Flying Madrid to Toulouse, then on to Bayonne?

[singerb]

Hello Forum.

I'm a first-time poster, and hopefully first time pilgrim this May. I just bit the bullet and got myself a flight into Madrid Barajas on May 2. I am very keen on starting the Camino at St-Jean Pied-De-Port, but now realize that Madrid to SJPP is not an easy route to plan. Oh well, I gotta make it work somehow!

Here's what I'm thinking: I found that EasyJet flies from Madrid to Toulouse for about 50 euros. From Toulouse I can then get an Intercites train to Bayonne, and onwards to SJPP. It's going to be slog, as I fly out of Toronto the previous day at 6 p.m. and would likely arrive in St-Jean after 10 p.m. IF, that is, I make all my many connections . . .

My questions are:

Given the lateness of my arrival, should I just try to find a place for the night in Bayonne or try to push on to SJPP?

Any good reccomendations for a comfortable place to stay in SJPP that would accept a late-arriving pilgrim?

Has anyone tried something like this crazy route?

I have a feeling I'm going to want a day or two in St Jean to rest before striking out on day one across the Pyrenees!

-- Ben

 

[Trudy]

An alternative would be to stay in Madrid for a couple of nights to recover from jetlag. Then get the 10.30am bus from Madrid to Pamplona, wait a couple of hours (time to look around the city), take the local bus from Pamplona to Roncesvalles (it will be full of pilgrims, can't miss it!), and get the connecting taxi to St Jean Pied de Port.

Bus tickets for Madrid to Pamplona can be booked through the Movelia website, and you should be able to print your own ticket: http://www.movelia.es and buses leave from the Avenida de America bus station.

Trudy

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There is at 1515 bus from the Madrid airport to Pamplona. Overnight in a Pamplona hostal, then take the bus to Roncescalles and a taxi to SJPdP. Your jet lag will be gone, and you can head up to Orisson that afternoon.

 

[singerb]

Thanks for the replies!

I thought of doing the bus to Pamplona route, but I am working with a very limited time frame and hoped to avoid staying overnight anywhere before I got to the starting point for my hike. I am actually only going as far as Burgos or thereabouts, before heading back to Madrid for a few days before flying home.

I admit I was also a little non-plussed by the idea of passing by much (or at least some) of the camino route on the bus before I walk it.

As it stands I've booked my EasyJet flight to Toulouse, and something tells me they don't do refunds. I will work with it, and see how I feel when I arrive! Hopefully I will be able to get a decent snooze on the plane/train, but still be able to get a few hours sleep in St Jean before I set out!