Travel to St. Jean from the USA

[cwallis1]

I know quickest and cheapest don't necessarily go together, but does anyone know an easy way to get to St. Jean from the US? I plan to travel at the beginning of June and need to get my flights, but I have no idea where to fly into. I'll be on a limited timeline and budget, but I can spend some on this leg of the travel if it will make it easier. I want to make the start of my journey as simple as possible
Thanks so much.

 

[mspath]

I know quickest and cheapest don't necessarily go together, but does anyone know an easy way to get to St. Jean from the US? I plan to travel at the beginning of June and need to get my flights, but I have no idea where to fly into. I'll be on a limited timeline and budget, but I can spend some on this leg of the travel if it will make it easier. I want to make the start of my journey as simple as possible
Thanks so much.

cwallis1,

Welcome to the Forum!

These threads hold a wealth of information. Past pilgrims love to share their advice and experiences. Such sharing is a large part of the Camino spirit; besides being informative for future pilgrims it help keeps memories current for experienced pilgrims as we recall our journeys anew.

Check out this earlier Forum thread for various ways of getting to SJPdP from the east coast of the US. >> el-camino-frances/topic17121.html

Happy research and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I prefer flying to Pamplona, then taking the bus to SJPdP. Iberia/British Airways operates from a lot of east coast airports.

 

[mralisn]

Hola!

I've flown from the west coast 3 times. Once, I flew to Paris and then flew to Biarritz. The next time I flew the Madrid, then flew to San Sebastian. This past summer I flew to London Heathrow, then shuttled to London Stansted, then flew to Biarritz. All 3 worked out well for me and all 3 in June.

 

[Bhirc]

Hello from Burlington, Ontario.Canada. I am flying from Toronto to Paris CDG on May 29 then going by shuttle bus to Paris,Orly to take a midday Air France to Biarritz (50/60Euros or so, plus luggage) arriving there on May 30 at 1.35pm then somehow or other to SJDPP to pick up a passport and off up to Orrison 8/9km for a good sleep after vino tinto!
I am only going as far as Ponferrada, about 550km, then bus up to Oviedo OVD to get a Vueling flight to Barcelona, and Air Canada same day flight to Toronto on Jun 26.

 

[mspath]

Hello from Burlington, Ontario.Canada. I am flying from Toronto to Paris CDG on May 29 then going by shuttle bus to Paris,Orly to take a midday Air France to Biarritz (50/60Euros or so, plus luggage) arriving there on May 30 at 1.35pm then somehow or other to SJDPP to pick up a passport and off up to Orrison 8/9km for a good sleep after vino tinto!
I am only going as far as Ponferrada, about 550km, then bus up to Oviedo OVD to get a Vueling flight to Barcelona, and Air Canada same day flight to Toronto on Jun 26.

On Monday May 30 if you take the bus from the airport to the Bayonne railroad station (Gare SNCF) you can get the next TER line 62 local train to SJPdP at 14.55 arriving 16.14. This goes everyday including holidays until July 6. The price for the TER train is about 10. Euros.

Bon voyage and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[MoniRose]

I flew into Paris CDG then another flight to Biarritz. I had a shuttle service meet me at and take me to SJPP. All very convenient.
FYI - I arrived in Paris on a Sunday and train service south was limited. I would have missed the only connection had I planned on the train. But the flight was not much more costly and relatively short, and I only had to wait a couple hours in the airport. - Monica

 

[kmrice]

[/quote]On Monday May 30 if you take the bus from the airport to the Bayonne railroad station (Gare SNCF) you can get the next TER line 62 local train to SJPdP at 14.55 arriving 16.14. This goes everyday including holidays until July 6. The price for the TER train is about 10. Euros.[/quote]

Does anyone know if the schedules generally change much after July 6? When are the new ones posted? I'll be travelling from Bayonne to SJPdP this August 20th. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Karl

 

[naplesdon]

The bus schedules change in July and September to serve the tourists coming to the beaches. The biggest hiccup is the the changes that happen during school holidays. Consult Chronobusplus.com

 

[mspath]

Here is the CURRENT line 62 TER timetable for trains from Bayonne to SJPdP from February 1, 2013 until July 6, 2013 >> http://telechargement.ter-sncf.com/Imag ... -42307.pdf.

Often the schedule changes due to work on the line. The next TER schedule should be available some time in June. When it appears I will post it and a translation on the Forum.

Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[MCVet]

Flying to Paris then train to Bayonne then train to SJPP was pretty easy. I had to stay a night in Bayonne, though, but it's a nice town with stuff to see and do. Some people complained about lechers and thieves around the train station but that wasn't my experience, and you can easily walk from the train station to the bridge to get into old town. If you fly to Biarritz I believe you have to take a bus/train to Bayonne anyhow to get the SJPP connection, so I just cut that leg off the trip and went straight on.

 

[Zippety]

I too plan to fly to Paris, train to Bayonne and then train to SJPP. Curious about where to get train tickets. Another thread said that the ticket machine in Bayonne is only in French and that will definitely be a problem for me. Can you buy online ahead of time? How did you do it?

Thanks in adavance,

Pete

 

[mspath]

I too plan to fly to Paris, train to Bayonne and then train to SJPP. Curious about where to get train tickets. Another thread said that the ticket machine in Bayonne is only in French and that will definitely be a problem for me. Can you buy online ahead of time? How did you do it?

Thanks in adavance,

Pete

Pete,

You can see French train schedules up to 3 months in advance at this SNCF (French Nationl Rail Road ) link. http://www.voyages-sncf.com/. The schedules for your departure in September are not yet available.

As you know from Paris you would take a TGV train to Bayonne and then a TER line 62 train from Bayonne to SJPdP. You could also take a TGV train from CDG Paris airport to Bordeaux, then another TGV train to Bayonne and then the TER to SJPdP.

You NEED a reservation for any TGV train and it is cheaper to book the ticket well in advance. You can book tickets on-line with your credit card and then pick them up and pay for them with the same credit card at the station. However you can also book everything with a live clerk at the station the day of departure if you wish. If you take a mid morning train from Paris you can be in SJPdP by late afternoon.

Bon voyage and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[nreyn12]

Especially in Bayonne, buy your ticket at the window with a clerk. They see hundreds of pilgrims a week and will know exactly what you need when you say, "Saint Jean Pied de Port?" No matter how bad your French is, they know a pilgrim when they see one, and they know where you want to go!

Nancy

 

[dreambeliever]

I too plan to fly to Paris, train to Bayonne and then train to SJPP. Curious about where to get train tickets. Another thread said that the ticket machine in Bayonne is only in French and that will definitely be a problem for me. Can you buy online ahead of time? How did you do it?

Thanks in adavance,

Pete

Hi Pete
I used the Rail Europe website to buy my train tickets from Narbonne to Bayonne via Toulouse and Bayonne to SJPP. The site is in English and easy to navigate. I paid $18 to have the tickets delivered to my home and to my surprise the tickets arrived the very next day. To me it was well worth the money to have peace of mind since French is a problem to me as well.
Here is the link: http://www.raileurope.ca/index.html
Blessings on your journey.
Jan

 

[mralisn]

Last summer early June, there was even a simple sign pointing to the direction of counter and person to buy train ticket from: Bayonne-SJPdP. It included the price of 9.50 (or 11.50?)euro. They made it quite easy, but this was for the local train not the TGV. I bought my ticket near 16:00 for the 18:30 train (or something like that). Some time to get snack, beer/chocolate, and food for the next day's walk up into the mountains.

May you have the best in your journey no matter how you get there.

 

[whariwharangi]

I went Vancouver - London (Heathrow) (customs at Heathrow)

Shuttle Bus to London (Stansted) (3 hours) (Shuttle system connects all airports ... there are 4)

London (Stansted) to Biarritz (Ryan Air) (Easy Jet also flies there but I do not know which London airport it flies from) (customs at Biarritz)

Local Bus to Gare Bayonne

Train to SJPdP.

Remember that you don't have to do this all in one fell swoop. I took a hotel in Stansted and should have taken another in Bayonne as I didnt get to St JEan till late evening.
Jet Lag was a real issue.

Advantage of London are: Outside of Schengen area so it doesnt count toward time in Spain; any flight from Vancouver to Madrid went by way of London or Paris and thus complicated the chances of arriving with baggage, never mind the excessively long day; English is my favorite language, particularly when grumpy after a long day of airports and airplanes; and, there are discount flights from every center in Spain (and any place sunny in Europe) to London, allowing for max flexibility in trip planning.

 

[MCVet]

Especially in Bayonne, buy your ticket at the window with a clerk. They see hundreds of pilgrims a week and will know exactly what you need when you say, "Saint Jean Pied de Port?"

I was the one cautioning about the terminals being all in French. When I left (first train out of the station to SJPP), there were no clerks at the windows so I had to use the terminal. I wanted to get to SJPP as early as possible to spend as much time there before I left the next day. I reckon if you're more patient asking a clerk would be a lot easier than scratching your head and staring at the terminal, looking direly around for help with none in sight.

 

[heatherrnw]

My trip sounded just like whariwharangi's, only I flew from Texas. The cost was about the same as flying into Paris and taking trains to get to SJPP. The only difference was it got me there mid day (about 3:00 pm) rather than at night (about 6:00). So a little more leg work was worth saving 6 hours.

I chose to stay over night in Biarritz before continuing on to SJPP the next day. It is a beautiful village and worth the view the next morning. It was a little tricky for me to find the bus and where to get off in Bayonne since I don't speak french. I guess you could say my walking starting a little early

Hope this helps!

Heather

 

[billvinhage]

I just booked my tickets after a lot of research,
Here's what I came up with RT US to Dublin on Aer Lingus, one-way from Dublin to Biarittz on RyanAir, one-way from Santiago de Compestella to Dublin on Aer Lingus.
Another helpful hint, if your schedule is flexible try to leave the US on a Tuesday and arrive in Dublin as early as possible on the next Wednesday morning, as Wednesday is the only day that RyanAir has an early flight from Dublin into Biarittz, all of the other days have a later departure which is going to make getting a train to SjPdP a challenge......
This was by far the least expensive and quickest way that I could find to get there.....

 

[cwallis1]

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I looked into rates and found good flights for my timeline from Nashville to Pamplona with a couple stops on the way. So now I have tickets which means this is really happening. Now I'm looking into the best way to get from Pamplona to SJPP and where I should stay there that evening. I get into Pamplona at 10:05 a.m. so I should have time to get to SJPP and rest some before starting the next day. I'd love to find a private room in SJPP just for that first night since I'll be so tired.
Thank you again for all your help. It's been a godsend!

 

[mspath]

... I get into Pamplona at 10:05 a.m. so I should have time to get to SJPP and rest some before starting the next day. I'd love to find a private room in SJPP just for that first night since I'll be so tired.
...

cwallis1,

To help you find a private room in SJPdP here is a link to the official list of ALL accommodation in SJPdP and the area prepared by the local Tourist Bureau. >> http://www.saintjeanpieddeport-paysbasq ... YIP2ex_c0k

This is set to show Hotels. To see Bed and Breakfasts click on Chambres d'hôtes beneath the purple tab marked DORMEZ on the left of the page. To see Pilgrim accommodation click Gites de groupe et pèlerins.

Hope this helps!

Bon chemin and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[Tonyahobbs]

So nice to see someone else on the forum from Nashville!! I live in Mufreesboro and am planning my Camino for Spring 2014. I hope to see more posts about your trip!
Buen Camino,
Tonya

 

[805]

... I get into Pamplona at 10:05 a.m. so I should have time to get to SJPP and rest some before starting the next day. I'd love to find a private room in SJPP just for that first night since I'll be so tired.
...

cwallis1,

Hi I'm walking my first camino departing Florida Sept. 3... and also just booked my tickets... and also can't believe this is REALLY going to happen.... I am flying into Madrid and planning on taking the 11.35 am train to Pamplona arriving at 2.40 pm. After researching and thanks to this forum, I found there is a bus from Pamplona to Roncesvalles departing at 14. directly to SJPP http://www.autocaresartieda.com. ( Now you have me thinking maybe I will also fly from Madrid to Pamplona .) There is also a taxi service for 100 euro you can reserve to share directly from Pamplona to SJPP. Good luck!
Bien Camino!

Maggie

 

[djkernes]

Check out Iceland Air to Paris. If you happen to be in an area that they fly in it is a cheap way to fly. You have to take a layover in in Reykjavik but if your an adventure that just adds to it.

 

[cwallis1]

... I get into Pamplona at 10:05 a.m. so I should have time to get to SJPP and rest some before starting the next day. I'd love to find a private room in SJPP just for that first night since I'll be so tired.
...

cwallis1,

Hi I'm walking my first camino departing Florida Sept. 3... and also just booked my tickets... and also can't believe this is REALLY going to happen.... I am flying into Madrid and planning on taking the 11.35 am train to Pamplona arriving at 2.40 pm. After researching and thanks to this forum, I found there is a bus from Pamplona to Roncesvalles departing at 14. directly to SJPP http://www.autocaresartieda.com. ( Now you have me thinking maybe I will also fly from Madrid to Pamplona .) There is also a taxi service for 100 euro you can reserve to share directly from Pamplona to SJPP. Good luck!
Bien Camino!

Maggie

Hey Maggie,
Thanks for this suggestion. It looks like a good option. Have you bought your tickets already? Did you have to call to buy them by phone? I can't see an option to purchase online. I also can't see where the option to go all the way to SJPP is. How did you find it? Thanks!

Also, I have tried to purchase tickets on ALSA from Pamplona to SJPP, but the website always declines my credit cards saying that the bank declined the purchase. My bank has no record of an attempted purchase. Has anyone else had luck purchasing ALSA tickets online?