Purchasing airline tickets, especially for return flight

[Ginabina]

Hi, All! I'll be walking the entire Camino for my first time in September (2016). My plan is to arrive in Madrid (would prefer to avoid Paris) on 9/4 and then to arrive in Saint Jean via train (still need to research best modes of transport) on 9/6 and then start my walk on 9/7. I'm very fit (not bragging, by any means ... just a personal trainer who practices every bit of what she preaches! lol) and believe that I can finish within 35-40 days. I'm a bit anxious about purchasing a round-trip ticket, as I don't want to stress myself out by feeling rushed ... having to catch my plane out of Madrid on a certain day. How do other pilgrims deal with this? Are there any options I'm not aware of that will allow me a little flexibility without breaking the bank? Would it be worth purchasing only a one-way to Madrid and then buying my return ticket once I walk a few weeks and have a better idea of when I'll finish? And is Madrid the best option for arrival and departure? I greatly appreciate any and all suggestions!

 

[momof34man]

I flew into Madrid, then took a train to Pamplona, then took a taxi to SJPdP. Some fly to Madrid and then fly to Bayonne. then a taxi to SJPdP. I guess it depends on how you feel about it. My flight arrived near midnight in Madrid. We took a taxi to a hotel across the street from the Atocha train station. If you arrive early enough, there is an inexpensive option of taking a bus or shuttle to the train station. I also shared a taxi to help cut the cost. It was 100 euros for our taxi ride and we split it between 6 people.

On the return flight, I flew from Santiago to Madrid (spent the night in the airport), then flew from Madrid home. I found the least expensive flights were in and out of Madrid. I prebooked everything ahead of time. There were some people that booked while on the camino. Pre-booking will save you money, but if you have more flexibility in your budget, then booking while on the camino is an option. The wifi can be unpredictible though.

I finished in 34 days. If you are reasonably fit, it is doable. Most of the people I started with finished about the same time that I did. (within a day or two) I gave myself 43 days to walk from SJPdP to Santiago, and from Santiago to Finesterre and Muxia. All of it was possible with one extra rest day in Muxia before going back to the airport.

Hopefully that helps?

 

[Ginabina]

I flew into Madrid, then took a train to Pamplona, then took a taxi to SJPdP. Some fly to Madrid and then fly to Bayonne. then a taxi to SJPdP. I guess it depends on how you feel about it. My flight arrived near midnight in Madrid. We took a taxi to a hotel across the street from the Atocha train station. If you arrive early enough, there is an inexpensive option of taking a bus or shuttle to the train station. I also shared a taxi to help cut the cost. It was 100 euros for our taxi ride and we split it between 6 people.

On the return flight, I flew from Santiago to Madrid (spent the night in the airport), then flew from Madrid home. I found the least expensive flights were in and out of Madrid. I prebooked everything ahead of time. There were some people that booked while on the camino. Pre-booking will save you money, but if you have more flexibility in your budget, then booking while on the camino is an option. The wifi can be unpredictible though.

I finished in 34 days. If you are reasonably fit, it is doable. Most of the people I started with finished about the same time that I did. (within a day or two) I gave myself 43 days to walk from SJPdP to Santiago, and from Santiago to Finesterre and Muxia. All of it was possible with one extra rest day in Muxia before going back to the airport.

Hopefully that helps?

It helps a lot! Thank you very much!

 

[whariwharangi]

You can buy tickets that have flexibility to change dates ... for a price.

You can change non flex tickets .... though there is a cost.

Another option is to consider spending x-number of days in Spain whether on the camino or not. There is a lot of things to see and do in Spain off camino ... even if it involves just sitting on a nice beach somewhere.

You can also keep walking if you get to Santiago earlier than your departure date. Camino Finisterre takes four or five days and you can add a couple to go on to Muxia ... and then return to Santiago for example.

Madrid to SJPdP ... CONDA (ALSA) operates bus service from Pamplona to SJPdP.

1. ALSA (or PLM Autocares) bus from Madrid Airport or Madrid Intercambiador de Avenida de America to Pamplona via Soria or Zaragosa.

2. Renfe train from Madrid Atocha to Pamplona ... then walk or taxi to Pamplona bus station.

3. Renfe train from Madrid Atocha to Irun. Cross border to Hendaye. Take SNCF train from Hendaye to Bayonne. Take SNCF train from Bayonne to SJPdP.

4. Fly Madrid to San Sebastian EAS or Biarritz BIQ. Take taxi from San Sebastian airport 6 Km to Gare d'Hendaye or #14 Chronoplus bus from Biarritz airport to Gare Bayonne and use SNCF trains as described at 3.

Madrid Airport
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Madrid-Barajas/en/Home.html

ALSA (and CONDA)
https://www.alsa.es/en/home

Renfe
http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/

SNCF
http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers

Biarritz BIQ
http://biarritz.aeroport.fr/en/

San Sebastian EAS
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-San-Sebastian/en/

Chronoplus
http://www.chronoplus.eu/

Pamplona bus station
http://www.estaciondeautobusesdepamplona.com/Inicio.aspx.html

 

[Ginabina]

You can buy tickets that have flexibility to change dates ... for a price.

You can change non flex tickets .... though there is a cost.

Another option is to consider spending x-number of days in Spain whether on the camino or not. There is a lot of things to see and do in Spain off camino ... even if it involves just sitting on a nice beach somewhere.

You can also keep walking if you get to Santiago earlier than your departure date. Camino Finisterre takes four or five days and you can add a couple to go on to Muxia ... and then return to Santiago for example.

Madrid to SJPdP ... CONDA (ALSA) operates bus service from Pamplona to SJPdP.

1. ALSA (or PLM Autocares) bus from Madrid Airport or Madrid Intercambiador de Avenida de America to Pamplona via Soria or Zaragosa.

2. Renfe train from Madrid Atocha to Pamplona ... then walk or taxi to Pamplona bus station.

3. Renfe train from Madrid Atocha to Irun. Cross border to Hendaye. Take SNCF train from Hendaye to Bayonne. Take SNCF train from Bayonne to SJPdP.

4. Fly Madrid to San Sebastian EAS or Biarritz BIQ. Take taxi from San Sebastian airport 6 Km to Gare d'Hendaye or #14 Chronoplus bus from Biarritz airport to Gare Bayonne and use SNCF trains as described at 3.

Madrid Airport
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Madrid-Barajas/en/Home.html

ALSA (and CONDA)
https://www.alsa.es/en/home

Renfe
http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/

SNCF
http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers

Biarritz BIQ
http://biarritz.aeroport.fr/en/

San Sebastian EAS
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-San-Sebastian/en/

Chronoplus
http://www.chronoplus.eu/

Pamplona bus station
http://www.estaciondeautobusesdepamplona.com/Inicio.aspx.html

Wow! This is great! Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this info! I really appreciate it.

 

[C clearly]

You didn't say where you are coming from! Look carefully at the prices of round-trip tickets versus one-way. I always make my best time estimate, with a few days to spare, and buy a return ticket. If I wanted to, I could later decide to pay the change fee plus fare difference. That gets quite expensive, but is usually less that buying a one-way trip between Europe and North America.

As others have said, there are many things to do to fill your time, if you have extra time available. Barring injury, you should have no trouble walking from SJPP to Santiago in 35-40 days. That would probably even give you a few days leeway to spend either on the way, going to Finisterre, or time in Madrid. I am retired, so I allowed 42 days to walk, and used most of it. However, I could certainly have reduced the time.

On the return, it is a good idea to go to Madrid at least a day in advance, to reduce the concern about missing a connection.

 

[trecile]

Your home location will make a big difference. If you are in Europe you can always get RyanAir tickets, which are one way tickets at low cost. On the other hand, if you are coming from North America, it will be a lot cheaper to buy a round trip ticket.
Those flexible fare tickets can be as expensive as first class! And changing a non flexible ticket date can be expensive too.
What I did was estimate how long it would take me to walk the Camino Frances, then I added two weeks to that to allow time to walk to Finesterra/Muxia, for travel days within Spain, a couple of nights in Madrid to recover from jet lag, and rest days, for a total of 7 weeks.

BTW, I've booked at Pension Corazon Puro, outside of Pamplona. The owners offer a package where they will pick you up from the train station, and take you to the pension. After breakfast the next morning they will drive you to SJPDP all for €45.

 

[Mike Savage]

Last year I had 44 days off from work so I booked my flights accordingly. I flew in to Pamplona, stayed at Pensión Corazón Puro and they drove me to SJPdP the next morning. I flew home from Santiago de Compostela. The rest of the time I spent in Northern Spain. This gave me plenty of time on the Camino as well as time for site seeing. There is so much to see and do in Spain and it is very expensive (for me) to fly there from the U.S. and I found the people to be warm and hospitable.

Good luck with your decision and Buen Camino!

 

[Mark Lee]

I recommend coming up with a start and finish date and buying a round trip ticket to Madrid. You should be able to come up with a loose game plan on how many days it will take you to get to Santiago. For sure it is better to err on the side of too many days, than to not have enough and find yourself rushing your walk or perhaps having to skip part of it. There are worse things in life than having to spend a couple of extra days in northern Spain.
Madrid is an easy airport to get around, and several options from there to get to SJPdP and to get back there from Santiago.
I flew to Madrid from Santiago on Iberia Express. Ryan Air flies there, too. You can get to the Santiago airport via public bus or taxi.

 

[Terrri]

I choose my destinations based on what was the cheapest and for me this happens to be flying into Bordeaux and leaving from Madrid. These tickets are just as cheap if not cheaper than a return in and out of one town, even with the bus and train tickets thrown in and also shorter in time. Again, it all depends on where you are coming from. Have you tried matrix.itasoftware.com? You can't buy tickets there but I find it easy to use and see all the options available.

 

[VNwalking]

As others have suggested, if you can make a generous guess as to how long it might take to walk and give yourself time on both ends to get to SJPP and from Santiago, that makes it possible to buy a cheaper ticket.
Personally I really enjoy 3 nights in Santiago at the end and I always feel I could stay there longer very happily--it gives time to explore, to meet with fellow peregrinos, and to 'decompress'--coming up from the depth of the walking into a rhythm that is more like everyday life.
From Santiago I've taken the train to Madrid twice and flown out once. The latter is really good if you're on a tight schedule as it gives you more time in SdC, but it's a bit of a 'bends' experience inside (coming up way too fast). So in that way the train is much better. And there are several options.
Happy planning and buen camino!

 

[paul.ferris]

Cheap round trip tickets to London. Then a short cheap flight via Ryanair to Biarritz going and from Santiago returning is the least expensive and least complicated method from North America that I have found.