Travel Advice

[crhutch]

I am looking for advice from folks that have flown from North America. I am planning to do my Camino this March, Originally I was planning to fly from NYC to Paris and take the train to Bayonne and then onto SJPP. However with the suspended service b/w Bayonne and SJPP, would it be better to fly to Madrid or Barcelona and make my way to SJPP or take the bus from Bayonne to SJPP? As I understand it travel to Madrid to SJPP would be a bus from Madrid to Pamplona and then bus/taxi to SJPP. From Barcelona take train to Pamplona and bus/taxi to SJPP I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks all, Buen Camino, Cullen

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Iberia Airline has excellent rates at the moment (low $600's round trip, multiple legs) out of Dulles Int'l Airport, though the Dulles-Madrid direct flight does not begin until about March 27. Before that, you have to fly through Chicago, Boston, New York, or Miami, adding a lot of travel time. You can fly into Pamplona and return from Santiago de Compostela. In Pamplona, you can either begin your pilgrimage directly, or take a bus/taxi to Roncesvalles or St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port to begin.

 

[jeff001]

I would suggest that you check into a flying all the way to Biarritz. The connection from there to SJPdP, even if you have to go by bus instead of train, is much easier than going via Madrid.

 

[crhutch]

Falcon, Iberia's prices look good except we'll be staying in Europe till the middle of June and Iberia's rate are a bit high by then. I am getting the feeling that going to SJPP from Madrid is a bit of a hassle. The suggestion Jeff offers to go to Biarritz intrigues me. Right now I can find a rate to Bordeaux of right under $800.

 

[Canuck]

Hi,

The service is not suspended between Bayonne and SJPD. It's just provided by bus instead of train. Same difference in schedule and price.

The Paris way is the best and easiest IMO.

Cheers,
Jean-Marc

 

[lynnejohn]

Hi -
We fly from Canada so we have fewer carriers to choose from, however it's always been cheapest for us to get a ticket to London and then take another carrier to wherever we want to end up. Last year we flew London to Biarritz and that was OK, but its a bit of a hassle as transatlantic flight lands at Heathrow but the budget airlines fly out of Gatwick or one of the other London airports and they're quite a distance from Heathrow. You will have to pay for the shuttle ($58 US) between airports, and depending on your arrival times and times of the shuttle (and traffic), you may have to overnight in London for another cost. Should you choose to fly to London and then to Biarritz, this site outlines details:

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/hea ... ansfer.htm

So I think that you are doing this properly by researching carefully and comparing the real prices.

By the way, we always go from 2nd week of April till the 2nd week of June, and I've found our return flight to be quite a bit higher no matter when we book.

Best of luck with your plans and buen camino!

lynne