Best way to get to St. Jean

[NoExcusesJenn]

I am wondering what the best way would be to get to St. Jean I will be coming from Canada.

 

[lindseh]

Hi Jenn,

I'm coming from Canada as well. I assume you're looking for info on where to fly to from Canada? There's loads of info about actually getting to SJPP on the forum. It's about the same distance from the three major cities that are somewhat near it, Madrid, Barcelona and Paris. It's good to fly to the major cities if you have extra time and wish to spend some time seeing them before or after the camino. Otherwise, fly somewhere like London or Dublin, and look into flights on small budget airlines (RyanAir, EasyJet) that fly into Biarritz, which is a lot closer to SJPP than the major cities.

Last time I flew into Paris and spent a few days there on each end. However, since I flew roundtrip, I spent a bit more time and money than I had to getting back there to fly home, as it's quite a bit further from Santiago than, say, Madrid. This time I'm flying open jaw, into Barcelona and out of Madrid. It's the same price as a round trip flight. Spending 5 days in Barna, then taking the train to San Sebastian. I happen to be spending a week there visiting a friend, but it also gets you much closer to SJPP - you'll have to go through here coming from either Madrid or Barna. Then you catch a series of trains to SJPP.

From Paris, you catch a train (a TGV) to Bayonne, then a train to SJPP.

Buen camino, and good luck with your plans.

 

[Flatcat]

I am wondering what the best way would be to get to St. Jean I will be coming from Canada.

We're flying BA from Vancouver - London - Paris
And we're leaving via Barcelona - London- Vancouver
Flying Paris to Biarritz via Orly
Haven't booked yet for Santiago to Barcelona but most likely it'll will be a discount airline like Ryan air or Easy Jet!
$1350 taxes in for our Main flight on BA
$65 Paris to Biarritz

 

[Laynni]

I agree, Biarritz is probably your best bet. We flew in there and then got Express Bourricot to pick us up at the airport and take us to St Jean. Can't remember what it cost but it wasn't much considering we got to SJPP a couple hours sooner than we would have by train and we had to re-pack our bags for the hike in the morning (we'd been travelling around Europe at the time).

 

[hotelmedicis]

See if you can book a flight to Biarritz via Paris or London and then from there you can take a train, a bus or a taxi to SJPP. Have a look around the forum this question comes up a lot.
I live in Paris and travel to the Spanish border several times a year so if you have questions about that route PM me and I would be happy to help out. Check out skyscanner.net for the cheapest flights, I use it all the time.

 

[ramonvanderburgt]

A question about the TGV from Paris:
Should I buy my ticket upfront, or can I simply walk up to the station and purchase a ticket for the next TGV? I once went by Bullet Train (Shinkansen) in Japan and I had to order my tickets ahead of time because it was almost always full. Is this the same deal with the TGV?
And if I do have to order my tickets upfront, how many weeks ahead should I do this? Especially since I probably want to buy my return ticket while I am on the Camino, since I don't know how many days it will take me to get to the end (and exactly where I am going to stop walking ).

Thanks in advance.

 

[hotelmedicis]

A question about the TGV from Paris:
Should I buy my ticket upfront, or can I simply walk up to the station and purchase a ticket for the next TGV? I once went by Bullet Train (Shinkansen) in Japan and I had to order my tickets ahead of time because it was almost always full. Is this the same deal with the TGV?
And if I do have to order my tickets upfront, how many weeks ahead should I do this? Especially since I probably want to buy my return ticket while I am on the Camino, since I don't know how many days it will take me to get to the end (and exactly where I am going to stop walking ).

Thanks in advance.

In France it's possible to actually get on board a TGV without a ticket and buy one from one of the SNCF staff but you MUST approach them first because if it is they who ask you for your ticket and you don't have one you may have to pay a large fine in addition to the price of a ticket. Buying your ticket on the train like this may cost another €10. I would recommend buying your ticket online as soon as possible here, in English: http://www.voyages-sncf.co.uk/ and you can print the ticket yourself. (Tickets can be purchased up to 3 months in advance, no more.)

You should be able to do the same from an internet café that has a printer in Santiago, or wherever, when you have a good idea about your return date. Otherwise you can just show up at the train station in Hendaye and buy a ticket there. If all the seats have been sold the person at the train station cannot sell you a ticket, but the SNCF staff on the train can and will. You will have to travel standing up or on one of the jumpseats or perhaps in the bar, but it beats not going at all.

And for your return you can always go via San Sebastian and from there take the little Euskotren (40 minutes) to Hendaye where you'll catch the TGV to Paris if that's your final destination.

I travel the Paris - Hendaye route regularly and have done all of the above. If you need more info you can PM me.
Good luck!

 

[mspath]

A question about the TGV from Paris:
Should I buy my ticket upfront, or can I simply walk up to the station and purchase a ticket for the next TGV? I once went by Bullet Train (Shinkansen) in Japan and I had to order my tickets ahead of time because it was almost always full. Is this the same deal with the TGV?
And if I do have to order my tickets upfront, how many weeks ahead should I do this? Especially since I probably want to buy my return ticket while I am on the Camino, since I don't know how many days it will take me to get to the end (and exactly where I am going to stop walking ).

Thanks in advance.

Ramon,

You can see exact TGV schedules up to 3 months in advance at this SNCF (French Nationl Rail Road ) link. http://www.voyages-sncf.com/. You NEED a reservation for any TGV train and it is cheaper to book the ticket well in advance. However you can also book everything with a live clerk at the station the day of departure if you wish. If you take a morning TGV train from Paris to Bayonne and then the TER line 62 train you can be in SJPdP by late afternoon.

The route is generally a TGV train from the Paris Gare Montparnasse to Bayonne and then a regional TER line 62 train from Bayonne to SJPdP. Generally there are 4 TGV trains to Bayonne from Paris each day. However, if you wish you can take the regular overnight train from Paris Gare Austerlitz to Bayonne to connect with an early morning TER train to SJPdP.


Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[hotelmedicis]

You NEED a reservation for any TGV train and it is cheaper to book the ticket well in advance.

Just to clarify, you do not in fact need to buy your ticket before getting on the TGV. When you buy your ticket on board the TGV as opposed to in the train station or on the internet, the SNCF applies what is called a "tarif de bord." If you want a seat then yes, you should reserve your ticket in advance and this is highly advisable, especially if you want to pay as little as possible. Buying in advance is the way to go. However, the SNCF allows people to get on the TGV (or other trains such as the TER) without a ticket and to buy the ticket from the conductor as long as they immediately notify the conductor of the situation the moment they get on the train. This is key. In this case, a "tarif de bord" supplement will be applied and will cost up to, but not more than, €10 on top of the price of the train ticket.

I have actually done this taking the TGV back from Hendaye several times because the train was full and I could not buy a ticket at the station. I spoke to a "controleur" of the TGV and he told me just to get on the train but that I would not have a seat and I would have to pay a €10 supplement on top of the price of the ticket. I later learned that this is common practice and I have since done this several times after having learned that the train was booked-full and I couldn't get a ticket. This frequently occurs around the time of San Fermin (the Running of the Bulls) or around New Year's Day. As I live in Paris and have relatives in Spain I travel this route regularly.

It's all explained here on the SNCF website http://questions.sncf.com/questions/368 ... s-un-train (in French) but I will also include it here below (in French, unfortunately):

dans les deux cas, ces tarifs sont pour les clients ayant signalé leur situation avant ou dès leur montée dans le train à l'agent sncf en charge.

le tarif guichet (même prix qu'en gare) est pour les voyageurs achetant leur billets auprès du contrôleur dans les gares démunies de moyen de distribution et/ou lorsque le client souhaite un prolongement de parcours. il est également appliqué en cas de problème de distribution (appareils hors service, par exemple).
vous pouvez le demander soit au contrôleur du train précédent ou dans le train concerné avant ou dès la montée.

le tarif de bord est appliqué lorsqu'un client ne dispose pas de titre de transport et souhaite en acheter un alors même qu'il existe des moyens de distribution (guichet, borne automatique etc...).
le supplément appliqué en plus du prix du billet pour le tarif de bord est de 4 euros pour les trajets inférieurs à 100 km et 10 euros au delà.

dans votre cas et pour répondre à votre question, si votre fils demande un billet avant ou dès son arrivée en gare de bordeaux auprès du contrôleur (du tgv ou du ter) en demandant un prologenement de parcours il ne paiera pas ce supplément.

 

[ramonvanderburgt]

Thanks for the perfect answers. I really appreciate it!

 

[ramonvanderburgt]

A small follow-up question:
Can I buy a train ticket at Bayonne for the next train towards st Jean Pied De Port? I've bought my TGV tickets, but I'd rather buy the ticket for my final train as I am actually standing on the Bayonne train-station. I don't know whether I'll be experiencing any delays, and I might want to take a little break and eat somewhere before I travel to SJPDP.

I'm guessing it's no problem to buy my ticket at the station, but you never know. Has anyone done it or does anyone know if this is possible?

 

[albinvega]

Buy the ticket at Gare Bayonne, ramon; no reserved seats.

If by chance the train is not running (line repairs, etc.), no worries, buses will be laid-on at the station to get you to SJPdePort in almost the same time as the train.

Bayonne is worth a short visit and the hotel immediately opposite the station (Monte-Carlo) has simple rooms, at decent prices, with their restaurant/cafe providing good meals at reasonable prices.

If you do decide to spend a day or so in Bayonne, do pay a visit to the Basque Museum located a very short walk (across the river) from the train station. Very well done and worth the low price of admission; you'll have no trouble locating the small building with directions from readily available brochures or hotel/cafe staff.

 

[ramonvanderburgt]

Thanks fr the reply! I will buy my ticket at the station, and if I've had enough of trains for that day (I'll be riding them for about 12 hours!) I'll definitely stay in the htel across the station!