What is the best way from Wales to SJPP to start the camino?

[Darren John]

Hiya,
I will be taking my Camino Later this year and was wonder what was the best way to get to SJPP from within Wales? Price vs length of time...

 

[KinkyOne]

Hiya,
I will be taking my Camino Later this year and was wonder what was the best way to get to SJPP from within Wales? Price vs length of time...

Welcome to the forum!

What is your preferred airport? Cardiff? Well, from there you have connections to Bordeaux & Toulouse in France with good train connections to Bayonne and from there to SJPdP.
If you want to fly from Cardiff to Spain the closest airport to SJPdP would be Madrid where you can take domestic flight to Pamplona or Irun/Donostia. From Pamplona there are multiple choices (bus, taxi, pension pick-up, shared transport...) to SJPdP.

Otherwise London Stansted has pretty frequent connection to Biarritz, which is very close to Bayonne. It all depends on the time you want to travel and expenses you're willing to take.

For airtravels you might try www.skyscanner.com

Ultreia!

 

[Darren John]

Welcome to the forum!

What is your preferred airport? Cardiff? Well, from there you have connections to Bordeaux & Toulouse in France with good train connections to Bayonne and from there to SJPdP.
If you want to fly from Cardiff to Spain the closest airport to SJPdP would be Madrid where you can take domestic flight to Pamplona or Irun/Donostia. From Pamplona there are multiple choices (bus, taxi, pension pick-up, shared transport...) to SJPdP.

Otherwise London Stansted has pretty frequent connection to Biarritz, which is very close to Bayonne. It all depends on the time you want to travel and expenses you're willing to take.

For airtravels you might try www.skyscanner.com

Ultreia!

Thanks thats amazing! most likley will be leaving from Cardiff. Also do they still do a flexi date return ticket anymore and roughly what cost would i expect?

 

[KinkyOne]

Thanks thats amazing! most likley will be leaving from Cardiff. Also do they still do a flexi date return ticket anymore and roughly what cost would i expect?

Seems like that flights (in June 2015) from Cardiff to Bordeaux are slightly cheaper (at 170€) than to Toulouse (at 185€). From these two cities you can take train to Bayonne: http://www.sncf.com/
There are no flights from Cardiff to Stansted though...

For return flight you have Santiago to Cardiff via Barcelona at approx.200€ or take a train (http://www.renfe.com/) to Madrid and direct flight to Cardiff.

 

[Sagalouts]

hi Darren
the cheap options from Wales
Megga bus or national bus from Cardiff to London approx 5 to 10 pounds if booked up to 2 weeks before
late bus from victoria bus station to stansted airport approx £8
sleep out in stansted (everyone does it and you may hook up with other pilgrims) early flight to spain with ryanair 6 till 7/30 aprox £60 to £80 return/return from santiago (early flights are best to give you lots of time to get to sjpp and rest up before the hill the next day)
bus to bayonna 4 euros aprox
train to sjpp 12 euros aprox
buen camino and have fun.
Ian

 

[Rich1]

Just planning travel from UK for my first Camino in May
Easyjet not flying to Biarritz yet and the Ryanair flight doesn't land til 17:00 which is rubbish for starting the next day.
The Ryanair flights to Madrid and Santander go much earlier, as does Easyjet to Bilboa.
Which is the best/easiest option for getting to SJPP?
Sagalouts - you mention early flight from Stansted to Spain which I presume is Ryanair.....but to where????
Thanks

 

[rucsack]

Just planning travel from UK for my first Camino in May
Easyjet not flying to Biarritz yet and the Ryanair flight doesn't land til 17:00 which is rubbish for starting the next day.
The Ryanair flights to Madrid and Santander go much earlier, as does Easyjet to Bilboa.
Which is the best/easiest option for getting to SJPP?
Sagalouts - you mention early flight from Stansted to Spain which I presume is Ryanair.....but to where????
Thanks
About the Ryanair flight arriving at 5pm , that's what I did last year , it doesn't take long to get to SJPP from there , a short bus trip to Bayonne , then train or replacement bus to finish the journey . I think I was there around 8pm on a replacement bus .Pop to the pilgrims office , they recommended a place to stay , supper and stroll round town ready for an early start .

 

[JohnMcM]

Hiya,
I will be taking my Camino Later this year and was wonder what was the best way to get to SJPP from within Wales? Price vs length of time...

Hello Darren John,
Can't help you with price or time, however, you might be advantaged by looking at the possibility of hopping over to Dublin and from there to Biarritz?
Buen Camino

 

[RENSHAW]

You might want to search compendium on this forum where you will find a smorgasboard of travel info.

 

[tyrrek]

Easyjet start their flights from Gatwick to Biarritz in June, in case the timings work better than Ryanair from Stansted.

If cost is a major consideration and you're able to book a couple of months ahead it would be difficult to beat Ryanair from Stansted. I've often found it cheaper overall (I'm from northern England), even if it means a night in the Travelodge before flying.