Easter Travel and late check-in help

[kajko]

I will be arriving at the Lourdes airport on April 9th around 10AM, and would like to travel to SJPDP the same day, aka Easter Sunday. Given my lack of experience with travel, not to mention the Camino, I would greatly appreciate some insight on the following:

1. Trains - I found other threads that indicate the trains run on Easter Sunday. When I check www.sncf.com/en, there are no itineraries found for 4/9. The site www.sncf-connect.com/en-en seems broken as I get an error message for any search at all. www.raileurope.com also no finds no tickets for 4/9. www.rome2rio.com does show two train options from Lourdes to SJPDP, but can I trust this given that no other site shows these options??
2. How does one get from the Lourdes airport to the Lourdes train station? I presume there are buses but how does one identify the correct bus?
3. If the rome2rio.com train schedule is valid, I would take the train that arrives in SJPDP around 8:30PM on Easter Sunday and would like to stay at the municipal albergue if possible. I've reached out to confirm I can check-in on the evening of Easter Sunday but no response. I'm concerned because the notes for that albergue state: "Before going to the hostel, we must register at the association's office, at number 39 on the same street" and I suspect that office will not be open around 9PM on Easter Sunday.

Thank you in advance!

 

[SabsP]

I will be arriving at the Lourdes airport on April 9th around 10AM, and would like to travel to SJPDP the same day, aka Easter Sunday. Given my lack of experience with travel, not to mention the Camino, I would greatly appreciate some insight on the following:

1. Trains - I found other threads that indicate the trains run on Easter Sunday. When I check www.sncf.com/en, there are no itineraries found for 4/9. The site www.sncf-connect.com/en-en seems broken as I get an error message for any search at all. www.raileurope.com also no finds no tickets for 4/9. www.rome2rio.com does show two train options from Lourdes to SJPDP, but can I trust this given that no other site shows these options??
2. How does one get from the Lourdes airport to the Lourdes train station? I presume there are buses but how does one identify the correct bus?
3. If the rome2rio.com train schedule is valid, I would take the train that arrives in SJPDP around 8:30PM on Easter Sunday and would like to stay at the municipal albergue if possible. I've reached out to confirm I can check-in on the evening of Easter Sunday but no response. I'm concerned because the notes for that albergue state: "Before going to the hostel, we must register at the association's office, at number 39 on the same street" and I suspect that office will not be open around 9PM on Easter Sunday.

Thank you in advance!

Website from airport says there is no shuttle bus on Sundays and Bank Holidays. So I guess it will be a taxi.

Bus Shuttles | Tarbes Lourdes Pyrénées

Bus Shuttles | Tarbes Lourdes Pyrénées SKI RESORTS SHUTTLES - ON BOOKING - Winter Season 23-24 : Airport <> Ski resorts shuttle services are available from 23 December 2023 until the

www.tlp.aeroport.fr

Enough time for catching the train.
Lourdes at 17h. Arriving in St Jean at 20.30.

https://www.sncf-connect.com/app/fr-be/home/doorToDoor/itineraries

Maybe whatsapp the albergue instead of mailing?

Ospitalia Refuge Municipal | Albergue de Peregrinos en Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port / Donibane Garazi | Gronze.com

Información del albergue de peregrinos Ospitalia Refuge Municipal, en Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port / Donibane Garazi: Precio, plazas, características, etc...

www.gronze.com

 

[kajko]

Enough time for catching the train.
Lourdes at 17h. Arriving in St Jean at 20.30.

https://www.sncf-connect.com/app/fr-be/home/doorToDoor/itineraries

Thanks for the info. When I open this link I see an error once again as shown in the screenshot. Not sure why this site is not working for me, I tried several browsers etc.

 

[Kathar1na]

Thanks for the info. When I open this link I see an error once again as shown in the screenshot. Not sure why this site is not working for me, I tried several browsers etc.

It says “Lourdes to St Pierre Quiberon” in your screenshot (top left). That is in Britanny, far far away from Saint Jean Pied de Port. When you enter the name of the location correctly on sncf-connect you will get two train connections from Lourdes to SJPP on Easter Sunday 9 April.

 

[Kathar1na]

we must register at the association's office, at number 39 on the same street" and I suspect that office will not be open around 9PM on Easter Sunday.

If memory does not fail me, @Monasp who is the manager of the pilgrim’s office (which is what “the association’s office” means) wrote on the forum that they are open until the last train has arrived in SJPP, ie open for pilgrims who arrive on the last train.

 

[kajko]

It says “Lourdes to St Pierre Quiberon” in your screenshot (top left). That is in Britanny, far far away from Saint Jean Pied de Port. When you enter the name of the location correctly on sncf-connect you will get two train connections from Lourdes to SJPP on Easter Sunday 9 April.

Thank you, but that is a different tab of a complete different website (not sncf-connect) where I was experimenting and is not related to the screenshot of the error message. The error in the screenshot is the result of the link provided by @SabsP above, which suggests the site is working for him and others. By the way, it doesn't matter what I search. I can enter Madrid to Barcelona or any other valid locations and I always get an error. Obviously this issue is unique to me since the site is working for others, so at least I know it's not broken.

If memory does not fail me, @Monasp who is the manager of the pilgrim’s office (which is what “the association’s office” means) wrote on the forum that they are open until the last train has arrived in SJPP, ie open for pilgrims who arrive on the last train.

Great, thank you for this valuable information.

 

[Kathar1na]

FWIW, the link https://www.sncf-connect.com/app/fr-be/home/doorToDoor/itineraries did not work for me either (it is a technical issue for everyone) but the website and/or my browser then switched me to their regular homepage and there I could enter Saint Jean Pied de Port as the destination and Lourdes as the departure and I got the two train connections, leaving Lourdes at 8:02 am and 5:00 pm.

I checked the current daily opening hours of the office in SJPP: It is 7h30-12h and 14h-20h.

 

[SabsP]

The websites of many European railway services are horrendous to navigate, except for the Dutch one btw.

But trust me...there is a train from Lourdes to Saint Jean on Easter Sunday.
I am not on phone so not able to make a printscreen.

 

[kajko]

sncf-connect.com will only work for train connections in France and not for Madrid to Barcelona. The link that @SabsP posted did not work for me either (it is a technical issue for everyone) but the website and/or my browser then switched me to their regular homepage and there I could enter Saint Jean Pied de Port as the destination and Lourdes as the departure and I got the two train connections, leaving Lourdes at 8:02 am and 5:00 pm.

I checked the current daily opening hours of the office in SJPP: It is 7h30-12h and 14h-20h.

Ah, sorry I used a bad example here, of course you are correct and thanks for confirming the link provided was not valid. Since the website auto-completes the departure and arrival destinations, I am also selecting SJPP and Lourdes from the dropdown menus, but no luck. Doesn't matter if I select the "Station" or the "City" options from the location presented (see screenshots). Anyway, I'll just have to use rome2rio.com I suppose.

I checked the current daily opening hours of the office in SJPP: It is 7h30-12h and 14h-20h.

Since my flight lands in Lourdes at 10:15 AM, I can't make the 8AM train and would have to take
the second option shown by rome2rio.com at 17:00 arriving in SJPP at 20:30, so it sounds like the office will be closed by then. In that case I assume I can't enter the public albergue and need to find a private one. Thanks for checking this

 

[Kathar1na]

The websites of many European railway services are horrendous to navigate, except for the Dutch one btw.

I often use the German railways one and find it excellent for finding train connections in other European countries . But I agree that the railway websites are often not geared for international users and mainly aim at the domestic market. I used VPN and tried to emulate a situation where the OP’s error messages appear but no luck. The browsers and websites want to be clever and, in the background, switch language versions depending on browser settings and region of access and this can be messed up when the browser uses automatic translation into English for example …

 

[kajko]

I often use the German railways one and find it excellent for finding train connections in other European countries . But I agree that the railway websites are often not geared for international users and mainly aim at the domestic market. I used VPN and tried to emulate a situation where the OP’s error messages appear but no luck. The browsers and websites want to be clever and, in the background, switch language versions depending on browser settings and region of access and this can be messed up when the browser uses automatic translation into English for example …

Good point, so I tried the site in native French as well with same results

 

[Bradypus]

But trust me...there is a train from Lourdes to Saint Jean on Easter Sunday.
I am not on phone so not able to make a printscreen.

This one? Changing trains in Dax and Bayonne. I find the Trainline website is the easiest way to search.

 

[SabsP]

This one? Changing trains in Dax and Bayonne. I find the Trainline website is the easiest way to search.

View attachment 143402

Yes, that is the one I found.

 

[kajko]

This one? Changing trains in Dax and Bayonne.

View attachment 143402

Yes this appears to be the only option after my Lourdes arrival at 10:15AM, so I plan to take it.

 

[Kathar1na]

@kajko, it's me yet again. I had checked the office's opening hours on their website https://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/ and the info about their opening hours was posted only two days ago. Here's what @Monasp wrote in the thread St Jean Pilgrims Office 2023: The office is open from 7h30 am to noon and from 2pm to 8 pm or to the last train.

The European railway companies are not the only ones where there is some room for improvement of the user friendliness of their websites and online information policy.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I find the Trainline website is the easiest way to search.

The Trainline website is my favorite and I use it whenever I need a train in Europe; I used it just last week to reserve in April. The very minimal charge for its convenience is worth it to me, booking from the US.

 

[Vacajoe]

Just because the office is open doesn’t mean that there will be room at the albergue. As a municipal, I’m guessing it’s “no reservations” so you risk arriving with nowhere to stay late on a Sunday night (and Easter Sunday at that!). I suggest you secure a place so you know they have a bed and they know you are arriving late.

 

[lt56ny]

If the rome2rio.com train schedule is valid, I would take the train that arrives in SJPDP around 8:30PM on Easter Sunday and would like to stay at the municipal albergue if possible. I've reached out to confirm I can check-in on the evening of Easter Sunday but no response. I'm concerned because the notes for that albergue state: "Before going to the hostel, we must register at the association's office, at number 39 on the same street" and I suspect that office will not be open around 9PM on Easter Sunday.

You are arriving late in the evening. According to Gronze the albergue stays open for check in until 10PM. Being it is the beginning of Semana Santa there may or may not be room. If I were you I would look on Gronze and book a reservation at one of the other albergues to assure yourself a bed. Make sure you whatsapp them to tell them what time you will be arriving and if they are ok with that. You can roll the dice and see what will happen but do you want to be looking around for a place to sleep after traveling for a full day and night? Unless you are under some time restraints may I suggest that you take an extra day to recuperate after your travel. You need your strength for the first day's walk. I have no idea of your physical condition but it is not an easy walk by any means. Beautiful yes but.....

 

[kajko]

Just because the office is open doesn’t mean that there will be room at the albergue. As a municipal, I’m guessing it’s “no reservations” so you risk arriving with nowhere to stay late on a Sunday night (and Easter Sunday at that!). I suggest you secure a place so you know they have a bed and they know you are arriving late.

Good point. I read elsewhere on the forum that since this is early in the "season" albergues should have plenty of vacancy but perhaps not.

You are arriving late in the evening. According to Gronze the albergue stays open for check in until 10PM. Being it is the beginning of Semana Santa there may or may not be room. If I were you I would look on Gronze and book a reservation at one of the other albergues to assure yourself a bed. Make sure you whatsapp them to tell them what time you will be arriving and if they are ok with that. You can roll the dice and see what will happen but do you want to be looking around for a place to sleep after traveling for a full day and night? Unless you are under some time restraints may I suggest that you take an extra day to recuperate after your travel. You need your strength for the first day's walk. I have no idea of your physical condition but it is not an easy walk by any means. Beautiful yes but.....

Thanks for the advice, you are right that I probably want the peace of mind of booking ahead elsewhere. However, April 9th will be the end of Semana Santa from my understanding, no? I was under the impression that this early in the season albergues should have plenty of empty beds, but perhaps that's inaccurate and Easter Sunday may have an impact as well.

 

[Susan Peacock]

Good point. I read elsewhere on the forum that since this is early in the "season" albergues should have plenty of vacancy but perhaps not.

Thanks for the advice, you are right that I probably want the peace of mind of booking ahead elsewhere. However, April 9th will be the end of Semana Santa from my understanding, no? I was under the impression that this early in the season albergues should have plenty of empty beds, but perhaps that's inaccurate and Easter Sunday may have an impact as well.

This is a very popular time to walk. Guessing that you don’t have any reservations. If you plan to stop in Orisson, you need to try to get a reservation (Borda was booked last time I looked.) If you are walking to Roncevalles in one day, you should make a reservation as you will arrive late. I have walked a number of times starting just a few days later and both Orisson and Roncevalles were both full. Zubiri the next day was full by early afternoon. You should be able to wing it more after Pamplona as the pilgrims spread out.

 

[Vacajoe]

It IS early in the season, but you are talking about the Easter holiday in two of the most Catholic countries in the world. And the pilgrim numbers have come roaring back due to pent-up demand due to the Covid interruption. I walked Easter weekend from SJPdP a few years back and while I found beds, I did book ahead a few days. Things cleared up after Zubiri and pre-booking wasn’t necessary anymore