In and out from Paris

So long as you are not travelling around the time of a public holiday in France, usually reservations are not needed on trains ahead of time, though reservations are 'required' on some particular services eg some TGV trains. These kind of reservations can be made at short notice though.

When I did my first Camino in May-June 07, I flew into Paris CDG, and from the airport was able to catch a train to Biarritz without leaving the airport. Air France also flies from CDG to Biarritz, but because it was Friday, the flight was expensive compared with the cost of a train ticket. If I had gone on a Thursday via Air France, the cost was similar to a train ticket.

On returning to Paris from Santiago, I had to fly via Barcelona to Paris, but there are now a couple of airlines that offer flights direct to Paris CDG from Santiago.

I suggest you check this site http://groups.msn.com/ElCaminoSantiago/caminotravelair.msnw where you can look at all your travel options. Train tickets do not need to be purchased in advance, although if you are sure of your travel plans, it is always better to prebook and avoid suprises.

I am just about to leave from Camino #2, it will be great to see everything in a different season. This time I am flying into Madrid, then Pamplona where I will begin walking.

Buen Camino, Lora

:arrow:

Sumachado said:

So, did you go from Paris to Biarritz by plane or you took a train?

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I never went to Biarritz. I began my trek to St. Jean by taking the fast train from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Bordeaux. I had no reservation before landing in Paris - I just went down to the airport train station and booked a 2nd class passage to Bordeaux. So, I arrived in Paris around 11:30 AM, and was on the train to Bordeaux about two hours later. I was even able to make a reservation for the Bordeaux Ibis hotel at the train ticket counter.

I enjoy red wine (hence my nickname), and I had thought of starting my trek in Bordeaux after first spending a couple days there. Bordeaux has a link to the Camino, along with a decent outdoor store, so I used that time to mentally and physically prepare for the Way and have some fun as well. After some reflection, I decided to begin the Camino at St. Jean instead (I didn't have a decent map with the Bordeaux route, and I'm not an experienced hiker).

So after a nice couple of nice days in Bordeaux, I took a morning train to Bayonne and spent a day there hanging out and doing some last-minute shopping (bought a rain poncho at a large sporting goods shop there). The next morning, I took a train from Bayonne to St. Jean, stayed the night there, and began the Camino early the next day.

I guess it all depends on how much time you have to do the Camino. I had budgeted about 60 days, in part so I could have some time pre- and post-Camino for preparation and decompression. So if you have less time, then you may have to find a more direct route to St. Jean than mine. But based on my experience, you don't have to make train reservations for each step long in advance. Whatever path you take to get there, buen Camino!

PS - To get back to Paris, I took a straight-shot bus there from Santiago. It cost around 108 Euros, and took approx. 25 hours (we had a couple of break stops). When I was there, the Paris buses left on Mon/Wed/Fri at 12:30PM from the Santiago bus station (I bought the ticket about 2 hours in advance of the departure time - kind of a spur of the moment thing). I'm not sure I'd ever take a bus that far again - it was a bit uncomfortable. But at least I didn't have to worry about changing trains and such. Guess it was worth the experience, anyway... :?