Where to start - St. Jean or Pamplona???

[JDLAKE]

We are flying into Madrid and plan on taking the bus to Pamplona. In all of our research, most folks start their walk in St. Jean. It makes sense to start there if coming from Paris or Barcelona. Are you able to start the walk in Pamplona or must you go to St. Jean to get the Pilgrim Passport stamp. We've already purchased our passport from Ivar so we have that ready to go. Please helps us make our decision!

 

[Ian Afloat]

Start where you like...as long as it is more than 100km from Santiago. There is no official beginning.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Start where you want, there is. Noone policing the Camino, just criteria if you want a Compostela.

But regarding SJPP/Pamplona, I am one who likes the idea of walking all the way across Spain. And, in good weather, the Napoleon route is beautiful. Perhaps one of the most beautiful. I hear that the Valcarlos route is also beautiful. Something very special about Roncesvalles as well, and the challenging walk into Zubirri.

 

[whariwharangi]

We are flying into Madrid and plan on taking the bus to Pamplona. In all of our research, most folks start their walk in St. Jean. It makes sense to start there if coming from Paris or Barcelona. Are you able to start the walk in Pamplona or must you go to St. Jean to get the Pilgrim Passport stamp. We've already purchased our passport from Ivar so we have that ready to go. Please helps us make our decision!

Its no more difficult to get to St Jean from Madrid as it is from Paris. Travel time is about the same.

The only physical condition to get a Compostela is that you must have walked the last 100 km to Santiago ... so no matter if you start in Pamplona or St Jean.

Its entirely up to you where you start and where you finish.

 

[notion900]

You could stay in Pamplona but start in Roncesvalles. You should get a stamp in your credential where you first start walking, even if you didn't stay over night there.

 

[Mike Savage]

If you start in SJPdP then you have to find transportation from Pamplona, you have a steep climb over the Pyrenees and are rewarded with beautiful scenery. I found Pamplona to be a beautiful city and believe it would be a great place to start after a day exploring. Either way I don't think you can't go wrong. Just start whichever place works out the best for you.

Buen Camino!

Mike

 

[waveprof]

We are flying into Madrid and plan on taking the bus to Pamplona. In all of our research, most folks start their walk in St. Jean. It makes sense to start there if coming from Paris or Barcelona. Are you able to start the walk in Pamplona or must you go to St. Jean to get the Pilgrim Passport stamp. We've already purchased our passport from Ivar so we have that ready to go. Please helps us make our decision!

We went to St Jean and hit snow. Had to go back around to Pamplona, and started from there. You certainly can start from there. But you miss three of the best (and most Basque) days of the trip. Many say day 1 is their favorite the whole way....

 

[JDLAKE]

Start where you want, there is. Noone policing the Camino, just criteria if you want a Compostela.

But regarding SJPP/Pamplona, I am one who likes the idea of walking all the way across Spain. And, in good weather, the Napoleon route is beautiful. Perhaps one of the most beautiful. I hear that the Valcarlos route is also beautiful. Something very special about Roncesvalles as well, and the challenging walk into Zubirri.

Thank you for your reply. We will decide and the idea of walking across an entire country is an accomplishment I hadn't thought about...

 

[Camino Chrissy]

If you start in SJPdP then you have to find transportation from Pamplona, you have a steep climb over the Pyrenees and are rewarded with beautiful scenery. I found Pamplona to be a beautiful city and believe it would be a great place to start after a day exploring. Either way I don't think you can go wrong. Just start whichever place works out the best for you.

Buen Camino!

Mike

I was going to start in Pamplona as a default because it was just easier to begin there after arriving from Madrid. Also I was kind of afraid to hike up and over the Pyrenees on my first day as I'd read of overuse injuries, yet I'd really had my heart set on starting in SJPdP. I compromised by walking the Valcarlos route, which I loved, but still got to start in the adorable village from the movie "The Way"!

 

[jpflavin1]

We are flying into Madrid and plan on taking the bus to Pamplona. In all of our research, most folks start their walk in St. Jean. It makes sense to start there if coming from Paris or Barcelona. Are you able to start the walk in Pamplona or must you go to St. Jean to get the Pilgrim Passport stamp. We've already purchased our passport from Ivar so we have that ready to go. Please helps us make our decision!

JDLAKE:

There is no official starting point. You can start in Madrid, connect to the Frances in Sahagun, and walk the Frances from there. You can start in SJPdP, Pamplona, Burgos etc. etc.

Where do you feel like starting? Start there, that is the right place for you.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[Mark Lee]

Up to you and your schedule. SJPdP is a short and inexpensive bus ride from Pamplona.
ultreia

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

We will decide and the idea of walking across an entire country is an accomplishment I hadn't thought about...

I'm nerdy enough to have wanted that my goal. Add on 3 days from St. Jean to Pamplona and another 3 from Santiago to either Finisterre or Muxia on the coast. Peg stayed in Santiago while I walked to the coast. If she weren't with me I would have walked back to Santiago and then down to the border with Portugal.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Up to you and your schedule. SJPdP is a short and inexpensive bus ride from Pamplona.
ultreia

Hi Mark,
I notice you often offer advice on how simple it is to take a bus from Pamplona to SJPdP, but that's only true in the summer months. For those of us walking the Frances route in off seasons, buses are either non existent or run only once a day, depending on the month. This is why I liked staying at Corazon Puro (now closed in 2017) for the ride they provided. This April I will be sharing a taxi service as my best option.

 

[Mckarash]

I started from SJPDP and went via Orrison last year in August but only had 11 days off to walk (ended in Belorado). This year I have 20 days (starting Good Friday) and am undecided whether to go via Valcarlos instead or repeat the up & over to Roncesvalles ?

 

[AlwynWellington]

Are you able to start the walk in Pamplona or must you go to St. Jean

As others have said above, start where you like.

If you do decide to start at St Jean my suggestion is this: be "match fit" before you start.

The pull up the hill to the border can be a significant test of one's fitness. I was lucky in that I had started further back at Le Puy and had walked for nearly four weeks before arrival at St Jean. And I had done a lot of preparation before hand. This included working up to achieving in the six months before leaving home (on my training trips, with a full backpack) 700 metres of elevation and/or 15 to 20 km distance covered before stopping for breakfast.

In the pull up the hill from St Jean I got into a pattern, accidentally, of very, very short steps, hardly lifting my feet off the ground and breathing in and out in tune with each footfall. That, coupled with my training, saw me pass many walkers that morning and being passed by very few.

For whatever you decide, kia kaha (take care, be strong, get going) and enjoy yourself.

 

[Mikel Olivares]

For us the Spaniards, the most important place to start the Camino is Roncesvalles, this is in the Pyrenees and has a lot of religious and historical importance.
There is buried the King Sancho El Fuerte de Navarra, winner in the battle of the Navas of Tolosa, year 1212, from where he brought the chains of the tent of King Miramamolin .
Chains that are the Symbol of Navarra. And they are on our flag.