So… I actually need a walking plan/map to get me from Bordeaux to Irun

[Perambulating Griffin]

Does anyone have a walking plan and map to follow if one wishes to walk from Bordeaux to Irun? I have an extremely circumlocutory plan for next May. I land May 2nd in Bordeaux… would like to walk from there to the ‘start’ of the Norte and drop down to an easy location to get me to a transit hub on the 14th of May to get down to Monserrat. Not sure what my best option might be (I have no concern about taking a bus).
Meeting Spouse at Montserrat and hen we will walk north on the Catalan to join up with the Aragones (?) and head W-NW to Puenta La Reigna from there. At some point in early June I probably need to fly home from Madrid (but that’s an open question right now).
Suggestions on how to get from Bordeaux to Urun (A map and/or itinerary would be *fantastically* appreciated!)? And suggestions on where to pickup transportation south to Monserrat.
Thanks in advance anyone!!

 

[trecile]

Try the mapy.cz app. I would walk to Bayonne and follow the Gronze track from there.

I just plugged in Bordeaux to Bayonne into mapy. You can choose the "tourist" route which will out you in the route with the most way marking.

 

[Former member 104756]

We often visit Bordeaux. We were there just last week. Camino signs everywhere.



Chemin du Tours is inland. I think the Coastal way directly to Bayonne - likely the one shown above by @trecile - is called the Voie Littorale. Someone with better knowledge than me will chime in. We've often thought about walking from Bordeaux but haven't looked into properly yet.

 

[Pafayac]

My choice would be to join "Voie du Littoral" (Atlantic Way) until Bayonne. Then joining Bayonne to Irun is quite easy (https://www.pierre-alglave.fr/camino-norte/090917-irun/)
Note that "Voie du Littoral" is known to be more convenient for bikes than for hikers because it is flat and straight, which can be boring...

 

[roving_rufus]

I did the Voie Littoral in June 2023- details on the route can be found at http://www.compostelle-landes.org/index.php?p=littoral&lng=fr

Most attempts at walking from Bordeaux to connect to the Voie Littoral that I have seen written up in blogs etc have been road walking, some of them described busy roads. The Voie Littoral itself is fairly flattish and lots of pine forest but is well marked. It's major issue is accomodation- I had a tent which made life much easier. There is some pilgrim accommodation available in Sanguinet and St Paul en Born, then later on the section from Bayonne to Irun but in other places it will be hotels and chambre d'hotes- the compostelle association in Landes does have an accommodation list with available pilgrim accommodation and places with discounted pilgrim rates, the Gronze on its Camino Norte lists for Bayonne to Irun. If its the Voie Littoral you plump for...I would probably take a bus or train to somewhere on the Voie Littoral rather than start in Bordeaux itself. But you have time to research a route from Bordeaux across.

The other option is the Voie Tours which passes through Bordeaux and has more pilgrim accommodation etc. However it leads to Saint Jean pied de porte, so a route to connect to Irun or Bayonne then has to be taken eg a reverse Baztan to Bayonne.

 

[roving_rufus]

This earlier thread may also be useful

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bordeaux-dax-irun-santiago.71525/

 

[Former member 104756]

The other option is the Voie Tours which passes through Bordeaux and has more pilgrim accommodation etc. However it leads to Saint Jean pied de porte, so a route to connect to Irun or Bayonne then has to be taken eg a reverse Baztan to Bayonne.

The Baztan is a beautiful path from Bayonne to Pamplona - but if you arrive in SJPP via the Tours Way @Perambulating Griffin, you could walk thé Voie de la Nive in reverse back up to Bayonne (3 days) - or the train for an hour

 

[roving_rufus]

The Baztan is a beautiful path from Bayonne to Pamplona - but if you arrive in SJPP via the Tours Way @Perambulating Griffin, you could walk thé Voie de la Nive in reverse back up to Bayonne (3 days) - or the train for an hour

I shouldn't write things at bedtime!

 

[traveler]

We often visit Bordeaux. We were there just last week. Camino signs everywhere.

We were in Bordeaux last week also (we flew home on Tuesday) and while there are many Camino plaques embedded in the sidewalk, following them is challenging. There are no signs on walls only raised bronze “bumps” periodically in the sidewalk. The spacing and locations of the plaques makes for a lot of backtracking and finding where the Camino went. Not impossible to find your way through but set aside extra time.

 

[camino_rooky]

Does anyone have a walking plan and map to follow if one wishes to walk from Bordeaux to Irun? I have an extremely circumlocutory plan for next May. I land May 2nd in Bordeaux… would like to walk from there to the ‘start’ of the Norte and drop down to an easy location to get me to a transit hub on the 14th of May to get down to Monserrat. Not sure what my best option might be (I have no concern about taking a bus).
Meeting Spouse at Montserrat and hen we will walk north on the Catalan to join up with the Aragones (?) and head W-NW to Puenta La Reigna from there. At some point in early June I probably need to fly home from Madrid (but that’s an open question right now).
Suggestions on how to get from Bordeaux to Urun (A map and/or itinerary would be *fantastically* appreciated!)? And suggestions on where to pickup transportation south to Monserrat.
Thanks in advance anyone!!

In Sept 2014 we flew into Bordeaux stayed overnight and got a train to the top of the Medoc peninsula ( verdun sur mer) and walked the Voie littorale to Bayonne ending at the Cathedral. Took about 10 days.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I have previously looked for and found routes to connect Bayonne, Irun and Pamplona. These are the Camino Baztan and the Via Bidasoa, a Via Verde (usually a rail trail as we call them in the US). For a short distance you need to use secondary roads between Doneztebe on the Via Bidasoa and Berroeta on the Camino Baztan.
I have not walked any part of these routes though.

The Via Bidasoa:

Bidasoa Greenway - Vías Verdes de España

www.viasverdes.com

The link to the above in text:
https://www.viasverdes.com/en/itineraries/itinerario.asp?id=92

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

Thank you all! So much good information! I’ll be able to make choices that can accommodate weather issues, so it’s good to have different options.
Can one wing it as much in France as in Spain? To keep max flexibility it would be great not to have to start thinking about booking *anything* until a few days out (if at all).

 

[VictorJW]

The Baztan is a beautiful path from Bayonne to Pamplona - but if you arrive in SJPP via the Tours Way @Perambulating Griffin, you could walk thé Voie de la Nive in reverse back up to Bayonne (3 days) - or the train for an hour

Nadine from Nadine walks has just done the Baztan I believe.

 

[Former member 104756]

Nadine from Nadine walks has just done the Baztan I believe.

Yes, you're right. We walked the Baztan in May this year and despite rain for 4 days out of 5, and seeing just 3 other walkers (walking in the opposite direction), we loved it.

 

[Former member 104756]

We were in Bordeaux last week also (we flew home on Tuesday) and while there are many Camino plaques embedded in the sidewalk, following them is challenging. There are no signs on walls only raised bronze “bumps” periodically in the sidewalk. The spacing and locations of the plaques makes for a lot of backtracking and finding where the Camino went. Not impossible to find your way through but set aside extra time.

We have seen camino signs on sides of buildings in Bordeaux, but we haven't tried following them out of the city. We've wondered about walking from Bordeaux, but neither the Tours or the Voie Littorale are particularly appealing compared to other paths we've yet to walk. One day, maybe.

 

[traveler]

We have seen camino signs on sides of buildings in Bordeaux, but we haven't tried following them out of the city. We've wondered about walking from Bordeaux, but neither the Tours or the Voie Littorale are particularly appealing compared to other paths we've yet to walk. One day, maybe.

We were in Bordeaux and walked the full Camino through the city, if there are any Camino signs on walls in the main part of city — we did not see them. There are signs on walls outside the city center, which makes sense since the brass plaques really only work in a paved sidewalk format. Also it’s much easier to follow the Camino outside the city center —fewer turns and twists.