Where to park car in St Jean Pied de Port before walking?

[Vero]

Hi,
I am driving from England up to St Jean Pied de Port where I plan to leave my car while I do the walk. Does anyone know of any parking areas around the area where it is safe to leave your car? plus any ideas about the costs?
V

[Sil]

You'll find all the info you need on the website of the albergue Esprit du Chemin - welcome
Click on Travel Info.
Sil

[Leslie]

Hi,

I thought this was a crazy idea in 2005 when I just drove to St Jean.

I could not find anywhere to park in St Jean, however there is a large car park in Roncesvalles that is quite safe. I spoke to the woman in the albergue starting off with "This may seem crazy, but I have driven here..." You are not the first - she laughed at me and showed me the car park.

The only problem I had was the battery was flat when I got back after 5 weeks - lucky I had parked at the top of the car park and a jump start got it going again.

I wish you all the best and if you find somewhere in St Jean to park let us know for future reference.

[Vero]

Thank you for the advice! I checked the website and it was very useful.

We are plannying to walk for a few days and then go back to get the car. Do you know if there is any easy public transport from the towns to St Jean Pied de Port?

Thank you

Vero

[Sil]

If you are walking in France you will find trains to and from St Jean but not if you are crossing the border into Spain. You will probably have to get a train to the nearest Spanish border town (Biarritz perhaps) and then get a local French train back to St Jean: or even get a taxi back.
There is a transport service called Express Burricot, based in St Jean, she carts pilgrims and luggage between St Jean and about Logrono.
You'll find the information on the same L'Esprit du Chemin website:
You can email Caroline at: apcaroline@hotmail.com or phone 0033 (0)6 61 96 04 76