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Need travel advice...Madrid to SJPdP in April

C

Crickpicker

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
April (2019)
Hola peregrinos!

I am Brian from the USA. I land in Madrid on the afternoon (14:50) of 12 April and plan to spend the night there to see the city a bit and acclimate to the time zone before heading to SJPdP. I've read numerous posts on traveling to SJPdP, and it seems like taking the train from Madrid to Pamplona and then the bus to SJPdP is a decent plan.

I'm trying to figure out if it is reasonable to do both the train and the bus on the same day. My research shows that the first train out of Madrid on Saturday 13 April is at 09:40, which arrives in Pamplona at 12:52. Google maps shows that the bus station is about a 30 minute walk from the train station and I understand the last bus leaves for SJPdP somewhere around 14:30. It all looks good on paper, but it doesn't leave much time/option if I encounter a delay. It also doesn't leave much time for exploring SJPdP.

I currently have a reservation in Roncevalles for 14 April but would be willing to move that to 15 April if need be. If I delay one day, I could spend a night in Pamplona (13 April) and then take the early bus to SJPdP on 14 April and then start walking on 15 April.

I would love to hear your opinions on this and your suggestions for options. Also I would appreciate anything you can add for purchasing train and bus tickets in advance.

Gracias, Brian
 
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Hi, Brian.
The bus is not the only option that you have.

When looking at transport options from Pamplona to SJPdP, I found this taxi company in Pamplona which specializes in taking pilgrims to SJPdP. You make an online reservation for pickup at your arrival location. During the reservation process, you have the option to select that you are willing to share a taxi with others going to SJPdP, so that the fare is split up. The company will work to schedule a full taxi for you, or assign you to a taxi from someone else's reservation to share.
 

Brian:

Sharing a taxi is also an option. You will probably have other Peregrino's on your train headed to the same place.

You also could choose to spend time in Pamplona and start from there or Roncesvalles.

Ultreya,
Joe
 
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Thanks, davebugg, the taxi is a nice option. I will seriously consider it when I get inside the 60 days of travel window. It alleviates the concern over delays. Brian
 
jpflavin1 said:
Brian:

Sharing a taxi is also an option. You will probably have other Peregrino's on your train headed to the same place.

You also could choose to spend time in Pamplona and start from there or Roncesvalles.

Ultreya,
Joe
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback, Joe! I'm liking the taxi idea...I've considered starting in Roncevalles, but I want to start in SJPdP if possible. Brian
 
I'm going to take the taxi recommended by Davebugg on the morning of April 30. I arrive in Pamplona @ 0930 and it's the best way for me to get to SJPdP early so I can rest and explore SJPdP before I start the next day.
 
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Besides the bus to SJPdP there are buses to Roncevalles (Artieda, daily except Sundays and holidays) and Valcarlos and Arneguy (PLM, Tue & Fri), Or taxi. Depending on time of departure you may have time to have one of these as your destination and then walk the rest of the way to SJPdP along the valley way and then go back to Roncevalles the next day by the Route Napoleon.
 
My group of 4 took used that taxi company from Pamplona to SJPdP. Unfortunately we were put in a tiny car and our driver was very young and drove like a maniac. I think he pretended to be a race car driver! I was petrified for the approximate one hour drive in the mountains on the twisty turny road!
 
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Hi Brian we booked into an albergue in Pamplona for the night, and caught the first bus out the next morning
 
Take the bus from Madrid airport terminal 4 to Pamplona, and from there the bus to Saint Jean. By far the cheapest and easiest way to get there, the only catch is you get to Saint Jean in the late afternoon/early evening. If you have no problem with jet lag you can start walking early the next morning and be in Roncesvalles by around 2-3 pm, maybe earlier if you are a beast of a walker/hiker (many are and get there quite early). If jet lag is a problem you can just walk to Orisson albergue (only about 10km) the next day and stay there (advance reservations), or just spend the day in Saint Jean to rest up and walk to Roncesvalles the following day.
You can even fly from Madrid to Biarritz/Bayonne and take the train or bus to Saint Jean from there.
Really no bad choices in any scenario. The taxi option could be very expensive if you are unable to locate fellow pilgrims to share the ride.
 
My wife and I just booked our train tickets from Madrid to PAMPLONA for April 3rd. First train out is around 7:30am, arriving at 10:38. We also booked the bus for the same day to SJPDP leaving at 2:30pm and arriving at 4:15pm. The train is only 17 euros and the bus is 22 euros. Renfe.es for the train and alsa.es for the bus. Pay via PayPal.
 
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brianne fitzgerald said:
If you want to make God laugh plan something. Remember it is the journey not the destination. Breathe and chill. The Camino will provide
Click to expand...
So true. Very popular with Spanish are the Blabla Car. I took it multiple times in Spain. It’s car sharing. May an alternative if your planning does maybe not work out as you intended.
 
Print your tickets at home? Or redeem them from a ticketing machine on the day of travel?
 
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KerrieG said:
Print your tickets at home? Or redeem them from a ticketing machine on the day of travel?
Click to expand...
Just print them at home if you have a printer and it's convenient.
I print them when I can, but have also just saved them to my phone.
Do whatever you are most comfortable with. No wrong option.
 
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