Travel from Santiago to Manchester

[clare]

Im walking the Camino April/May 2009 and then want to travel from Santiago to Manchester in England.
Two possibilities so far... 1. Fly RyanAir to Stanstead London and find my way from there .. 2. Fly to Barcelona RUES and then from Barcelona Girona (over 100 kilometres from RUES) to Manchester.
Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to travel to Manchester?

[Leslie]

British Airways and Iberia are the only two that I can find that fly direct - fairly pricey also. Better to fly Ryan Air or Air Lingus to Dublin and a cheap flight to Manchester - or variations of.

[spanishlancer]

Im walking the Camino April/May 2009 and then want to travel from Santiago to Manchester in England.
Two possibilities so far... 1. Fly RyanAir to Stanstead London and find my way from there .. 2. Fly to Barcelona RUES and then from Barcelona Girona (over 100 kilometres from RUES) to Manchester.
Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to travel to Manchester?

Ryan Air single flights from SdC to London Stansted are priced at appx ?22.00 at the moment.You could book one now if you are confident of your finish date and if you don't make it you only lose ?22.00. Ryan air change of flight charges are very expensive,?100.00 last time I checked.Ryan Air also have lots of sales,just keep your eye on their website.
Remember La Coruna and Vigo have airports and both are easily reached from Santiago.You shouldnt really be worrying about your return from the Camino, just get out there and enjoy the experience,everything will fall into place.Have a great Camino.

Ron

[Covey]

I usually go Ryanair from Stansted to Biarritz on the way out to St Jean, and home from Santiago to Stansted (I live in London.)
The only problem with Ryanair is that last minute tickets can be very expensive, especially Santiago to Stansted. In 2007 I decided slow down walking the Camino Frances as I met a Canadian girl who was finding the going a bit hard on account of her artificial leg, and needed the services of a Camino Grandfather, so I went a week over my planned departure date. My ?40 return ticket booked some 8 months before turned in to a ?235 ticket to fly in 4 days time. I cannot complain because it was my choice, but the low cost airlines can prove more expensive than full fare airlines for last minute bookings.

[Covey]

Having looked at the coach times it seems that Stansted to Manchester takes some 7 hours going via Birmingham or London.

I would have thought your best bet is Santiago to Stansted, to Liverpool St to Euston to Manchester.

Euston to Manchester is 2 hours (ish) which has got to be better than a 7 hour coach ride around the UK!

Getting from Barcelona to Girona is no joke (used to live just north of Girona. A major trek as the airport at Barcelona is south of Barcelona and Girona is way north, so first you have to get through or around Barcelona. Rather like getting through or around Paris. Best not tried sober!!

[clare]

Thankyou for these ideas. plenty to work with! Clare