Places of the Camino
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Saint Jean Pied de Port is the second most chosen starting point for the Camino Francés, only behind Sarria. This medieval village charms everyone who arrives there thanks to its beautiful old streets, its bridge over the Nive River and its stunning citadel. It’s the last French town pilgrims find before crossing the Pyrenees and, therefore, the beginning of an adventure of more than 770 kilometres that will bring them to Santiago de Compostela, the goal of every Jacobean Route.
In this article we will tell you how to arrive to Saint Jean Pied de Port for starting the Camino de Santiago. Depending on your starting point, it may not be equally easy. The most frequent place from where pilgrims go to this village is Pamplona (Navarra), a city that counts on good links, since it has an airport and several daily frequencies of train and bus. However, it is also possible arriving by plane or train from other French cities, such as Biarritz o Bayonne.
How to arrive to Saint Jean Pied de Port from Pamplona
The majority of pilgrims arrive to Saint Jean Pied de Port from Pamplona. Pamplona counts on an airport located 6 km from the centre with links to Madrid and Barcelona through Iberia and Air Nostrum companies and to Portugal through TAP. One can also arrive to Pamplona by train, with several daily links with Barcelona and Madrid; and by bus from cities such as Madrid (Conda), Barcelona (Monbús-Vibasa) or Bilbao (Autobuses La Unión S.A. y La Burundesa S.A.).
From Pamplona to Saint Jean Pied de Port by bus. The majority of pilgrims access Saint Jean Pied de Port from Pamplona. From March to the early days of October, the bus company Alsa counts on multiple links every day. The rest of the year, Autocares Artieda provides a regular line destined to Roncesvalles with the duration of 1h 10 min from Monday to Saturday; once one arrives to Roncesvalles, the only option is to take a taxi.
From Pamplona to Saint Jean Pied de Port by taxi. A lot of pilgrims also choose to go by taxi. There are several companies leaving from the Pamplona airport, the train station or the bus station; some of them are Teletaxi San Fermín (who offers the option of sharing with other pilgrims), Navatrip or Taxi Pirineos
It is also possible to arrive to Saint Jean Pied de Port from different French villages that can become of interest for the pilgrim or from other Spanish towns close to the border with San Sebastián.
How to arrive to Saint Jean Pied de Port by train
The only direct line arriving to Saint Jean Pied de Port departures from Bayonne (France) through the company SNFC and has a duration of 1 h 20 min.
If one wants to access from Spain by train, the best option is taking the Euskotren in San Sebastián, who goes to Irún-Hendaya. There, the pilgrim should take other train from the company SNFC that will take them to Saint Jean Pied de Port. This trip includes a change of trains and the total time is around two hours.
How to arrive to Saint Jean Pied de Port by plane
The closest airport to Saint Jean Pied de Port is Biarritz (7 Espl. De l’Europe, 64600 Anglet, France), that counts on links to the main European cities. From the terminal to Saint Jean Pied de Port there are, more or less, 50 kilometres. In the very airport, one can take a taxi or book a private transport. It is also possible to arrive by train from Biarritz to Saint Jean Pied de Port, with three links every day, which means transferring and leading to a 2 hour trip.
How to arrive to Saint Jean Pied de Port from Paris
If one’s choice has been Paris as a starting point, there is to know that the French capital does not have direct links to Saint Jean Pied de Port. If you are arriving to Paris by plane, you can fly to Biarritz that, just as we said, is the closest city to Saint Jean Pied de Port. Companies such as Air France, EasyJet or HOP! count on several daily flights. From there, the trip to Saint Jean Pied de Port can be done, just as we already said, from the Bayonne station.
From Paris one can arrive to Bayonne by train, even though there will be needed a transfer in Bayonne. The best option is approaching the Paris-Montparnasse or, if it is not possible, to the Paris-Austerlitz station and taking a TGV train to Bayonne. There, one will take the direct train to Saint Jean Pied de Port. The same operation can be done by bus, even though is a less recommendable option: the distances are long, it has a large duration and the train infrastructure works better.
We remind you that Correos does not offer services in France, but we provide the pilgrim with an office in Burguete, just 2.5 kilometres from Roncesvalles. If your backpack is too heavy or you don’t want to carry it, you can book between April and November our Paq Mochila service. In this months, the office will be open from 8:30 am to 9:30 am and from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. The rest of the year, only from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.
We hope this information is useful for planning your next Camino de Santiago. If you know other means for arriving to Saint Jean Pied de Port or you have any doubt, remember you can reach us through the comments in this blog or the Tips from our Postmen contact box.
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