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I think the cancellation is probably due to the SNCF strike which is happening today and tomorrow. Their website is warning that many services will be cancelled on Thursday 9 March. If the trains are cancelled because of a strike I think it is unlikely that a replacement bus will run.
www.expressbourricot.com
I think the cancellation of trains has to do with the strikes in France related to the proposed change in retirement age from 62 to 64. Extra service not likely. In 2018 I was walking the Canal du Midi. Since there was a labor strike that year, too, I ended up flying to Toulouse rather than taking a train. Buses were filled and traffic kept me from renting a car. Come to think of it, almost every time I've been to France in the past nearly 50 years there's been some sort of labor strike affecting transportation, several times air traffic controllers not working.
On the Camino, the best plan is to not have a plan. Welcome to the change! Make it a fun experience.
If no taxi share possible, there's a bus from Bayonne to St Palais then a second bus to SJPP. Google maps gives details. Takes 3hrs. Its a solution.
Take the bus from Bayonne. They pick up right outside the train station.
Personally, I would fly to Bilbao Spain. It’s a beautiful seaside town in northern Spain frequented by visitors so good flights. A quick 2 hours bus ride to Pamplona. Then from there there are multiple options. This strike may not be easy to navigate. Get out of France and work your way to SJPP. Flights within Europe are fairly reasonable. If not Bilbao I’d fly to Madrid or Barcelona. I have done all three options and Bilbao is easiest and closest.
This was such helpful advice and served me well. Nice place to have a drink in while you wait in St Palais!
to Saint Palais and from there to SJPP.
Are you travelling today or tomorrow (13 and 14 March)? From Bayonne to SJPP? Did you see post #20 just before your question?
And updated today as:
See this article in Le Monde for example: Comment la SNCF choisit les trains qui circulent pendant la grève.
If you continue to read until post #19, you will see that it was actually this forum that did wonders
: @caminojon followed @giteportesaintjacques‘s advice and went by bus first to Saint-Palais and then on another bus to SJPP.
Here is the town's website on how to get to Saint-Palais: Venir à Saint-Palais.
How long does it take by bus to get from CDG to St Jean ?
Sorry, I have no idea how long it takes to go by bus from Paris to SJPP. I have only ever taken the fast train or the plane from Paris to either Biarritz or Bordeaux.
Flixbus take a little over 10 hours for their fastest Paris - Bayonne service
Do I see this correctly? The fast Flixbus service leaves Paris (including CDG) around 10 pm and arrives around 11 am in Biarritz? And then you still need to get to SJPP ... oh the joys of long-distance long-duration bus travel ...
Perhaps not idealDo I see this correctly? The fast Flixbus service leaves Paris (including CDG) around 10 pm and arrives around 11 am in Biarritz? Oh the joys of long-distance bus travel ...
But the cheapest flights from the UK tend to leave Gatwick or Stansted in the very early morning. With travel time to the airport and security and the rest to consider it usually means spending the night at the airport before boarding. Dozing overnight in a comfy seat on a warm bus might be preferable to several hours hanging about the departure area of Stansted airport in the middle of the night and get you to Bayonne at a similar time of day!
But why are you worried about this now when you will travel at the end of April? Besides, there have been TGV trains serving the Paris to Biarritz line every day of the strike, even today there is at least one such train or even two, real-time online info says that the first one is to arrive in Biarritz soon and the second one later in the afternoon. If there is a SNCF strike, you can exchange or return any ticket without costs. And if the experience of another forum member is anything to go by, you can even get a place on a previously fully booked train because other passengers cancel their booking and thereby free places on the train. Win-win!
Right, Im just hoping I can get from Atlanta to Paris if there is a strike. If it is an overseas Air France plane, or if air traffic controllers strike at the end of April, who knows if I can even get into France from the US. Lots of weird unknowns !
Don't worry about something that you don't even know will happen!
Of course!If you continue to read until post #19, you will see that it was actually this forum that did wonders
That is not a bad thing to do when you have the time and the bus schedules fit. Saint-Palais is a nice place … it was on my way to Santiago and I spent the night there.
I took the European international bus from Santiago back to Germany a few years ago. More than 10 hours.
Breathe into a paper bag. You're going to be fine.
Scheduling strikes in advance is more convenient. How much of a lead time did the air traffic controllers in France give for the strikes on March 7-9th? I've been trying to find something.
This is the second time that I read this. I really don’t know as I am not paying that much attention to strikes in France but my general impression is that here in Europe we associate the 1st of May first of all with a public holiday and a short vacation, secondly, to a lesser extent, with marches and speeches in large cities, and in third place, to an even lesser extent, with TV news about rioting by fringe elements in certain parts of capitals like Paris and Berlin. But not with strikes. I am prepared to be corrected, though.
I'm an American so I don't know anything about how Europeans celebrate holidays except what i read on Wikipedia
My last time, the air traffic controllers published their strike schedule a month in advance. That said, I got stuck in Paris for an extra night 30 years ago when they went on strike without any notice at all while I was waiting to board a flight to Toronto.
That is a good thought. I hadn't considered the public perception aspect. I guess I'll wait a bit and see. Macron just used the nuclear option to push it through, but i really don't know the feelings of the french people or the resolve of the unions. Some say the french are resigned to the age raise.
Neither do I and it would be futile and unproductive to speculate.
:
Are you sure that this is current information?
You can do a search - try “what holidays are celebrated in, Spain, or. France?
I suppose there isn’t much point in striking on a public holiday when you are either a) on holiday or b) being paid a premium for working?
I have no advice, in the same boat. May I ask where you are seeing this information on the specific airports though? I fly at the end of April.
I saw it on the news in Aus, protesting was all over France, including major transport including airports. I then googled Biaritz thinking just in Paris, and saw a piece there as well. Certainly dont want to alarm anyone, and was trying to find out, if media had blown it all out as normal. Outside of protests they have transport strikes happening. I figure Ill leave it to my airline as to if I am going or not
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Hello, I am in the same boat I was planning on starting the Camino on Firday so I will be stuck in Bayonne on Thursday as well, I will be getting to Bayonne at 5:30pm if you wanna share a taxi to St Jean Pied de Port for the night
@caminojon posted in March. I would hope they are not still in Bayonne
Do you know why the train was cancelled? I don't see anything about a strike that day. They often put on a bus if it was because of some issue with the rails and all train passengers are transferred to SJPDP by bus.
