An airport quandary

[andywild]

Hi all, just a quickie,
My flight home means I need to be at the airport at 4am Tuesday..
I'll be in sdc from Sunday so Sunday night will be an albergue (probably)..
What would you do Monday night?
Albergue? Hotel? Save the money and get a bus to airport at 10pm ish?
Not having anywhere to sleep means I'm out of albergue 10ish Monday morn and then homeless till i bus to airport later that evening... It could feel like a long day

 

[Lexicos]

That’s a lot of hours to be without a place to rest and wash etc. it’s a question of money and affordability I suppose. I’d book a place for Monday and just get as much use from it as you can, or, find a place to stay at or near the airport if you can.

 

[Bradypus]

I wouldn't bother with an albergue or hotel if I had to be at the airport at 4am. My own plan would be a long lie-in followed by a leisurely breakfast. I would probably store my rucksack for the day somewhere in town like the pilgrim office lockers or Pilgrim House and then spend the day drifting around. Almost certainly with a serious long lunch and a post-prandial nap in the park if the weather is good. I'm sure that Pilgrim House would give you a warm welcome for an hour or two during the day with the chance for a chat with fellow pilgrims if you haven't had your fill of them by then . With a couple of hours to spare later for drinks and tapas before the bus to the airport. I might even find some time to fit in a bit of sightseeing between meals

 

[dougfitz]

Hi all, just a quickie,
My flight home means I need to be at the airport at 4am Tuesday..
I'll be in sdc from Sunday so Sunday night will be an albergue (probably)..
What would you do Monday night?
Albergue? Hotel? Save the money and get a bus to airport at 10pm ish?
Not having anywhere to sleep means I'm out of albergue 10ish Monday morn and then homeless till i bus to airport later that evening... It could feel like a long day

I would be checking when the airline check-in for your flight will actually open. I found last year that one cut price airline was in the habit of advising passengers to arrive three hours before the departure. The check-in staff, who were checking in for the flight leaving before mine, very politely told me to come back two hours before departure, when they would be checking in my flight. They were amused by my protestations that I was following the instructions sent to me by the airline.

 

[Bradypus]

Alternative idea - store your pack somewhere and make a day trip by bus or train to a nearby town? Ourense (for the hot springs). A Coruña. Lugo - the Roman walls are spectacular. Padron.

 

[andywild]

Flight just before 6 but anxiety etc gets me there 4am ish regardless of other options

 

[andywild]

Alternative idea - store your pack somewhere and make a day trip by bus or train to a nearby town? Ourense (for the hot springs). A Coruña. Lugo - the Roman walls are spectacular. Padron.

This is definitely an option ! I've already walked Finisterre so wouldn't mind bussing it. Not walked Muxia yet so I'll have to save that for when I can walk there
An afternoon in Finisterre could definitely break the day up!

 

[Anamya]

I would book an extra day at the hotel for sure. Then I have the tranquility of a place to leave my lugagge, take a shower, rest, take a nap before travelling. I could enjoy the entire day in one of the nearby cities and have a place to come back to and get ready.

 

[VNwalking]

I know this isn't helpful, but I'd rebook my flight. I took one of those early flights and it was a miserable experience.

More helpfully?
I'd book a hotel for Sunday and Monday nights, and make darn sure that a taxi is booked for early Monday. Some things aren't worth skimping on. As opposed to wandering all day and evening then hanging at the airport all night, having a shower and some sleep before the flight...no comparison.

 

[naplesdon]

As Doug said, it truly rests with the airline you are using. I flew from SdC to San Sebastian on Iberia last month and it was a terrible experience. First of all I require a wheelchair in most airport and my disability usually garners boarding priority. None of that was taken into account as I boarded the plane last because I was told to stand in a line and refused to do so. It was an early morning flight and I noticed that there were a number of pilgrims who looked like they had camped out overnight in the terminal.

 

[woody66]

I would book an extra day at the hotel for sure. Then I have the tranquility of a place to leave my lugagge, take a shower, rest, take a nap before travelling. I could enjoy the entire day in one of the nearby cities and have a place to come back to and get ready.

Hi Andy!
I think as Anamya says above!
I will be in the same position as you in a few weeks Ryanair /Stanstead flight leaves at 6.10 got to be there by 4 am!
Hotel room a little luxury doesn't hurt( i will still look like a tramp; but a comfortable one ) and taxi to airport it is the last day.
Annoyingly i land at 7.20am my train home isn't till 10.30
Woody

 

[woody66]

As Doug said, it truly rests with the airline you are using. I flew from SdC to San Sebastian on Iberia last month and it was a terrible experience. First of all I require a wheelchair in most airport and my disability usually garners boarding priority. None of that was taken into account as I boarded the plane last because I was told to stand in a line and refused to do so. It was an early morning flight and I noticed that there were a number of pilgrims who looked like they had camped out overnight in the terminal.

Hi Don!
Was this problem with Special Assistance team!
I am flying Iberia Barcelona to Leon never flown with them before!
I always have a SA guide to walk me through the airport was your issue only with Iberia staff ?
Thanks
Woody

 

[Vacajoe]

4am is about when most Spaniards are finishing dinner, so that checks out! .

All the ideas above are helpful, but here’s an outside the box one: WALK to the airport! It’ll be great exercise, it’ll tire you out so you’ll want to nap when you get there, and it solves the issue of what to do with your bag while waiting until your flight! With it being dark, you’ll chew through even more hours as you are likely to get a little bit lost, too. You may even run into early-rising pilgrims headed towards SdC who hope to arrive at the plaza at sunrise. What an adventure!!!

It’s what I’d do, AND EXACTLY WHY MY WIFE PLANS TO WALK HER NEXT CAMINO SOLO!!! .

Okay okay, splurge on a cheap room and get some rest then

 

[peregrina2000]

I know that several forum members have taken the last bus out to the airport at night and then found a place to lie down in the airport for a few hours. Here’s one report.

 

[MichaelB10398]

Hi all, just a quickie,
My flight home means I need to be at the airport at 4am Tuesday..
I'll be in sdc from Sunday so Sunday night will be an albergue (probably)..
What would you do Monday night?
Albergue? Hotel? Save the money and get a bus to airport at 10pm ish?
Not having anywhere to sleep means I'm out of albergue 10ish Monday morn and then homeless till i bus to airport later that evening... It could feel like a long day

Hello Andy, for me it would be easy to just go to the airport late Monday evening. If your flight is at 4 a.m. then you will need to check in, for an international flight, no later than 2 a.m. I would not waste money on a hotel. That is just me; just do what feels right for you.

 

[naplesdon]

Hi Don!
Was this problem with Special Assistance team!
I am flying Iberia Barcelona to Leon never flown with them before!
I always have a SA guide to walk me through the airport was your issue only with Iberia staff ?
Thanks
Woody

I did not see the yellow SA desk anywhere and Iberia didn't seem to care much about my situation, so both were issues.

 

[dugavski]

I know that several forum members have taken the last bus out to the airport at night and then found a place to lie down in the airport for a few hours. Here’s one report.

I did it like that too. Spend the day around the city, took late bus to the airport, found a very nice bench on the first floor (with socket for chargers) and slept like a baby in my sleeping bag (a/c was working all night).
they even reduce the lighting around the midnight...
While I was getting ready for sleep, the police passed by and checked if everything was ok.

 

[Dawn Gibson]

Hi all, just a quickie,
My flight home means I need to be at the airport at 4am Tuesday..
I'll be in sdc from Sunday so Sunday night will be an albergue (probably)..
What would you do Monday night?
Albergue? Hotel? Save the money and get a bus to airport at 10pm ish?
Not having anywhere to sleep means I'm out of albergue 10ish Monday morn and then homeless till i bus to airport later that evening... It could feel like a long day

Hi. There's plenty of good tips here so I am just dropping in to reiterate what others have said about a taxi. If you decide to taxi rather than bus to the airport, definitely book one. There's apparently a shortage in Santiago at the moment so don't get caught out.

Safe journey home

 

[peregrino_tom]

What would you do Monday night?
Albergue? Hotel? Save the money and get a bus to airport at 10pm ish?

I don't see the Lavacolla option mentioned yet, which has been suggested on previous threads.
Lavacolla (which you'll probably walk through on Sunday morning on the camino) is a 2km walk to the airport along the Avenida de San Marcos (which is the road the airport bus takes to get to the airport).
It might be too late to book now for Monday night, but still worth trying... this Gronze page for the albergue shows a phone number for people wanting to book in English.
FWIW I think that intending to arrive at a little airport like Santiago 2 hours before departure is really unnecessarily cautious and you can lop quite a lot of time off that. Last November on a full Ryanair flight to Stansted I got from the bus drop-off through security etc to the departure gate in about 5 minutes.

 

[henrythedog]

To answer the question what ‘would’ I do - as opposed to what anyone sensible would do:

Check out the one music venue in the centre of Santiago - the name escapes me. That could keep you occupied to about 2 in the morning. Then taxi to the airport.

 

[SFHoneybee]

I wouldn't bother with an albergue or hotel if I had to be at the airport at 4am. My own plan would be a long lie-in followed by a leisurely breakfast. I would probably store my rucksack for the day somewhere in town like the pilgrim office lockers or Pilgrim House and then spend the day drifting around. Almost certainly with a serious long lunch and a post-prandial nap in the park if the weather is good. I'm sure that Pilgrim House would give you a warm welcome for an hour or two during the day with the chance for a chat with fellow pilgrims if you haven't had your fill of them by then . With a couple of hours to spare later for drinks and tapas before the bus to the airport. I might even find some time to fit in a bit of sightseeing between meals

Lots of great ideas!

 

[hokiebobwise]

I had a similar schedule just last week (wow, i've only been home 7 days).. I took the Monday 7:45am train from SdC to Madrid and ended up staying at Hostal Viky which is in the Barraja neighborhood, very close to the airport.
They had the van ready at 3:30am to take us to the airport. My flight was Air France/Delta, through Paris, and even arriving at 3:45am we had about a 45 to 60 minute wait to check in.

We took a cab from Chatamarin train station, 23 Euros, instead of using the metro, which is only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The hotel was no frills and the $80 I paid was more for the convenience of having a shuttle to the airport that early; almost all other hotels were more expensive with no shuttle until 7am.

bob

 

[TravellingMan22]

I had a similar schedule just last week (wow, i've only been home 7 days).. I took the Monday 7:45am train from SdC to Madrid and ended up staying at Hostal Viky which is in the Barraja neighborhood, very close to the airport.
They had the van ready at 3:30am to take us to the airport. My flight was Air France/Delta, through Paris, and even arriving at 3:45am we had about a 45 to 60 minute wait to check in.

We took a cab from Chatamarin train station, 23 Euros, instead of using the metro, which is only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The hotel was no frills and the $80 I paid was more for the convenience of having a shuttle to the airport that early; almost all other hotels were more expensive with no shuttle until 7am.

bob

Hostal Viky has been recommended quite a few times on here. I have not stayed there but I like Barajas and often have a few hours there if I have a long layover for a connecting flight or a late flight home. Whilst it only a metro stop from the airport it doesn't feel like an airport town (nothing like staying near LAX or JFK!), and has some nice, cheap bars and restaurants.

Its amazing how in Europe how you can be only a few metro stops from airport, and you would never know! Something to consider if you have a long layover at a major European airport, but not enough time to go into the city. Not always the case of course if in flight path but I grew up a couple of miles from LHR and you would never really know (apart from when Concorde took off!).

 

[TravellingMan22]

I would be checking when the airline check-in for your flight will actually open. I found last year that one cut price airline was in the habit of advising passengers to arrive three hours before the departure. The check-in staff, who were checking in for the flight leaving before mine, very politely told me to come back two hours before departure, when they would be checking in my flight. They were amused by my protestations that I was following the instructions sent to me by the airline.

Indeed.....no consolation to you but these emails tend to be round robin sent to all customers given the super short timescales and the high complexity of sending emails that are targetted to the journey you are taking!!

 

[Harland2019]

I had the same issue last year. I spent my time in and around Santiago and got the bus, 1 Euro, to the airport. Having walked into Santiago that morning, only about 7K, I had my walking clothes on, so I changed into my "best" clothes i.e. those that didn't smell too much. Spent the evening at the airport having a drink and some food until the cafe closed (22.00/23.00?) and then slept on the bench. There was plenty of them available until I checked in to fly back to the UK, like you, early in the morning. It wasn't too bad. I like the certainty of being at the airport rather than waking up very early to get to the airport by a taxi, that might not turn up!

 

[TravellingMan22]

To answer the question what ‘would’ I do - as opposed to what anyone sensible would do:

Check out the one music venue in the centre of Santiago - the name escapes me. That could keep you occupied to about 2 in the morning. Then taxi to the airport.

Yes, I am a veteran of the late bar/early bus or taxi approach. It always seems a 'good idea at the time' is my view!