Hi Bill! I usually try to book a multi-city fare, but this time, everything I found was much, much more expensive. I then researched the ins and outs of several different airports. The flights from Southern California into Spain were the cheapest, but none had great connections to get me to Geneve, Lyon, or Paris in the afternoon of the same day (As a single woman, I don't like trying to get to my hotel at night in a big city.) My preference is to fly in and out of the smaller airports. I could have booked LAX to Paris for around the same price and I would have landed in Paris early enough to get a train to Le Puy, but getting to LAX by 4:00 a.m. is a huge imposition on friends willing to shuttle me to the airport. No matter where I landed in France, I would still have to spend from $30 - $50 to get into Le Puy. When I discovered that there is an overnight bus from Irun to St. Etienne for 78 euros, then 12 euros more into Le Puy, I grabbed the EAS flight. When you add up the cost of the additional airfare + hotel costs + the transport into Le Puy, in the end, this was the cheapest, most convenient route for me. I gave myself plenty of time to get to SJPP including rest days, but plan on continuing to Pamplona if time permits. San Sebastian is easily and cheaply accessible from wherever I end up, plus I can spend a few days at the beach before flying home!!!
Bill, where are you off to next?