Advice for cycling route

[funkytwig]

I am planing on cycling route. I live in the UK. Ryanair fly from Santiago but what airport do I fly to at the begining and how do I get to the begining of the route.

Regards
Ben

 

[William Marques]

If you want to start the Camino Frances or the Canino del Norte from Biarritz is the Ryanair destiation usually used.

You can ride (1 shortish day) or catch the train (from Bayonne station) to St Jean Pied de Port for the Camino Frances

 

[funkytwig]

I was planning to do Canino del Norte (from St Jean Pied Du Port) so I guess Biarritz is where I fly to. How do I get from Biarritz to St Jean Pied Du Port? It is the Norte route I want to do but is St Jean Pied Du Port the best place to start ?

 

[William Marques]

Perhaps you are mixing up the St Jeans or the Camino Frances and Camino del Norte.

The Camino del Norte runs along the cost from the French border say St Jean de Luz via San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander etc.

The Camino Frances runs from St Jean Pied de Port via Pamplona, Burgos Leon etc.

If it is the Northern Route you just head for the coast and keep it on your right! There are guides obviously and the CSJ is a good place to start.

You can catch a train from the station to the French/Spanish border but it is not far it just depends on how much time you have got.

 

[funkytwig]

So whitch route would go through St Jean Pied Du Port, I think this is the one I want to do but am not sure. Trying to find a route with off road cycling but no scary rocky stuff. I guess you could call it a off road track route. The kind of thing you could easily do on a hybrid.

Regards,
Ben

 

[William Marques]

The route that goes through St Jean Pied de Port is the Camino Frances. If this is your first Camino it is the one I would advise taking. There are many more facilities, much to see and plenty of people to talk to.

Much of the CF is cyclable and as long as you are not going at the height of summer (July August) and are considerate to walkers good cycling. The path sections I would not cycle are the downhills in the mountains. They are steep and narrow and you are likely to have problems as there will be walkers on the same paths. There are quiet road alternatives in every case. Obviously conditions will alter what is cyclable and what is not. A hard pack clay path in summer may be a sticky mess at other times of the year.

Basically follow the yellow arrows and see if the path suits you. If you have a guide-book you will almost certainly be able to see the alternative road section and you can decide then which way to go.

The files on Santiago Bicicleta give much more information on routes.