One-Way airline ticket

[montyhiker]

Hola Pilgrims! I’ve purchased a one-way airline ticket from US to Paris. The reason is simple, I think. I want to take my time hiking the Camino from SJPDP to Compostela. I don’t want to be beholden to a schedule. I don’t know exactly when I’ll be finished with my trek. Surely I’m not alone in this planning. Can other pilgrims who have, or will, travel with a one-way ticket please advise me on if they’ve had any trouble traveling from outside Europe to France or Spain to begin their Camino. I know that the airline COULD require a return ticket, my question is in reality is it common that they do? Thanks for your advice!

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Welcome to the forum!
There's a whole recent thread on this topic here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/pros-cons-of-one-way-flights.84344/post-1205331

Buen Camino!

 

[Cecinunley]

Hola Pilgrims! I’ve purchased a one-way airline ticket from US to Paris. The reason is simple, I think. I want to take my time hiking the Camino from SJPDP to Compostela. I don’t want to be beholden to a schedule. I don’t know exactly when I’ll be finished with my trek. Surely I’m not alone in this planning. Can other pilgrims who have, or will, travel with a one-way ticket please advise me on if they’ve had any trouble traveling from outside Europe to France or Spain to begin their Camino. I know that the airline COULD require a return ticket, my question is in reality is it common that they do? Thanks for your advice!

I did the Camino Francés from SJPP to Santiago. I only had a one way ticket to Barcelona. Had no problem entering or getting to SJPP.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I did the Camino Francés from SJPP to Santiago. I only had a one way ticket to Barcelona. Had no problem entering or getting to SJPP.

Where did you come from? Your avatar says Spain. From anywhere in the Schengen zone it's irrelevant. Let alone Spain!
The OP is listed as living in the USA.

Technically, when you enter Spain you must have both the plane ticket to Spain and either a return one to your country of origin, or to a point outside of the Schengen zone. And the return flight must be within the 90 days allowed for your short-term stay, in no case outside that period. Sometimes the airline checks - they're liable to return you home if immigration turns you back. Sometimes immigration checks. And sometimes nobody.

Will you get away without it? If nobody checks- of course. If not, life could get very expensive.

All of which is explained in the thread I provided a link to above.

 

[Antnix1]

Not sure about US to EU.

But they check this more often than people realise. If people already have a return ticket they're not going to realise it was checked.

First time i flew to south america from ireland the airline checked that my ticket did not exceed the max stay for the country in question.

Another time i flew south america to mexico and was asked for my onward ticket at the gate (I skipped the check-in desk as i did online checkin.. but i recommend to go to the desk in south america at least from my experience).

Years ago 3 young, white americans arriving in ireland as their first leg of a european trip were refused entry by immigration because they didn't have an onward ticket. The offered to show proof of funds on mobile banking but were sent home anyway. They returned a few days later on a return ticket.

And another story was of people boarding their first flight successfully, but had a connection in a middle country, and the gate agent refused them boarding!

So, be careful.

On the other hand, return tickets are a nightmare even when they're advertised as flexible "fare difference only". Just as last-minute flights can be very expensive, the fare difference could be hundreds of euro even up to a thousand-at times it's cheaper to book a new ticket with another airline.

One thing some people do is book a fully refundable one-way ticket home and then cancel it on arrival in their destination country. This won't work with a return ticket where you've already used the first leg. There are actually websites dedicated to providing such tickets for people who want such flexibility.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

I personally have never flown from the USA with a one way ticket. My only advice is this: once you figure out a general timeline for the return, book it. It gets pricey if you have to do it just days in advance.

 

[Cecinunley]

Where did you come from? Your avatar says Spain. From anywhere in the Schengen zone it's irrelevant. Let alone Spain!
The OP is listed as living in the USA.

Technically, when you enter Spain you must have both the plane ticket to Spain and either a return one to your country of origin, or to a point outside of the Schengen zone. And the return flight must be within the 90 days allowed for your short-term stay, in no case outside that period. Sometimes the airline checks - they're liable to return you home if immigration turns you back. Sometimes immigration checks. And sometimes nobody.

Will you get away without it? If nobody checks- of course. If not, life could get very expensive.

All of which is explained in the thread I provided a link to above.

I flew out of Los Angeles, Ca. to Barcelona with a connector in Canada. I did not have a flight home when I landed. I took a train to Pamplona stayed overnight and then a taxi to SJPP. No one ever asked me for a ticket home. I booked my flight home after about 20 days when I was in Sahagun.

 

[Dennis Pack]

I never book return flights ... never had a problem. Most of the time I'm not even sure of my next destination.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

I never book return flights ... never had a problem. Most of the time I'm not even sure of my next destination.

You ever have to fly home the next day?

 

[Michael-FL]

Hola Pilgrims! I’ve purchased a one-way airline ticket from US to Paris. The reason is simple, I think. I want to take my time hiking the Camino from SJPDP to Compostela. I don’t want to be beholden to a schedule. I don’t know exactly when I’ll be finished with my trek. Surely I’m not alone in this planning. Can other pilgrims who have, or will, travel with a one-way ticket please advise me on if they’ve had any trouble traveling from outside Europe to France or Spain to begin their Camino. I know that the airline COULD require a return ticket, my question is in reality is it common that they do? Thanks for your advice!

Howdy Monty! I’m in the same boat. I booked a one way ticket to Paris to start my trek first week of September from Le Puy-en-Velay to SJPP and on to Santiago via the Francés. While I do not want to be tied down to a hard return date, I feel better about having a refundable/change-able ticket just for insurance. Just my two cents.

 

[BRSmith13]

Isn’t it soon that US citizens are going to have to get a Schengen visa soon? Like May?

 

[Antnix1]

Isn’t it soon that US citizens are going to have to get a Schengen visa soon? Like May?

Surely it's a visa waiver, similar to ESTA in the US.


I googled it..

ETIAS, which stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System, is a new travel authorization system designed by the European Union to enhance security for visa-exempt travellers entering the Schengen Area.

Quick fact: Starting in May 2025, more than 1.4 billion individuals will be required to obtain an ETIAS authorization prior to their travel to the European Union.

 

[C clearly]

Isn’t it soon that US citizens are going to have to get a Schengen visa soon? Like May?

I googled it..

ETIAS, which stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System,

Please let us not go into the ETIAS discussion on this thread. Not only Google, but a forum search will find enough other threads to reveal the extent of the non-news.
Click here to read a few such threads, if you dare!

 

[montyhiker]

OP here with an update: So, the other day I decided that I want to take a bus or train from Compostela (when I finish) to Porto and explore there for a couple days. This is exactly why I only bought a one-way ticket from the US to Paris. I didn’t want to be held to a schedule and I really didn’t know an exact date for my return. I haven’t even thought about HOW I was gonna return home—I wanted to cross that bridge when I got to. However, all the thinking about whether I wanted to “take a risk” regarding Immigration and passport control in France letting me in without a return flight, got me a little anxious. Understanding how all Customs or Immigration want to do is simply know that you won’t overstay your 90 days in their country. I went online and found the absolute cheapest, no-frills flight from Porto to New York I could find on an arbitrary date in the month of June and booked it. I even paid with points so it didn’t cost me anything. Now I can show Immigration or the airlines my “supposed” return flight. I plan to not use the ticket and, basically throw it away. It was a non-refundable, no-changes-allowed ticket anyway, so I don’t mind wasting the points.
There! Check that little concern off my list. Buen Camino!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

A friend, @maryloufrommadison posted this last March...

Post in thread 'Flights home after Camino' https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/flights-home-after-camino.79224/post-1115250

 

[JustinB]

OP here with an update: So, the other day I decided that I want to take a bus or train from Compostela (when I finish) to Porto and explore there for a couple days. This is exactly why I only bought a one-way ticket from the US to Paris. I didn’t want to be held to a schedule and I really didn’t know an exact date for my return. I haven’t even thought about HOW I was gonna return home—I wanted to cross that bridge when I got to. However, all the thinking about whether I wanted to “take a risk” regarding Immigration and passport control in France letting me in without a return flight, got me a little anxious. Understanding how all Customs or Immigration want to do is simply know that you won’t overstay your 90 days in their country. I went online and found the absolute cheapest, no-frills flight from Porto to New York I could find on an arbitrary date in the month of June and booked it. I even paid with points so it didn’t cost me anything. Now I can show Immigration or the airlines my “supposed” return flight. I plan to not use the ticket and, basically throw it away. It was a non-refundable, no-changes-allowed ticket anyway, so I don’t mind wasting the points.
There! Check that little concern off my list. Buen Camino!

Hi was not an issue for me in 2022 and doing the same this year.