St Jean Pied de Port

[Norwegiandreamer]

Hello. I am quite new to this and I am sure the answers already exists at this forum but if someone could answer I would be really happy.

I am planning on walking from St Jean de port to santiago from 1 March. Now i only have two weeks to plan everything. First of all, it is not too cold to walk from 1 march? Where shall I fly to? Do I need to order hotell from home? And the pilgrimpassport, where do I get this? And the money, I know it's individual, but approximately how much will it cost? Is there anything important that I need to prepare? The flight, shall I just order from santiago when I get there?

I am planning on having clothes for both warm and cold days. I really hope I can manage to do this, I feel that it is now I have the chance

 

[Deleted member 3000]

First of all, it is not too cold to walk from 1 march? Where shall I fly to? Do I need to order hotell from home? And the pilgrimpassport, where do I get this? And the money, I know it's individual, but approximately how much will it cost? Is there anything important that I need to prepare? The flight, shall I just order from santiago when I get there?

Fly to Biarritz and take buses/trains to SJPdP. Hotel rooms will be available, but you may want to go to a site like booking.com and make a reservation. On March 1, you probably will have to take the Valcarlos route, so there will be an intermediate stopping point. Nothing will be open on the Route Napolean until Roncesvalles. Typically the cost is 30E per day, but it will be more if you stay hoteles/hostales. One way tickets can be much more expensive than round trip, so waiting until Santiago to buy a flight home may be expensive.

 

[whariwharangi]

Hello. I am quite new to this and I am sure the answers already exists at this forum but if someone could answer I would be really happy.

I am planning on walking from St Jean de port to santiago from 1 March. Now i only have two weeks to plan everything. First of all, it is not too cold to walk from 1 march? Where shall I fly to? Do I need to order hotell from home? And the pilgrimpassport, where do I get this? And the money, I know it's individual, but approximately how much will it cost? Is there anything important that I need to prepare? The flight, shall I just order from santiago when I get there?

I am planning on having clothes for both warm and cold days. I really hope I can manage to do this, I feel that it is now I have the chance

Biarritz BIQ is closest airport to SJPdP
http://en.biarritz.aeroport.fr/

Chronoplus bus #14 from Anglet Airport to Gare Bayonne
http://www.chronoplus.eu/

SNCF TER train 62 from Bayonne to SJPdP
http://www.ter.sncf.com/aquitaine

If you are short of time consider this route instead of bus #14:

Chronoplus bus #C from Anglet Airport to Gare Biarritz

SNCF TER train 61 from Biarritz to Bayonne

 

[MTtoCamino]

Fly to Biarritz for sure I spent 3000 U.S. Dollars not counting air fare for 6 weeks. 7 days of that in Madrid waiting for my return flight.

 

[AlwynWellington]

I am planning on walking from St Jean de port to santiago from 1 March. ... Where shall I fly to?

Cheapflights shows several flights leaving Oslo on 1 March for Biarritz. Most had one stop, at Charles de Gaulle near Paris. One at NZD 300 with the rest at NZD 500. The time taken seemed quite long and some even longer than from New Zealand to Europe. Keeping in mind you final destination for the day is St Jean-Pied-de-Port (through Bayonne) while it is still light and you can find your way around you may wish to think of the earliest possible arrival in Biarritz.

And early arrival in Biarritz may mean leaving Oslo in the afternoon and resting at the stopover for the early morning flight onwards. Or staying the night in Biarritz/Bayonne.

And the pilgrimpassport, where do I get this?

I am not an expert on this. However, from posts on other threads I understand the Pilgrim Office in St Jean can provide information on this.

Buen Camino
Kia Kaha (be strong)

 

[ranthr]

Are you really sure you want to start from SJPdP ? If this is your first camino and you walk alone, you may have a hard turn over the mountain from St. Jean to Roncesvalles with a lot of walking along a road with lot of traffic since the Napoleonroute is closed. If the weather is bad, not much to see either.
Well,, enough of grannytalk!
At the moment SAS and Norwegian has cheap tickets from Oslo to Madrid and Paris. From Paris you can take a train or flight to BAYONNE /Biarritz and from there to SPdP. From Madrid Barajas by bus or a flight to Pamplona from where you have to go by bus to Roncesvalles and taxi to SJPdP.
If you fly to Bilbao, search for tickets on finn.no, you can take a bus to Irun/Hendaye and train from Hendaye to Bayonne and SJPdP. Or you can take the bus to Pamplona and start there, that will give you an easier start on your camino.
If you want to get a pilgrimspass before you leave , you can buy one on pilgrimsfellesskapet St. Jacob , se www.pilegrim.no for address/phonenumber

or you can get one at the pilgrim office in Rue Citadelle i SJPdP or in the cathedral in Pamplona.
Buen camino!

 

[mspath]

When you arrive on SJPdP go to the Pilgrims' office of the Amis du Chemin de Saint Jacques at 39 rue de la Citadelle. They can provide you with a Pilgrim Passport/Credential and on site lodging assistance. Their telephone is 05 59 37 05 09. In season the pilgrims office is open from 7h30 to 12h30 and then from 13h30 to 22h. They keep up to the minute lists of ALL available space throughout the SJPdP area, both pilgrim albergues as well as tourist accommodation.

MM

 

[AlwynWellington]

I am planning on having clothes for both warm and cold days. I really hope I can manage to do this, I feel that it is now I have the chance

I imagine Norway as being cold during winter. And whether it is Kristiansand or Oslo you are still about 60 degrees north (and below freezing on Sunday night in both places). Your "warm and cold" might be more severe than many of us experience. I am quite sure you know, better than most, how to prepare for the conditions you may encounter during March in northern Spain.

One other thing that is relative number of times one has to climb up a hill on the Camino Frances. Doing hill climbs as part of your preparation over the next few weeks may help you greatly. Even though you will be invited to take the "low" route through Valcarlos on the first day there is still quite a hill to get up towards the end.

Finally in this avuncular advice: travel as light as you can. You will know what that means for you. @SYates gives good advice. I paraphrase: take as few of anything: stock up on the way: send home (or leave behind) that which is no longer useful.

Also, if you can travel light of spirit, heart and mind. If you can take time to smell the roses. There have been some recent posts that you might find useful.

Buen camino
Kia kaha (be strong)

 

[Norwegiandreamer]

Thank you so much for your help guys. This was so useful for me. Now I feel more prepared.

Do you know approximately how many days it will take? If I walk 6-8 hours every day? Less than 30, or more?

Do you know how much a flight ticket will cost If I wait to buy before I get to Santiago?

 

[AlwynWellington]

Do you know approximately how many days it will take? If I walk 6-8 hours every day? Less than 30, or more?

This questions is a bit like asking "how long is a piece of string?"

There are guide books giving everything from 28 to 33 days. It's around 780 km. If you can average 5 km per hour over that distance and variable conditions then that works at 156 hours. If, as you say, 6-8 hours per day (average of 7 per day) then 22-23 days. If 4 km per hour average then 28 days. But these are arithmetic. Conditions, pathway and weather, may vary greatly ...

It really depends on whether your goal is to finish, to smell the roses, to take opportunities to tarry awhile because of some happening in the village/town you are going through, to keep with a some other pilgrims that you've come to appreciate and to walk at their pace for a few days, or whatever.

Buen camino
Kia Kaha (be strong)

 

[NorwegianWalker]

Are you really sure you want to start from SJPdP ? If this is your first camino and you walk alone, you may have a hard turn over the mountain from St. Jean to Roncesvalles with a lot of walking along a road with lot of traffic since the Napoleonroute is closed. If the weather is bad, not much to see either.
Well,, enough of grannytalk!
At the moment SAS and Norwegian has cheap tickets from Oslo to Madrid and Paris. From Paris you can take a train or flight to BAYONNE /Biarritz and from there to SPdP. From Madrid Barajas by bus or a flight to Pamplona from where you have to go by bus to Roncesvalles and taxi to SJPdP.
If you fly to Bilbao, search for tickets on finn.no, you can take a bus to Irun/Hendaye and train from Hendaye to Bayonne and SJPdP. Or you can take the bus to Pamplona and start there, that will give you an easier start on your camino.
If you want to get a pilgrimspass before you leave , you can buy one on pilgrimsfellesskapet St. Jacob , se www.pilegrim.no for address/phonenumber

or you can get one at the pilgrim office in Rue Citadelle i SJPdP or in the cathedral in Pamplona.
Buen camino![/QUOTE
Hi Ranthr,
When will Napoleon route open?

 

[whariwharangi]

Thank you so much for your help guys. This was so useful for me. Now I feel more prepared.

Do you know approximately how many days it will take? If I walk 6-8 hours every day? Less than 30, or more?

Do you know how much a flight ticket will cost If I wait to buy before I get to Santiago?

Probably the best way to get a ballpark estimate of flight costs would be to find the service provider website and find out what it would cost if you were to purchase a ticket for a flight today.