Starting the Camino in Bayonne

[NorthfaceJohn]

Has anyone walked from Bayonne to SJPDP?
I was considering walking directly from Bayonne and wondering what the route is like. Ideally I would like to avoid busy roads.

 

[Bradypus]

I walked it about 10 years ago. I believe there is a signposted route now but I just followed the river towpath to Cambo-les-Bains then a very minor road south of the river to Bidarray. Had an accident there which stopped my walk. I returned a few months later to finish on another very quiet road from there up through the hills south-west of the main road.

 

[Vacajoe]

Yes, walked it about four years ago or so. Lovely walk and some of the most beautiful countryside you’ll see on Camino. You can actually start directly from the airport and cut across to the marked path, but I preferred heading to Bayonne first (by foot or bus) and starting at the Cathedral.

You’ll want to research the “Voie de la Nive”. If you search here on Ivar you’ll find a few postings over the past year (including mine!). There are a few pilgrim-specific accommodations, but generally it isn’t supported in that way and you’ll likely be the only pilgrim out there. Plenty of places to eat, drink, and sleep, though.

 

[Anthony Rocco]

Has anyone walked from Bayonne to SJPDP?
I was considering walking directly from Bayonne and wondering what the route is like. Ideally I would like to avoid busy roads.

14 of us are walking the Camino Baztan in May. This starts in Bayonne and ends in Pamplona, where you can join the Frances. This is an ancient route that has seen few walkers for hundred of years. Gerard Kelly wrote a guidebook about this and our group had a zoom with him last week. It is indeed a lovely route, easy to follow since the locals put up plenty of signs. Accommodations are available, but limited. For a group our size, this has posed a challenge. If you are walking alone or with a partner, you should have no problems.

This is the land of mysticism, legends, caves, fairies and witches, immortalized in the book and show on Netflix "Baztan Trilogy," which has all of us excited about making this 5 or 6 day walk over the Pyrenees.

 

[Monasp]

Has anyone walked from Bayonne to SJPDP?
I was considering walking directly from Bayonne and wondering what the route is like. Ideally I would like to avoid busy roads.

ÉTAPES : PAYS-BASQUE/BEARN – Compostelle.fr

www.compostelle.fr

This link will give you all the information you need. (this path is called: Chemin de Poste)

 

[NorthfaceJohn]

14 of us are walking the Camino Baztan in May. This starts in Bayonne and ends in Pamplona, where you can join the Frances. This is an ancient route that has seen few walkers for hundred of years. Gerard Kelly wrote a guidebook about this and our group had a zoom with him last week. It is indeed a lovely route, easy to follow since the locals put up plenty of signs. Accommodations are available, but limited. For a group our size, this has posed a challenge. If you are walking alone or with a partner, you should have no problems.

This is the land of mysticism, legends, caves, fairies and witches, immortalized in the book and show on Netflix "Baztan Trilogy," which has all of us excited about making this 5 or 6 day walk over the Pyrenees.

That's very interesting. I'm going myself in May. The 20th of May to be precise.

 

[Former member 104756]

14 of us are walking the Camino Baztan in May. This starts in Bayonne and ends in Pamplona, where you can join the Frances. This is an ancient route that has seen few walkers for hundred of years. Gerard Kelly wrote a guidebook about this and our group had a zoom with him last week. It is indeed a lovely route, easy to follow since the locals put up plenty of signs. Accommodations are available, but limited. For a group our size, this has posed a challenge. If you are walking alone or with a partner, you should have no problems.

This is the land of mysticism, legends, caves, fairies and witches, immortalized in the book and show on Netflix "Baztan Trilogy," which has all of us excited about making this 5 or 6 day walk over the Pyrenees.

Well done on organising your accommodation for 14. Having walked the Baztan, I can well imagine the challenge. But your efforts will be rewarded. A wonderful path, and I can say that despite having walked 4 out of 5 days in the rain and having an unexpected detour around flood waters on the first stage. It was an adventure.

 

[HappyValerie]

Would this route be walkable in mid-March? I'm still undecided about my Mar/Apr/May 2025 Camino.

 

[Former member 104756]

Would this route be walkable in mid-March? I'm still undecided about my Mar/Apr/May 2025 Camino.

Hi Valerie - do you mean the Baztan (Bayonne to Pamplona) - or the Voie de la Nive or Chemin de Poste (Bayonne to SJPP), which was the OP's original enquiry? I haven't walked the latter, but I imagine you could walk either path in mid March, subject to accommodation being available. You could check on Gronze for the Baztan accom.

 

[pinkwadingbird]

Would this route be walkable in mid-March? I'm still undecided about my Mar/Apr/May 2025 Camino.

Walked it last year in late March. It might be a good idea to check with the places you're thinking of staying to be sure they will be open. A couple of the places I stayed I had to arrange a meeting time to get the key as March is still off-season in that part of the world. Beautiful route, very quiet.

 

[Former member 104756]

A couple of the places I stayed I had to arrange a meeting time to get the key as March is still off-season in that part of the world.

That was also the case for a couple of Albergues when we walked in May. It can apply year round in some cases.

 

[HappyValerie]

Thank you. My suspicions are being confirmed. It's early days yet. I'm just out of hospital recovering from 3 surgeries, but there's no time like the present to be planning my next Camino.

 

[Kiwi-family]

I walked the Voie de la Nive in the opposite direction and met one couple coming from Bayonne. Beautiful scenery and adequate infrastructure if you are flexible.

 

[Rob Perry]

I walked it mid-March last year. First day along the River to Cambo was a very relaxing start. Second day is beautiful countryside but I lost my way, taking a wrong road after about an hour. The route seemed very poorly marked and I was relying on a map off the internet (attached with notes) but unfortunately I'd not set up my phone properly for checking GPS. Eventually reached Helette after walking extra 5kms but it was a lovely quiet albergue. Next day was again very rural but I'd sorted my phone and it was lovely walk into Saint Jean.

 

[Kiwi-family]

I walked it mid-March last year. First day along the River to Cambo was a very relaxing start. Second day is beautiful countryside but I lost my way, taking a wrong road after about an hour. The route seemed very poorly marked and I was relying on a map off the internet (attached with notes) but unfortunately I'd not set up my phone properly for checking GPS. Eventually reached Helette after walking extra 5kms but it was a lovely quiet albergue. Next day was again very rural but I'd sorted my phone and it was lovely walk into Saint Jean.

This experience reminds me of my own. I, too, was relying on written instructions from the internet and a paper map, but I did not have a map on my phone with a little dot to tell me where I was! At a bifurcation some local folks who happened to be coming along insisted I take a particular path. My written instructions were unclear, and although it was against my instinct it seemed prudent to trust folks who lived in the area. Big mistake. After walking 35km I was standing on the side of the road with my two boys, looking at the map and trying to work out where we were, aware that in one hour the town hall would be closing and we would not be able to get the albergue key! A farmer in a nearby field drove his tractor over but could not help. Thankfully a passing motorist stopped and offered to drive us. My boys who wanted to walk every step of the way justified the walk by determining we had already walked 10km farther than we were meant to that day!

 

[David Bedlow]

I walked the Baztán (Bayonne to Pamplona) and then continued on the Frances to Santiago in 2019. Here is my account. You will see I had a few mishaps but nothing to serious. It is indeed very beautiful. At the time there was no printed guidebook available and I do not do advanced technology, so I compiled my own from the internet in advance.

 

[SusanP]

ÉTAPES : PAYS-BASQUE/BEARN – Compostelle.fr

www.compostelle.fr

This link will give you all the information you need. (this path is called: Chemin de Poste)

Hi Monasp, unfortunately the link seems to be in French only (Australian here with only English language skilla). This may be a silly question, but are Voie de la Nive and Chemin de Poste the same route, or are they different options for walking from Bayonne to SJPP?

 

[trecile]

Hi Monasp, unfortunately the link seems to be in French only (Australian here with only English language skilla).

If you use the Chrome browser you can set it to automatically translate to English.

 

[Monasp]

Hi Monasp, unfortunately the link seems to be in French only (Australian here with only English language skilla). This may be a silly question, but are Voie de la Nive and Chemin de Poste the same route, or are they different options for walking from Bayonne to SJPP?

No, they are 2 different paths:
The Nive - Bidassoa route, destination Irun
Le Chemin de poste the destination is Bayonne
From Bayonne to SJPDP it is only the Chemin de Poste