N. Americans, what city did you fly out of?

[Choweth]

When you reach/reached Santiago, what city would you fly out of? I looked at a plane from Santiago to Austin and no matter how early or late I book, its at least $2,000. However, if I take a bus to Lisbon (51€) and then Lisbon to Austin it's $840. HUGE difference. What city worked for you? Trying to find the best option.


{Candace, Texas, USA)
http://www.pilgrimontherun.com
-a blog about life, a bucket list, and a future pilgrimage-
KIK: candacehoweth91

 

[Milepost99]

That's a great price. I am going (sept) DC-Philly-Paris / Madrid-Philly-DC $1100.

 

[PHJohnson]

I found New York, Madrid, Pamplona then Santiago, Madrid, New York for 1350.

 

[simply B]

It seemed to me that originating in Santiago for a return to the States was terribly expensive just as you have found...so I never planned on going on the Camino. (True!) But I really did want a nice, long walk somewhere in France, maybe an option to hike the Pyrenees. So, I asked my travel agent to find me a decent airfare that could cover a lot of possibilities should I wish to vary my regional travel on foot, by bus or train.

The best fare was an "open jaw" ticket - Arrival at CDG-Paris, Departure from Madrid 7 weeks later. From a little town airport in central Washington (State) through Seattle, the fare was around $1,100.

I used the train out of CDG-Paris to get down to Bayonne and used another train to get from SdC to Madrid. By booking second class (still way comfy), each of those rail trips was about 60 euros.

There were all sorts of favorable discoveries such as this that kind of sucked me onto the Way. (And, I don't regret it for a minute!)

I hope this helps.

Buen Camino!

 

[NicoZ]

If you're willing to waste a bit of time then check the low cost flights to London or Paris. I glanced at Ryanair you can get to London from Santiago for about €60 with advance booking. Even if you factor in a cheap hotel for a night in London the total cost of the flight from the US to London and the flights to /from Spain back to London may end up cheaper then more direct and obvious routes.

NB this assumes you book in advance.

 

[markss]

You will often get the best deals by first booking a round trip flight from a major US city airline hub (Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Atlanta, New York, Miami) to a major European city (ie, Madrid, Paris, London, Dublin, etc.) and then playing around with flights, train, or bus travel from there to Camino starting points. Return from Santiago back to the same major European city for the onward flight to the US.

Specifically In the case of originating in Texas, American Airlines flies non stop from Dallas to Madrid. Rates are usually among the best you'll find out of the US. I've done the Los Angeles to Dallas to Madrid flights myself having found going through Dallas to be most economical.

Airfares are quirky and ever changeable with costs significantly varied so it really helps to play around, particuarly if you have the advantage of advance planning time.

Keep in mind that flights between the US and Dublin are often among the cheapest to any European destination. From there discount airlines can get you to starting points in France as well as back from Santiago to Dublin for the return back home. Flights from the US to Madrid are often reasonable as well.

To the OP: When you talk of a fare of $840 I hope that is roundtrip. If not and it is only one way back to the US that is very expensive.

 

[whariwharangi]

Try searching expedia.

Try the fares going to and from major centers ... from New York, Chicago, LA. Mexico DF, to London, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Rome.

Europe has a lot of discount airlines. Easy Jet, Ryan Air, Transavia are but a few. If your pack is small enough to carry on and you book early enough, seats can be had for $20.00 for a flight from one of the major centers to Biarritz, Le Puy, or Santiago.

I went from my home to Vancouver on a connector. Vancouver to London. London to Biarritz. Home from Madrid to London and reverse. Seattle would have been cheaper than Vancouver but would have added a day each way getting there.

 

[markss]

Ha Ha Wharlwharangi ... we seem to be on the same page here!

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

To Phjohnson,
what airline(s) were you looking at for 1350 NewYork etc return?I could leave a lot sooner for that price.

 

[NicoZ]

This thread made me curious so I did some looking.

Vueling (Spanish discount carrier) has a direct flight to Charles DeGualle in Paris with an offer price of €34. They also fly to Orly in Paris but international flights tend to go out of CDG. So taking the flight to CDG you save the cost and hassle of the airport shuttle. It's an advance offer price with limited number of seats but with luck. Vueling also tends to have better baggage allowances etc then Ryanair. Even at the non offer price of around €90 it might make sense.

Ryanair has a short hop to Madrid for around €30. Add all the fees and it might be closer to €40.

Then you have the flights to London. Problem is they land at Stansted and it'll cost you some money and time to change airports.

You might want to sign up at the various airline websites for the offers. Who knows maybe one will be worth it.

 

[PHJohnson]

To Phjohnson,
what airline(s) were you looking at for 1350 NewYork etc return?I could leave a lot sooner for that price.

Using my companies travel system I found:

Aug 7th JFK - Madrid - Pamplona (Depart 6:55PM Arive Pamplona 4PM
American Flight #94 & Iberia #5419

Sept 15 Santaigo - Paris-JFK
(Depart 12:15PM Arive JFK 5:10PM)
Iberia Flight #5795 & Iberia Flight #4231

Round Trip Economy $1,310

Airport code for Pamplona is PNA
Airport code for Santiago is SCQ

Look around a bit, there is also a set of flights that take off 5 or so hours earlier and you can get into Pamplona by noon leaving you time to take a bus or car to ST Jean that day.

The flight numbers stay the same for most days of the weeks, I just used these dates and times for another poster last week. When looking for flights out of Santiago make sure you have Santiago in Spain, many on-line booking systems try to default to Santiago Chile which will blow the price way high. That is why I usually use the Airport codes instead of airport city names. Also, when going out of New York, try to use "New York Area Airports" as limiting yourself to only Newark or JFK can cost you a lot of $$$$$.

When anyone is doing travel costs you have to get to the true costs from point A to point B. I do a lot of International travel for work and you may find a cheaper air fair but loose the savings in an extra night at a hotel, train, & meals.

There is also the cost for your time, In the US we just don't have the vacation time to take 1 to 3 extra days chasing a cheap fair. But I do like the Dublin and then down Idea, have to check it out as I plan to do the camino over two years taking my son (and maybe a few Scouts from his troop) for a Leon-Santiago-Fisterra/Muxia leg

 

[SuGardner]

We are leaving next week, Charlotte NC to Madrid non-stop, $1190 round-trip.

We will catch the train out of Madrid the next day and go spend a few days up in San Sebastian to let our bodies acclimate to the time zone change (and celebrate a wedding anniversary) and then for a few euros will make our way over to Bayonne and then to SJPP.

The train tickets (Renfe) from Madrid to San Sebastian totaled $77 and that was for 2 tickets (not bad). We didn't have too much trouble with the Renfe site...just made sure that we alerted our credit card company that we were making a purchase in Spain.

Once we nailed down a plane tickets, everything else started to fall into place. It was kind of crazy prior to that trying to figure out what city to fly out of and what city to fly into and all the associated costs (for trains, planes, and busses) and the cheapest days to fly and how long to wait before our desired departure date to purchase tickets, etc. Now we are chill (we already feel like we have started our camino for lots of reasons) and hope to meet lots of y'all.

Buen Camino,
Susan

 

[blaneymarine]

Boston---Madrid, Autobus to Pamplona or in my case Irun. Best deals were in September.
David from Rhode Island

 

[miamijhp]

Sister simon check here:

http://matrix.itasoftware.com



Itinerary details

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Flights
Itinerary
Itinerary

New York (JFK) to Pamplona (PNA) - Sun, Jul 7
New York (JFK) to Boston (BOS) - Sun, Jul 7
American 1850 Dep: 12:45PM Arr: 1:55PM 1h 10m Boeing 737 Economy (O)
Layover in BOS 3h 35m

Boston (BOS) to Madrid (MAD) - Sun, Jul 7
American 5675 Dep: 5:30PM Arr: 6:20AM 6h 50m Airbus A330 Economy (O)
OPERATED BY IBERIA Layover in MAD Mon, Jul 8 2h 50m

Madrid (MAD) to Pamplona (PNA) - Mon, Jul 8
Iberia 8530 Dep: 9:10AM Arr: 10:05AM 0h 55m Canadair RJ 900 Economy (O)
OPERATED BY AIR NOSTRUM L.A.M.S.A.

Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) to New York (JFK) - Sun, Sep 15
Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) to Bilbao (BIO) - Sun, Sep 15
Iberia 8359 Dep: 6:40PM Arr: 7:40PM 1h 0m Canadair RJ 900 Economy (Q)
OPERATED BY AIR NOSTRUM L.A.M.S.A. Layover in BIO 11h 5m

Bilbao (BIO) to Madrid (MAD) - Mon, Sep 16
American 5555 Dep: 6:45AM Arr: 8:00AM 1h 15m Airbus A320 Economy (Q)
OPERATED BY IBERIA Layover in MAD 2h 25m

Madrid (MAD) to New York (JFK) - Mon, Sep 16
American 95 Dep: 10:25AM Arr: 12:50PM 8h 25m Boeing 757 Economy (Q)

Cost per passenger (including taxes & fees) $1,231.00
Total cost for 1 passenger $1,231.00

How to buy this ticket
Tickets cannot be purchased directly from ITA Software.
Provide this information to a travel agent to help them match the fares found.
Make sure to provide the exact booking and fare codes shown.
Fare 1: Carrier AA OHA0Q2Y1 NYC to PNA (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code O
Covers JFK-BOS (Economy), BOS-MAD (Economy), MAD-PNA (Economy)
$270.18
Fare 2: Carrier AA QHA0Q2Y1 SCQ to NYC (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code Q
Covers SCQ-BIO (Economy), BIO-MAD (Economy), MAD-JFK (Economy)
$320.18
Spanish Airport Services Charge (JD) $58.90
Spanish Security Tax (QV) $20.20
US International Departure Tax (US) $17.20
AA YR surcharge (YR) $496.00
US September 11th Security Fee (AY) $5.00
US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) $9.00
US International Arrival Tax (US) $17.20
USDA APHIS Fee (XA) $5.00
US Immigration Fee (XY) $7.00
US Customs Fee (YC) $5.50

Subtotal per passenger $1,231.00
Number of passengers x1

TOTAL AIRFARE & TAXES $1,231.00
This ticket is non-refundable.
Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee.
Fare construction (can be useful to travel agents)
NYC AA X/BOS AA X/MAD IB PNA M 270.18OHA0Q2Y1 /-SCQ IB X/BIO AA X/MAD AA NYC M 320.18QHA0Q2Y1 NUC 590.36 END ROE 1.00 XT 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 34.40US 5.00AY 58.90JD 20.20QV 496.00YR 9.00XF JFK4.50 BOS4.50
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[miamijhp]

Sorry I made a mistake . Got the wrong dates.
For the same dates is even cheaper.

Itinerary details

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Flights
Itinerary
Itinerary

New York (JFK) to Pamplona (PNA) - Wed, Aug 7
New York (JFK) to Madrid (MAD) - Wed, Aug 7
Iberia 6258 Dep: 11:05PM Arr: 12:20PM 7h 15m Airbus A340 Economy (O)
Layover in MAD Thu, Aug 8 2h 45m

Madrid (MAD) to Pamplona (PNA) - Thu, Aug 8
Iberia 8524 Dep: 3:05PM Arr: 4:00PM 0h 55m Canadair RJ 1000 Economy (O)
OPERATED BY AIR NOSTRUM L.A.M.S.A.

Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) to New York (JFK) - Sun, Sep 15
Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) to Bilbao (BIO) - Sun, Sep 15
Iberia 8359 Dep: 6:40PM Arr: 7:40PM 1h 0m Canadair RJ 900 Economy (Q)
OPERATED BY AIR NOSTRUM L.A.M.S.A. Layover in BIO 11h 5m

Bilbao (BIO) to Madrid (MAD) - Mon, Sep 16
American 5555 Dep: 6:45AM Arr: 8:00AM 1h 15m Airbus A320 Economy (Q)
OPERATED BY IBERIA Layover in MAD 2h 25m

Madrid (MAD) to New York (JFK) - Mon, Sep 16
American 95 Dep: 10:25AM Arr: 12:50PM 8h 25m Boeing 757 Economy (Q)

Cost per passenger (including taxes & fees) $1,224.00
Total cost for 1 passenger $1,224.00

How to buy this ticket
Tickets cannot be purchased directly from ITA Software.
Provide this information to a travel agent to help them match the fares found.
Make sure to provide the exact booking and fare codes shown.
Fare 1: Carrier IB OHA0Q2Y1 NYC to PNA (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code O
Covers JFK-MAD (Economy), MAD-PNA (Economy)
$270.18
Fare 2: Carrier AA QHA0Q2Y1 SCQ to NYC (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code Q
Covers SCQ-BIO (Economy), BIO-MAD (Economy), MAD-JFK (Economy)
$320.18
Spanish Airport Services Charge (JD) $58.90
Spanish Security Tax (QV) $20.20
US International Departure Tax (US) $17.20
IB YQ surcharge (YQ) $248.00
US September 11th Security Fee (AY) $2.50
US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) $4.50
US International Arrival Tax (US) $17.20
AA YR surcharge (YR) $248.00
USDA APHIS Fee (XA) $5.00
US Immigration Fee (XY) $7.00
US Customs Fee (YC) $5.50

Subtotal per passenger $1,224.00
Number of passengers x1

TOTAL AIRFARE & TAXES $1,224.00
This ticket is non-refundable.
Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee.
Fare construction (can be useful to travel agents)
NYC IB X/MAD IB PNA M 270.18OHA0Q2Y1 /-SCQ IB X/BIO AA X/MAD AA NYC M 320.18QHA0Q2Y1 NUC 590.36 END ROE 1.00 XT 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 34.40US 2.50AY 58.90JD 20.20QV 248.00YQ 248.00YR 4.50XF JFK4.50
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Print this page

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

Jorge-Wow! Thank you for all the information-thats so helpful!!!! Its very thoughtful of you to have done that for me,and I truly am grateful. Now to get my finances organised...and I'm on my way!

 

[markss]

A hint about booking airline tickets on flights within and from North America:

Airlines generally reset fares every Tuesday evening around midnight, adjusting for remaining seat availablities and prices charged among competators. These include fares for flights both in the near term and months into the future. As a general rule Wednesday morning is often the best time to actually find the lowest fares, regardless of future travel dates. As the cheaper seats are sold and the week progresses the best fares often increase but are never lowered. The following Tuesday evening, fares are reset, a new batch of cheaper seats get released and so the process continues. This also includes international carriers that serve US and Canadian cities.

Having said that, if you have been following prices and come across what you find to be a good deal, it may be wise to grab the ticket regardless of day. These things all tend to be a bit of a gamble anyway.

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

Mark, I never knew that. I thought the only price break you could get was either booking way ahead or going standby. Thank you for your help!

 

[markss]

There are no longer any standby fares. Airlines would rather fly with empty seats than allow that option. Sometimes you can get best deals by booking only about 14 - 20 days out, especially in non summer months. After all they cannot have TOO many empty seats.

The airlines employ very sophisticated matrices for filling planes. I fly often, trying to outwit them. But again, if you find a fare that you are comfortable is a good deal - book it!

 

[Choweth]

What are all the fees for? Such as international arrival fee and security fee? What does that mean?


{Candace, Texas, USA)
http://www.pilgrimontherun.com
-a blog about life, a bucket list, and a future pilgrimage-
KIK: candacehoweth91

 

[miamijhp]

Those are part of the ticket's value. And it means you have to pay them if you want to travel. They are included in the ticket's price.

 

[Choweth]

Those are part of the ticket's value. And it means you have to pay them if you want to travel. They are included in the ticket's price.

Oh okay, thank you.


{Candace, Texas, USA)
http://www.pilgrimontherun.com
-a blog about life, a bucket list, and a future pilgrimage-
KIK: candacehoweth91

 

[Larricka]

SFO to DUB $811.00

 

[markss]

Choweth you bring up an interesting point when asking about fees. There is no getting out of them; each country sets their own taxes and fees.

Particularly with regard to the taxes, amounts can vary greatly when flying from non-EU countries such as the US into the various EU countries. For instance, taxes levied to go from the US to Spain are different (often significantly so) then those imposed when going from the US into France, or US to Germany, etc.

Spain happens to be one of the countries where such taxes are lower than most other countries. Ireland is another. This is a contributing factor in getting lower airfares from the US and why you can sometimes benefit by flying what seem to be less logical itineraries. Once again it does help to play around a bit with options.

This airfare calculation business does get confusing, doesn't it!

 

[longwalker]

I have used kayak.com to buy airline tickets online. They show the full price of the ticket and include all extra fees. It also allows you to sort out flights by duration, departure time and price.

 

[Meredith1]

SFO to DUB $811.00

That's an amazing fare - do you mind telling me how you got it? I went last September and the lowest fare I found was around $1,000 (from Greenville - Madrid), using a consolidator.

 

[Ruth Ann]

We are flying from the east coast of Canada (Halifax) via Philadelphia, Dublin into Bordeaux,France on US Airways with a return from Madrid via Philadelphia to Halifax. Booked through Expedia.ca with a price of $1058 which I think is a great price. Sept 3 return Oct 27

 

[piogaw]

i would suggest that any peregrinos from north america to fly into London or dublin. then from London or dublin flies with low cost carriers with the like of ryanair, easyjet, aerlingus to fly into Biarritz or Santiago for those starting in sarria.

of course this might required you to apportion an extra day to travel. but by far this is the cheapest option to get to spain. the low cost carriers usual charge less than $100 us dollars each way, but mostly less than $50 depending on the date of travel.

 

[markss]

London is an alternative from North America. Important to be aware that transatlantic flights arrive at Heathrow or Gatwick Airports into London. Most discount flights out of London to destinations in France or Spain depart from Stansted Airport. It is a hassle to get between airports and may necessitate an expensive overnight stay in London. So much for saving on a cheaper airfare. This is not an issue with Dublin.

Another alternative is flying from North America into Frankfort and then connecting onward, as that is another city often having lower fares. In any case, by examining the range of possibilities, you really can save a significant amount on airfare without undue extra time and hassle getting to and from your ultimate destinations. Not many travel agents will go through the time consuming process of looking at all of the alternatives. It may be best to play around with the various internet sites yourself, or better yet directly with the airline sites for the best fares.

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

What's the best way to get from Heathrow or Gatwick to Stanstead?

 

[markss]

What's the best way to get from Heathrow or Gatwick to Stanstead?

Here is a link for airport connection transportation:
http://www.stanstedairport.com/transpor ... n-airports

If tranfering from Heathrow or Gatwick to Stansted, do consider that you must clear customs at Heathrow or Gatwick. This, along with airport arrival delays, the time it takes to walk through the airport, waiting for all connections involving transport buses, trains, and the tube can be time consuming. If departing Stansted, I'd allow at least five hours before scheduling a connecting flight to France or Spain. Alternatively you can sometimes get reasonable fares on British Airways or Iberia which do fly out of Heathrow.

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

Thanks markss!

 

[miamijhp]

Sorry I do not want to be reiterative, but if you want to get your best price in an airplane ticket place your information request here on any Wednesday morning to get your best price

http://matrix.itasoftware.com

 

[ManyMiles2Go]

Hi,

I was told that you should buy your tickets on a Tuesday afternoon, that is when the airlines have their best prices. Also, that the best time to buy them is about 8 weeks before travel. The Tuesday idea seemed to work, but the 8 weeks out did not for me. We purchased our tickets a couple weeks ago from Newark, NJ (EWR) to Paris, France (CDG) for $975.00 round trip. Then we are taking a train from Paris to Bayonne for $80.00 (upgraded train, never been on one before ). Also, on the plane tickets, if you have any play room in your itinerary, moving ahead or back one day can make a huge difference in your cost. Anyway, hopes this can help you in some way.

Jim

 

[ajp]

I think the best is to fly to a hub ( London, Amsterdam, Paris) and then make your way by train, bus, or local flights to your starting point. In my case I am flying in September via Spokane/Seattle to Amsterdam, then on Air France to Bayonne, then up to SJPP by the local train. Got a good deal on the Air France flight, cheaper than the train!

Alan Peterson
Grand Forks BC

 

[inspiredjen]

I flew through Dublin.

It worked out beautifully since RyanAir flies to Biarritz/Bayonne from Dublin and Aer Lingus flies from Santiago back to Dublin. And the flights from Chicago to Dublin were FAR less expensive than to Paris or Madrid. It worked great for me, coming all the way from Portland, Oregon!

Check it out!