Starting El Camino Frances 1 April 2023

ANGLICO1 said:

Hello All,

My Son and I are starting The French route on 1 April. We will be traveling with one small checked container that will hold items (i.e. trekking poles, small survival knives, sleeping bags and extra cold weather clothes) that we can not take on board our flight. I’m also cheking this gear inorder to meet the airlines carry on size requirements. Ok. Now for the question.

1. Will it be possible to transport our extra container the morning of 1 April which is a Saturday, just before starting the walk?

2. Does the pilgrim office in St. Jean provide this kind of support?

Currently we are scheduled to arrive in St Jean later in the evening on 31 March.

Should I regroup and try to get to St Jean earlier in the day on Friday?

Thank you in advance,
Epic

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Could you clarify?

Are you looking to send your container direct from SJPDP to Santiago? In which case @trecile ’s advice is sound; or send a container ahead of you day by day?

In the latter case the daily transport has to be pre-notified to the service provider. There are several options once you get into Spain and their protocols vary slightly.,

All I can say is that I have had several pilgrims arrive in Madrid with their checked bags lost.
They had to buy everything to start again.
I will never again check bags.
Just carry them on. You can pick up nice trekking poles in Pamplona or SJPP.

I have a question. How many liters are your backpacks? I am not sure why you would be worried about your backpack size unless you already have alot of gear in there. How much does your pack weigh with everything you will be carrying once you leave Pamplona. I am just asking as I am a little confused about the size requirements. I have carried my backpack many, many times on planes (my pack is 45 liters) and have never had any problems at all. I would also recommend that you use your poles from St. Jean. It is a long and tough uphill and a really steep and long downhill to Roncesvalles.

Anniesantiago said:

You can pick up nice trekking poles in Pamplona or SJPP

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I am sure you have bought your tickets already. Unless you have poles you really love and already own I think it is far less expensive and easier to buy. poles and a knife when you arrive in St. Jean then paying the extra money to check a bag with the airline. I know that the airline I am taking and some others have a "light" fare that is the cheapest and allows you to bring personal luggage up to 10K, 22lbs. I am flying Level/Iberia and it would be about $150 (maybe more) round trip if I check a bag. I can buy poles and a decent pocketknife in Spain for about 30-35 Euros. I leave my poles at Pilgrim House in Santiago.