Beginning in Rocesvalles

If you look through the "Traveling to/from the camino" section you will find a number of threads that contain the information you are looking for.

I will be starting my first Camino from Roncesvalles in late April. After reading several entries on this forum and looking into the bus and train schedules, I discovered what I think is the easiest or at least a simple way to get there.

I am flying from Canada to Madrid and then on to Pamplona - all in the same day, and on the same plane ticket. Arriving late, I will spend the night in Pamplona and then catch the 6pm bus the next day to Roncesvalles. This gives me the day in Pamplona that I can use to mail stuff forward to Santiago so that I do not have to carry it from Roncesvalles and also to explore the sights.

When you buy your plane ticket ask for prices that include the extra 1 hr hop from either Madrid or Barcelona to Pamplona. Then compare that to the bus fare from each city and the cost of accomodation/transportation if you have to spend an extra night in either Madrid or Barcelona, depending on when your flight arrives from home and when the bus to Pamplona departs.

Good luck!
Marilyn

Marilyn Canada said:

Arriving late, I will spend the night in Pamplona and then catch the 6pm bus the next day to Roncesvalles.

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Here is a quote from the book Santiago de Compostela: Journal of our Camino by Roger and Nancy Rhoades:

"My understanding was there is no bus service from Pamplona to Roncesvalles after six o'clock Friday evenings, or during the weekend. ...We quickly walked into the bus station and purchased tickets to Roncesvalles. ...We waited for the announcement to board the bus, but there was no announcement. A fellow pilgrim was nice enough to explain to me that there are no announcements of bus boarding. Passengers just proceed to the bus lot and get on the bus. Without the assistance of this lone pilgrim, we would have continued to sit in the lounge waiting for the announcement and would have missed the bus. The spirit of the Camino lives on."

Please note that they walked during April of 2004. So, perhaps their book is one that you might want to purchase to help you prepare for your upcoming trek... :arrow:

When I took the bus from Madrid to Logrono, there were TV monitors in the waiting areas letting you know which bus lane & what time the busses were leaving. I can't recall if I was given this information at the ticket counter (jet lag), but the monitors were easy to read. They have similar monitors in the train stations as well, at least the larger ones.

Kelly