Best way?

[Eduardo Hernandez]

Hello, I'm planning my Camino trip in April 2018 and looking into flying to either Marid or Barcelona from USA and then get to St. Jean Pied de Port. Is flying to Madrid better than Barcelona? What is the best way to get to SJPdP from Madrid or Barcelona? Thank You!

 

[Jan_D]

Hi Eduardo, you'll need to catch a train to Pamplona, which takes about the same time whether you're leaving from Madrid or Barcelona (around 3-4 hours - you can compare times and prices on the Renfe website). From Pamplona you can catch a bus to SJPP with Conda buses (a subsidiary of the major Spanish bus company Alsa), the journey takes about 1h30. The bus schedule is seasonal; hopefully someone else on here will have more information about buses in April!

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Eduardo,you can also check the following website,
www.Rome2rio.com

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Firewood]

You might also check flights into Pamplona. Depending on where you are in the US, this might be a more convenient option. I was originally looking at flying into Madrid and taking a train to Pamplona and a bus or taxi on to St Jean, but when I checked flights the price difference to Pamplona wasn't much more than a train ticket.

(I also wound up booking out of Santiago for my return for the same reasons: price difference was about the same as a trip back to Madrid and it gave me more time for walking instead of traveling to & from the airport.)

 

[nycwalking]

You can also take train from Madrid to Hendaye to SJPP. In 2014, I used eurorail.com to plan journey.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

... and there is no rule that says you must start at St. Jean Pied de Port or Roncesvalles.

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

Eduardo,you can also check the following website,
www.Rome2rio.com

Wish you well,Peter.

Thank you Peter! Same to you.

 

[PEI_Heather]

Or you can fly to Paris and take the nice, relaxing and scenic train ride from Gare Montparnasse to Bayonne. If you get in too late to take to train to SJPP, spend the night in beautiful Bayonne and take the train in the morning. You could start your walk even then, after visiting the Pilgrims' Office. Or start in Bayonne to SJPP (the Voie de la Nive) or Bayonne to Pamplona (Camino Baztan).

 

[linkster]

I flew into Madrid from Chicago, and out of Madrid to Miami on Iberia. I spent some time acclimating and sightseeing on both ends of the trip (museums, 1/2 hour train to Toledo ... cathedral, etc.). I took a train from Madrid to Pamplona (~3 1/2 hours RENFE), and a bus from Pamplona to SJPP (~1 3/4 hours ALSA). I took the train from Santiago to Madrid since I did not prebook the return flight to Madrid (RENFE ~5 hours). The train was very comfortable, and I got to see a little of the countryside. I had both the RENFE, and ALSA apps on my phone. The RENFE app was a little funky when creating an account. I cannot remember the details, but it had a convoluted way of entering credit card info. Several of my travel companions had issues. I think we finally created their accounts in a browser, and then they were successful in booking tickets in the app. Who knows maybe it was user error, but we went in circles for almost 30 minutes before going online. I would suggest creating you account online at home. Having the app allowed us to book tickets, solidify our schedules, and skip the lines at the terminal. Trains can fill up and you may end up waiting at the station for the next available train.

 

[HedaP]

Hi Eduardo, you'll need to catch a train to Pamplona, which takes about the same time whether you're leaving from Madrid or Barcelona (around 3-4 hours - you can compare times and prices on the Renfe website). From Pamplona you can catch a bus to SJPP with Conda buses (a subsidiary of the major Spanish bus company Alsa), the journey takes about 1h30. The bus schedule is seasonal; hopefully someone else on here will have more information about buses in April!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to once again post this info courtesy of Caminoteca [https://www.caminoteca.com/en/content/39-how-to-get-to-saint-jean-pied-de-port-from-pamplona] in Pamplona. It is valid this year and may change next year but as of now it is current.

“The bus company Conda provides a bus service from Pamplona to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. This service is dedicated to the pilgrims who are walking on the Camino de Santiago. The bus service operates in 2017:

• 10:00 AM (1st June - 30th September)
• 12:00 PM (20th June - 5th September)
• 14:30 PM (1st March - 2nd November)
• 17:30 PM (1st April - 2nd November)

The bus leaves from the main bus station in Pamplona and costs €22. Tickets can be ordered from Conda's web site or can be bought at the main bus station of Pamplona. More info: http://www.conda.es/“

There is a far cheaper local service that operates from Pamplona to SJPdP (others on this forum know much more about this than I do) but for those who like to book the beginning bits ahead of time then this is the service for you.
Buen camino.

 

[bearwithme]

Hello, I'm planning my Camino trip in April 2018 and looking into flying to either Marid or Barcelona from USA and then get to St. Jean Pied de Port. Is flying to Madrid better than Barcelona? What is the best way to get to SJPdP from Madrid or Barcelona? Thank You!

I flew into madrid, then an iberian flight to Barritz. From there either a taxi to SJPdP, or bus train to Bayonne / SJPdP

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

Thank you, very valuable info!