Two three-day walking options from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Pamplona. This document records route distances, accommodation reservations, cancellation deadlines, flight choices and food logistics.
There are two separate decisions: the walking route, and whether the final Pamplona night should be the basic or treat reservation.
1. Option A or B. Option B still has no Valcarlos room reserved: Casa Karrikaburu was £108, but cancellation would cost the full stay. 2. Keep Pompaelo as the £132 basic Pamplona option, or La Perla as the £196 treat; both are reserved for the same night, so cancel the rejected one before its deadline.
The Napoleon route in one 25 km mountain stage, followed by the standard Roncesvalles–Zubiri and Zubiri–Pamplona stages.
Benefit: continuous walking on the standard route. Trade-off: 25 km and approximately 1,365 m ascent on the first day.
A short first day to Valcarlos, the pass on day two, then a manageable walk to Zubiri and taxi into Pamplona.
Benefit: lower daily distance and a split mountain crossing. Trade-off: no flexible Valcarlos room and a taxi from Zubiri.
Booking.com totals are approximate GBP conversions; payment is at the property in euros. Deadlines below are the exact platform wording converted into a simple cut-off.
| Night | Stay | Route | Cost | Free-cancellation cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 30 Aug | ReservedMaison SimoneniaSaint-Jean-Pied-de-Port · Quadruple room | Both | £109 | Sat 22 Aug, 23:59 |
| Mon 31 Aug | ReservedPosada de RoncesvallesRoncesvalles · Triple room | A | £127 | Tue 25 Aug, 23:59 |
| Mon 31 Aug | Not reservedCasa KarrikaburuValcarlos · preferred Option B stay | B | £108 | No flexible rateFull stay charged if cancelled |
| Tue 1 Sep | ReservedIñaki’s balcony roomZubiri · shared kitchen and bathroom | A | £70.75 | Mon 31 Aug, 12:00 |
| Tue 1 Sep | ReservedHotel Rural LoizuBurguete · Budget twin | B | £74 | Sun 30 Aug, 23:59 |
| Wed 2 Sep | Reserved · treatGran Hotel La PerlaPamplona · Deluxe room | Both | £196 | Mon 31 Aug, 23:59 |
| Wed 2 Sep | Reserved · basicHotel Pompaelo Plaza del Ayuntamiento & SpaPamplona · King room with balcony | Both | £132Approx.; €154 payable at property | Sun 30 Aug, 23:59 |
Cancel free by Sun 30 Aug, 23:59 local time.
Cancel free by Mon 31 Aug, 23:59 local time.
Accommodation totals above are £439/£503 for Option A and £423/£487 for Option B, depending on the Pamplona choice; the Option B taxi is additional. Cancel before the displayed cut-off, not in the final minutes, and re-check the dashboard immediately beforehand.
No flights are reserved. Prices are the original quotes for two adults, checked 16 August 2026, with personal items only unless stated. Door-to-door times are planning estimates and include airport buffers.
The 07:45 easyJet departure avoids a 03:00 start and the longer drive to Stansted. It has more rail changes in France, but reaches Maison Simonenia around check-in time. Re-price the flight and confirm the Bordeaux–Bayonne–SJPP rail itinerary together before purchase.
Gatwick → Bordeaux
Gatwick → Biarritz
Stansted → Biarritz
Pamplona → Heathrow · IB1052 / IB723
Bilbao → Gatwick
Bilbao → Luton
Biarritz → Stansted
Timing assumptions: airport arrival two hours before departure; 30–45 minutes to clear arrivals; postcode driving times from an OpenStreetMap/OSRM route without live traffic, then padded for terminal access. French and Spanish rail/coach departures are indicative until tickets are selected. SNCF should be checked for Bordeaux/Bayonne/SJPP; Express Bourricot for a Biarritz–SJPP shuttle; ALSA for Pamplona–Bilbao.
Recommended travel plan: easyJet from Gatwick to Bordeaux, then rail via Bayonne to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port for arrival around 17:00. The early direct Gatwick–Biarritz flight remains the faster alternative. Collect the pilgrim passport at 39 rue de la Citadelle if timing allows.
12 rue de la Citadelle — directly on the Camino. Check-in 16:00–20:00; check-out by 11:00. The reservation includes no meal.
No restaurant in the guesthouse. Le Chat Perché is almost opposite at 11 rue de la Citadelle; Café Ttipia and Café de la Paix are easy central alternatives. Reserve on a Sunday evening.
Because arrival is Sunday evening and departure should be around 07:00, buy picnic supplies before reaching town or ask the host in advance. Otherwise use an early bakery on rue d’Espagne; do not rely on the Monday market.
Climb via Huntto and Orisson, cross the open ridge, then descend steeply through beech forest into Roncesvalles. Use the Valcarlos road route instead if the Pilgrim Office advises against the high path.
At the stage end. Check-in 14:00–22:00; check-out 07:00–11:00. The reservation includes no meal, but the property itself has a bar and restaurant.
Carry a proper picnic, emergency snack and 1.5–2 litres of water. Orisson, about 8 km in, is the dependable café stop; after it, food is sparse and weather can change quickly.
La Posada serves meals on site. Casa Sabina and Hotel Roncesvalles are the other principal choices; reserve the pilgrim sitting after arrival.
Pass through Burguete, Espinal, Bizkarreta and Lintzoain before the climb to Alto de Erro and the rough descent to Zubiri. Trekking poles are useful.
Confirmed private room beside the medieval bridge; shared bathroom and kitchen. Check-in 12:00 and checkout 09:00.
No need to carry the whole day’s food: cafés and basic shops appear early in Burguete and Espinal, then again in Bizkarreta. Still leave Roncesvalles with water and a backup snack.
Bar Valentín and El Café del Camino serve pilgrim meals. The shared kitchen permits self-catering; Supermercado Arrieta and Bacaicoa carry bread, fruit, charcuterie and local products.
Follow the Arga valley through Larrasoaña, Akerreta, Zuriain and Irotz, then enter the city through Trinidad de Arre, Villava and Burlada.
Basic: Pompaelo, king room with balcony on Plaza Consistorial. Treat: La Perla, deluxe room on Plaza del Castillo. Neither rate includes meals; see the comparison above.
Buy supplies in Zubiri, or stop at Larrasoaña (~5.5 km), Zuriain (~11.5 km) or Villava. This stage has frequent settlements, so only a light backup snack is necessary.
Pompaelo has La Galea restaurant/café-bar and Skybar 1423; La Perla has Zurita, Barra y Mantel. Both are in the old town, with many pintxos alternatives.
Exactly as Option A: arrive, collect the credencial if possible, eat nearby, and prepare snacks for the morning.
Central, on the Camino, with no meal included in the reservation.
Follow the signed valley route beside the river and road through Arnéguy to Luzaide/Valcarlos. This is a deliberately easy first walking day with time to explore and recover from travel.
Central Valcarlos apartment/room with restaurant and optional breakfast. This is the selected property for Option B, but the live rate was not flexible.
The valley route passes services around Arnéguy and reaches Valcarlos early. Carry snacks, but a full packed lunch is optional.
Casa Karrikaburu has a restaurant. Benta Ardandegia is the fallback: restaurant, café and small supermarket with fresh food, charcuterie, snacks and local products.
Climb through beech forest to Ibañeta Pass, descend briefly to Roncesvalles for lunch, then continue a gentle 3 km to Burguete.
On Burguete’s main street. Check-in 14:00–23:00; check-out 08:00–12:00. The reservation includes no meal.
Benta Ardandegia normally opens from 08:00; buy supplies the previous evening if starting earlier. Roncesvalles is the obvious lunch stop before the last 3 km.
Loizu has an on-site restaurant with a daily menu, seasonal à la carte dishes and a pilgrim menu. Burguete also has Hotel Burguete, Txikipolit and Asador Aritza.
Walk through Espinal, Bizkarreta and Lintzoain to Alto de Erro, descend to Zubiri, then taxi to Pamplona rather than adding another 20 km.
Same choice as Option A: Pompaelo as the £132 basic option, or La Perla as the £196 treat.
Buy a sandwich or picnic in Burguete; there are further stops in Espinal and Bizkarreta. Carry water for the forest sections and save a snack for the descent.
Bar Valentín or Café del Camino in Zubiri works for a late lunch while a taxi is called. For dinner, use La Galea at Pompaelo, Zurita at La Perla, or old-town pintxos.
None of the reserved room rates includes meals. This table is the working food plan; village opening hours are seasonal, so the “supplies / action” column is the fallback.
| Date | Route | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Supplies / action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 30 Aug | Both | Before departure / airport. | In transit. | Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port: Le Chat Perché opposite the hotel; Café Ttipia or Café de la Paix as alternatives. | Reserve Sunday dinner. Bring or buy Monday’s mountain food before reaching town if possible; early Monday options are limited. |
| Mon 31 Aug | Option A | Early bakery on rue d’Espagne, or arrange food with Maison Simonenia in advance. | Carry a full picnic; Orisson at ~8 km is the only dependable café before the long exposed section. | La Posada restaurant on site; Casa Sabina or Hotel Roncesvalles as alternatives. | Leave with 1.5–2 L water, a full lunch and an emergency snack. |
| Mon 31 Aug | Option B | Same early SJPP plan as Option A. | Carry snacks; use services around Arnéguy or eat after the early arrival in Valcarlos. | Casa Karrikaburu restaurant; Benta Ardandegia restaurant/café as fallback. | Benta Ardandegia also has a small supermarket: buy Tuesday breakfast/lunch items the evening before. |
| Tue 1 Sep | Option A | Use the Posada bar/restaurant or confirm an early breakfast locally; the reserved rate includes none. | Burguete or Espinal early in the stage; Bizkarreta later. Carry one backup snack. | Zubiri: Bar Valentín or El Café del Camino; the Airbnb kitchen permits self-catering. | Supermercado Arrieta or Bacaicoa in Zubiri for dinner ingredients and Wednesday supplies. |
| Tue 1 Sep | Option B | Casa Karrikaburu optional breakfast or Benta Ardandegia; buy the night before if leaving before 08:00. | Roncesvalles after the climb, before the final 3 km to Burguete. | Loizu restaurant on site: daily, seasonal and pilgrim menus. Hotel Burguete, Txikipolit and Asador Aritza nearby. | Use Burguete shops/supermarket for Wednesday’s sandwich, fruit and trail snacks. |
| Wed 2 Sep | Option A | Zubiri café or self-cater in the shared kitchen. | Larrasoaña (~5.5 km), Zuriain (~11.5 km) or Villava; carry a light backup. | Pompaelo: La Galea restaurant/café-bar. La Perla: Zurita, Barra y Mantel. Or use old-town pintxos. | Buy water/snacks in Zubiri before departure; services are frequent later in the stage. |
| Wed 2 Sep | Option B | Loizu or another Burguete café; confirm opening time the night before. | Espinal/Bizkarreta on the walk, or Bar Valentín/Café del Camino after reaching Zubiri. | Same Pamplona choice as Option A: La Galea, Zurita or old-town pintxos. | Start with water and a sandwich from Burguete; keep a snack for the rocky descent to Zubiri. |
| Thu 3 Sep | Both | Use the selected hotel or a nearby old-town café; breakfast is not included in either room rate. | Pamplona before departure, or at the departure airport depending on the selected flight. | After arrival in London. | Flight choice determines whether lunch needs to travel: Pamplona is easy; Bilbao/Biarritz require a coach connection. |
Operational notes that apply whichever route and flight combination is selected.
The recommended outbound is Gatwick–Bordeaux, then SNCF via Bayonne. Confirm the whole rail connection before buying the flight. The 05:55 Gatwick–Biarritz flight is faster door to door; Express Bourricot is the direct-transfer fallback from Biarritz.
Pamplona airport is simplest. Bilbao is usually cheaper but adds a two-hour coach plus airport bus. Biarritz can also work by direct ALSA coach from Pamplona.
Ask the Pilgrim Office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port about the Napoleon route. In poor weather, take the signed Valcarlos route. The high route is not a place to improvise.
Trekking poles are particularly useful on the descents into Roncesvalles and Zubiri. Carry sun protection, a waterproof shell, warm layer, 1.5–2 L water capacity and a lightweight emergency snack.
Express Bourricot serves the French side; Jacotrans and Caminofácil serve the Spanish stages. Book a few days ahead if we prefer daypacks.
Make both decisions: A versus B, and Pompaelo versus La Perla. Re-open each dashboard, confirm the exact cut-off, then cancel only the route-specific stay and Pamplona hotel no longer needed.
Accommodation status, totals and cancellation cut-offs were read from the signed-in Booking.com and Airbnb dashboards on 17 August 2026. Flight prices were carried forward from the original search checked 16 August 2026; schedules and fares must be reconfirmed on Ryanair, easyJet, Iberia, Vueling or Wizz Air before purchase. UK postcode coordinates came from Postcodes.io; base road distances and times from OSRM/OpenStreetMap without live traffic. Public logistics were checked against Pamplona’s Camino route guide, Visit Navarra, La Posada de Roncesvalles, Hotel Roncesvalles restaurant, Burguete’s municipal restaurant list, Benta Ardandegia, Esteríbar’s Zubiri services list, Supermercado Arrieta, Pays Basque tourism’s Saint-Jean restaurant list and Gran Hotel La Perla. Village businesses and opening times are seasonal: verify directly shortly before travel.
The Pompaelo restaurant, skybar and spa information was checked against the hotel’s official site; the Booking.com reservation states that spa access is extra and must be booked in advance.