.......And (with your help) it BEGINS!

[SoLive]

Hello my new Camino family! After more than 18 years of thinking about it & longing for it, this post marks the beginning of my planning for my 1st pilgrimage (Sept-Oct.2018!) & this young woman of 54 years, couldn't be more excited!

As I learn to maneuver through the forum please forgive me if I ask questions already covered somewhere.
Here goes:

1) I'm traveling from the US (Atlanta, Ga) & definitely want to take the train from Bayonne into SJPP.
I've heard of routes from Atlanta to Paris, then fly or take a train to Bayonne or from Atlanta to Dublin & fly to Bayonne.
Any suggestions/opinions on a route from Atlanta? Also should I purchase one way vs round trip airfare should the need arise to take more rest days than I imagined?

2) I'm hoping to (sort of) combine 2 Caminos (Frances w/Primitivo), SJPP- Leon-Oviedo-Santiago-Finisterre.
I've read that some have made detours in Leon to Oviedo
then on to Santiago, but I don't know where to find information on walking from Leon to Oviedo. I have reached out to a company to help map out my itinerary (is THIS even necessary, btw?)........ but because this detour isn't part of a particular route, they didn't have much information with regards to accommodations or how many more km/miles this adds to my trip. Can someone point me in the right direction?

3) After flights are booked, Camino itinerary is planned, training prep begins, what other steps should I take in planning?

Thank you in advance for your hearts, your words & your time!!

Buen Camino!!!!!!

 

[Dorpie]

Welcome SoLive,

Congratulations on taking the plunge. I love the sound of your route. I accidentally (it's a long story..) walked 20kms of the route from Leon to Orviedo and what I saw was beautiful so I think you're in for a treat. It is very much the path less travelled though, we were taken in by a lovely family once we realsied our mistake and they said that they hadn't seen anyone coming through for more than a week and this was in mid August!

Not sure that you're way of getting to Bayonne makes too much difference, I quite enjoyed the train down from Paris though it certainly isn't the most beautiful part of France to travel through, personally I'd just go with what's cheapest. If you can afford the flexibility of an open ticket I'd say go for it, having the freedom to go as quickly or slowly as you like is great.

As to your final question, I'd say make yourself at home and keep an eye on the forum, almost every question you can possibly imagine and perhaps a few you can't will come up between now and September.

Buen Camino,

Rob.

 

[TMcA]

To get you started with your air routing, I'd suggest you go to Travelocity and, using some estimated travel dates, do a little experimenting. Specifically, I would want a direct ATL-CDG (Paris) flight going over and a direct Madrid-Atlanta flight on the return. So you need to search for a multi-city ticket.

Then search again for a round trip from Atlanta-Madrid and compare the difference. Yes, this choice would mean giving up the train from Bayonne.

This initial survey will provide a baseline of possible routes and their pricing.

I prefer, when available, a direct flight to a European gateway followed by a train or bus ride to my destination. I have to chuckle as I write this because of the ongoing strike by French railway workers. In the absence of this kind of strike it's easy to take a morning train from the Gare Montparnasse in Paris and connect with your train to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. However, this may require a night in Paris in order to catch the morning (around 7:30) train. Or a night in Bayonne if you decide to take a later train.

Finally, I would advise against booking your airline tickets on Travelocity. Buy them direct from the carrier you will fly. And I would not buy a one-way ticket because it may cost much more (50% or more) than a round trip ticket.

Buen Camino.

Tom

 

[CdnDreamer]

There is lots of information on the forum about walking from Leon to Oviedo. The Camino is called the Salvador or San Salvador. There is a booklet in the Resources section under Guides - Ender's Guide to the Salvador - English translation that gives you all the information needed to walk the Salvador. The Salvador will add approx. 120 km to your walk, and then the primitive (walking back down from Oviedo) will add more distance to your camino.

I travel from Toronto and go through Paris as the flights are cheaper. I have taken the train from Paris and I have also flown Easy Jet from CDG to Biarritz. It just depends on the time your flight arrives in Paris as Easy Jet only has a few flights per day. You need a couple of hours for the connection.

On my first camino I had booked my flight home and had to bus and train parts of the camino as I couldn't keep up the pace that Brierley set with his guide. So if you buy a round trip ticket, make sure you build some extra time into your trip. There are always things to do in Spain if you arrive in Santiago early.

 

[tomnorth]

For travel, I recommend ATL to CDG and then catch the train to Bayonne right at the airport. I bought my train ticket from Paris to Bayonne ahead of time using raileurope.com. Once I reached Bayonne I bought a city train ticket to St Jean Pied de Port. My return flight was from Madrid. The air ticket I bought was round trip, Minneapolis to Paris, and then Madrid to Minneapolis. I made sure to give myself extra days on the tail end in case I was delayed. I took the train from Santiago to Madrid. My recollection is that I bought that ticket all the way to the Madrid airport. I had to transfer from the central Madrid train station to get to the airport terminal. Once at the airport I caught the free shuttle from the hotel I had booked.

I loved taking the train to SJPDP. I will do it that way again. The one thing I plan to do differently is either spend the night in Bayonne before taking the early morning city train to SJPDP or book a hotel in SJPDP for my first night (since I will arrive late). Either way I plan to spend a day exploring SJPDP and then stay at Beilari albergue before starting to walk the next morning.

 

[tomnorth]

Hello my new Camino family! After more than 18 years of thinking about it & longing for it, this post marks the beginning of my planning for my 1st pilgrimage (Sept-Oct.2018!) & this young woman of 54 years, couldn't be more excited!

As I learn to maneuver through the forum please forgive me if I ask questions already covered somewhere.
Here goes:

1) I'm traveling from the US (Atlanta, Ga) & definitely want to take the train from Bayonne into SJPP.
I've heard of routes from Atlanta to Paris, then fly or take a train to Bayonne or from Atlanta to Dublin & fly to Bayonne.
Any suggestions/opinions on a route from Atlanta? Also should I purchase one way vs round trip airfare should the need arise to take more rest days than I imagined?

2) I'm hoping to (sort of) combine 2 Caminos (Frances w/Primitivo), SJPP- Leon-Oviedo-Santiago-Finisterre.
I've read that some have made detours in Leon to Oviedo
then on to Santiago, but I don't know where to find information on walking from Leon to Oviedo. I have reached out to a company to help map out my itinerary (is THIS even necessary, btw?)........ but because this detour isn't part of a particular route, they didn't have much information with regards to accommodations or how many more km/miles this adds to my trip. Can someone point me in the right direction?

3) After flights are booked, Camino itinerary is planned, training prep begins, what other steps should I take in planning?

Thank you in advance for your hearts, your words & your time!!

Buen Camino!!!!!!

The three most important pieces of gear are your shoes, socks, and backpack. Try to get those settled as soon as you can. You should start breaking in your shoes as soon as possible. I found I needed training hikes of at least seven miles, with my backpack loaded to the weight I was targeting, before I could fully assess how things were working out. In particular, it was at that seven mile point that any hot spots on my feet started to show up. I tried different Smartwool socks before settling on their PhDs with Smartwool liners.

As an aside, September and October are beautiful months to walk. You’re going to love it!

 

[Linda D]

Hi and congratulations as you start your trip of a lifetime!
We flew from Florida to Atlanta to Paris and then took the train to Bayonne and it worked out perfectly. If you are not on a time constraint and can afford to buy a one way ticket I would take advantage of it (we were, so we booked round trip).
We only walked the Frances so I can't help you with the Primitivo.
As far as training goes I would just say walk as much as you can before you go with your pack on and pack as light as you can. Up and down hills and stairs. Any type of cardio will help. Most of all get a good pair of shoes because you will be on a lot of rocks. Don't over plan and let the Camino guide you. Take each day as it comes!
Just know this trip is life changing. It won't be like an other trip or vacation you have ever been on. As soon as you get home you will long to go back!
Buen Camino

 

[TMcA]

I agree with all @tomnorth mentioned...except the use of Rail Europe. When I have shopped for train tickets in France I have found them much more expensive at Rail Europe than going directly to the SNCF (the French national railway) site or, my preference, using Trainline a UK vendor that can accept US credit cards without any hassle.

 

[flewitheagles]

I agree with all @tomnorth mentioned...except the use of Rail Europe. When I have shopped for train tickets in France I have found them much more expensive than going directly to the SNCF (the French national railway) site or, my preference, using Trainline a UK vendor that can accept US credit cards without any hassle.

I have purchased a European Pass on two occasions (one would think I'd learned after the 1st) and had to pay relatively significant additional fees to travel in France. While, I admit, I purchased the 1st Class to be a bit more comfortable I still found that I would have done better purchasing tickets individually.

 

[SoLive]

Thank you everyone for your replies & suggestions! I'm feeling much more confident already!!!

 

[Kricket]

Hi SoLive, I am starting my Camino SJPP on October 1. Flying from Canada , thru Paris taking the train. I am very excited. I am traveling solo also. Beun Camino.

 

[tomnorth]

I agree with all @tomnorth mentioned...except the use of Rail Europe. When I have shopped for train tickets in France I have found them much more expensive at Rail Europe than going directly to the SNCF (the French national railway) site or, my preference, using Trainline a UK vendor that can accept US credit cards without any hassle.

I downloaded the SNCF app so I can book directly next time. You’re right, it does cost more through Rail Europe. I also downloaded the Renfe app for the Spanish rail service.

 

[FourSeasons]

Hi SoLive, I'm so excited for you and understand what you are feeling at this point in your journey. Very exciting. I am also 54. It took me 34 days to walk.

#1 On both my Camino's I flew from Boise into CDG arriving at 11:30 AM. with a round trip ticket. My 1st was in Sept/Oct (you're going to love it) I managed to get to SJPdP in one day. I took a shuttle bus from CDG to ORLY where I caught my scheduled flight to Biarritz then taxi to Bayonne then train to SJPdP. Whew!! I was blessed that everything went smoothly. The train left about an hour late which got us into SJPdP at 8:30/9:00 PM. most albergue were full. The hosts at the pilgrims office were so good about getting us all a bed. I literally slept in the attack of an alburgue but it made for an unforgettable adventure. So much fun. So much fun!! Many of the pilgrims in line with me at the pilgrims office became my Camino family. Still in my life. On the way home I took a bus to SdC airport then flew on EasyJet to CDG then to BOISE.

My second I went in April/May, I spent the night at CDG at a great hotel right at the train station and airport. Ibis hotel. You'll have plenty of time to catch the train to downtown Paris for a little site seeing if you want. The next morning catch your flight to Biarritz from CDG. This time I took the bus to Bayonne then the train to SJPdP. Either taxi or bus to Bayonne is the right option and easy. I arrived in SJPdP early. Checked into the albergue, got my passport and first stamp then explored SJPdP. Very relaxing. Also plenty of time to meet other pilgrims then early to bed. On the way home I took a train from SdC to Madrid. It was a long ride. I'd rather fly. I spent the night in Madrid near the station then took a bus to the airport. It was nice to see another city.

#2 I'm not familiar with this route.

#3 Just stay focused and keep on training. Pack and repack.
Buen Camino!