Antoinette
New Member
I have just returned from my second Camino. This time I started from St. Jean (Roncesvalles the first time). I had a very easy time getting to St. Jean. I flew on Spanair (Vueling) from Heathrow to Bilbao and had a great two days exploring that wonderful city (and my fare was reasonable--around $35 US). From there I had read all sorts of complicated things about getting to St. Jean, but here's what actually happened. I had purchased my train ticket from Hendaye to Bayonne and knew that I had to take a bus from Bilbao to Hendaye (http://www.pesa.net) (you are not able to buy the tickets on the net, but you can go to the station in Bilbao ahead of time and purchase). I got on the bus to Bayonne (Baiona in Euskera) and got off in Hendaye, while everyone else went to the train station in Bayonne, where the next day I had a ticket to take the 1130 bus to St. Jean (also purchased online from the French rail). But...had I known, I could have just relaxed in my lovely bus, with assigned seating, enjoyed the views, and gotten there without the two hour wait in the train station for my 20 minute ride to Bayonne. I chose to avoid Paris and would easily do this routing again.
