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Floridians -- "Getting There"

JMiller

New Member
Nov 10, 2011
17
3
North Florida
Im interested in hearing from fellow Floridians on how you have (or will) get to SJPP -- airport you are leaving from... where you are arriving in Europe and how you are getting to SJPP once there.

It seems as if airfare from Jacksonville to Madrid is much cheaper than to Paris / England. I can also depart from Orlando, Miami, or even Atlanta (my sister lives up there).

Any suggestions on air carriers as well?
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.

scruffy1

Veteran Member
Oct 10, 2010
2,184
5,702
Jerusalem
Time of past OR future Camino
Holy Year from Pamplona 2010, SJPP 2011, Lisbon 2012, Le Puy 2013, Vezelay (partial watch this space!) 2014; 2015 Toulouse-Puenta la Reina (Arles)
Oh dear, this is complicated, I was born and raised in Tampa, live now in Jerusalem (yes), Israel , and have walked the Camino three times, a rare Jewish pilgrim to St James. Iberia is the most obvious choice but actually a last resort since their service leaves much to be desired, the seating is cramped and they have difficulties keeping to their timetable. Within Spain you don't have much choice. I would recommend flying to Madrid connecting on to San Seastian, a beautiful Basque town on the north coast known for its port, the views, and its Tapas bars-a wonderful place to get through that first night’s jet lag! Next morning take the train to Bayonne-you change at Hendaye which involves simply walking across the border to a waiting French train less then an hour all told. From Bayonne there is a bus leaving about an hour-hour and a half after you arrive going on to St Jean Pied de Port. Do realize that SJDP is a tiny place and not exactly on every transportation company’s itinerary. I know, it sounds complicated but its actualy very easy and both the Spanish and French trains are very reliable the people accustomed to transporting pilgrims. Fly back to Madrid from Santiago but book early since the airport in Santiago is very small and flights are few-then its home again home again jiggity jig. There is a bus from Santiago to the Madrid airport - don’t even consider it unless you have limbs of steel and bladder as big as a watermelon - it’s a long bone shaking trip with few stops and you must change buses in Madrid to go back out to the airport. There is a train but it costs almost as much as flying and you still must get back to the airport. The Camino is a wonderful life changing experience, getting there, coming home, and then facing the return to reality are much more difficult. Buen Camino!
 
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scruffy1

Veteran Member
Oct 10, 2010
2,184
5,702
Jerusalem
Time of past OR future Camino
Holy Year from Pamplona 2010, SJPP 2011, Lisbon 2012, Le Puy 2013, Vezelay (partial watch this space!) 2014; 2015 Toulouse-Puenta la Reina (Arles)
PS Do try to get your credential before SJPD, there are incredible numbers of pilgrims going through and the good people there are often left with no credentials only have the stamp! Order here:
http://www.americanpilgrims.com/camino/credential_req.html
very efficient and usualy quick
S.
 
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

pyrofly

New Member
Jul 2, 2012
19
0
We are in miami.

Leaving on sun the 19th of aug. FLying through Puerto rico arriving at barajas madrid on the 20th.
The original plan was train to pamplona then bus from pamplona to sjpdp. The plan has changed because the train tickets will be lost if the plane arrives late. Buying the train tickets when we arrive is twice as expensive as prebooking online. For now we are making reservations for renting a car to drive madrid to pamplona. then plan on hoping the bus from Pamplona to sjpdp. There is only 2 so the savings are marginal. car vs. train. If there were 4 of us it would be much less expensive.

From santiago we plan on taking the overnight sleeper train back to madrid.

It's hard to make reservations for these kind of trips since so much can change once you start your journey.

Our return flight home is on OCt 5 so we have a few days to spare.
 

Yes. It seems like mine came in less than a week. I was surprised at how quickly it arrived.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.

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