[Gocamino] Is there a consensus on easiest way to get from US to St. Jean?

[Richard Ferguson]

One key consideration is airfare.  In most cases, it is more expensive to fly "open jaw", for example to fly into Paris and out of Madrid.  I am pretty sure that it is easier to get to Madrid from Santiago de Compostella rather than to Paris.   To fly to Paris from Santiago you will probably need to change planes in Madrid; the one way cost that I found was $500 on up!  Flights from Santiago to Madrid are as low as $90 US.  In other words, you also need to consider the other end of the trip, not just USA to SJDP.

Sometimes it is significantly cheaper to fly round trip to Paris rather than Madrid. 

Yet another consideration is ground costs.   Spain is generally cheaper for tourists and travelers than France.

Another consideration is language.   People who speak Spanish and not French will be inclined to travel via Madrid, while those whose French is better than their Spanish may be inclined to go via Paris.

Assuming that costs and airfare is the same, and language is not an issue, is kind of artificial.   You are likely to arrive at a different answer than a real world situation where all those things are unequal.

It might be better to list the practical options, with the advantages and disadvantages of each, rather than try to pick the "best" option, with might vary as often as airfare changes.

My two cents.

Richard


On Jan 14, 2010, at 6:51 PM, Ralph Alcorn wrote:

> Someone asked me this recently. To me the easiest way would be to fly to
> Paris, then train via Bayonne, staying over in Paris if necessary. But also,
> one could fly to Madrid, bus or train to Pamplona and taxi to St. Jean,
> staying over in Madrid or Pamplona if necessary. Comments, other
> suggestions?
> 
> -- 
> Ralph Alcorn
> http://www.backpack45.com/camino2.html
> http://timecheck00.blogspot.com
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