Cheapest way to get into St Jean Pied De Port?

[dena]

Im graduating college next week and am planning on walking the French route starting end of august. What’s the cheapest way to get from New York to SJPDP? I don’t care about getting there the quickest or being uncomfortable, I’m just on a budget so trying to find the cheapest way to end up there. Is it smarter to fly into Madrid, Pamplona Biarritz? Bus/train to st Jean pied de port after getting there? Any creative ideas or recommendations would be great thanks!!

 

[Anniesantiago]

I have tried flying into Paris then train to Bayonne then to SJPP.
I never did that a second time.

For the past 17 years I have always flown into Madrid then taken the bus to Pamplona.
I spend the night there getting used to the time change, then take the bus to SJPP (or a taxi if I have a group). To me, it's just easier and cheaper in the long run.

 

[trecile]

I think that you have to answer the question yourself based on airfare/train/bus searches.

I have to say that I really like the train journey between Paris and SJPdP better than the train then bus or taxi from Madrid.

But cheapest depends a lot on airfare. Also look at Barcelona because there are sometimes some great deals flying into Barcelona.

 

[Vacajoe]

Norse Airlines from JFK has exceptionally cheap fares, though you’ll pay extra if you want food, a seat assignment, or baggage. I flew to England and then a cheap flight to Bayonne (check RyanAir, EasyJet, Vueling, etc). You can do one-way travel from NYC to SJPdP for $200 this way, but it’s not easy or fast. I traveled with a backpack small enough to fit under the seat (no additional charge!) and had enough clothing for 11 weeks in Europe. It IS possible.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

But cheapest depends a lot on airfare. Also look at Barcelona because there are sometimes some great deals flying into Barcelona.

Level Airlines ( https://flylevel.com )
SF to Barcelona mid-August $411
Barcelona to SF late September $393

No idea about the rest of the trip though.

 

[markie6]

Paris to St Jean often around £70 train

not sure why you couldn't new york to paris if the price was reasonable

even to London and train thru to St Jean would cost less than some flights

there are many ways, some will be easier and not always the cheapest. Coaches can be better budget wise but if you have time constraints, that could also be a barrier

Some of the travel websites offer choices of route if you plug in where you leave from and where you need to go. rome to rio etc

First off, check flights to various destinations, then look at the next step from each

 

[lt56ny]

Check out Level Airlines. I flew them last year from New York to Barcelona (flying to Madrid is a little more expensive) There is wifi, (didn't use it) lots of things to watch on the TV, new plane, decent seats (riding in cattle car coach one cannot expect much), no food served unless you want to buy some and no snacks either. I bought food before I got to the airport and bought a couple of liters of water at the airport and it was better tasting than anything I have had a plane in years. They code share with Iberia and my round trip (I got exit row seats so that jacked up the price) without booking a seat was about $420. Of course you are closer to departure and I am leaving at the end of September.

 

[lt56ny]

Level Airlines ( https://flylevel.com )
SF to Barcelona mid-August $411
Barcelona to SF late September $393

No idea about the rest of the trip though.

I posted the same after you did, didn't see your post. I had a decent enough experience, I assume you have flown them too. How was it for you?

 

[Amigos caminando]

Aer Lingus flies NY to Dublin, then Ryanair Dublin to Biarritz. You would have to check and compare prices and connection times. Bus from Biarritz airport, followed by train from Bayonne to SPDP only costs 5 euro. Be aware of frequent strikes in France that affects air traffic control and trains. Rome 2 Rio is a very good site to use for travel planning. Buen camino!

 

[farahc]

I think that you have to answer the question yourself based on airfare/train/bus searches.

I have to say that I really like the train journey between Paris and SJPdP better than the train then bus or taxi from Madrid.

But cheapest depends a lot on airfare. Also look at Barcelona because there are sometimes some great deals flying into Barcelona.

Agreed. It was a lot cheaper flying to/from Barcelona with Paris layover than to Paris directly.

 

[vernakeoho]

As others have stated, google various travel sites. Rome2Rio may be the best as it provides all options, including fares and timing in multiple combinations. NY to Paris is often the best option due to the number of daily flights but smaller airlines also offer dirt-cheap fares with no frills. We have taken the train direct from CDG to Bayonne/Biarritz then train/bus to SJPdP. If you can sleep while traveling, that works well.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

1) Get onto one of the travel aggregation sites and type in New York to Europe (don't put in a City in Europe).

2) Then look for the cheapest airfares to any city West of Zurich.

3) Having found that, use Rome2Rio to find a fare from the second step above to St. Jean or Pamplona.

4) Don't buy that cheap airfare that you saw on the aggregator site. Go direct to the airline and buy the tickets from them

5) If anything goes wrong or flights get cancelled the Aggregator site will refuse to help. The airline itself should sort you out

6) Generally return tickets are cheaper than one way tickets each way.

7) If you have to overnight somewhere during your travel then add in the cost of overnight accommodation and costs for travel to and from the airport.

8) Put all the data into a spreadsheet and work out which one suits you best.

 

[trecile]

4) Don't buy that cheap airfare that you saw on the aggregator site. Go direct to the airline and buy the tickets from them

5) If anything goes wrong or flights get cancelled the Aggregator site will refuse to help. The airline itself should sort you out

This is very important, and it's pretty rare that those cheapo 3rd party ticket sellers really have a better deal. Their results are actually paid ads on sites like Skyscanner and Kayak, and many of those companies don't have "live" pricing. You make a "booking request" and there's a possibility that they can't buy the tickets at the advertised price, so they can ask for more money

6) Generally return tickets are cheaper than one way tickets each way

Multi-city tickets are often around the same price as round trip fares, so they can be a good option.

 

[Debora]

Here’s the least expensive way I found from the states. Fly into Dublin. Stay a day and then the next day fly into Biarritz using Ryanair. Once in Biarritz cab share using Express Bourricot taxi service that takes you straight into the middle of St Jean Pied de Port. Ryan air only flies certain days so you will have to coordinate the flights. Have fun and Buen Camino!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I posted the same after you did, didn't see your post. I had a decent enough experience, I assume you have flown them too. How was it for you?

It was a very good experience and extremely cheap. The tickets were bought four years ago. They sell them as two one-way tickets with different prices. I think they were close to $120 each way though from Boston, really! It was $200 to change a ticket so when I came home early I just bought a new ticket. We weren't supposed to get fed but did for nothing extra. I'm not expecting that again though.

Covid ruined a desired trip to Buenos Aires but preliminary price searching showed that Level from Boston to Barcelona to Buenos Aires was going to be hard to beat.

 

[lt56ny]

It was a very good experience and extremely cheap. The tickets were bought four years ago. They sell them as two one-way tickets with different prices. I think they were close to $120 each way though from Boston, really! It was $200 to change a ticket so when I came home early I just bought a new ticket. We weren't supposed to get fed but did for nothing extra. I'm not expecting that again though.

Covid ruined a desired trip to Buenos Aires but preliminary price searching showed that Level from Boston to Barcelona to Buenos Aires was going to be hard to beat.

Hoping my trip at the end of September will be as good as last year.

 

[howardd5]

I have had good luck flying to Dublin and then catching a Ryanair flight to Bayonne where a local shuttle bus get you to Birratz. That’s the gateway via bus or train to SJPP

 

[Tacey]

Hi Dena,
I took the train from Paris to Bayonne and then bus/train to SJPP. It might be a good idea to get a hostel reservation to make sure that there's a place to stay at the outset. After that, the Brierly book is the best guide.

 

[mattythedog]

Im graduating college next week and am planning on walking the French route starting end of august. What’s the cheapest way to get from New York to SJPDP? I don’t care about getting there the quickest or being uncomfortable, I’m just on a budget so trying to find the cheapest way to end up there. Is it smarter to fly into Madrid, Pamplona Biarritz? Bus/train to st Jean pied de port after getting there? Any creative ideas or recommendations would be great thanks!!

If your credit is any good, get an American Airlines credit card that gives you 60,000 frequent flyer miles as a promo. Fly nonstop JFK-Madrid and connect to Pamplona on Iberia....all on one ticket for 30,000 miles. Return Santiago-Madrid-JFK for 30,000. Share a transport or taxi to SJPP. It is cheaper than staying the night in Pamplona with associated meals and waiting for the noon bus which you will miss same day flying into Pamplona because that flight lands at 1330.

 

[mattythedog]

1) Get onto one of the travel aggregation sites and type in New York to Europe (don't put in a City in Europe).

2) Then look for the cheapest airfares to any city West of Zurich.

3) Having found that, use Rome2Rio to find a fare from the second step above to St. Jean or Pamplona.

4) Don't buy that cheap airfare that you saw on the aggregator site. Go direct to the airline and buy the tickets from them

5) If anything goes wrong or flights get cancelled the Aggregator site will refuse to help. The airline itself should sort you out

6) Generally return tickets are cheaper than one way tickets each way.

7) If you have to overnight somewhere during your travel then add in the cost of overnight accommodation and costs for travel to and from the airport.

8) Put all the data into a spreadsheet and work out which one suits you best.

Agree with you Doughnut regarding buying direct from the airlines. For 20 years, I periodically try the aggregators to see what they have. They have NEVER had flights cheaper than directly from the airlines that fit into my schedules. ...and of course much easier to make changes, cancellations, get refunds, etc.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Im graduating college next week and am planning on walking the French route starting end of august. What’s the cheapest way to get from New York to SJPDP? I don’t care about getting there the quickest or being uncomfortable, I’m just on a budget so trying to find the cheapest way to end up there. Is it smarter to fly into Madrid, Pamplona Biarritz? Bus/train to st Jean pied de port after getting there? Any creative ideas or recommendations would be great thanks!!

Cheapest? Swim or steal a boat and paddle to France. Hitchhike or walk to SJPP.

Or, if your budget is just a little bit higher, use Google Flights to search for flights. Just keep on plugging in different cities and varying your dates slightly and eventually, you'll find the cheapest one.

I just quickly plugged in a flight leaving New York City for Madrid August 15 and returning September 28 from Madrid. It was less than $750 booked through TAP Air Portugal's website. Then another hundred dollars or so to take the bus and train up to SJPP through Pamplona. You're not going to get much cheaper than that. Book in advance.

And if you want to do your own research, Don't just look at Madrid or Paris. Check for Barcelona, Lisbon, or even San Sebastian or Biarritz. Keeping in mind that you're going to have to get back there because a round-trip ticket is usually far cheaper.

Usually the bus is always the cheapest ground transportation option. ALSA is the national bus in Spain and they have a website.

And if you're looking for better instructions, and you're not familiar with it, just googling "how to find cheap airfares," on the Internet will lead you to some articles. Good luck!

 

[Richmond Gardner]

$376 Rountrip Boston to Barcelona. From there, check RometoRio.com for planes, trains and automobiles
Super long layovers with Scandinavian Air (20+) hours each way Oct-Nov. Really cheap for a “normal “ airline

 

[Stephan the Painter]

$376 Rountrip Boston to Barcelona. From there, check RometoRio.com for planes, trains and automobiles
Super long layovers with Scandinavian Air (20+) hours each way Oct-Nov. Really cheap for a “normal “ airline

Unbelievable price, even with a 20+ hour layover. But the OP said they are looking for August. August is high season to fly to Europe from the US. It’s much easier to find a good deal off-season.

And I suspect the OP is not checking this post anyway…..

 

[Richmond Gardner]

Uh yeah, I just plugged in my preferred time on Camino’s… August produced $1,000 + round trips. Quite a difference

 

[Amigos caminando]

Hi Dena, let us know what your final plan is to SJPDP and Buen Camino. Big adventure.