Planning to go but afraid of not enough time...

[Jane]

hi, I'm from HK and I'm plannig to have a walk at mid-June. I think I will leave HK at 13 June and I have to come back before 29 June. So would it be not enough of time to experience the walk? If I start at Leon and finish at Santiago, would it be too rush (actually I don't want to be too rush as I want to enjoy the walk and meet as much pilgrims as I can)? I think I should fly to Madrid and than go to Leon by other transportations. How long would it take for travelling from Madrid to Leon and from Santiago to Madrid either by bus or by train? Sorry for lots of question but it's time to confirm my trip and I want to be well-prepared for my first time to travel alone.

[Sil]

Hello Jane,
Leon is 311kms from Santiago. You can easily walk Leon to Santiago in two weeks if you walk 22km per day. However, if your travelling days are included in the 16 days, then it might be better for you to start at Astorga which is 259km from Santiago.
If you fly to Madrid you can get to Leon by train or bus. If you go by bus, you can get the Alsa bus from Madrid Barajas airport. It takes about 5 hours and costs 21.30 euro. www.alsa.es

If you go by train, there is a Renfe office in the airport (on the lower level to the right of where you exit customs). They can sell you a ticket there. There are about 8 trains a day to Leon. It takes ? 4 hours and costs ? 41 euro www.renfe.es
The train station you need to get to is Madrid-Chamartin. You get there on the metro which leaves from the airport.
Once in Leon you can get an ALSA bus to Astorga. There are over 20 buses a day, they take about 50 minutes and cost 3.15 euro.

Good luck!