Accommodation in SJPdP

[MargLav]

I was a bit excited booking accommodation in SJPdP and booked Villa Goxoki (address Route Napolean) for 8 & 9 September - choosing to stay in a more comfortable room before our camino . I now realise it is about 1.5km from the hub of SJPdP and wonder if I should change to something closer to commence our walk to Roncevalles. It seems we will need to walk into town to change direction and head for Roncevalles. Any thoughts either way? Thanks as always

 

[Davey Boyd]

I was a bit excited booking accommodation in SJPdP and booked Villa Goxoki (address Route Napolean) for 8 & 9 September - choosing to stay in a more comfortable room before our camino . I now realise it is about 1.5km from the hub of SJPdP and wonder if I should change to something closer to commence our walk to Roncevalles. It seems we will need to walk into town to change direction and head for Roncevalles. Any thoughts either way? Thanks as always

It looks like a nice place and handy for when you set off to Roncesvalles. You would not need to go back to St Jean when you set off on the Camino.
I see you intend to stop two nights there. In my opinion I would prefer to stay in St Jean itself if I was staying two nights, or you will have to walk back and forth, up and down hill to visit St. Jean, to shop etc or use taxis.

But at the end of the day it is your decision.

Edit: The reviews say it is indeed a steep walk from St. Jean, but the owners seem very accommodating and offer lifts into town and back (though they do not speak English).

Davey

 

[Felipe]

Steep climb, indeed. It is not the same as the much feared one before Orisson, but I had to stop to catch my breadth some moments.
Good thing, you can get rid of this same section when you walk to Roncesvalles.
This Villa seems nice. I am actually a bit envious...
It really is up to you, and your habits (mainly, if you are the type of tourists that come back frequently to the hotel, or spend all day visiting)
I mostly be worried about what to do in Saint Jean in two days. It is a little village, you can walk the historic part in five minutes.
Tips: *Pilgrims' Blessing in Notre Dame;
* a gentle stroll along the Nive (the same pictured in "The Way", when the character cant' figure out where is the road to Roncesvalles);
* the Citadel fortress;
* take a taxi to Saint Jean le Vieux, and follow the pilgrims walking to SJPP (they are coming from Arles or Le Puy....you will see how you will look after many weeks) A couple of good restaurants, also, less expensive than those in SJPP. It is a pleasant one hour walk, clearly signposted.
* Thursday, there is a peasant market, where you can taste real ham and cheese, not the pre-packaped thing available in supermarkets. And local wine, obviously.
* There is a tourist bureau (a kiosk) in the main avenue that divides the old from modern parts of the city.
Buen camino!

 

[wendy mcmillan]

Hi Marglav
We also are starting our first Camino around 9th/10th September. I haven't booked accommodation yet so interesting to hear what others are doing. The excitement (and nerves) are really kicking in now its getting so close. Look forward to possible meeting!

Wendy.

 

[Davey Boyd]

Hi Marglav
We also are starting our first Camino around 9th/10th September. I haven't booked accommodation yet so interesting to hear what others are doing. The excitement (and nerves) are really kicking in now its getting so close. Look forward to possible meeting!

Wendy.

Hi Wendy, welcome to the forum! You may be nervous now, but it will all fall away after you start walking!

And MargLav, I really like Felipe's suggestions, especially going to Saint Jean le Vieux, and following the pilgrims walking to SJPP. It is a lovely walk and quite easy too.

If the weather is good you could do what we did and take a picnic and a bottle of wine up to the old Citadel. Lovely.

Buen Camino
Davey

 

[MargLav]

It looks like a nice place and handy for when you set off to Roncesvalles. You would not need to go back to St Jean when you set off on the Camino.
I see you intend to stop two nights there. In my opinion I would prefer to stay in St Jean itself if I was staying two nights, or you will have to walk back and forth, up and down hill to visit St. Jean, to shop etc or use taxis.

But at the end of the day it is your decision.

Edit: The reviews say it is indeed a steep walk from St. Jean, but the owners seem very accommodating and offer lifts into town and back (though they do not speak English).

Davey

Thanks Davey - I thought we had to backtrack to start camino but it looks like we can join Route D'Arneguy further south - great news. I don't know why we thought we needed 2 days - nice slow start I guess. Given our upcoming 800 kms, we probably shouldn't shy away from a steep little walk in St Jean

 

[Felipe]

- I thought we had to backtrack to start camino but it looks like we can join Route D'Arneguy further south - great news.

So, you are doing the Arneguy way. I understand now your comment about "backtracking". If you stay in this Villa, the owner will know how to connect without coming back almost all the way to SJPP. Just be sure that you don't follow the main and somewhat busy D-933 road; you have to cross it and go along the other, parallel road, much more quieter and pleasant (just an occasional tractor or farmer's pick up, and many, many flocks of sheeps).

 

[MargLav]

Hi Marglav
We also are starting our first Camino around 9th/10th September. I haven't booked accommodation yet so interesting to hear what others are doing. The excitement (and nerves) are really kicking in now its getting so close. Look forward to possible meeting!

Wendy.

Getting very excited too Wendy.....hope to meet you along the way. Very, very best wishes for a wonderful camino!

 

[MargLav]

So, you are doing the Arneguy way. I understand now your comment about "backtracking". If you stay in this Villa, the owner will know how to connect without coming back almost all the way to SJPP. Just be sure that you don't follow the main and somewhat busy D-933 road; you have to cross it and go along the other, parallel road, much more quieter and pleasant (just an occasional tractor or farmer's pick up, and many, many flocks of sheeps).

Thanks Felipe....I have no idea which way we will be going but just using Google Maps to try to understand where Villa Goxoki might fit into our journey....I will definitely seek advice from the owners! Very excited now

 

[MargLav]

Steep climb, indeed. It is not the same as the much feared one before Orisson, but I had to stop to catch my breadth some moments.
Good thing, you can get rid of this same section when you walk to Roncesvalles.
This Villa seems nice. I am actually a bit envious...
It really is up to you, and your habits (mainly, if you are the type of tourists that come back frequently to the hotel, or spend all day visiting)
I mostly be worried about what to do in Saint Jean in two days. It is a little village, you can walk the historic part in five minutes.
Tips: *Pilgrims' Blessing in Notre Dame;
* a gentle stroll along the Nive (the same pictured in "The Way", when the character cant' figure out where is the road to Roncesvalles);
* the Citadel fortress;
* take a taxi to Saint Jean le Vieux, and follow the pilgrims walking to SJPP (they are coming from Arles or Le Puy....you will see how you will look after many weeks) A couple of good restaurants, also, less expensive than those in SJPP. It is a pleasant one hour walk, clearly signposted.
* Thursday, there is a peasant market, where you can taste real ham and cheese, not the pre-packaped thing available in supermarkets. And local wine, obviously.
* There is a tourist bureau (a kiosk) in the main avenue that divides the old from modern parts of the city.
Buen camino!

Thanks for all the tips...We arrive quite late from San Sebastián on 8/9 so I just thought we'd like am extra day to get organised... Can't wait!

 

[Felipe]

I have no idea which way we will be going but just using Google Maps to try to understand where Villa Goxoki might fit into our journey....I will definitely seek advice from the owners! Very excited now

You can cut and past here your Google Maps chosen path from your place to the Arneguy/Valcarlos way, and everybody will be happy to give her/his not so expert opinion.
Locals frequently know shortcuts that does not appear in Google Maps, but sometimes they underestimate the difficulty of matching the instructions with precise places, because to them the right way is obvious.
Saint Jean is a lovely, picturesque city; you will enjoy your two days staying. Coming to think of it, you can take your second day Express Bourricot to Orisson, and walk back (and down) to your lodgement; you can have in Orisson a cafe au lait, enjoy the mountain landscape, see how difficult could be this road, and say "buen camino!" hundreds of times to exhausted pilgrims. It may be a 2 hours walk.

 

[Curtis]

Buen Camino MargLav! I'll be starting a couple days after you. Perhaps I will see you

I am yet to book a bed in SJPDP. For a mid September start, will I struggle to find a bed without booking ahead?

Cheers

 

[Davey Boyd]

Buen Camino MargLav! I'll be starting a couple days after you. Perhaps I will see you

I am yet to book a bed in SJPDP. For a mid September start, will I struggle to find a bed without booking ahead?

Cheers

Hi Curtis,

If you are getting into St. Jean early in the day it is possible to head to the Refuge Municipal (55, Rue de la Citadelle). They do not do reservations but you would get a place easily enough if you are there when it opens (I think around 2.30pm - worth checking at the pilgrims office first). Its a nice place, a typical pilgrim hostel, 8 Euro's including breakfast. You will meet many pilgrims there too. This is what I do.

Otherwise (arriving later in the day) I would book somewhere ahead of time to make sure of a bed.

Hope this helps
Davey

 

[MargLav]

Buen Camino MargLav! I'll be starting a couple days after you. Perhaps I will see you

I am yet to book a bed in SJPDP. For a mid September start, will I struggle to find a bed without booking ahead?

Cheers

I am travelling with my hubby so we wanted a comfortable room before the long walk so we decided to book ahead. I think there were plenty of options and I understand things slow down around September also. Buen Camino Curtis!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I am travelling with my hubby so we wanted a comfortable room before the long walk so we decided to book ahead.

https://www.logishotels.com/fr/hotel/hotel-ramuntcho-1769?partid=661

 

[MargLav]

There are two ways for walking from SJPP to Roncesvalles. Are you aware of the differences between the two options? In an earlier message, you talk about stopping at Orisson. If this is your plan, you have picked an excellent location because Villa Goxoki is right on your way. You will not have to go into town to start your hike - instead, you will be a little ahead of other pilgrims and you will have to do a bit less of the day's climbing when starting from this location. It also seems a great place to relax. I see that they are on Booking.com since March 2016. I had not heard of them before.

Thanks so much Felippe. I must admit that with the address for the Villa as "Route Napoleon", I was surprised to look up Google Maps and it took me back through SJPdP to get to Roncevalles. Now I realise that was the Valcaros route. Weather permitting, we definitely hope to take Napoleon Route - Google Maps just won't take me that way - it must be because of walking tracks that it doesn't recognise. I am now VERY happy with our choice of Villa to take a little of that first day hill out of the equation. Thank you for taking the time to ask me about the two routes - much appreciated.

 

[MaWinMex]

Hi Marglav
We also are starting our first Camino around 9th/10th September. I haven't booked accommodation yet so interesting to hear what others are doing. The excitement (and nerves) are really kicking in now its getting so close. Look forward to possible meeting!

Wendy.

I'm staying at Gite Izaxulo right in SJPdP on September 1oth, and starting to walk on 9/11, but only to Valcarlos for the first day's "break-in" hike, then to Burguete on day two, to bypass the crowds at Roncevalles. Hope to run into you. Buen Camino.

 

[MargLav]

I'm staying at Gite Izaxulo right in SJPdP on September 1oth, and starting to walk on 9/11, but only to Valcarlos for the first day's "break-in" hike, then to Burguete on day two, to bypass the crowds at Roncevalles. Hope to run into you. Buen Camino.

Best wishes MaWinMex...at this stage we plan to stay to walk from SJPdP to Roncevalles on Day 1 (10 Sept) - hoping we don't regret that decision There's a fair chance that our paths will cross somewhere before Santiago. Buen Camino!! Getting close now!