Pau or Oloron Sainte Marie to Puente de la Reina

sunnydays · Jun 2, 2024

I intend to walk from either Pau or Oloron Sainte Marie to Puente de la Reina in October.
Which is better to start from? I know its only 1 walking day between them.
What is easiest way to get to Pau or Oloron Sainte Marie from Biarritz airport?

Thanks

Juspassinthru · Jun 2, 2024

Recently did that same thing. We flew in to Paris CDG, much easier than Madrid. You can fly into Pau on AirFrance if you want. We took the train from Paris to Oloron changing in Pau. Our train to Pau was a TGV with no change in Bordeaux which is common. If you begin in Pau, it saves a short train ride. There are other options like flying into Bordeaux (BOD) but you have to bus to the train station. I flew in from the US, met my friend from Ireland and spent the first night in Paris, no jet-lagged rush from CDG to the station. Also shipped my post-Camino clothes to Ivar’s place from a DHL office in Paris. The train to Pau left from Montparnasse station. Good luck.

Juspassinthru · Jun 2, 2024

Sorry, I missed part of your question. From Biarritz, you may have to go to Bordeaux, consult the SNCF app or website.

sunnydays · Jun 2, 2024

Yeah, Biarritz is really easy for me.
I think it should be easy enough getting to Pau, and probably getting to Oloron Sainte Marie will involve changing in Pau, so probably may as well just walk from Pau to OSM next day.

Juspassinthru · Jun 2, 2024

Enjoy, it's a great route. We started April 1, the way to the Pass was a bit challenging. From Jaca, make sure you have food and water, not many resources between some of the albergues. If you want to go to the Monastery outside Jaca, try to arrange transportation in advance unless you're walking it. Also, the Foz de Lumbier is pretty cool too. The Monastery in Sarrance is a must to stay. Very basic but worth it, the dinner is fresh made. We finished in Santiago on May 15...long trip. If you have questions, feel free to send a PM.

Vacajoe · Jun 2, 2024

SCNF runs a direct train from Bayonne to Pau that takes less than 80 minutes.

Grousedoctor · Jun 2, 2024

I have this Camino planned for the near future. I intend to fly from the Eastern US or Montreal to CDG and then on to Pau. From the connections that I have seen, I can get to Pau by mid-day, explore the historical part of the city and hopefully pick up my initial stamp at the cathedral, and then walk across town to Lescar right on the Chemin D’Arles for an overnight there at the refuge before my first full day of hiking to Oloron-Sainte-Marie. My thinking here was that I wanted an extra day of walking in France.

Flog · Jun 2, 2024

If you have the time, I would suggest starting further back..

In mid April, I started from Pau. A couple of hours of walking through the suburbs got me to the beautiful old town of Lescar with it's impressive former cathedral. There's only a bakery and butchers in the town, and a bar on the outskirts, but there's a lovely, well stocked municipal gite managed by local volunteers. You can sit above the ramparts at sunset to look across at the pyrenees and what's ahead of you, a lovely peaceful place. The walk to OSM next day is long but very pleasant.

In Oloron Sainte Marie, you have another nice municipal with a good kitchen, as well as plenty of eating choices in the town. I really loved the walk next day from there to Sarrance, lots of little hamlets, beautiful rolling hills and meadows.. and of course the pyrenees starting to dominate. Sarrance monastery was a wonderful place to stay.. don't miss it!

I posted some notes and observations about this route that you might find useful, happy planning!

Thread 'Camino Aragonês notes and observations April '24' https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...agones-notes-and-observations-april-24.86565/

sunnydays · Jun 3, 2024

Im actually thinking now of starting in Lourdes

Jeff Arnold · Jun 3, 2024

My wife and I walked from Oloron. If you start in Pau you will go through Oloron.
It’s easier to get to Pau, but it’s also easy to take the local train from Pau to Oloron.

JerryStroebele · Jun 3, 2024

My French son in law and I walked from Pau starting last October 7. Delightful walk along the river to start. I am old and slow so we deliberately took two days to get to Oloron St. Marie. Sunday night no restaurants open but we did find a takeout pizza restaurant. Delicious. It was very hot in early October but much of the Chemin is in the shade. Surprisingly in the heat much of the long grass on the Chemin stayed very wet most of the day from the morning dew. We were glad to have Gore-Tex lined light boots. It also resulted in many tiny mosquitoes. Take DEET. Higher up the valley on the steep sided trail above the river we were again glad to have good lug soles on our boots. Nothing was open at Somport Pass and we were lucky to buy a beer in Candanchu.
The monastery at Sarrance and the Albergues at Oloron, Canfranc Pueblo, Jaca and Arrés were delightful.
From Pau to the Camino Frances at Obanos we met 17 other pilgrims and a lot of friendly French and Spanish people. Bon Chemin

Beeman · Jun 3, 2024

I walked from Lescar to Estella in 2019. To Orolon with an app,I still got lost about 4 times. If I were to do it again,I would take 2 days to go to Orolon. There were few markers in France,even road signs. An app was a needed. The train now goes to Bedous,but the walk to Sarrance was very nice. I did it again in 2022,and walked as far as Arres.

howardd5 · Jun 4, 2024

A bus will take you to either. The walk from pau is uneventful. Stating fromOloron is a beautiful walk

sunnydays · Jun 5, 2024

Do the gites in France (Oloron - Somport) need to be reserved in advance?
Most seem to be open at least to end of October.

caminka · Jun 5, 2024

I have not yet been to Pau but Lescar, which is on the camino and outside Pau, is lovely and gite there very good. Oloron is also a lovely town, quite big and worth exploring.
Perhaps you may consider splitting the day from Pau to Oloron - quite long and a bit challenging for the first day of walking - by staying in the tiny gite in Laccomende. It is located in one of the original buildings of the former hospitaler's monastery (not the hospice part which is exhibition space). You need to call a day in advance. When I was there in 2012 (seems half a lifetime ago!), pepper mint and mini tomatoes in front of the gite were grown especially for pilgrims. I was alone and very much enjoyed the peaceful and historic atmosphere.

caminka · Jun 5, 2024

A good alternative option. I walked it in 2022. Well marked. A mixture of small roads and trails. Beautiful day from Arudy to Oloron.
Reports on gite in Asson in 2022 were not very favourable but apparently things have improved.

I stayed in Oloron, Arudy and Lestelle-Betharram (I was going in reverse). In 2012, I stayed in Lourdes, Asson and Arudy (then went south on Voie d'Ossau). I have no complaints about accommodation. (I rarely do, the only things bothering me are bedbugs and cleanliness.)

Note that in Lourdes the security didn't let me in the sanctuary complex because I had a small pocket knife with me and didn't want to backtrack to retrieve it. I just wished to top up on the excellent water.

Beeman · Jun 8, 2024

I agree. I walked from Lescar to Orolon in 2019 and found it a long slog. The limestone terrain finds you walking up a long hill,then down sharply,over and over and over. If I did it again,I would stop in Lasscomende. There is a winery there,from which I bought a bottle of the nest white wine I ever had. The area is famous for the best white wine in France.

emvb · Jun 10, 2024

I walked from Lescar in late October 2022. This was after walking several weeks from Vézelay, then joining the Voie d'Arles at Lescar (eventually finishing in the Meseta at Fromista). I remember the terrain from Lescar to Oloron, which I walked in one day, was the among the toughest of the entire trip with its constant steep up and down. But certainly worthwhile for the bucolic landscape with the high mountains looming in the distance ahead.