Visiting Lourdes before Frances How to get from A to B

[manifestdestinyLISA]

Hi Pilgrims,

I am trying to plan airfare. My dilemma is that I really want to visit Lourdes Shrine for atleast 2 days before camino and then travel to St Jean. My first question is that- although I can fly direct into Lourdes Airport from NJ(EWR) or NY (LGA/JFK) (its more expensive though as compared to Paris Airport)- how would I get from Lourdes to St Jean? Is there a train or bus? How far apart are they and does it make sense? Which airport is closest to St Jean? Is there another option Im unaware of? Arlene from Ny mentioned Biarritz in her post-Im going to research.

And then, I am planning on visit to Fatima by bus/train after SDC. I can fly home from SDC but it takes a looong time. Is there another airport that is reachable from SDC or Fatima that I could fly home more directly from?

Logistics overwhelm me..and I know its high time to use a little Pacienza to make it all happen. I have to book my flight as the prices are variable and flights are booking up!

Thank you in advance for any feedback or help you can provide.

Lisa

 

[manifestdestinyLISA]

Pau seems close to Lourdes 30 min by train but no direct flights now- cant believe how flight costs are rising as we speak! And there are trains from Lourdes to St Jean.
There are some good deals round trip to Paris.
No direct flight back from SDC either, I could kick myself as I saw shorter flights last week!

 

[wdbillingsley]

In regard to returning...we were flying Delta and had a good connection out of the Vigo airport on Air Europa to Madrid, then back to the USA. We were able to book the ticket on the Delta website. If you can use frequent flyer miles, it may be just as cheap or cheaper sometimes to fly back from a different airport.

In looking at the map, Fatima is closest to Lisbon which should have flights out to either Madrid or Paris. SDC would be a long trip back by bus or train.

 

[FreerangerMartin]

Lourdes to St Jean by train really isn't difficult. Then, Santiago to Fatima is also possible by train - change at Entroncamento for Fatima; then Fatima-Lisbon to catch the plane (if fly you must): try the RailEurope website. Martin

 

[manifestdestinyLISA]

Thank You!

Thank you so much FreerangerMartin and Wdbillingsley! I did not consider Lisbon and as it turns out they have many more & shorter flights into NY/NJ airports and it would make more sense from Fatima to return to Lisbon.

Train from Lourdes is good to St Jean. Now I still have to figure out flight here to Lourdes. Pau and Lourdes are close to Lourdes..the flights are just long and expensive. Still online trying to work it all out!

I am planning 6 weeks, do think that is overkill? I figured 5 for camino and extra week for Lourdes & Fatima and rest days. I would like to go slow and rest when needed/weather issues etc. Should leave flight home open ended for more flexibility in case I need to come back earlier or book now?
What have veterans done that worked out best?

Pace Bene,
Lisa