Madrid to SJPDP

[dena]

I’ll be landing in Madrid around 3:30 PM. Is it smarter to stay the night in Madrid and leave in the morning to SJPDP? Or just head straight there? I was looking at buses to Pamplona then bus from Pamplona to Sjpdp.
What would be the cheapest, smartest, easiest way to go about getting there? Any advice or recs appreciated! I was thinking also a train to Pamplona then bus to st Jean pied de port could also be an option

 

[Bradypus]

A friend and I are flying to Madrid late on Sunday night. We will take an early Monday morning flight to San Sebastian airport (which is really just outside Irun). Walk the 5km to Hendaye station and take trains to Bayonne and then SJPDP. Should be there by lunchtime. There is only one bus per day from Pamplona to SJPDP at 12 noon. Miss that and it is a taxi or a 24 hour wait. We booked the flight months ago and it was quite a bit cheaper than the bus from Madrid to Pamplona.

 

[J Willhaus]

I always spend the night in Madrid to help with the jet lag coming from the US. There is an early train (7:30 or something) which will get you to Pamplona with plenty of time the next day to walk or taxi to the bus station for the noon bus to St Jean. Alternately, you can take a late train or bus to Pamplona from Madrid on your arrival day, stay overnight there, and then take the noon bus to St Jean. At some point in the fall the bus to St. Jean stops running, but I am not sure when that happens and you did not say when you were traveling. At that point you would need to take a taxi from Pamplona.

You can also begin your Camino from Pamplona which is also a nice beginning point and it avoids getting to a tiny town in France.

Or you could explore the route that @Bradypus mentioned.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I usually take the bus from Madrid to Pamplona then spend a few days in Pamplona resting and "touristing" about - then take the bus to SJPP. Then on the way back through I've seen Pamplona, so I can get 'between the stages" and save myself from the bed race.

 

[Bradypus]

Or you could explore the route that @Bradypus mentioned.

That didn't go quite according to plan. The landing at San Sebastian was aborted when we were almost on the runway because of atrocious weather. Diverted to Bilbao instead then taken by bus to San Sebastian. So running about 5 hours late. If we had landed as expected it should have been pretty smooth!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I think it likely that you won't make it to Pamplona in time to catch the bus to St Jean. That means spending a night in Pamplona, taking or sharing a cab to St Jean, or starting your camino from Pamplona. Are you okay with spending a night in Madrid and another in Pamplona? If you skip Madrid the money you save would offset some of the cost of a taxi. You have a decent chance of finding other pilgrims on the train or at the Pamplona station to share cab fare.

 

[BROWNCOUNTYBOB]

We started three of our four CF in Madrid; the other one we started in Barcelona. We really enjoy Madrid, so take the Metro to Sol, located in the old town. We enjoy spending time in Plaza Mayor. There is a nearby El Corte Ingles where we stock up on food and snacks. Spending a night in Madrid helps us get over jet lag. We then take the Metro to the Atocha train station and catch a train to Pamplona (easy to purchase train tickets on line before our trip). Then we enjoy almost a full day in Pamplona. It's nice to relax there before starting our camino. For our first three trips, we booked bus tickets to St Jean. The bus leaves at 10:00 am and arrives in St Jean 90 minutes later. During our 2021 camino, we were unable to purchase tickets. Not sure if this was Covid related. St Jean is a wonderful town and we enjoy spending a day there before beginning our camino. Spending one night each in Madrid, Pamplona and St Jean helps us get over jet lag and puts us in a relaxed mood before starting our camino. Bob