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The most important thing for me in the entire process was not what hubs to fly into and out of, but the amount of time I gave myself. Give yourself more time than you think you'll need to complete your Camino. I felt sorry for the pilgrims I met who had 28 days, and were frantic in their pace, obsessed with getting to Santiago in time for their return flight.
In late May, I flew from the states to Paris and then on to Pau, France for a hiking trip on the French/Spanish border. I believe that Pau is just a short train ride from SJPP. Surprisingly, the plane ticket was less than $100 dollars more than it would have been had I gotten off at Paris.For years, there has been a lot of discussion about whether to fly into Paris or Madrid if the starting point is SJPP. This issue is much more of an issue for non-European pilgrims, because we either have to buy a round trip ticket in and out of one city or an "open jaw" ticket into one city and out of another, and sometimes (not always) the cost is prohibitive.
Paris to Bayonne to SJPP by train always seemed to be the easiest, but then the pilgrim had to figure out how to get back to Paris from Santiago, which was a bit more complicated.
Then, Alsa/Conda started bus service to SJPP from Pamplona. It was very limited to start, but I have just seen that the service has expanded quite a bit:
8:00 (July 7 - Aug. 31)
2:00 pm (March 22 - November 1)
5:30 pm (June 1 - September 30)
So, now, if you walk between March 22 and Nov. 1, your route to SJPP from Pamplona is much easier than it used to be: Madrid - Pamplona (either by bus, train, or plane) - SJPP
The tipping point for me is the fact that Santiago back to Madrid is usually easier and cheaper, by bus, train or plane, than Santiago back to Paris.
There will always be exceptions, of course, but the broad strokes have changed a bit since I last walked from SJPP.
Yes, plain and simple, you Europeans are incredibly spoiled for having the luxury of all these cheap airlines criss-crossing the entire continent selling you cheap one way point-to-point tickets, while we North Americans (at least in the US) are held hostage by Big Air. I'm jealous.
If I want to start from SJPP or Roncesvalles I would fly to Pamplona, San Sebastian or maybe Bilbao for their easy bus and train connections for the starting points in France and Spain. The airfare is mas o menos the same than flying into Madrid.
And I fly back home from Santiago to avoid the long hours in the bus or train when getting to Madrid.
But maybe it is different for us living in Europe.
In late May, I flew from the states to Paris and then on to Pau, France for a hiking trip on the French/Spanish border. I believe that Pau is just a short train ride from SJPP. Surprisingly, the plane ticket was less than $100 dollars more than it would have been had I gotten off at Paris.
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