To and from USA

[mullinshinch]

We're planning on doing the Camino Frances the beginning of April. My plan is to fly in and out of Bilbao and connect by bus to St. Jean at the beginning and Santiago on the return. Does that jive with what other peregrinos from the States have done?

 

[sillydoll]

There isn't a direct bus to St Jean. You have to go to Batonne and then to St Jean.
The bus Bilbao - Bayonne goes twice a day (at 7.30 and at 1300 hours). The company is named PESA http://www.pesa.net.
Or, the ALSA buses to IRUN leave Bilbao many, many times a day. Then you can travel from IRUN to BAYONNE by bus/train and from BAYONNE to SJPP by train or bus. http://www.pesa.es Coach service to Hendaye. Ticket and bus stop at Termibus by the Hospital Civile de Basuto. 1.hr 50mins €7. From Hendaye to St Jean by train via Bayonne 3 ½ hours http://www.sncf.com (French Rail)
There is a direct train from Santiago to Bilbao - renfe.es

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Another option is to fly into Paris/out of Barcelona (or somewhere else that Vueling flies to from Santiago). From Paris, take a train to Bayonne, then the train from Bayonne to St. Jean. Open-jawed tickets can be purchased from the US. A lot of it depends on where you are flying out of in the US.....

 

[vinotinto]

I flew round-trip from Portland, Oregon to CDG in Paris (I wanted to spend time there once I finished the Camino). When I got to Paris, I took the train (station is in the airport) down to Bordeaux (stayed there for 3 days), then another train to Bayonne (stayed there one day), and yet another train to SJPP (stayed there one day). Once I reached Santiago and spent a couple days celebrating, I took a bus back to Paris.

That said, there are various valid ways to get to the Camino, depending on where you want to start walking from, where you plan to stop (in case you're only walking part of the trail) and what you want to do afterwards. Chances are, you'll find an itinerary that fits you on this forum. Buen Camino! :arrow:

 

[Anniesantiago]

Another option, which I did this last trip, is to fly direction to Santiago, then bus out to where you'd like to begin. That way, you finish up in Santiago and go home from there, and often you can get great airfare from the East Coast since it is a pilgrimage.

 

[mullinshinch]

Thank you Annie and all others who have responded. We're booked to Bilbao and will bus it from there to St. Jean.

 

[CaminoGen]

I flew round-trip from Portland, Oregon to CDG in Paris (I wanted to spend time there once I finished the Camino). When I got to Paris, I took the train (station is in the airport) down to Bordeaux (stayed there for 3 days), then another train to Bayonne (stayed there one day), and yet another train to SJPP (stayed there one day). Once I reached Santiago and spent a couple days celebrating, I took a bus back to Paris. :arrow:

If you're going throught Paris, you can fly back to Paris. I just bought my ticket for $61. I'll take the two hour flight over a day in a bus anytime.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I actually prefer the bus. The buses in Spain are remarkably comfortable with big giant windows so you can see the countryside as you travel. I bussed from Santiago down to Sevilla and loved every minute of the journey...

 

[vinotinto]

I'll take the two hour flight over a day in a bus anytime.

I can dig it, and jetting back to Paris is what I'd most likely do the second time around. But taking the bus was easy (vs. dealing with typical airport/airline delays), plus I wanted a little decompression time before hitting Paris. As Anniesantiago mentioned it is nice to see the countryside of Spain thru the bus windows - especially since the bus passed over the Camino a number of times. :arrow:

 

[viajero]

I have always found the cheapest flight from Washington D.C. is on Iberia. The flight from Washington to Madrid is non-stop and the add on flights are not much more expensive than the straight roundtrip (for example, Washington-Madrid-Pamplona with return Santiago-Madrid-Washington was less than $100. more than the washington-Madrid round trip).

 

[Deleted member 3000]

With all the new mergers and code-sharing, Iberia seems to have dropped direct Washington flights. Miami, New York, and Chicago are the hubs.

 

[ivar]

I believe that there is also a Philly - Madrid flight (US Airways)... not sure the prices...

Saludos,
Ivar

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The US Air fares are competitive with American Airlines from Baltimore through New York, perhaps $30 more. Avoiding American Airlines is almost always a good investment (my opinion, of course).

 

[Meredith1]

"great airfare from the East Coast since it is a pilgrimage"

Hi -

This is directed to Anniesantiago who made the comment I put in the subject line, but I'll be glad to hear from anyone else who has current information on getting airfare specials when embarking on a pilgrimage. How is it done?

Thanks!

 

[Portia1]

I used Kayak.com and played with the multi-city options. They gave me the best prices and the most options. What was surprising was that the options changed by the day! Obviously a turbulent market. Was able to get a reasonable airfare ($675) in December--much less than last time! I am taking AA from DC to JFK then to Iberia Madrid and on to Porto. Returning from Santiago Iberia through Madrid to JFK and then AA to DC. By leaving and returning from/to Reagan National, I can even take Metro and leave my car in the parking garage at Shady Grove (and with Sunday no fare--parking is free!). There are five of us going this time (versus two years ago when I went by myself) so finding decent fares almost became a daily game amongst us.

 

[Kitsambler]

Kayak is good; you can also sign up for email alerts from Orbitz or Travelocity for fare sales (which sometimes are only hours long). The NY Times research shows fare changes are frequently posted on Tuesday afternoons. And some airlines (American Airlines, Southwest, and others) do not participate in these aggregators, so you must check their sites separately.

 

[Esther Perkins]

I have a question. If I fly into Santiago is there a train or bus that would get me to SJPP?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Not easily.