Upcoming departure: question about trains

[liliha]

Hello, all,

I am full of departure nerves now...my departure date is only 4 days away! Tuesday evening I leave Atlanta to fly in to Bordeaux. I have a couple of questions about getting from Bordeaux to SJPP:

1. Any idea where I can view train schedules and routes? After reading some posts, it seems likely that I will train from Bordeaux to Bayonne, and Bayonne to SJPP. Will it be easy to get an early train out of Bordeaux?

2. Will it be easy to purchase tickets on the day of travel?

3. How much time should I allow to travel from Bordeaux to Bayonne, and from Bayonne to SJPP?

4. Any other train travel tips?

Ultreya! (but first I must head east!)

 

[andy_h]

Hi
I know Your pain.
I couldn't find proper timetable on any French site.
So I used a polish railways website (I'm Polish) which proved to be accurate before.
So this is Your schedule for Wed the 9th of April:
Bordeaux-St-J. 13:14 TGV
Bayonne 14:54
Bayonne 15:06 Regional Train
St Jean Pied de Port 16:19

If You want earlier train leaves Bordeaux at 6.41.
Let me know I'll send You details
See You on the Camino. I start my walk on 11th.
Andy

 

[philippe33]

an other train later, Bordeaux 15h28 Bayonne 17h07/18h13 SJPP19h35
if any question : philippe.beaubreuil@libertysurf.fr

 

[philippe33]

sorry, i forgot to mention that I do live in Bordeaux

 

[liliha]

Thank you both, so much. Actually, I wouldn't be leaving Bordeaux until the 10th...my flight arrives in Bordeaux around 18:00 on the 9th. If either of you have schedules for that day, I would be most obliged.

Andy...Are you beginning in SJPP on the 11th? In that case, we will certainly be seeing each other on the way!

 

[C clearly]

I am a regular reader here, but don't post much. My pilgrimage plans are still too vague to have much to say, but I love to read about others' plans and experiences.

I find the best site for train information in Europe is the German site:
http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en

They are not very good for price information but the schedules, etc., are very reliable. I always copy and paste lists of optional trains onto a MS Word document with a small font, and take the pages with me. For every leg of a trip I can select my trains and usually I just go to the ticket counter and can point at the departure I want. Sometimes my information is better than what the agent seems to know.

 

[andy_h]

Hi Liliha
It is very possible we meet. I'll come to SJPDP on 10th in the evening so on 11th early morning You can see me departing. I rather start earlier because I've read SJPDP-Roncesvalles strech is one of most difficult on the camino. Especially when you're not used to walking routine.
See You
Andy