) to Madrid ( 6.25 am ryanair arrives 8.55) bus or train to Pamplona and then 6pm bus to Roncesvalles start your Camino there or catch shared taxi (there will be others) to SJPP.As above for return.
Ian

 

[viajero]

I would try to fly on one of the cheap airlines from Rome to somewhere close (for example: Rome to Bilbao). Once you are in Spain, there are many bus routes. So, I suspect you could fly to Bilbao and then get a bus to bayonne or somewhere where you could connect to SJPP. You could return from the same place as although 8-9 days of walking are long on foot, on bus it will be a short trip. Spain tends to have frequent and efficient bus service. Howver you get to Spain, once there, you can usually find a bus to get you where you need to go. Look at Easy Jet, Ryan air, etc.

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Vueling flies from Rome (FCO) to Madrid (MAD), then you could take a train to Burgos. Are you totally set on walking SJPdP to Logrono? You might spend more time getting there than walking! You might want to consider starting in Pamplona and seeing how far you can walk, then head back to Burgos, train back to Madrid, then a flight back to Rome. I liked Vueling. It was fairly inexpensive, no hidden fees like RyanAir or EasyJet, and it was seemless to fly within Europe.

Good luck!

 

[brooklynpilgrim]

Thanks everyone! This is really useful, though it does sound complicated. Hmm. I'm thinking I could either spend a night in Madrid or maybe start in Pamplona instead. If I started in Pamplona, how far do you think I could get in about a week?

So grateful for this message board!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Santo Domingo de la Calzada is about 140 km from Pamplona. Burgos is about 217 km. So that covers the 7-day possibilities at 20 kpd and 30 kpd.

 

[brooklynpilgrim]

thank you all SO MUCH.

if i head toward pamplona, do you think i'll be able to find places to stay easily enough? will i be able to get a pilgrim's passport?

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Yes, there are a couple albergues to choose from in Pamplona, and you should be able to get a credential from them. If you had more time, you could also order one from American Pilgrims on the Camino. They are donativo. On the Camino, they are one or two euros.

 

[Olivares]

I woudl fly Rome to Pamplona (Iberia connects in Madrid). Make advance van reservations with Express Barricot a French van ride company based in SJPDP that rides twice/day from Pamplona Bus Station to SJPDP. I took one of those rides and a full van resulted in 16 Euros per person. A great deal! They have a website, Carolyn is a doll to work with. Whatever you do DO NOT MISS SJPDP!

 

[billmclaughlin]

Au contraire, skip the very much overrated SJPP. The time you spend getting to and from the camino should be in proportion to the time you spend on the camino IMHO. Does the fact that I was born in Brooklyn give my opinion any more weight? I loved the hike through the Pyrenees but I was happy to pass quickly through SJPP.

Pamplona is a great starting point. If you use the Search function on this site you'll find lots of info on where to stay and what to do if you have a few hours.