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A couple of years ago my wife travelled from the UK to visit family in Thailand and China. And also added in a couple of side trips to Japan and Korea. No flights - all the way there and back again by train, bus and ferry. I can promise you that in comparison London - SJPDP or Santiago - London is a piece of cakeIT seems like a nightmare getting from london to SJPDP and then even worse from Santiago to London.
A couple of years ago my wife travelled from the UK to visit family in Thailand and China. And also added in a couple of side trips to Japan and Korea. No flights - all the way there and back again by train, bus and ferry. I can promise you that in comparison London - SJPDP or Santiago - London is a piece of cake
My journey out is Eurostar 07:55-11:27 to Paris, TGV 12:52-16:46 to Bayonne, local TER 17:09-18:11 to SJPdP.
Rather beautifully, on the return, the train across Spain to the French border is a named route and the name is Camino de Santiago. The return does take two days with 10:06-21:22 across Spain to Irun/Hendaye on the first day then TGV 07:29-12:13 to Paris and Eurostar 16:03-17:39 on the second day. It is three days travel for me, I suspect you'll need four days to come from Scotland. But, personally, I'd still do it if it were four/five days travel and I had to skip some walking/sight-seeing. As you say, some compromises are important.
I have done these journeys before although either in the opposite direction or not related to the camino. I love the Eurostar and TGV, the train across Spain is a little less comfortable - there's no 1st class ;-) - and you need to take food with you but I'm going to enjoy spending a day doing what took a month to walk.
The CO2 for the return flight from South Africa to London equates to some 10 times the CO2 for the return flight from London to Spain - I'd be flying to Spain too (and it will be cheaper and much quicker as well)
Thank you so much - i will look into these suggestionsHi Becky
Welcome to the wonderful world of European trains. I've travelled London to Spain by train many times, though only once to walk the Camino, starting at Roncesvalles rather than SJPDP. THE source of good train information for Europe and indeed the rest of the world is www.seat61.com.
If you compromise on your start point you could get from London to Pamplona in a day, getting an early Eurostar, then a TGV to Hendaye. From there it's a 40 minute metro journey to San Sebastian, a 15-20 minute walk to the bus station and then a bus to Pamplona (www.alsa.es) It look as if you could leave London 7.55 am and get to Pamplona at 20.30 or 22.15. Or you could stay in San Sebastian and get an early bus to Pamplona. The first one arrives at 8.15, which would still give you a decent walking day.
Coming back I don't think there's any option apart from an overnight stop in San Sebastian/ Irun/Hendaye. When I travel through this area I usually stay at Hotel Aitana, about 10 minutes walk from Hendaye station, but across the border in Spain where places to stay are generally cheaper.
Buen Camino
Even if you fly to Bayonne/Biarritz, you should allow a half-day to get to SJPP, and that's only 50 km. Santiago is about 1800 km from London.
I suggest start to walk the Camino from Pamplona, which is a good place for bus connections. Then you can enjoy the travel to/from the Camino and you'll not be so rushed while on the Camino..
Dear All, apologies if this advice is available else where i have looked and feel overwhelmed.
I plan to do the French Way from 29 Feb to 3 April. I am flying to Europe from south Africa for this trip and for a month in Scotland ( home). I have committed myself to not using air travel for the 2 months in Europe - only the flight in and out of ZA (to london).
IT seems like a nightmare getting from london to SJPDP and then even worse from Santiago to London. Has anyone done the latter journey? I have found various options for getting to SJPDP which although not easy seems doable.
Any advice very welcome. I would love to keep my carbon emissions as low as possible.
thank you
Becky
hola, small question: why overfly Paris ? IE going to Scotland first! Unless there is a real need to be in Scotland early I suggest you fly to Paris and then train/ bus to St Jean. The reverse trip is more tricky/ more fiddle but can be achieved, just not in your 1 day time frame. Cheers
I think you may mean the proposed service from Vigo to Cork. Which is supposed to stop in Plymouth in both directions. No definite starting date announced yet and unfortunately I have recently read that it will not be accepting foot passengers - only those travelling with a vehicle.I thought I'd read here that there was going to be a ferry from A Coruña to Cork...but even if there were one that only gets you to Ireland. So it's complicated. Getting to Scotland from Southern England is easier.
My thought is to fly standby. The plane is going to fly anyway, so by simply taking a seat that would otherwise remain empty, your personal Co2 contribution is zero.
Becky,
I understand your motives (and I accept that humans are responsible for warming the planet), but I am not sure if your approach makes enough sense. Airline emissions contribute 2-3% of global CO2 emissions. If we humans have to get rid of access CO2 in the atmosphere then aviation is not the place to start. For your travels in Europe you will be jumping through all sorts of hoops to minimize your CO2 emissions but at the same time will be contributing to CO2 emissions via trains and buses.
If we want to contribute fewer CO2 emissions then we need a more comprehensive approach, e.g. what sort of car do we drive, how well insulated is our house, have we fuel efficient boilers in our own houses, do we use LEDs or low wattage bulbs in our own houses, have we solar panels on our roof, do we reduce, reuse and recycle, can we moderate our meat consumption, are we prepared to pay higher energy bills or taxes to support the renewable electricity sector etc. All of the above are all technically and financially doable right now.
We fly occasionally and the technology to make flying less damaging to the atmosphere is improving with more fuel efficient engines, but it is not on a par with electric vehicles yet. I am guessing that flying is the exception for you and not the norm and since you are flying from SA anyway, I suggest that you enjoy your trip and fly within Europe but (and I include myself in this) change all the other aspects of your life to minimize your CO2 footprint.
If we all stopped flying to help remove CO2 from the atmosphere the economic impact would be disastrous and we would end up doing a lot of unintended harm (and not remove enough CO2). So I suggest we all do what we can (which is a lot), but for occasional and perhaps life changing trips, be kind to yourself and allow yourself the option to fly if other means of travel become too time consuming or onerous.
Aidan
I was looking at those ferries recently, and the crossing takes a full day, so I don't know if that saves time. You can book a private berth which would make the trip more relaxing. I think that I would worry about seasickness - that wouldn't be relaxing at all!I havem't read all thevreplies, so forgive me if this is redundant, but what about the ferry from Bilbao or Santander to either Portsmouth or Plymouth
Yes sea sickness would be a worry for me too...I think I will stick to dry land!I was looking at those ferries recently, and the crossing takes a full day, so I don't know if that saves time. You can book a private berth which would make the trip more relaxing. I think that I would worry about seasickness - that wouldn't be relaxing at all!
Good try but no
You should divide the aircraft's total CO2 for the journey by the number of passengers (including those that fly standby)
Probably. Reduced payload should reduce fuel consumption. But not by very much per passenger I think.So, the plane produces less CO2 if a seat is left empty?
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