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Stay in Santiago or stay near airport?

MaggieP

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
SARRIA TO SANTIAGO BEGINS 3-9-17!!!
Greetings! I will be traveling the Camino for the first time in September and I'm so excited! Having a blast learning and getting 'how to' ideas. I have a logistics question. I have an 8:30 am flight from the Santiago airport to Barcelona. The night before my flight, should I stay in Santiago and take an early morning bus to the airport, or should I look for a place to stay that's closer to the airport? I'm just a wee bit concerned about having enough time to travel to airport from Santiago in the early morning hours. Thanks for your advice.
 
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Two possibilities:

Stay in Santiago but make sure you pre-book a taxi for next morning, for example if you stay at a hotel.
Stay at a hotel near the airport for added peace of mind.

Welcome to the forum and you see, the Camino is full of choices ;-) SY
 
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In 2015 I was nervous like you, as I had the same flight time back to Madrid from Santiago. I stayed at a hotel near the airport and took a bus there in early afternoon the day before departure. It was not a great experience as it was rather boring with too much time out there in "nowhere land" after two festive days in Santiago.

So..this past spring after finishing my Camino I decided to stay another night in my quaint hotel amongst the beauty and liveliness of the heart of Santiago. I then arranged for an early morning taxi to the airport as the local bus didn't run quite early enough to get me to the airport in time. It was hands down the better experience by far. That's my recommendation...stay in Santiago and take a taxi.
 
When you take a taxi it's a fixt price, I think It's about €26,-.

Wish you well,Peter.
 
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Recently someone posted about fixed price at 21€.
EDIT: recently indeed

But there is another possibility which I did every time on return. I took one of the last buses to the airport and spent the night there. That gave me few more € for splurge either in Fisterra or Santiago.
 
That's another option, but I'd feel like a zombie in the morning with only a chair to sit or nap in all night long.
 
Camino Chris said:
That's another option, but I'd feel like a zombie in the morning with only a chair to sit or nap in all night long.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's the catch. But I can sleep almost everywhere and then just adding couple of hours on first flight, couple on second one and couple in shuttle from airport to my home. No zombie after that
 
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I did the taxi from the rank just around the corner from the cathedral, albeit later in the day and it was €20. I think getting it from a rank is probably cheaper. It's not that far to the airport from memory about 20-25 minute. Mabey another member can confirm timings. Id stay in santiago. Have a nice meal and head the next morning. I can only imagine an airport hotel being a bit soulless.
 
From the airport website:
Taxi
There is a flat fare of 21 euros to the airport.

The airport will be deserted before 6 a.m., and comes to life slowly. A taxi will be only a little faster from the hotels hear the airport than downtown, so I suggest you enjoy staying in Santiago, and get a taxi after 6 a.m. for your 8:30 a.m. flight. The airport is not very busy. Spain overbuilt airport facilities when it was getting EU money a decade ago, and the Santiago airport is underutilized.
 
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Stay in Santiago. There is a local bus that goes to the airport starting around 6:20 am if I remember correctly, inexpensive and will get you there. Here's a link:

http://www.empresafreire.com/html/ingles/seccion9.php

Enjoy!
 
On Friday morning June 2, I had a 9:15am flight from Santiago to Madrid. I stayed at San Martin Pinaro and planned to take the 6:30am bus from the Praza de Galicia. I met a couple as I was leaving the hotel. They were taking a taxi, and we shared the 21E fare. I think the bus would have been 6E. The ride was about 25 minutes and the airport was pretty empty at 6:30am! I got to observe check-in lines and security lines for quite a while and it never seemed to be overly congested. Therefore, I don't think you have to be 3 hours ahead for your early morning flight, and Santiago is more pleasant place to stay than an airport hotel. By the way, Santiago's airport is notorious for refusing to let passengers carry on trekking poles, and I would suggest you check them in.
 
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Peter Fransiscus said:
When you take a taxi it's a fixt price, I think It's about €26,-.

Wish you well,Peter.
Click to expand...

The taxi fare was €21 on May 23, 2017.

On the other hand, the bus was €3.00 and leave the bus terminal or the Galicia Plaza every 30 minutes. The trip was an hour (?).
 
TaijiPilgrim said:
I stayed at San Martin Pinaro
Click to expand...

The San Martin Pinaro, formerly a "major" seminary and before that it was a Benedictine Monastery. I had a "single" room with private bath and "wash room" for 23 Euro per day including a "buffet" breakfast in mid May, 2017.

The museum next to it was a church. The carvings on the back and seat of the "choir" chairs were magnificent, each one has a story. There is a category of admission fee for pilgrims and senior.
 
A caveat: I had a flight out of the airport later in the morning. Thankfully, I like to make sure I have plenty of time in case of snafus.

I went to the Praza de Galicia to catch the bus. We never received an explanation as to why, but we waited over an hour for the bus to come. By this time the crowd was quite large and restless. When the bus finally showed up, the crowd surged onto the bus, knocking some out of their way. And some didn't get on.

I thankfully made it in time for my flight, but next time I'll take a taxi!!
 
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dfox said:
The taxi fare was €21 on May 23, 2017.

On the other hand, the bus was €3.00 and leave the bus terminal or the Galicia Plaza every 30 minutes. The trip was an hour (?).
Click to expand...
Yes, the bus is only $3 but my flight on Ryan air was quite early. I also had memories of buses with too many people elbowing to get seats and waiting for a 2nd bus to show up. Too unsettling for my taste when needing to get back to Madrid for flight home. The taxi eliminayed all those concerns.
 
Exactly...I've had that emotionally draining experience myself a year ago.
And that was trying to get on the bus a year ago from an airport hotel only two miles away where I thought I had planned perfectly. That bus was entirely full from Santiago and they wouldn't let us on. Thankfully another bus was dispatched 10 minutes later and all was well. BUT it was no fun getting refused at the time and not knowing for sure if we could rely on that 2nd bus arriving in time to pick us up, or if it would be full as well. Ill say it one more time...I vote taxi for early morning flights.
 
My experience after two stays at hotels "near the airport" is that many are not so near the airport and could result in a 20 to 30 euro taxi ride. Be sure to check just how near they are, and confirm that they have a free hotel shuttle both ways.
 
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There was a bus strike the last few days, but all seems to be back to normal now. Buen Camino, SY
 

My son and I had a 6:45 am flight from Santiago in April. We walked from Santiago towards the airport the day before and stayed at Hotel Garcas. The next morning we walked to the airport (about a 15-20 minute walk). It was a great way to end our journey and we didn't have to worry about catching a taxi.
 
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We were staying at the monastery/hotel next to the cathedral and got an early morning flight to Barcelona on Ryanair. We checked out the times of the buses and got there in plenty of time. So, no need to stay at the airport.
 
Dysie said:
We were staying at the monastery/hotel next to the cathedral and got an early morning flight to Barcelona on Ryanair. We checked out the times of the buses and got there in plenty of time. So, no need to stay at the airport.
Click to expand...
What is the name of the monastery/hotel? I'd like to look into staying there for my last night. Isn't there a bus terminal nearby?
 
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MaggieP said:
What is the name of the monastery/hotel? I'd like to look into staying there for my last night. Isn't there a bus terminal nearby?
Click to expand...
Hi

SANTIAGO
San Martin Pinario is the former monastery right by the cathedral. There are small rooms with
bathroom on the top floor for pilgrims. Sheets and towels – luxury. Price includes breakfast.
reservas@sanmarinopinario.eu. So be sure to ask for a pilgrim room.

If possible stay two nights to experience the vibe of your fellow pilgrims enjoying catching up with friends they have made on the Way, relaxing etc.

Yes the bus terminal/stop is a short walk.

Buen Camino
 
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