• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Wooden Walking sticks on Ryan Air Cabin baggage

Alasdair Kay

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
"May 2016 "
Hi I wanted to know whether people who had flown Ryan Air (I am flying Stanstead Biarritz) had had any problems carrying their wooden staff and pack onto the plane as cabin baggage, (i know metal walking poles can't come on the plane ). It seems that the reg's are enforced in a variety of ways usually based on who is at check in / cabin crew.
Or should I just suck it up and check my bags in. Although had experiences of my baggage getting lost and don't fancy three days stuck in Biarritz waiting for it.
I do want to take my personal walking staff as I made it myself from the Holy Tree in my garden and well it's mine .... Don't really want a shop bought one from STJPdP..
Any advice helpful...

Alasdair
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Sorry your post has gone unanswered. While I do not have a 100% answer for you, and just asked a similar one regarding the Lisbon airport, here is my take.

My guess is that you would not be allowe to bring a staff when boarding in Biarritz, and what I do know for a fact is that there is NO way the Santiago airport will let you on board with the staff, if you are planning to fly back from Santiago, regardless of the airline.

I would love to see a picture of your staff!
 
I flew with Ryan Air from Stansted to Biarritz. I checked my baggage which included a collapsed trekking pole. The baggage was in the terminal before I was.

Consider whether your walking stick could be used as a weapon. If so then it won't be (or shouldn't be) allowed as carry on. EU regulations state no blunt objects such as baseball bats ...

Too, I fail to see how a walking staff would be short enough to fit within RyanAir carry on baggage dimensions.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
I don't know about Ryanair, but I brought my wooden walking staff, with a rubber tip like a cane, back with me on the plane from Madrid to Calgary, with a change in London. I changed into a long skirt, limped a little, leaning on my staff, and was directed into the security check line for the frail elderly and people with babies as I arrived in the security area. I am planning on taking it with me to France in the same way, when I begin my next camino in the south of France in September. I have never had a problem getting a walking staff through a security line in Canada, as its wooden content and medical-looking rubber tip seem to qualify it as a walking aid (which it is) and that is allowable through security in Canada.
 
I don't know about Ryanair, but I brought my wooden walking staff, with a rubber tip like a cane, back with me on the plane from Madrid to Calgary, with a change in London. I changed into a long skirt, limped a little, leaning on my staff, and was directed into the security check line for the frail elderly and people with babies as I arrived in the security area. I am planning on taking it with me to France in the same way, when I begin my next camino in the south of France in September. I have never had a problem getting a walking staff through a security line in Canada, as its wooden content and medical-looking rubber tip seem to qualify it as a walking aid (which it is) and that is allowable through security in Canada.

Clearly you don't need the staff as a walking aid even as you pretend to need it to clear security with it.

The security people are not stupid; eventually you will be found out. The result will be that people that genuinely need the walking aid will be given a higher degree of scrutiny than is warranted.

This is what I mean by scoff laws causing problems for everyone else.
 
Clearly you don't need the staff as a walking aid even as you pretend to need it to clear security with it.

The security people are not stupid; eventually you will be found out. The result will be that people that genuinely need the walking aid will be given a higher degree of scrutiny than is warranted.

This is what I mean by scoff laws causing problems for everyone else.

Perhaps it is not polite to make assumptions. I have extensive arthritis, which I manage while on camino with regular medication, but the walking stick is also useful for balance. When I need it, I use a metal cane at home, but it is not so useful for walking downhill and more likely to be interpreted as a weapon.
 
Join our full-service guided tour of the Basque Country and let us pamper you!

Most read last week in this forum

The Burguete bomberos had another busy day yesterday. Picking up two pilgrims with symptoms of hypothermia and exhaustion near the Lepoeder pass and another near the Croix de Thibault who was...
Between Villafranca Montes de Oca and San Juan de Ortega there was a great resting place with benches, totem poles andvarious wooden art. A place of good vibes. It is now completely demolished...
Left Saint Jean this morning at 7am. Got to Roncesvalles just before 1:30. Weather was clear and beautiful! I didn't pre book, and was able to get a bed. I did hear they were all full by 4pm...
Hi there - we are two 'older' women from Australia who will be walking the Camino in September and October 2025 - we are tempted by the companies that pre book accomodation and bag transfers but...
We have been travelling from Australia via Dubai and have been caught in the kaos in Dubai airport for over 3 days. Sleeping on the floor of the airport and finally Emerites put us up in...
Hi all, Very new to this so please excuse any ignorance or silly questions :) I'm walking my very first Camino in 2 weeks (iieeeek) - the countdown is on and excitement through the roof. I've...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top