Is there an early or midday train from Leon to Santiago?

[dutchwalkagain]

I know Renfe doesn't post trains until 2 months or so prior to date needed. But does anyone know if there is a train from Leon to Santiago any time between 8 am and 3 pm end april/early May ? We would consider a bus too but my last experience on a long 3 1/2 hour bus trip along the Camino was awful ( I needed to use the bathroom but had no opportunity during any of the bus stops and bathroom in bus was kept closed.) Thanks

 

[henrythedog]

Just the late afternoon one I think. You might play around with connections, but the obvious one through Ourense doesn’t help.

 

[dutchwalkagain]

I saw the late afternoon one which would get us to Santiago around 11 pm. Not optimal

 

[VNwalking]

Not optimal

Wierd. I've traveled by train to Santiago from Sahagun in the late morning, but that was 2017 or so. Now the schedule only shows an evening departure - perhaps that's a winter thing, when there's less demand along the Camino Francés, but I'm just guessing.

 

[dutchwalkagain]

Wierd. I've traveled by train to Santiago from Sahagun in the late morning, but that was 2017 or so. Now the schedule only shows an evening departure - perhaps that's a winter thing, when there's less demand along the Camino Francés, but I'm just guessing.

Might be that's just the winter schedule. I hope so. If not we could rent a one way car I think with drop off at the Santiago airport but that would be my last resort solution. We prefer trains. We're walking the Meseta and Camino Finisterra this trip. (We've walked all other sections prior to this trip )

 

[Corned Beef]

If you check the rail network map, you'll see that through Ourense is your best bet. All the others are indirect.

https://www.adif.es/static-data/mapa/index.html

 

[J Willhaus]

I see one at 5:06 p.m. for next week. That doesn't help with your timeline though.

León to Santiago de Compostela

goo.gl

Here's one where you take a shorter bus ride to Zamora and then change to the train. Again this are more current schedules and not for next summer.

León to Santiago de Compostela

goo.gl

 

[henrythedog]

You could get there earlier by going to Madrid and back up to Santiago on the current timetable. Not entirely surprising, mad as it may seem, as the Spanish rail network is essentially radial with Madrid as the hub.

 

[Corned Beef]

What a smart dog.

Leave Leon at 06:44. Arrive 8:38. Leave Madrid at 10:05. Arrive 14:53 using the fast trains.

 

[VNwalking]

You could get there earlier by going to Madrid and back up to Santiago on the current timetable. Not entirely surprising, mad as it may seem, as the Spanish rail network is essentially radial with Madrid as the hub.

This may be a seasonal schedule, as I've gone there direct (via Ponferrada, Monforte, and Ourense) in the summertime, leaving late morning/noonish. That said, trains through Madrid that @Corned Beef mentioned (while much longer) are a bit faster in terms of time onboard the train.

 

[J Willhaus]

I do recommend getting tickets ahead though to get a discount for early purchase and because a lot of the trains to Santiago are selling out lately.

 

[dutchwalkagain]

Thanks all for your ideas. We will keep an eye on more direct trains closer to March/April. For now I booked a one way car rental from Leon train station to the Santiago Airport for $64 . No prepayment needed and I can cancel it if a decent train option becomes available.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Take the bus?

 

[dutchwalkagain]

Take the bus?

Thanks. You actually gave us great advice last year for the bus route O'Cebreiro to Santiago . We did but..... as I mentioned, it was a terrible experience. Not the ride/bus itself, but no possibility to use a restroom for more then 3 hours, which is an issue for us. (side effect of older age ) The restroom in bus was kept locked even after I very nicely asked the driver. He was very rude and said "WC in Santiago". We ended up getting of the bus at the Santiago airport because we just "had to go" LOL . Then we took a taxi into town .

Ps . I did the entire Frances in 2015 but currently we do mostly 2 to 3 week sections of the Camino each trip. That's the longest we can stay away from home nowadays. So every trip we pick different sections. Last year we did Pamplona to Burgos and Astorga to Villafranca del Bierzo. This time we really want to do the Meseta and as contrast the Finisterra Camino. For us it's the pure relaxation of walking Inn to Inn in Beautiful Spain. Sadly we don;t have anything similar in the USA .