advice from kiwi cyclists from Roncevalles to Santiago

[C Froude]

Hi,

We are planning to cycle the Camino de Santiago next year. Are there any kiwis out there who have done it? Do you have any advice on getting to and from Spain? Can anyone give us advice on the best time of the year to go?

 

[William Marques]

The group Santiago Bicicleta
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Santiago_Bicicleta/
is a good resource for cyclists with members from the Antipodes.

The best time of year is in from late spring to early autumn (northern hemisphere). As cyclists you may not be able to stay in all the refugios but you can still stay in many and you will be able to go from small town to small town so will be able to find somewhere to stay. The ground should be harder by the summer so easier to cycle if you are not on the road.

William

 

[Anonymous]

Check out this site, C: http://youtube.com/watch?v=r-kYKPxNlSk

Buen Camino 8)

xm

 

[Anonymous]

"Can anyone give us advice on the best time of the year to go?"

I've haven't been able to walk any Roads following the criterium re: when is the best time to do them. Being a slave :twisted: to my vacation days from work, December and the summer months, both extremes, have been the only times I've been able to experience them. So far it's been Caminos Portugueses in December; not too bad except for the extreme cold I felt a couple of years ago on it, the others in the summertime.

Lordie Lord, maybe when I retire...

Buen Camino

xm

 

[Howie]

Do you have any advice on getting to and from Spain?

G'day mate,

re transport - I would suggest: go to House of Travel (http://www.hot.co.nz), book EMIRATES (http://www.emirates.com) end of this year for beginning of next - a lot cheaper that way.

Fly EMIRATES Auckland - Dubai - Zurich, that will cost you approx. NZ$ 2,200 return.

Take train Zurich / Bale (german "Basel", short ride within Switzerland), get to Bale Airport by taxi or shuttle (http://www.euroairport.com/DE/accueil.php).

Fly Bale - Lyon - Biarritz (http://tinyurl.com/28pr3j), costs approx. € 230 = NZ$ 450.

Take Taxi to St Jean Pied de Port, ca. 60 km, costs unkown. There is a train as well, but for that you will have to get to Bayonne downtown first (train station) - hence the taxi.

I will do it almost exactly the same way in April 2008 - except I have two daughters living in Germany just across the swiss border, between Zurich and Bale airport, so I go by train straight from Zurich airport to Freiburg/Germany (1 hr) to cure my jetlag under the loving care of my lovely daughters (and with plenty of local red wine, I suppose). From here on I will proceed - well recuperated and thus as tough as nails - as above.

The alternative: fly Auckland - Madrid (no idea which airline), then up to Pamplona by train and on to Roncevalles by taxi or bus. I personally hold the viewn that Camino francès starts in St Jean Pied de Port, though - hence the word "francès". Makes it a bit more authenical, don't you think too? And it's ony a few klicks up the road.


Sorry, no idea at all about bicycles. I walk the Camino francès on my own. I go in May, reckon that's the best weather for my purpose. Not too hot, not too crowded yet.

Ultreia!