Advise on going to Fatima Shrine from Santiago

[Alphonso Josemaría Soh]

Any idea how can I get myself to Fatima from Santiago? Via bus or train. I'm hoping to be at Fatima on 2nd or 3rd August. Buen Camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

I've been to Fatima. It's lovely.
I took a bus from Lisbon.
I think if you get a train or a bus from Spain to Lisbon, then getting to Fatima will be easy.
There are plenty of inexpensive places to sleep in Lisbon, including at least two nice hostels.

 

[indyrem]

Any idea how can I get myself to Fatima from Santiago? Via bus or train. I'm hoping to be at Fatima on 2nd or 3rd August. Buen Camino!

I took the bus from Santiago to Fatima after I finished walking from SJPP in June of this year. It took, if I remember correctly about 7 hours to get there. For me it was a pleasant ride & I got to see Portugal. From the bus station it was a short walk towards the shrine and there are a lot of nice hotels. Mention that you're a pilgrim & they will give you a discount. The Shrine is a compact, busy place but well worth the visit.
Good luck & Buen Camino.

 

[Alphonso Josemaría Soh]

I took the bus from Santiago to Fatima after I finished walking from SJPP in June of this year. It took, if I remember correctly about 7 hours to get there. For me it was a pleasant ride & I got to see Portugal. From the bus station it was a short walk towards the shrine and there are a lot of nice hotels. Mention that you're a pilgrim & they will give you a discount. The Shrine is a compact, busy place but well worth the visit.
Good luck & Buen Camino.

Hi

Possible you can give me more details on where can I get the bus tickets and etc. thanks!

 

[indyrem]

Hi

Possible you can give me more details on where can I get the bus tickets and etc. thanks!

You have to go to the Santiago bus station. You can ask anybody even on the streets of Santiago & they will tell you where the estacion de autobus is. It can be walked from the cathedral. You can buy tickets I think on the 2nd floor of the building. Get there early. I think I was there around 9am. Theres not a lot of buses leaving for Fatima daily so it's better to be early & wait at the station than miss the bus. Make sure you bring water/food IN your backpack-the bus driver will not allow food brought inside the bus during stops. I took the bus even if it took longer because I did not want train transfers . Also it's cheaper to get round trip ticket. You will need your passport. Also in the summer Portugal is one hr behind Spain & the rest of Europe except the UK. Hope this helps. Take care & Buen Camino.

 

[JALAN JAUH]

When you use the convenient train you should note that the train station at Fatima is a misnomer as it is quite far from the town, it is a whistle stop and you need to take a taxi or the irregular bus to Fatima. There are very few travelers alighting at the station and there are not many taxis. Grab the bus to town as soon as it stops, there is no bus stop at the station or train station staff, and it stops at the road side.

 

[Alphonso Josemaría Soh]

When you use the convenient train you should note that the train station at Fatima is a misnomer as it is quite far from the town, it is a whistle stop and you need to take a taxi or the irregular bus to Fatima. There are very few travelers alighting at the station and there are not many taxis. Grab the bus to town as soon as it stops, there is no bus stop at the station or train station staff, and it stops at the road side.

So the best is to take the bus from Santiago to Fatima itself...?

 

[JALAN JAUH]

So the best is to take the bus from Santiago to Fatima itself...?

There is really no best way, we took the bus from Santiago to Lisbon to chill off and explore Lisbon for a few days after the Camino. The other reason is that Fatima is a regular stop from Santiago and most buses continue on to Lisbon. We then took the daily train from the splendid Lisbon railway station to Fatima and regretted not spending more time at the Shrine. Use the rome2rio website for train and bus travel for anywhere in the world and the Fatima route is there. Spanish bus and trains have excellent websites to plan your travel. The bus station in Santiago has very friendly staff to help you, avoid the lunch break as sometimes there is no-one there then.
Fatima and Lourdes is we found are a more prayerful place, and the devout will have much more time to pray and reflect than SDC. Your choice to go to Fatima after Santiago is an excellent one and we wish you happy travels.
Joe ex-Malaysia

 

[piogaw]

Hi

Possible you can give me more details on where can I get the bus tickets and etc. thanks!

hello alphonso,

for the bus station in santiago, if you are coming in from the camino frances, just go back to the way you came in. follow rua san pedro all the way to the roundabout where the traffic light is located. walk straight ahead and you will see the bus station on your left. you will probably see many buses coming out of the station. this is actually the back of the station. you can take the 2 escalator to the top floor where the ticket offices are located. there is an information window in there.

good luck and buen camino.

 

[Stefania13/14]

You have to go to the Santiago bus station. You can ask anybody even on the streets of Santiago & they will tell you where the estacion de autobus is. It can be walked from the cathedral. You can buy tickets I think on the 2nd floor of the building. Get there early. I think I was there around 9am. Theres not a lot of buses leaving for Fatima daily so it's better to be early & wait at the station than miss the bus. Make sure you bring water/food IN your backpack-the bus driver will not allow food brought inside the bus during stops. I took the bus even if it took longer because I did not want train transfers . Also it's cheaper to get round trip ticket. You will need your passport. Also in the summer Portugal is one hr behind Spain & the rest of Europe except the UK. Hope this helps. Take care & Buen Camino.

Thanks so much for the information. I also have been thinking about doing this in place of going to Finisterre. Are there any Portugal holidays June 20 - 26th, 2014? I would probably avoid the area if that were the case.

 

[Loretta Jane]

I found often on busses in Spain that you cannot take your backpack on the bus, you will be asked to put it below the bus. So carry your lunch and other needs for the ride in something smaller.

 

[NaKwendaSafari]

lettienets wrote:
So carry your lunch for the ride

There are regular rest and meal breaks on the long distance Spanish buses and I remember that eating, smoking, and drinking on board was discouraged, check first.

 

[Loretta Jane]

I guess it depends on the trip, bus and driver. Be prepared. You could drink water and eat snacks discreetly if you had to. I sure wouldn't want them under the bus if I didn't know where/when you can get something.