Travelling to the Camino...please help

[mceli91]

Hello, I need some advice.

My aunt and I will be flying from Ottawa to Paris, Charles De Gaulle. Our estimate time of arrival will probably be 9:45am on October 6. Now we want to board a train straight down to SJPP but I can't seem to be able to book a ticket online at the moment, which is nerve racking. I'm also trying to get a bang outta my buck here so I was wondering if anyone knows if its better to buy a pass rather than book a ticket?

Any travel suggestions or alternatives would be fantastic. This is turning out to be more confusing than I'd hope.

Thanks.

 

[PEI_Heather]

Hi Mceli,

Hi from Charlottetown!

I don't know if this will work for you, it's another option--if you go to Veuling or EasyJet (discount airlines), you can probably book tickets to Barritz (France) from Paris. It certainly would be cheaper than the train--and faster. You can take the bus from Barritz to Bayonne, where the trains to SJPP leave. I arrived at Bayonne with plenty of time to stow my pack in a locker and to wander around for a few hours.

I flew Vueling last year from A'Coruna to London and this year am using them to fly from Paris to Lisbon on 11 October. I was very happy with the service I got. And the price was great!

Perhaps that might be something you are interested in looking into?

Cheers!
Heather

 

[Thengel1]

On Oct 6th, Easyjet has a 1:55 flight from Paris (CDG) to Biarritz (Bayonne), for roughly $150 including one piece of checked baggage (and a carryon). Unless you are emotionally attached to taking the train, this seems like the best option for you.

As mentioned in the train description below, even though you will arrive at the airport in Bayonne by 3:30, there isn't another train leaving for SJPDP for hours, which means it will be 10:30 or so getting into SJPDP. Depending on what reservations you have made, you may want to just spend the night in Bayonne.

For the record, train wise:

I looked at:

http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/

There are a number of trains that will take you from Paris to Bayonne. One leaves at 12:27, and another leaves about 2 hours later. Both take about 5 hours and cost 74 euros.

Then there is a 75 minute train from Bayonne to SJPDP.

A few pieces of information you need to know:

1. Even taking the earlier of the two trains, you would only arrive in SJPDP at 10:30 PM or so. So, if you have booked a place to stay that night, make sure they are ok with your late arrival.

2. If you haven't made any reservations, it would probably be less stressful for you to spend the night in Bayonne, and have a nice relaxing day to recover from jet lag, with only that one short train ride to cover. Plus, you would arrive in SJPDP at a much more reasonable hour.

3. Please note, that the trains from Paris do not leave from the airport, so you would have to get into Paris first, which should take about an hour.

 

[apilgrim]

Hello, I need some advice.

My aunt and I will be flying from Ottawa to Paris, Charles De Gaulle. Our estimate time of arrival will probably be 9:45am on October 6. Now we want to board a train straight down to SJPP but I can't seem to be able to book a ticket online at the moment, which is nerve racking. I'm also trying to get a bang outta my buck here so I was wondering if anyone knows if its better to buy a pass rather than book a ticket?

Any travel suggestions or alternatives would be fantastic. This is turning out to be more confusing than I'd hope.

Thanks.

I found the most confusing part about walking on the camino was getting to the camino. I have gone three times, from Madrid to Sarria, from Barcelona to Pamplona, and from Paris to St. Jean Pied de Port. It gets a little easier each time but I still think it's the most disconcerting aspect of the camino experience.

I think you'll be okay if you buy your train ticket to Bayonne from Paris, from which there is a train to St. Jean that, as I recall runs fairly regularly. I know it gives you peace of mind to have your ticket in hand before you get to Paris and if you can do that from Ottawa, I suggest you do that. But if you can't, I think you're fairly safe to buy your tickets in Paris. Have you considered staying in Paris the first day and night to recover from jet lag and to get your bearings?

Try not to stress too much about it - you will get there and once you're on the camino, all the fuss to get there will seem worth it.

 

[Wanderer64]

mceli91,

I too flew from Canada into Paris CDG, and I had my travel agent book my train from CDG for me. I made sure to book a train ticket that departed CDG about 4 hours after scheduled flight arrival, just in case of a flight delay. Worked out good. I too found the online train booking issue a bit daunting.

 

[lpresber]

I did the same trip from Calgary in April - if I recall correctly, there's a train at 12 or 12.30 that gets you to SJPP around 19.00. I wasn't able to book through the English site either, but if you can navigate the French version of SNCF you might have better luck. Worked for me! Buen Camino! Lara

 

[mspath]

mceli91,

For BASIC information on trains from CDG and/or Paris to Bayonne and SJPdP please first read what earlier I have posted in this Forum thread.

For information on getting to SJPdP from either Biarritz airport or Bayonne please read what earlier I posted in this Forum thread.

In Bayonne the Monte Carlo, 11 rue Hugues, is a small, inexpensive place which is opposite the railroad station (Gare SNCF). Here is their web >> http://hotel-montecarlo.allcommerces.com/. Next morning you can easily catch the early TER line 62 train to SJPdP.

Bon Voyage and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[whariwharangi]

There are two parts to the train trip.:

The first leg is with SNCF from Paris to Bayonne. You can probably book a ticket for this leg on line. Apparently its not an issue to wait to buy a ticket at the train station; there are several trains daily.

The second leg is with SNCF TER (62) which is a regional commuter train from Bayonne to SJPdP. I think it is not possible to buy a ticket online for this train; you must buy it at the station. There usually are 4 trains per day.

***

As suggested earlier, the cheapest (and easiest) way is to fly with a discount airline (such as EasyJet) from Paris to Biarritz airport. See the BIQ website for airlines that fly to Biarritz. The urban#14 bus goes from the airport to Gare Bayonne in about 40 minutes where you catch the TER 62 train to SJPdP. The only problem may lie in getting to Bayonne before the last train leaves in which case you need to find accomodation. Do the time appreciation before committing to a purchase.

SNCF website
http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers

SNCF TER Acquitaine description
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TER_Aquitaine

Biarritz Airport (BIQ)
http://en.biarritz.aeroport.fr/

Airlines flying to BIQ
http://en.biarritz.aeroport.fr/destination/compagnie.html

Chronoplus, the Bayonne/Biarritz bus system.
http://www.chronoplus.eu/

Chronoplus Map
http://www.chronoplus.eu/ftp/Plan_reseau_chronoplus_jan2013.pdf

Gare Bayonne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Bayonne

 

[Monasp]

Hello, I need some advice.

My aunt and I will be flying from Ottawa to Paris, Charles De Gaulle. Our estimate time of arrival will probably be 9:45am on October 6. Now we want to board a train straight down to SJPP but I can't seem to be able to book a ticket online at the moment, which is nerve racking. I'm also trying to get a bang outta my buck here so I was wondering if anyone knows if its better to buy a pass rather than book a ticket?

Any travel suggestions or alternatives would be fantastic. This is turning out to be more confusing than I'd hope.

Thanks.

I was welcoming at the pilgrim office on SJPP last week. Look here for train times from Bayonne to SJPP. http://www.horairetrain.net/horaires-bayonne-saintjeanpieddeport.html
Don't forget to go to the pilgrim office, it's opened early on the morning and late on the evening. (It closes after the last train).

Buen camino
Monique

 

[mceli91]

Thanks for the advice! It's been super helpful! Our plans so far is to stay a day in Paris and train the following morning to Lourdes. I'm definitely going to look at flying too though. My aunts wants to see the Grotto and buy some holy water for my grandmother. It's weird though, the only public transport that I can find from Lourdes is to train to Bayonne and then to SJPdP, but it will take 5 hours! Seems silly since the cities are only an hour and a half away from each other. Does anyone know a better way to travel from Lourdes to SJPdP?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The train from Lourdes is the most convenient way to get to SJPdP, and, yes, it takes a connection through Bayonne.

 

[naplesdon]

I don't have a schedule sitting in front of me but I think the reason for the long commute is because the train goes north to Dax before it gets split up and one part goes north and the other part to the east towards Toulouse, or in your case goes south to Bayonne.

 

[NicoZ]

The main reason to book trains in advance is to get any special fare offers. But the closer you get to the travel date less chance any of these tickets will be left. Same thing with the discount flights. I bet the prices quoted above are close to 2x the intial prices.

 

[whariwharangi]

Thanks for the advice! It's been super helpful! Our plans so far is to stay a day in Paris and train the following morning to Lourdes. I'm definitely going to look at flying too though. My aunts wants to see the Grotto and buy some holy water for my grandmother. It's weird though, the only public transport that I can find from Lourdes is to train to Bayonne and then to SJPdP, but it will take 5 hours! Seems silly since the cities are only an hour and a half away from each other. Does anyone know a better way to travel from Lourdes to SJPdP?

By what measure are the "cities" only an hour and a half away from each other?

Saint Jean Pied de Port is not a transportation hub nor can it be described as a city. Its a village with population under 2000 at the end of the road deep in the Pyranees. Connections are limited.

So you have 5 hours from Lourdes to SJPdP (I guess about half of that is connection waits) ... consider that it beats walking.

I suppose if time is the issue then hire a taxi, though the cost would be prohibitive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port