Eddiebee
Eddiebee
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances SJPDP to SDC May & June 2017
I have a friend that was preparing to walk the Camino Frances. She asked me several questions and then asked how to get from Atlanta to the starting place (which, for her was St Jean Pied de Port). I sent her an email with suggestions for the first couple of days. I am posting it here in the hope that other pilgrims from the USA will find it helpful.
Delta offers nonstop flights to Paris, London, Barcelona, and Madrid. I found the flight to Madrid to be the most convenient and least expensive. From Madrid, there is a flight to Biarritz, France. You will need to go to iberia.com to book this flight. It costs about $85 with one checked bag included.
Flying from Atlanta, you will arrive in Madrid around 8:30 AM at terminal T-1. Usually it only takes about 15 minutes to clear passport control. The line looks long but it moves quickly. You have plenty of time. There is a free bus that will take you to terminal T-4, which seems to be about 2 miles away. The flight to Biarritz is between noon and 1PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (this may change but that is what is is now). You will probably have a couple of hours free time before the flight. From the gate, you might load onto a bus that will drive you to the plane on the tarmac. The flight over the mountains is a preview of things to come.
A couple of weeks before you leave email contact@expressbourricot.com and request a shared taxi from Biarritz to Saint Jean Pied de Port. They will pick you up at the airport and take you to the tourist office in SJPDP. This is about an hour ride. They are very good. They do this every day and know what they are doing. If there are others to share the ride, and there will be, the cost will be about 20 euros. You will pay them in cash when you get to SJPDP, so have a few euros with you. You can get them from an ATM in Madrid airport but only get a small amount, the airport is expensive.
There are other ways to get to SJPDP from the USA. Bus, train, taxi, or a combination can be used. They are more time consuming, more confusing, and usually more expensive. For example, the flight from Paris to Biarritz cost less that the train and is several hours quicker. There is also the expense of an extra night’s lodging if you spend 10 to 12 hours in transit.
Once you are in SJPDP you should go directly to the pilgrim’s office. You can get your shell if you don’t yet have one and they will give you a list of the albergues and elevation changes all the way to SDC. Also, they like to keep a record of the home countries of pilgrims starting their pilgrimage at SJPDP. The taxi driver will tell you how to get there but it is easy. Climb the steps in front of where the taxi parks. Turn right through the city wall at the first opening that you see. It is not far. Walk to the next street and turn left, up the hill. The pilgrim office is a few buildings up on the left. I used their list of albergues as my only guide for the entire camino.
When you leave the pilgrim’s office, go down the hill to the church on the right just before you cross the bridge. There is a water fountain at the church with good cold water. Down the street across from the church there is an ATM about the middle of the block on the right. See the discussion on financial considerations for more info on ATM’s and the big mistake that you do not want to make.
Now you have a decision to make (actually you made it before you left home). You have plenty of time to walk to Orisson, if you are walking the Napoleon route. It is only about 5 miles to Orisson, but you should allow between 2 and 2-1/2 hours because of the climb. Send an email with an exact date to refuge.orisson@wanadoo.fr and pay in advance for your reservation if you wish to stay there. The second day you will only have about 12 miles including a steep descent to get you to Roncesvalles, or you can do as I did and walk another 3 miles to Espinal.
Or, you could spend the first night in SJPDP and walk 17 miles to Roncesvalles the first day on either route. It is very doable but requires a long day of walking. Figure about 7 to 8 hours of walking and at least 2-30 minute rest breaks. If you leave at 7AM you should get there around 4PM. A great place to stay in SJPDP is Beilari beilari.aterpea@gmail.com I suggest that you reserve a room. Their dinner is a great experience as is the evening meal at Orisson. You will meet new people at either/both that you will continue to see along the Camino.
I hope this is helpful. You may contact me by P M.
Delta offers nonstop flights to Paris, London, Barcelona, and Madrid. I found the flight to Madrid to be the most convenient and least expensive. From Madrid, there is a flight to Biarritz, France. You will need to go to iberia.com to book this flight. It costs about $85 with one checked bag included.
Flying from Atlanta, you will arrive in Madrid around 8:30 AM at terminal T-1. Usually it only takes about 15 minutes to clear passport control. The line looks long but it moves quickly. You have plenty of time. There is a free bus that will take you to terminal T-4, which seems to be about 2 miles away. The flight to Biarritz is between noon and 1PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (this may change but that is what is is now). You will probably have a couple of hours free time before the flight. From the gate, you might load onto a bus that will drive you to the plane on the tarmac. The flight over the mountains is a preview of things to come.
A couple of weeks before you leave email contact@expressbourricot.com and request a shared taxi from Biarritz to Saint Jean Pied de Port. They will pick you up at the airport and take you to the tourist office in SJPDP. This is about an hour ride. They are very good. They do this every day and know what they are doing. If there are others to share the ride, and there will be, the cost will be about 20 euros. You will pay them in cash when you get to SJPDP, so have a few euros with you. You can get them from an ATM in Madrid airport but only get a small amount, the airport is expensive.
There are other ways to get to SJPDP from the USA. Bus, train, taxi, or a combination can be used. They are more time consuming, more confusing, and usually more expensive. For example, the flight from Paris to Biarritz cost less that the train and is several hours quicker. There is also the expense of an extra night’s lodging if you spend 10 to 12 hours in transit.
Once you are in SJPDP you should go directly to the pilgrim’s office. You can get your shell if you don’t yet have one and they will give you a list of the albergues and elevation changes all the way to SDC. Also, they like to keep a record of the home countries of pilgrims starting their pilgrimage at SJPDP. The taxi driver will tell you how to get there but it is easy. Climb the steps in front of where the taxi parks. Turn right through the city wall at the first opening that you see. It is not far. Walk to the next street and turn left, up the hill. The pilgrim office is a few buildings up on the left. I used their list of albergues as my only guide for the entire camino.
When you leave the pilgrim’s office, go down the hill to the church on the right just before you cross the bridge. There is a water fountain at the church with good cold water. Down the street across from the church there is an ATM about the middle of the block on the right. See the discussion on financial considerations for more info on ATM’s and the big mistake that you do not want to make.
Now you have a decision to make (actually you made it before you left home). You have plenty of time to walk to Orisson, if you are walking the Napoleon route. It is only about 5 miles to Orisson, but you should allow between 2 and 2-1/2 hours because of the climb. Send an email with an exact date to refuge.orisson@wanadoo.fr and pay in advance for your reservation if you wish to stay there. The second day you will only have about 12 miles including a steep descent to get you to Roncesvalles, or you can do as I did and walk another 3 miles to Espinal.
Or, you could spend the first night in SJPDP and walk 17 miles to Roncesvalles the first day on either route. It is very doable but requires a long day of walking. Figure about 7 to 8 hours of walking and at least 2-30 minute rest breaks. If you leave at 7AM you should get there around 4PM. A great place to stay in SJPDP is Beilari beilari.aterpea@gmail.com I suggest that you reserve a room. Their dinner is a great experience as is the evening meal at Orisson. You will meet new people at either/both that you will continue to see along the Camino.
I hope this is helpful. You may contact me by P M.
