Camino Francés - Pamplona to Burgos?

[cardozohughes]

Hello,

I am starting in Pamplona on June 11th. I have to catch an early morning flight in Madrid on June 23rd. My plan is to walk from June 11th to evening of June 21st and travel to Madrid on the 22nd. It seems like stopping in Burgos makes the most sense because it will be easy to get to Madrid from there. Any thoughts? I am happy to walk 24-28 Km a day. Can I go beyond Burgos? If so, where? I have just one day to get Madrid.

Thanks,
Laurie

 

[davejsy]

Realistically you will want to finish in Burgos. Technically you could reach Fromista which probably offers the next easy route back to Madrid, but it will be a stretch. You are best off spending any free time somewhere along the way and enjoying it.

 

[trecile]

I think that you should be able to easily walk to Burgos in your time frame, even doing a couple of short days. It's 214 km between Pamplona and Burgos, so you need to average just under 20 km/day.

 

[CWBuff]

Hello, welcome to the Forum and, yeah - what they said!
No need to push yourself into "something unknown". Take your sweet time, have plenty of days with shorter distances, enjoy your walks and breaks and perhaps take another 'rest'\play tourist day somewhere in-between (Logrono is always good for a nice evening with tapas) and maybe even some extra time in Burgos proper.

Good luck and Buen Camino!

 

[Grousedoctor]

Hello,

I am starting in Pamplona on June 11th. I have to catch an early morning flight in Madrid on June 23rd. My plan is to walk from June 11th to evening of June 21st and travel to Madrid on the 22nd. It seems like stopping in Burgos makes the most sense because it will be easy to get to Madrid from there. Any thoughts? I am happy to walk 24-28 Km a day. Can I go beyond Burgos? If so, where? I have just one day to get Madrid.

Thanks,
Laurie

Typically for most of us it’s a nine day walk from Pamplona to Burgos. As mentioned above, Burgos is the logical stopping point. With your two extra days, I’d do one of two things. First, I’d spend an extra day in Burgos and then go to Madrid a day early. Both cities have a lot to offer. Or second, and particularly if you don’t know Madrid, I’d be inclined to go there for my last two days in Spain before flying home. Even in two days, you’ll only be able to scratch the surface of what Madrid has to offer. I’ve taken the Burgos-Madrid bus and it’s an easy trip to the capital. Buen Camino!

 

[J Willhaus]

This is really my favorite stretch. Hope you enjoy!

 

[falconbrother]

I would urge you to not bring a check bag. The passport control at Madrid airport was like nothing I’ve ever seen. Literally a couple thousand people in a room all trying to do the same thing. Crazy.. We would have missed our connecting flight to Pamplona if we had a checked bag. And from the gate where we landed to passport control is a hike. Since we only took carry on backpacks we were fine.

 

[winemakerfw51]

If you spend an extra rest day along the way, you can take a bus directly from Burgos to the airport and skip Madrid. If you've got a morning flight, you can spend the night in Barajas near the airport.

 

[C clearly]

I would urge you to not bring a check bag. The passport control at Madrid airport...

The OP is referring to departure from Madrid, which does not involve waiting for a checked bag to arrive.

 

[David Tallan]

I would urge you to not bring a check bag. The passport control at Madrid airport was like nothing I’ve ever seen. Literally a couple thousand people in a room all trying to do the same thing. Crazy.. We would have missed our connecting flight to Pamplona if we had a checked bag. And from the gate where we landed to passport control is a hike. Since we only took carry on backpacks we were fine.

When I came at the beginning of the month we had one checked backpack and one carry on backpack (with stuff distributed for the flight in case the checked bag went missing). I was a bit worried about making our bus to Leon, which left a couple of hours after our plane landed. But I guess I got lucky because getting the backpack and through customs and immigration at Madrid airport was very quick for us.

 

[christy wharton]

Hello,

I am starting in Pamplona on June 11th. I have to catch an early morning flight in Madrid on June 23rd. My plan is to walk from June 11th to evening of June 21st and travel to Madrid on the 22nd. It seems like stopping in Burgos makes the most sense because it will be easy to get to Madrid from there. Any thoughts? I am happy to walk 24-28 Km a day. Can I go beyond Burgos? If so, where? I have just one day to get Madrid.

Thanks,
Laurie

I did a similar trip last year. There is a morning bus from Fromista and Hontanas to burgos connecting with buses to Madrid

 

[Ern]

Typically for most of us it’s a nine day walk from Pamplona to Burgos. As mentioned above, Burgos is the logical stopping point. With your two extra days, I’d do one of two things. First, I’d spend an extra day in Burgos and then go to Madrid a day early. Both cities have a lot to offer. Or second, and particularly if you don’t know Madrid, I’d be inclined to go there for my last two days in Spain before flying home. Even in two days, you’ll only be able to scratch the surface of what Madrid has to offer. I’ve taken the Burgos-Madrid bus and it’s an easy trip to the capital. Buen Camino!

Hi. is it possible to cover Pamplona to Burgos in 8 days, and any advice on the stages ? this will be shorter than the typical 9 day walk. Doing this with 2 teenagers in this June and all 3 are fit. Am avoiding to end at Santiago, in anticipation of the crowd in this Jubilee Year.

alternatively, any recommendations on a 7 to 8 days walk, on the French (or other) route? We will be landing in Madrid (morning) and hope to connect to the starting point on the same day, so as to start the walk on the following day. then walk for 8 days and leave for Barcelona on the 9th day.

Have done Primitivo and Norte previously.

appreciate any advice please.

 

[trecile]

Hi. is it possible to cover Pamplona to Burgos in 8 days, and any advice on the stages ? this will be shorter than the typical 9 day walk. Doing this with 2 teenagers in this June and all 3 are fit. Am avoiding to end at Santiago, in anticipation of the crowd in this Jubilee Year

First of all, this is a Jubilee year for Rome, not Santiago, so it shouldn't be any busier than normal.

Yes, you probably can walk Pamplona to Burgos in 8 days. That would be an average of just over 27km per day. But if you can't make it that far you could always take a bus or train to where you will be getting transport home.

 

[wisepilgrim]

Burgos is a logical stopping point. And it is worth mentioning that west of Burgos (more specifically Tardajos) the camino deviates from all major roads, making any local bus or taxi options either complicated or expensive until you get to Frómista.

Also, remember that the river route into Burgos exists!

 

[Ern]

First of all, this is a Jubilee year for Rome, not Santiago, so it shouldn't be any busier than normal.

Yes, you probably can walk Pamplona to Burgos in 8 days. That would be an average of just over 27km per day. But if you can't make it that far you could always take a bus or train to where you will be getting transport home.

Thank you for the advice, i suppose arranging for a taxi would be easy along the stretch from Belorado / Ages, to reach Burgos? the plan is to train/bus from Burgos to Barcelona to catch a flight home.

would you happen to know if there is any reliable or recommended taxi/bus operator that operate in that region? just wanted to ensure we can reach barcelona on a specific date and not miss the flight home.

Thank you so much for your advice.