Traveling from South Africa

Since Iberia Airlines stopped flying into South Africa there has been no direct flight to Spain. So South Africans have to fly into another European country to get to and from their camino. What is the best way to get from South Africa to St Jean Pied de Port, and then back home again from Santiago de Compostela?

There seems to be a hundred different ways, involving flights, trains, buses or even a hire car. As I started researching, I discovered some major obstacles.

1. Trains and buses take many hours from, and back to, your chosen arrival/departure city in Europe (not a problem if you have lots of time).
   
   
2. The cheapest airlines in Europe (Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling) often depart or arrive at very inconvenient times.
   
   
3. The cheapest airlines may involve changing flights (e.g. Vueling via Barcelona), which greatly adds to the risk of getting back to your chosen European city, and not missing your connecting flight home.
   
   
4. All three points above may involve having to overnight somewhere (so extra cost).

However, the major problem I can see, if taking connecting flights on different carriers, is if one flight is delayed, and you miss your connecting flight, you have no recompense whatsoever. Please somebody correct me if I am wrong, but if the two connecting flights were booked separately, that is, not on the same ticketing system, then the first airline has no obligation to refund you your money for the missed second flight; and the second airline has no obligation to put you on the next flight for free, if you pitch up too late for your booked flight.

This is really seriously scary, as not only will you have to pay again for another (very expensive) long haul flight to get back home, you will probably have to find and pay for a hotel for the night in a (very expensive) European city.

So, it seems very important to me that when booking flights from South Africa, all flights should be done on the same ticketing system, so that if one flight is delayed, and you miss the connecting flight, the airline is obliged to put you on their next available flight for no extra charge.

I have come up with the following route using Air France, with the times given as they are currently scheduled (2015, and may change at any time). This option means there is no need to overnight anywhere to and from your camino, there are comfortable transfer times between flights, times of arrivals and departures are perfectly acceptable, and the whole process is fairly easy and straightforward.

From Johannesburg (South Africa) to St Jean Pied de Port (France):

1. Air France departs Johannesburg at 18:50 and arrives Paris (Charles de Gaulle airport) at 05:35.
   
   
2. Airport bus from Charles de Gaulle airport to Orly airport.
   
   
3. Air France departs Paris (Orly airport) at 08:50 (or there is a later flight at 11:15 for a more leisurely transfer time) to Biarritz, arriving 10:05 (or 12:30).
   
   
4. Airport bus from Biarritz to Bayonne train station.
   
   
5. Train from Bayonne to St Jean Pied de Port. You should arrive in SJPP late afternoon/early evening, or approximately 24 hours after leaving Johannesburg.

From Santiago de Compostela (Spain) to Johannesburg (South Africa):

1. Bus from Santiago de Compostela bus station to Vigo bus station (about every hour and takes about one and half hours).
   
   
2. Airport bus from Vigo bus station to Vigo airport.
   
   
3. Air France (HOP Regional) departs Vigo at 18:00 and arrives Paris (at Charles de Gaulle, so no airport transfer, yebo!) at 20:00.
   
   
4. Air France departs Paris (Charles de Gaulle) at 23:30 and arrives Johannesburg at 11:10. So you arrive back in Jo’burg approximately 24 hours after leaving Santiago.

The airfares vary for different days of the week. The big bonus is that the two connecting flights (that is, Paris to Biarritz, and Vigo to Paris) cost very little extra when booked with the Jo’burg/Paris/Jo’burg legs. It is very unlikely that you could book similar flights for the same cost on Ryanair, Easyjet or Vueling. And, unlike Ryanair, etc, on Air France the price includes hold luggage, a reserved seat, tea/coffee, snacks, meals, etc.

Buen camino! Jill