• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
This is a mobile optimized page that loads fast, if you want to load the real page, click this text.

Getting to SJPDP

EL LECHERO

Friends no Strangers
Time of past OR future Camino
CF 2016 PRIMITIVO 2022 LE PUY 2023
Flying from US, Looking for opinions on getting to St. Jean. I know Madrid to Pamploma then a taxi or Paris to Bayonne......etc. But would like to hear your experiences on what was better for you. Pro's vs cons. I only have 15 days to walk not including travel. Thanks in advance
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Fly into Madrid.
Walk out of the station and nab a bus to Pamplona.
Spend a night there recovering from jet lag.
Maybe spend a day exploring Pamplona (not a Monday)
Now you've seen Pamplona and can skip it when you walk back through, avoiding the waves of pilgrims stopping in the Brierley stages.
Next day, bus directly to SJPP.
That's my favorite way.
 
I like that! I like it a lot!
 
Anniesantiago said:
Fly into Madrid.
Click to expand...

EL LECHERO said:
I like that! I like it a lot!
Click to expand...
Flying straight to Madrid, instead of landing first in France, might reduce the complications of travel through different countries during Covid times. If things get too complicated with testing and documentation, or if the weather is bad in the Pyrenees, you could easily make a last-minute change of plans to start from a point in Spain - Roncesvalles or Pamplona.
 
Altus Poncho (ATMOSPHERIC H30)
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
March or April not bus from Pamplona to SJPDP
 
Monday is a typical day for closing museums, public facilities, etc.
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Look at flying to Bilbao or Bordeaux, depending on your arrival time it might help you get to SJPdP quicker by bus/train.
 
Lightfoot Guide to via Francigena
The 9th edition the Lightfoot Guide will let you complete the journey your way.
Monasp said:
March or April not bus from Pamplona to SJPDP
Click to expand...
Not during the covid era maybe not. But typically in March there is a 14:30 bus and starting somewhere near the start of April there is an additional 17:30 bus. The bus is run by Conda but that is partially owned by ALSA and so you may see it referred to with both names. Generally you cannot see the schedule on the website until a few months before the date you want to book so start looking in January. When using the website and entering SJPdP for the destination you have to spell out the name as Saint. If you use St. the computer will not find the town. After entering a few letters the computer will start giving you auto-completion suggestions to pick from anyway.

So you do not have to take a taxi.
 
Thank you! I was pretty sure I'd done this in April but it was years ago.
 
Walking Tours of the Camino!
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
trecile said:
That's not true.
There are many museums that are open on Mondays.
Click to expand...
There are???
I must say I've never found one?

I do know the following are closed on Mondays:
Burgos Museum of Evolution
Burgos Museum
Museu de Navarra in Pamplona
Museu de Chocolate Astorga
Museu Romano La Ergastula in Leon
Museu de Tiempo in Leon
Museu del Pueblo Gallego in Sto de Compostella

These are the ones I've been most interested in seeing...???
 
Last edited:
Just a note of warning: inclement weather can float the Napoleon route from SJPdP to Roncevalles, dashing whatever plans you have to cross the Pyrenees with spectacular views. Before you make any plans, consult when you will be LEGALLY allowed to cross that pass and then consider a Plan B if it’s snowing. In early April 2018, a snowstorm closed that route for several days and the locals said it was NOT unusual.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
trecile said:
That's not true.
There are many museums that are open on Mondays.
Click to expand...
We always assume they will be closed.

Mainly though this is a good opportunity for me to pass on a tip from Peg. She says that she always gets good leads for cheap eats from art museum staff. She figures that they have good taste but little money.
 
Several in Madrid are open, such as El Prado and Reina Sofia. Maybe just major museums in big cities.
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
We have done flight to Madrid, train to Pamplona, and taxi to SJPP.
 
And the castle in Ponferrada and the Portico de Gloria in Santiago
 
Rick of Rick and Peg said:
We always assume they will be closed.

Mainly though this is a good opportunity for me to pass on a tip from Peg. She says that she always gets good leads for cheap eats from art museum staff. She figures that they have good taste but little money.
Click to expand...
Indeed. Peg is right re museum staff; when working at the Frick in NYC decades ago staff always knew bargain spots. On the camino
lorry drivers, etc. can recommend good places.
 
Last edited:
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I took an early Flixbus at 6:45 from Bilbao to Bayonne on 3/30, 2019. I had 2 hours for sightseeing Bayonne before taking a train to SJPP (arriving around 13:00).

We asked the pilgrim office at SJPP if we could go thru the Napoleon Route on 3/31. They said it was possible if the weather ok. Thank GOD, it was a beautiful sunshine day on 3/31, so we went thru the Napoleon Route, enjoying the view very much. Later on, we heard the Napoleon Route was closed because of heavy snow on 4/3.

The above is just my experience how to reach SJPP and of taking the Napoleon at the end of March.
 
Last edited:
gloria lowe said:
Rich, do the Portugués from Porto. Perfect for your time frame. You will love it. I’m crawling my way from Samos right now.
Click to expand...
I'm either doing the Primitivo. Oviedo to Santiago or CF from SJPDP to Burgos most likely in March or early April.......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Camino Photo

Most read last week in this forum

Similar threads

U
  • Tags travel to bayonne/biarritz/sjpp
    • How to get to SJPP from Biarritz?
    Replies
    8
    Views
    738
    Umi
    U
    O
  • Tags travel to bayonne/biarritz/sjpp
    • Getting to SJpdp from Madrid
    Replies
    9
    Views
    1K
    arfajajc
    A
  • Tags travel to bayonne/biarritz/sjpp
    • Options from Bayonne to SJPdP?
    Replies
    10
    Views
    1K
    Former member 104756
    F
    Menu
    Log in
    Register