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After being away from this forum for over a year I am back. I was planning on hiking the Camino in 2020, but we all know what happened. I am going to walk it in 2023. I have questions, or maybe they are concerns, on transportation. I am flying into Madrid and then starting my walk in Astorga walking to Finisterre. My walk starts April 27th.
Questions:
What is the best way to travel from Madrid to Astorga?
Do I purchase my tickets before the trip?
When I finish in Finisterre, what is the best way to get back to Madrid? Can I go directly from Finisterre to Madrid?
Any hotel recommendations for Madrid? Santiago?
I really appreciate any help.
I'm always partial to trains. What ever you do, yes purchase your tickets before hand. Not sure about Finsterre to Madrid, but I expect you'll have to go back to Santiago to make arrangements to Madrid.After being away from this forum for over a year I am back. I was planning on hiking the Camino in 2020, but we all know what happened. I am going to walk it in 2023. I have questions, or maybe they are concerns, on transportation. I am flying into Madrid and then starting my walk in Astorga walking to Finisterre. My walk starts April 27th.
Questions:
What is the best way to travel from Madrid to Astorga?
Do I purchase my tickets before the trip?
When I finish in Finisterre, what is the best way to get back to Madrid? Can I go directly from Finisterre to Madrid?
Any hotel recommendations for Madrid? Santiago?
I really appreciate any help.
European travel is a skill that you need to master. I strongly suggest a trip to Europe *before* you Camino so that you can get some experience with the travel skills that you will need on the Camino. There are lots of lessons to be learned from selecting airline tickets, local transportation, jet lag, accommodations, money, credit cards, personal security, phone, communication with non-native language, etc.
Consider a "dry run" trip to Spain to gain travel experience before your Camino. You won't be bored as there are plenty of things to see and do in Madrid.
When it comes time for your actual Camino, all the travel skills that you learned will be great help, allowing you to concentrate more on the Camino.
-Paul
This doesn't seem necessary to me, or even particularly helpful.Consider a "dry run" trip to Spain to gain travel experience before your Camino.
Seriously? You are not going to the moon, Europe is much more travel-friendly than the United States, with more than ample infrastructure and public transport.European travel is a skill that you need to master. I strongly suggest a trip to Europe *before* you Camino so that you can get some experience with the travel skills that you will need on the Camino. There are lots of lessons to be learned from selecting airline tickets, local transportation, jet lag, accommodations, money, credit cards, personal security, phone, communication with non-native language, etc.
Euh? What do I miss? " European travel is a skill ". Not more than travelling in any other continent I believe.
A dry run? Please do not overcomplicate things.
Exactly. Just go - you will find you survive just fine.Certainly one learns how to travel, by traveling, but a competent adult can manage. Doing a "normal" trip to Europe will just bring forward the learning how to travel to/from Spain.
Oh, I think practice is really important. When I was about 10 years old I practiced walking out into the wilderness and spending the night in the forest. Ok so I could still hear the noise from my families camp but I was in the wilderness. By the age of 12 some of those trips were lasting 3 or 4 days and I couldn’t hear family/familiar noises anymore. By my teens I was in foreign countries where language, custom and even food was different. Previous practice came in handy.
Traveling in “Yerp” these days scarcely requires practice. There is a golden arch on every boulevard. There are some thousand apps and websites that will add to the confusion but can be disregarded. Life is not a rehearsal
Vive la difference!Ok you win though I must say that when I was six my grandfather sent me to a local shop three streets further from his workshop. Little me was ordered to buy a bottle of brandy so he could treat his employees for a happy hour avant la lettre....
Indeed Life is not a rehearsal!
Good point. The tricky thing is that in spite of plenty of experience, I find that my jet lag depends on so many factors that it is hard to predict and plan for. And it might be getting worse with age. Sometimes I suffer and sometimes not so much, so I make sure that my schedule at the start is not too ambitious.It's far better to get some experience with jet lag in a prior trip to better plan for your Camino.
That's not a 'travel skill' so much as it is a matter of good sense and mental resilience - it's a thing to be sure, but even at its worst it's hardly the end of the world. Not making a big deal of it is 90% of the battle won. If it happens, you roll with it. If not, great.An example of a travel skills that you need to learn is how to handle the effects of jet lag from the US to Europe.
Yes, I recommend a trip to Aotearoa New Zealand before your Camino so that you get plenty of experience with jet lag.It's far better to get some experience with jet lag in a prior trip to better plan for your Camino.
In the 80s - me, too - with the Eurail Pass and a huge copy of “Let’s Go Europe”!Euh? What do I miss? " European travel is a skill ". Not more than travelling in any other continent I believe.
A dry run? Please do not overcomplicate things.
With the modern tools / apps and the world wibe web right in front of us , planning a trip has never been easier.
I remember in the eighties when I travelled on a Railpass through Europe and no cellphone close by. That meant improvisation. Nowadays : not so much.
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