When should I book my flight home?

[sweetlee213]

Hello! I'm an American planning on walking el camino at the end of June. I have booked my ticket to Paris Eek! for the 27th of June. I'll begin my camino from Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port! I haven't booked a flight home yet because I'm wondering how long people normally get back to the States from the Camino and how long they give themselves to do the walk, plan for injuries that may lay them up, and set time aside for sight seeing.
The cheapest option I've found is a flight from SCQ to Madrid and then from Madrid to the US for under a thousand if I plan to leave August 12th.

Does anyone have any suggestions? How difficult will it be to find a room if I finish the Camino well before the 12th? I'm a female pilgrim traveling alone. Any advice would be well appreciated!


Buen Camino!

 

[mspath]

Hello! I'm an American planning on walking el camino at the end of June. I have booked my ticket to Paris Eek! for the 27th of June. I'll begin my camino from Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port! I haven't booked a flight home yet because I'm wondering how long people normally get back to the States from the Camino and how long they give themselves to do the walk, plan for injuries that may lay them up, and set time aside for sight seeing.
The cheapest option I've found is a flight from SCQ to Madrid and then from Madrid to the US for under a thousand if I plan to leave August 12th.

Does anyone have any suggestions? How difficult will it be to find a room if I finish the Camino well before the 12th? I'm a female pilgrim traveling alone. Any advice would be well appreciated!

Buen Camino!

Hello!

Welcome to the CSJ forum! I am certain that you will find much helpful information here as you plan your Camino as well as many pilgrims eager to share their practical knowledge.

Depending on their age and fitness most pilgrims finish the Camino Frances within 40 days. Thus your potential departure date of August 12 would be fine. Since I am old walking from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago and on to Finisterre usually takes me 55 days averaging 20km a day. Each of us finds his own speed. It is always best to start out walking slowly and built up with time.

If you have any further questions I would be happy to try to answer them.

Buen Camino!

Margaret

 

[dougfitz]

My approach (from Australia) was to book a cheap return flight to a hub airport (Paris CDG in my case) and booked the train to SJPP. I didn't book that return travel back to the hub until I was confident about when I would be in Santiago.

I my case I had time to fly to London to catch up with my son and visit some UK based friends before returning to Paris to catch my flight home. If you want that flexibility, you could do the initial booking as a return ticket to Madrid if that makes a big difference to the fare, and manage getting back and forth separately.

 

[julie]

How long to allow is a difficult question to answer because we all have different needs. Some like to sightsee so build in "rest" days - which are exhausting if you're sightseeing People walk at different speeds and also have different minimum/maximum distances they prefer to walk each day.

As a rough rule of thumb, I like to advise 31 days (rate of 25km/day) + a few days in Santiago + a few days to have a buffer to be used however one sees fit. The more days you can allow, the better as it's preferable to have lots of time rather than feel pressured because of the lack of it.

Remember though that that's a very rough guide. I know people who walked in far fewer days than that and others who took many, many more.

I worked on the same system as Doug did and planned the time I had left when I was about a week out from Santiago. By that time, you're a good judge of how far you're comfortable walking each day so you know when you're going to arrive there.

If you still have plenty of time left over at the end, have fun spending a few days getting to know Santiago and catching up with all the people you met on the Camino. You may also decide to go to Finisterre - either on foot or by bus. Or anywhere else that takes your fancy.

 

[vagabondette]

If you're not on a time schedule, why not spend a bit more time in Europe. If you're going to be spending that much money to get to/from you might as well get the most bang for your buck. Personally my trip will be about 4 months total and encompass many countries. You also might find that flights are a bit cheaper (the one you quoted is HIGH!) in september as it's more shoulder season than high season. My one-way from NYC-Barcelona cost $400. I will book my return for some time in January in a few months as fares go on sale.

 

[Meredith1]

My one-way from NYC-Barcelona cost $400. I will book my return for some time in January in a few months as fares go on sale.

How did you purchase your ticket--online, direct with airline, through a ticket consolidator? Other?

 

[eliana and doug]

Hi there,
we fly out on May 19th. we are not booking our return flights for the same reasons and we are wondering how easy or hard it will be to sort it out in Santiago.
I am taking my mobile, but am not able to speak much Spanish
Dou and Eliana, from England.

 

[Victor Morgado]

I landed in Paris for the three Caminos I walked
..is simple and part of the Camino as Paris has shrines for the Camino, including the tower of Santiago in rue St Dennis...a TGV ( train at great speed) would take you to st pied the port in 5 hours or less...June is a great month to do el camino..try to spend at least a couple of days in paris,( there is always affordable acommodation and it your budget is too tight, then research a monastery either in Paris or outside of Paris...they will be happy to receive you as a pilgrim..make sure you bring a huge sea shell to hang on your back pack and even better a letter from a local parish at home stating that you are departing from your country to do the pilgrimage to compostela...this letle will be honored at any religious house...chill and then head to st jean..dont book round trip as we never know about tomorrow...like that you are surrendering to the pilgrim's spirit

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

Dou and Elaina, There is a good Internet cafe in Santiago from where I have booked my return flight from Santiago via Ryanair to London Stanstead. They can print out your boarding passes. It is a few minutes walk from the tourist office in Rua de Vilar. They provide maps of the city and will tell you where it is. I have done this twice. 2004 and 2009.

I have never had any problems with my account being breached. It will be more expensive because of the nearness of the flight.

Maybe think about walking to Finisterre and Muxia which will put the flight a few extra days away.

Sweetlee,

Walking in the heat of June onwards might slow you down as you may have to stop when the heat gets too great. Consider laying over from 13.00 to 16.00 and then doing a couple of hours in the cool of the evening, though you may find the municipals are full if you arrive after 18.00.

Do not forget that from SdC you can catch a bus to Ferrol and walk the Camino Inglés to SdC and it entitles you to another Compsotella. Then you might like to catch a bus to A Coruna and walk back. Perhaps take a bus out and walk part of the Norte or the Portugese.

The beaches of AC may be worth a visit in the summertime.

Do your research beforehand and when you get to SdC you will have options.

Logrono, Burgos, León and Astorga are all cities where you could spend a day resting and sightseeing. All have Cathedrals that are worth a few hours exploring. Not to forget Santo Domingo.