On the Camino Frances the main bus routes are
Pamplona to St Gien is more a car pool from the advert in Pamplona bus station. The more of you there are the cheaper it is.
Pamplona to Logrono is la estellesa.
The bus time to focus on is the 10am from Pamplona. It usually stops at all the main Camino towns and leaves Pamplona just after it's 10am time.
If boarding at Pamplona buy your ticket ticket in the ticket office. Thereafter you can usually buy it on the bus. It leaves Puente la Reina at 10:20 outside the cafe in the main Street near the end of town. If you are walking the Camino go through the town past the church and then turn left off the narrow old town street and you'll reach the main road.
The bus usually has pilgrims waiting and don't be surprised if it arrives 15 minutes late at 10:35. It's a bus and it's speed is determined by how many get off and on.
Stops at Maneru, Ciruena and Lorca are not as easy to find. They are usually only 100 metres from the Camino but asking in a local cafe is best to find them, they are usually running parallel with the camino.
The Camino bus goes through Villatuerta, Estella bus station and the Azcueta where the vegan albergue la Perla is, before Los Arcos, Sansol, Torres del Rio, Viana and then Logrono.
The 10am bus is due in Estella at 10:50 and 11am at the latest. It makes up time so by Los Arcos it's 11.15 etc.
Some bus stops have a timetable but many don't. The other useful bus is in the afternoon as if you can't get into an albergue bussing to the next town or q major place like Estella is useful.
Arriving around 12 in Logrono let's you take a wee walk to the tapas street of Calle Laurel before returning to get a bus out of Logrono.
Logrono - Navarette-najera- Santo Domingo de Las calzadas, Tosantos villafranca Montes de oca are all served by Jimenez. The bus runs Zaragoza - logrono - Burgos.
While Tosantos might not appear on the timetable it is a request stop like Granon and all you need to do is ask the driver. The fare for Najera to Granon will probably be €1.35.
One recent journey I took was redecilla del Camino to Belorado. It's only 15k but most of it is road work and my tinutus kicks off. We walked to redecilla from Granon and then got the bus at 10.50. you basically check what time it leaves Zaragoza or Logrono and work it out from there. Our bus got us to Belorado for 10:40 and we had a nice walk via Tosantos, Villambistia, Espinosa del Camino before strolling into Villafranca Montes de Oca where we stayed at the lovely hostel on entering town. We walked up to hotel only to walk back down! Never look a gift horse.
The bus goes straight to Burgos after here so if you don't like the two hills of Montes de Oca (12km to San Juan de Ortega) and over Atapuerca to cardenuela Rio pico then you'll need a taxi or divert to the main road 3 km from san Juan.
The are small buses, Rioja cars that service towns like Ventosa,A and Ciruena. Usually one a day. To be fair these are nice walks so useful to know should you leave something in the previous town.
Burgos is well served. As an evacuation town you can get to airports easily and fly home from Bilbao, Santander and Madrid.
For the Camino there are small buses run by Amaya at 1pm that take you to tardajos and also there is the bus that goes to hornillos, castrojeriz Fromista and Carrion de Los Condes. On Thursdays there are also stops at Rabe and hontanas which are useful to know but as this stretch is so much fun I've rarely used bus except to get the 7am from Fromista to Burgos to connect with the fast bus to Bilbao at 11am.
The fast bus from Burgos to Leon is direct and takes 2 hours. ALSA bus app is well worth downloading as they operatez many routes from Burgos onwards on the Camino.
The slower bus stops at 11:51 at carrion de Los Condes, 12:20 at terradillios de templarios, 12:30 Sahagun and Leon at 1pm.
There is also a train from Sahagun and EL Burgo ranero that goes into Leon. From Leon trains go to Ponferrade and then go either side of the camino. The train down to Montforte de Lemos lets you connect with the train up to Sarria. The north side train from Ponferrade heads up to Coruna.
So back to the bus Ponferrade to Villafanca del Bierzo, carries on to pedrfitta de Cebriero which is a 3km taxi ride from the camino at O'Cebriero.
There is a bus from O'Cebriero to Sarria, and all points. From Sarria you can get a bus to Portomarin and Arzua.
The Santiago de Compostela bus to Lugo stops at the last 5 stages of the Camino and is only a mile or so when passing Ligonde or Eirexe.
The trains are either with you or unfortunately not.
When they work for you it's brilliant. The train let's you appreciate the journey even more. I love the height the buses give you but the trains offer a view of the country only available by train, especially some of the small FEVE trains. Feve from Santander to Bilbao or along to Planes is a different view entirely from the motorway. One 6 hour journey I've yet to take is the Bilbao to Leon. It crosses the main Santander - Fromista - Madrid at Mataporquera and this train spotter will find myself there one day.
Pamplona and Logrono have stations, abd the other Camino Frances towns and cities are below
Burgos, sahagun, El burgo Ranero, Leon, ponferrade, Sarria.
The problem for popping in and asking for a train somewhere is you need to understand the network.
Generally a train starts in the east and finishes in the west or vice versa except for Santander to Alicante and use the available lines. That then determines where it stops. So destinations will be Vigo, Santiago or Coruna in the west. Madrid or Salamanca in the middle or San Sebastien, Bilbao or Barcelona in the north east.
There is usually 2 trains a day. A second issue with the trains can be the station. Most are central but Burgos is a 20 minute bus ride. It's only €1.20 but don't think you can connect with a bus as it's roughly an hour if there's no bus when you get off the train and the first bus is only going to plaza Espana.
A taxi will get you there quicker but it's a Camino so don't stress listen to St Jacques and roll down the window.
My train today has come from Bilbao and is on its way to Coruna.
The stops it has enroute are numerous
Prices are cheaper on train sometimes and other times buses. I've not sussed it but the slow train to bilbao and also from Llanes were buttons. Today Burgos to Leon was €21.70 while the bus was €22. Throw in the bus fare here and the train is more expensive but on a Sunday its 20minutes quicker and the bus option was 4am or 5pm. 12:34 arrives 2:20.
The train from Irun on the French boarder to Lisbon via Salamanca has great appeal but it's mostly through the night so a midsummer mission!
Walking is best but whether injured or short on waterproof clothing, be safe sensible and most of all enjoy!
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