Walking Bayonne to St. Jean Pied de Port - Voie de la Nive

[rometimed]

Hi everyone!

The first time I did the Camino Frances I was in France for two weeks before getting to St Jean Pied de Port. This coming time in May 2020 I will be on a tighter schedule and will only have 3 days to acclimatize from North American time to French/Spanish time.

I was thinking of using it to walk from Bayonne to St. Jean Pied de Port over 2 days.

My plan is to fly to Bayonne... rest in Bayonne/sight see for a day... then walk to Louhossa then on to St Jean over 2 days... before taking 1 more day off in St Jean before I start.

I wanted to see if anyone has walked from Bayonne/Biarritz to St Jean and any tips on routes.

Thank you!

 

[Jan_D]

Hi rometimed, the path from Bayonne to SJPP is known as the "Voie de la Nive". I'm sure there's information on this forum somewhere, but to keep you going in the meantime, you can try this site. They have it down as 3 stages of 14km, 25km, and 28km (I recall another pilgrim went a bit further on day 1, and stayed in Cambo les Bains rather than Ustaritz. And apparently there's a gîte d'étape communal (i.e. an albergue) in Hélette which is the destination listed for day 2).

 

[rometimed]

Hi rometimed, the path from Bayonne to SJPP is known as the "Voie de la Nive". I'm sure there's information on this forum somewhere, but to keep you going in the meantime, you can try this site. They have it down as 3 stages of 14km, 25km, and 28km (I recall another pilgrim went a bit further on day 1, and stayed in Cambo les Bains rather than Ustaritz. And apparently there's a gîte d'étape communal (i.e. an albergue) in Hélette which is the destination listed for day 2).

!!!!! Perfect!!!!!!! Thank you Jan!!!

 

[VNwalking]

There is info about the Voie de Nive here. Or you can head straight to Pamplona on the Camino Baztanes.
Five days, and a beautiful walk, the road less traveled; I'd do it again in a heartbeat!.

 

[rometimed]

There is info about the Voie de Nive here. Or you can head straight to Pamplona on the Camino Baztanes.
Five days, and a beautiful walk, the road less traveled; I'd do it again in a heartbeat!.

Thank you VN but I am actually meeting up with a number of people from my last Camino in St Jean on a specific day and have Orisson already booked.

 

[VNwalking]

Ah, so.
The VdN looks gorgeous...and a super 'warm up.'

 

[rometimed]

Ah, so.
The VdN looks gorgeous...and a super 'warm up.'

Very excited.

I also plan to do the Mont Blanc circuit after this Camino go round.

 

[Vacajoe]

Walked it this past April 2019! Great walk, but two days is really pushing it - it’s doable, but not for everyone. For a two day trek, your best bet would be to walk 34km to the pilgrim gite in Helette (call ahead) and then 21km to SJPdP the next day. That second day was poorly marked, but we used maps.me and only got lost once or twice .

If you are flying in early enough, you can start walking straight from the airport and possibly have three days to make it. You’d miss out on Bayonne — which would be a shame — but at least the walking would be more pleasurable. We met a total of ZERO pilgrims over our three days, but the residents were quite friendly and helpful plus we had THE best meal of our many travels in a small Basque village about halfway to SJPdP. You can find my previous posts on this site “LIVE FROM THE CAMINO” when we walked this previously.

Ask away if you have questions.

 

[rometimed]

Walked it this past April 2019! Great walk, but two days is really pushing it - it’s doable, but not for everyone. For a two day trek, your best bet would be to walk 34km to the pilgrim gite in Helette (call ahead) and then 21km to SJPdP the next day. That second day was poorly marked, but we used maps.me and only got lost once or twice .

If you are flying in early enough, you can start walking straight from the airport and possibly have three days to make it. You’d miss out on Bayonne — which would be a shame — but at least the walking would be more pleasurable. We met a total of ZERO pilgrims over our three days, but the residents were quite friendly and helpful plus we had THE best meal of our many travels in a small Basque village about halfway to SJPdP. You can find my previous posts on this site “LIVE FROM THE CAMINO” when we walked this previously.

Ask away if you have questions.

Cheers!

I'm not afraid of the 34 KM day and I'd rather keep the day off in Bayonne but will likely take your advice on Helette. If you have any more information on the meal in the village do let me know!

 

[Vacajoe]

The food is soooo good that that the sheep line up in respect for it!

 

[nathanael]

Hi rometimed, the path from Bayonne to SJPP is known as the "Voie de la Nive". I'm sure there's information on this forum somewhere, but to keep you going in the meantime, you can try this site. They have it down as 3 stages of 14km, 25km, and 28km (I recall another pilgrim went a bit further on day 1, and stayed in Cambo les Bains rather than Ustaritz. And apparently there's a gîte d'étape communal (i.e. an albergue) in Hélette which is the destination listed for day 2).

Hi there a few years back I arrived in Bayonne and stayed with a lady and her daughter neither knew of such a route went to the Cathedral and the same thing so I took a bus from Bayonne to Sjp, is it a difficult route?

 

[rometimed]

Hi there a few years back I arrived in Bayonne and stayed with a lady and her daughter neither knew of such a route went to the Cathedral and the same thing so I took a bus from Bayonne to Sjp, is it a difficult route?

From reading today it looks not too bad. I am going to try to walk it in May before I start my 2nd Camino Frances.

 

[Kiwi-family]

It’s a pretty, somewhat undulating but not at all demanding route. I walked Saint Jean to Bayonne and met one couple coming the other way as well as some pilgrims doing the Baztan (we detoured off route to stay in Espelette but I understand the albergue there is no longer open)
Marking was patchy and we got lost every day!!! But that was 2014 - might be better now.

 

[Monasp]

Hi everyone!

The first time I did the Camino Frances I was in France for two weeks before getting to St Jean Pied de Port. This coming time in May 2020 I will be on a tighter schedule and will only have 3 days to acclimatize from North American time to French/Spanish time.

I was thinking of using it to walk from Bayonne to St. Jean Pied de Port over 2 days.

My plan is to fly to Bayonne... rest in Bayonne/sight see for a day... then walk to Louhossa then on to St Jean over 2 days... before taking 1 more day off in St Jean before I start.

I wanted to see if anyone has walked from Bayonne/Biarritz to St Jean and any tips on routes.

Thank you!

Hi,
in May a new hostel will be opened in Bayonne. You can sleep there one night and you will be given directions to walk to SJPP.
The new hostel will be 7 rue Gosse (close to the Cathedral)

 

[rometimed]

Hi,
in May a new hostel will be opened in Bayonne. You can sleep there one night and you will be given directions to walk to SJPP.
The new hostel will be 7 rue Gosse (close to the Cathedral)

Thank you Monasp! do you know when in May it is opening?

 

[Monasp]

Thank you Monasp! do you know when in May it is opening?

It will open from 1rst of april to 31 of october.
When do come in may? I will be volunteer here with my husband from 1rst of may to 15 of may.
So maybe see you soon

 

[David Tallan]

Cheers!

I'm not afraid of the 34 KM day and I'd rather keep the day off in Bayonne but will likely take your advice on Helette. If you have any more information on the meal in the village do let me know!

The VdN website linked in the post above seems to indicate a 39 km distance from Bayonne to Helette, so unless 39 km is not an issue, I would look for a third source and see which figure it agrees with.

 

[Vacajoe]

The restaurant is in the village of Macaye - it’s the ONLY restaurant in the village of Macaye! . There’s also a cheese factory on the walk out of town that is worth a visit and a purchase or two.

 

[FLEUR]

I've read that the new hostel in Bayonne opens 1st April

 

[ManyMiles2Go]

I've read that the new hostel in Bayonne opens 1st April

Yes, @Monasp says it is open from 1st April until 31st October, but the OP is walking in May, so she said it would be open in May

 

[rometimed]

It will open from 1rst of april to 31 of october.
When do come in may? I will be volunteer here with my husband from 1rst of may to 15 of may.
So maybe see you soon

Hi Monasp!

Did not reply as I had not yet finalized but I officially will be arriving on May 9th in Bayonne then will head out on the 11th to walk to St Jean.

I hope to stay at the new Hostel! Any advice? Or is it best to just drop by?

Thank you!

 

[giga81]

Hello everyone, thanks for the useful thread.

Is there a best way to split the Voie de la Nive in only two stages, not three? So to travel between Bayonne and Saint Jean in only two days. I don't know the towns in between, so I don't know at the moment where to sleep.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Vacajoe]

You could if you don’t mind two long days of walking (30km or so each day). We stayed at a hotel in Cambo-Les-Bains, but split the final stage into two parts so that we would arrive in SJPdP early enough to enjoy a visit. You could easily use that as your midpoint if that’s your walking speed/distance.

 

[giga81]

Thanks!

 

[Grace3808]

Hi… walking the Via Podensis to SJPP and would like to continue on to Bayonne. Is the route easily done in reverse or if not easy not overly confusing?. Thank you

 

[Vacajoe]

Hi… walking the Via Podensis to SJPP and would like to continue on to Bayonne. Is the route easily done in reverse or if not easy not overly confusing?. Thank you

The first part after SJPdP is a bit confusing, but if you have a mapping app (I recommend maps.me) you won’t get HOPELESSLY lost . We wandered through a sheep field and climbed a fence before a shepherdess set us in the right direction. The problem is that the French abhor giant painted yellow arrows (like on the CF) and favor small metal tags, which apparently make really great souvenirs given the number that are missing from the trail. The last half from Ustaritz to Bayonne follows the river and is easy to follow.

 

[rometimed]

I will be starting this walk in a couple of days and will report

 

[Vacajoe]

Are you walking Bayonne to SJPdP or the reverse?

 

[rometimed]

Are you walking Bayonne to SJPdP or the reverse?

Bayonne to SJPdP

 

[Vacajoe]

Daily reports on the trail, accommodations, pilgrim numbers, and the like would really be useful information for others as this route seldom gets any notice (though it’s truly lovely!)

 

[rometimed]

Daily reports on the trail, accommodations, pilgrim numbers, and the like would really be useful information for others as this route seldom gets any notice (though it’s truly lovely!)

Will do and will take photos.