Help. Travel from UK

[22Andym22]

Hello, I plan to walk Camino Frances next year but I am stuck on how to get to and from the UK, Manchester. As I am only 22 when I start my walk I'll obviously prefer the cheapest option... Not necessarily the easiest. Please help. Thanks in advance.

 

[mikevasey]

The cheapest way would be hitching to the Channel ports and then once across hitch to south west France. The other option is get a megabus to London and with them again to Toulouse and then either hitch, or get a train to near SJPDP. If you know a few months in advance when you want to start you could check Flybe's site, they fly to Biarritz/Bayonne from Birmingham ( from May 25) and a cheap flight may be possible.

Good Luck and Buen Camino.

 

[whariwharangi]

There are flybe flights from Birmingham to Biarritz, otherwise you have to travel to London first.

2225 London to Saint Jean Pied de Port via Biarritz Airport

2226 This section discusses travel from London to Saint Jean Pied de Port via Biarritz Airport

Index 2225
2227 Airline Service London to Biarritz Airport
2228 Biarritz Airport to Gare de Bayonne
2229 Gare de Bayonne to Saint Jean Pied de Port
2230 Saint Jean Pied de Port

2227 Airline Service London to Biarritz Airport

The closest airport to Saint Jean Pied de Port is Biarritz/Anglet/Bayonne Airport (BIQ). Biarritz Airport is relatively small and it is easy to get oriented.

Biarritz Airport website indicates airlines and destinations including flights from London.

Biarritz Airport BIQ
http://en.biarritz.aeroport.fr/

At time of writing:

Ryan Air provides service from London Stansted (STN) to Biarritz (BIQ) all year.

Easy Jet provides service from London Gatwick (LGW) to Biarritz (BIQ) on seasonal basis.

2228 Biarritz Airport to Gare de Bayonne

Chronoplus bus #14 travels from Biarritz Airport to Gare de Bayonne. The bus stop is just outside the airport. The bus ride takes about 40 minutes.

Chronoplus
http://www.chronoplus.eu/

Gare de Bayonne. See the picture so you recognize where to get off the bus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Bayonne

2229 Gare de Bayonne to Saint Jean Pied de Port

SNCF TER train #62 travels from Gare de Bayonne to SJPdP. You cannot reserve a seat. You can purchase the ticket at the station. At time of writing tracks to SJPdP are washed out. The train goes to Cambo les Bains where passengers transfer to an SNCF bus to SJPdP. Sometimes the bus is used for the entire trip.

TER Aquitaine
http://www.ter-sncf.com/Regions/Aquitaine/fr/Default.aspx

 

[JohnMcM]

Hello, I plan to walk Camino Frances next year but I am stuck on how to get to and from the UK, Manchester. As I am only 22 when I start my walk I'll obviously prefer the cheapest option... Not necessarily the easiest. Please help. Thanks in advance.

It may help you to know that EasyJet have today announced a new service starting on the 19th April this year. Twice a week, Bristol to Bilbao, £30:99 one-way.

Enjoy your planning.
Buen Camino

 

[tyrrek]

Hi! A bit of research and advance planning will save you a fortune. The most obvious route has been mentioned (Stansted to Biarritz) but the train to Stansted can easily cost more than the flight. It should all come in at less than £100 if booked well in advance though. Less obvious is to fly to Dublin and then on to Biarritz. Manchester to Dublin can cost as little as £10, but beware of charges for checked in baggage. Just wear all your clothes on the plane and carry your near-empty backpack as cabin baggage. Good luck!
Edit: The flight from Dublin to Biarritz leaves earlier in the morning than it used to, so you'd have to fly to Dublin the day before. The cheapest fare for this route is currently around £50, leaving Manchester on 22nd April and arriving in Biarritz around midday on 23rd, but add £15 for a bunk in Dublin.

 

[William Marques]

Flying will be the cheapest almost always as there are no incidental costs that hitching will have as you will be lucky to make it to Dover let alone SJPP in a day. The only problem is your return as to get the cheapest flights you need to book well ahead and this means you will be walking with a time-frame which is not ideal.

 

[22Andym22]

Thanks everyone for the help. I had done research before and it still looks like I'll have to walk on a time frame due to booking return flights... Not ideal but that's life. Can't wait to start walking!

 

[22Andym22]

Past flight costs from Santiago to UK which wasn't overly expensive? How much to book a flight at the airport on the day or a day or so before?

 

[karenfromcali]

Past flight costs from Santiago to UK which wasn't overly expensive? How much to book a flight at the airport on the day or a day or so before?

Hi Andy.
Unfortunately almost all airlines will cost an arm and a leg to book within a day or so. Advance booking, although restricting for your walk, is the cheapest option.
Buen camino

 

[nedspencer]

Hello, I plan to walk Camino Frances next year but I am stuck on how to get to and from the UK, Manchester. As I am only 22 when I start my walk I'll obviously prefer the cheapest option... Not necessarily the easiest. Please help. Thanks in advance.

Hello Andy
Looks like you have lots of options to consider!
Just thought you might want to check out Ultreia Mancunia - a group of CAMINO followers in the NW
We've met twice and hopefully we'll meet up again
This might give you an opportunity to meet/talk to other people who have walked the CAMINO or oare planning to
(I think there is a Facebook page - set up by Eddie)
Ned

 

[tyrrek]

Hi Andy.
Unfortunately almost all airlines will cost an arm and a leg to book within a day or so. Advance booking, although restricting for your walk, is the cheapest option.
Buen camino

I agree. It's not just the flight that will be expensive if not booked in advance, but any onward travel when you get back to the UK. The last time I flew into Stansted it cost me over £100 to get the train up to Preston. One way, off peak.
Again, there are convoluted ways to get back fairly cheaply. For example Santiago to Barcelona with Ryanair (20-30 Euros), then Barcelona to Manchester with Jet2 (from 40-50 Euros).
It also depends on days of week, time of year etc. of course.

 

[nidarosa]

Hi, I went to and from Liverpool to Santiago this September (bussed to Astorga to start walking). The unexpectedly cheap way I did it was to find a cheap return ticket from Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston - they are typically £180, but I found one that was £16 and a return for £22! Then book all the way to Stansted - underground to Tottenham something? is every 3 minutes and the train from there to Stansted is every 15 or so. Ryanair flies to Biarritz from there - get the bus to Bayonne train station and the train from there to St Jean - and they fly back to Stansted from Santiago too! Just check the flights compared to the train times carefully. The train bit takes a bit of time, but is easy enough, just read up on your guidebook en route and you'll be fine.

 

[nidarosa]

Also, if you don't want to plan your return just now, one good way to return to the NW is to get the £30 ALSA bus from Santiago to Porto, then fly Ryanair direct to Liverpool, and from there get the train up to Manchester. Keep an eye on the prices as you get closer and weigh up the price vs flexibility.

 

[whariwharangi]

Past flight costs from Santiago to UK which wasn't overly expensive? How much to book a flight at the airport on the day or a day or so before?

That question has too many variables. It mainly depends on how full the plane is. Typically during summer flights will be booked full while in January there will be lots of seats.

I think it was about 150 euro (sorry don't recall exactly) to take an Easy Jet flight from Madrid to London purchased the day of travel at 20 Dec 2012. The plane was nearly full.

 

[jim-459]

Hello, I plan to walk Camino Frances next year but I am stuck on how to get to and from the UK, Manchester. As I am only 22 when I start my walk I'll obviously prefer the cheapest option... Not necessarily the easiest. Please help. Thanks in advance.

Check out JET2 , they fly from Manchester to Toulouse. Take the bus from the airport to the train station and take the train direct to Bayonne. Depending what time you arrive in Bayonne you can take the train to SJPP. Bayonne has a Youth Hostel if you get stuck. There is a Albergue called Maison Kaserna in SJPP that i have stayed at, it belongs to the church and i believe that you can make a reservation the day before you arrive. I paid 20 euro for bed/breakfast and evening meal.

 

[22Andym22]

I knew the Camino family was good but this response has been wonderful and I have plenty of options to mull over for the next few days/weeks (before I book). Thanks everyone for the reply and if anyone thinks of other ways, different to the ones mentioned then I'd be very grateful also.

 

[TonyC]

Hello, I plan to walk Camino Frances next year but I am stuck on how to get to and from the UK, Manchester. As I am only 22 when I start my walk I'll obviously prefer the cheapest option... Not necessarily the easiest. Please help. Thanks in advance.

We're flying from Manchester to Bilbao in late April to do the second half of the Camino Frances. We managed to get a very low price from Easyjet by booking early. It's worth a look, and I think that it is reasonably easy to get from Bilbao to SJPDP, we've not done that though so others may be able to advise you more about that part of the trip. Good luck with your trip.

We live fairly near Manchester and, of you wish you could send me a personal message and I would be happy to chat about our experiences on the Camino, possibly meet-up of you wish.