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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

First Time Pilgrims - Only have a week to walk

castlelizzy

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
SJPDP - Logrono (2014)
Valenca - Santiago (2016)
Valenca - Santiago (2018)
Bilbao - Mogro (2019)
Hi
We have always wanted to walk the Camino and with young children can only get one weeks baby sitting each year from grandparents. ( We are the lucky ones ! )

We are planning therefore to walk a section each year and wondered if you could advise on the best place to start and finish and jouneys to and fro the start finish points ??

So far thanks to excessive surfing and studying the forums we like this site the best and have planned the following :

Flight to Biarritz
Walk to Bayone Station
Train To SJPP

Start The Journey anticipating 20k per day

We are hoping we can make Lograno with a push and a prayer over a seven day period.

We are trying to work out the best way to return to london from Lograno and advice would be much appreciated on this front as well as whether our seven days would give us enough time to make this planned stage ??

We are relatively healthy and dont forsee any problems with increasing the mileage in needed but we do look forward to local food and wine at the days end

Oh and we are planning to go in Early to Mid April .

Thank you for your time and we look forward to your views

Ty and Liz
 
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Welcome to the Camino Forum, where we'll pick your plans apart in an effort to help you get the most bang for your buck, so to speak. ;)

First off, where are you flying in from? Do your 7 days include travel days?

Second, IIRC, there won't be a train from Bayonne to SJP until June (maintenance/upgrades to the tracks). Yes, this is incredibly bad timing. Oh well. ;)

Third, the walk from SJP to Roncesvalles is difficult, and add to that the fact it will be your first day. Many people now break this up into 2 days, stopping at Hunto or Orisson (if they are open).

But, if after all that, you still want to start in SJP & end up in Logrono, then your best bet back to London is to take the bus or train to Bilbao.

An alternative would be to fly in & out of Bilbao, take the bus or train to Pamplona, then the bus or taxi to Roncesvalles & start there.

Roncesvalles
Zubiri (personally, I would take the bus from Zubiri to Pamplona then walk to CM)
Pamplona/Cizur Menor
Puente La Reina (with detour to Eunate)
Estella
Los Arcos
Viana
Logrono

Kelly
 
[quote="WolverineDG"
Second, IIRC, there won't be a train from Bayonne to SJP until June (maintenance/upgrades to the tracks). Yes, this is incredibly bad timing. Oh well. ;)Kelly[/quote]

....but while the train tracks are closed, there will be buses on this route instead, so you can still get from Bayonne to SJPP. Not sure what the bus timetable will be though....
Margaret
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
Once you begin your walk, abandon all thought of buses. They suck the soul out of a pilgrimage.
There is, however, a city transit bus that connects the Biarritz airport and the Bayonne train station. I'm assuming that the buses, in lieu of the train will be leaving from the square in front of the train station.

Logrono in seven days of walking from Saint Jean Pied du Port is quite acheivable. You will need to average 23 kms per day. Most pilgrims that I have talked to aim for 20 to 25 kms per day... not an overly strenuous objective, but a challenge, all the same.

Enjoy your preparation and the journey.
The pilgrimage really begins from your home, when you make the decision to go to Santiago.

Buen Camino
David, Victoria Canada
 
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
You will be hard pressed if the 7 days include your travel to and from Spain.
It is a fairly decent walk from Pamplona to Logrono and will give you one of the good stages to start your annual Camino. You can do the SJPP leg some other year.
Good luck. I am sure that you will enjoy whatever you choose and will be back for more.
 
Hi everyone and thanks for the info.

Food for thought as we put together our pilgrimage, without a doubt i am sure we will have plenty more request for help from our fellow walkers.

thanks again
Liz and Ty
 
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Hello Ty and Liz,
You will get as many opinions about how to do this as there are people who have done it. So here's my two cents worth.
Just in case you aren't aware, you can get train from Biarritz to Bayonne. I have always caught the train from Biarritz to SJPP in April but it sounds like this is an unusual year. But I can't imagine you will have any trouble finding a bus that goes from Bayonne. If worst comes to worst you can get a taxi.
Hopefully you are aware that it is about 27 km from SJPP to Roncesvalles. Once you've gone past Orisson (8-10 km) there is nowhere else to stay you you need to make a decision on this early. If you choose to stay at Huntto you won't likely need a reservation but you almost certainly will for Orisson.
Be sure to stop at the Pilgrims' office in SJPP (Acceuil Saint Jacques). They will phone ahead for you to see if there are any beds available and as importantly they will let you know if the weather will permit you to go over the top. If they advise you to go the Valcarlos route please listen to them. Not to overstate a point but a few folks have died from weather related causes by trying to cross at the wrong time.
The weather is unpredictable at this time of the year. My first crossing in 2003 I left SJPP on April 8 and the crossing was completely clear. Another time in 2007, I left SJPP on April 20th and there was almost 2 feet of snow. Listen to the locals.
And - even though you're only going for a week, understand that it could be freezing cold or it could be scorching hot. Most likely it will be a bit rainy and quite warm in mid day. Keep checking the weather before you go and you'll probably get a pretty good feel for what's likely.
Buen camino
Cecelia
 

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