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This program is a customized tour for 2 or more travelers, starting and ending in Bilbao – the airport is close to our Camino starting point and handles a number of flight combinations for travelers starting out from U.S. cities.
We’ve created a route that alternates driving and walking in order to cover the Camino in just one week. So even though this is a trip that includes a good deal of walking, you do need a car for this trip. We recommend renting a car in Bilbao and dropping it off again when you return for your flight home at the end of the journey; alternatively, you could drop your car in Santiago de Compostela and fly back to Bilbao for your return trip.
Your trip package includes all the maps and route information you’ll need for your drives along the Camino. We’ve also included a couple of taxi rides for walks that don’t loop conveniently. Expect to pay for parking in Oviedo and Santiago.
Let us know if you would prefer to make this journey with private transport – that can be arranged. (But please note, your rental car or private driver arrangements are not included in the tour price.)
Upon arrival in Bilbao, you’ll have about a three-hour drive to the first country inn on our Camino. Once we know the details of your flight schedule, we can help you decide the best places to stop for a bite, a stroll, or sightseeing to make that first drive enjoyable as possible.
Enrolled participants receive background information about the Camino including details about local culture, sightseeing, weather, and cuisine, plus walking and driving routes, and information about your hotels and guides.
Further travel planning and tours are available for anyone who wants to arrive in advance of the Camino trip to visit other parts of Green Spain. This might be a good time to get to Bilbao to see the famous Guggenheim Museum. If you have a couple of days, we like San Sebastian even better as a home base – it offers great food and a stunning setting, you can still drive over to Bilbao for the museum, and continue on to the Camino trail from there. Just ask us if you want to know more.
The Closest Airport
The Bilbao Airport handles flights from the US, though none are direct. For instance, Air France goes through Paris, US Air and Iberia stop in Madrid, Luftansa goes through Frankfurt. Still, this is the Spanish airport most convenient to our East to West trek on the Camino.
From Bilbao, you will have about a three-hour drive to the first country hotel on our route, in the town of Cangas de Onís.
If you’re planning to fly to Bilbao from a European city, you have a number of options with the smaller Europe-based airlines, for instance: Vueling offers flights from Barcelona and from London, Air Europa has flights from Madrid and from Paris, etc.
By Train
Bilbao is fairly well-connected to other Spanish and European cities by rail, though if you’re starting out in Madrid or Barcelona, a low-cost flight is so much faster. Barcelona is an 8 to 9 hour train ride away, Madrid is more like 5 hours. Paris is a six or seven hour TGV ride from Hendaye, near San Sebastian.
Of course you can drive those stretches too, in about those same time frames, or take your time to see things, turning the drive it into part of your trip. Since you’ll be renting a car for the Camino trip, driving does seem a smarter choice for most people.
Information in English about train schedules and rates for travel around Spain is available from RENFE, the Spanish railway.
Driving and Car Rentals
You will definitely need a car for this journey. Rentals can be booked from the airport and other locations in Bilbao (the train station or downtown offices). If this tour is part of a larger driving trip for you and you’ve rented the car in another region, let us know and we will provide you with directions for the best way to get directly to our countryside starting point.
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