The Camino Santiago

[Gambit McCrae]

I would like peoples opinions on this trail, if they have hiked it etc

I will have an opportunity to hike between 1-2 weeks in Spain in 2018 and would like to know what section people would suggest if not able to hike the entire thing. This is a pretty general "what you have to say" about the topic of the Camino De Santiago.

[imscotty]

I have no experience GM, but I have been looking too. I have been leaning towards 'The Portuguese Way' I figured on starting from Porto to keep the time commitment down. From Santiago I thought I would continue the walk to Finisterre. Should be about two full weeks total, mostly flat walking, but culturally interesting. I'm not doing it this year, but it is on my radar. Would love to here about whatever hike you end up doing.

Scott

[Gambit McCrae]

but culturally interesting.

Scott

This is my interest point. The culture of somewhere other than east coast or US deserts. I want to hike in truly old country, on someone else's turf, and hopefully experience the same hospitality I have on the first half of my AT journey. I want to debunk that "southern hospitality" can only be found in the south, and that it spreads through many cultures. And I want to fill my camelback up with wine

[Jowy]

Hey Gambit

I hiked it in May last year and it's what made me fall in love with long distance hiking and made me want to do the AT. The people are great, the alburgues are fun (you'll have a love hate relationship with them
though) and the towns and cities you hike through date back hundreds/thousand of years.

What you need to know is the trail gets busier the closer you get to Santiago, because not everyone starts at the same place, but everyone walks towards Santiago, so if you want a less busy trail walk a section at the start.

I walked the French route from St Jean Pied du Port and the hike through the Pyrenees and North Eastern Spain is scenic and has a great climate. The middle section is a little hotter and arid and the last week is wetter once you reach the Galicia region.

The second fifth is through Rioja so if your a big wine guy maybe that would be good. The first wee goes through Pamplona so if your going during the bull run (sanfemine festival) might be worth a visit. The last section is through Galacia which is renown for the best seafood in the world.

But I suppose if you were going to do part of it and never go back, I'd recommend starting from as far out as you can while still finishing in Santiago.

[Starchild]

Looks like I will be doing it this year, can get back to you after.

[BrianLe]

Some people do just the last 100 km of the trail, typically starting in Sarria. If you care about this sort of thing, this entitles them to the same certificate of completion as doing the more typical/longer route of about 800 km (about 500 miles) from just over the French border (St. Jean Pied de Port). And Galicia is kind of neat, so if it's not a particularly rainy season, I might focus a couple of weeks worth of hiking there. Starting in St. Jean where a lot of hikers begin is neat too, so ...

[Leo L.]

Never done the Camino myself, but here is what friends being out on the Camino on a regular basis told me:

The branches of the Camino are star-shaped centering into Santiago. There are many different routes. Only the well known northern and the more central route in Spain are really crowded, and overcrowded in high season. The closer to Santiago the more crowded.
Parts in France are less crowded, and along the Portugese you hardly find any pilgrim.
Every variant seems to have a different character, the only common they all share is lots of old culture, good food and excellent wine (but only on the northern branch there is this famous double fountain serving water and wine - for free)

Wasser+Wein.JPG


It's up to you to first decide which kind of trip you would like to have, and then select the branch and part of the Camino that fits.

[Old Hillwalker]

I walked the Camino de Santiago during Septembers 2013 and 2014. In 2013 on the so called French Route from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago, 500 miles in 28 days. In 2014 I went back to Spain and walked the Camino Aragon from Pau in France to where it joins the French route in Obanos. I was going to continue on the French route to Santiago, but the sheer mass of people walking at that time caused me to quit in disgust and I returned back to the States early. I am going back to Spain this coming September, but not to walk on the Camino. This time I will be backpacking across the central part of the Spanish Pyrenees on the LD trail GR 11. I plan on hiking about 150 miles and taking around 22 days including zeros.

The French route is very crowded with people racing to find Pilgrim accommodation each day to the point of being ridiculous. The Aragon route was quiet, uncrowded, and very peaceful. These are religious pilgrimages for many people, and full of history and quite picturesque but you will not be walking with backpackers nor many real hikers.

You may be well served to join one of these forums for information.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...no-frances.12/

http://www.caminodesantiago.org.uk/

[Gambit McCrae]

I walked the Camino de Santiago during Septembers 2013 and 2014. In 2013 on the so called French Route from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago, 500 miles in 28 days. In 2014 I went back to Spain and walked the Camino Aragon from Pau in France to where it joins the French route in Obanos. I was going to continue on the French route to Santiago, but the sheer mass of people walking at that time caused me to quit in disgust and I returned back to the States early. I am going back to Spain this coming September, but not to walk on the Camino. This time I will be backpacking across the central part of the Spanish Pyrenees on the LD trail GR 11. I plan on hiking about 150 miles and taking around 22 days including zeros.

The French route is very crowded with people racing to find Pilgrim accommodation each day to the point of being ridiculous. The Aragon route was quiet, uncrowded, and very peaceful. These are religious pilgrimages for many people, and full of history and quite picturesque but you will not be walking with backpackers nor many real hikers.

You may be well served to join one of these forums for information.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...no-frances.12/

http://www.caminodesantiago.org.uk/

This makes me not want to hike the Camino lol

[poopsy]

The Camino Frances is a victim of its popularity during the summer peak months. It is not a wilderness experience. If wilderness is what you want then go somewhere else. However, if you like culture, an opportunity for reflection, good wine, and really really good company, then it is definitely worthwhile.

I would go between Roncesvalles and Burgos during October if I only had one or two weeks for the Camino Frances. Most of the movie "The Way" was shot in this area during that time of year. Except for the Sheen/Estevez moralizing, "The Way" is pretty accurate concerning the pilgrim experience.

Buen Camino,

poopsy

[BrianLe]

This makes me not want to hike the Camino lol

I've hiked the Camino twice too, the second time just a few months ago, starting in late September, finished late October. This was an EXCELLENT time to hike it. Not too many people, this trip I never called ahead to make reservations anywhere. Yet overall the weather was fine. I agree, I would avoid the popular months, and IMO that now extends well into September. But if you're inclined to do it --- go.

There are multiple articles out there about how it's not a good experience. One of the most famous long distance hikers, Andrew Skurka, wrote an article listing 10 reasons why the Camino sucks: http://francistapon.com/Travels/Spai...Santiago-Sucks

I think how well you like the trail speaks a lot to what you bring with you to it in terms of expectations and being open to different kinds of experiences. Here's my article on why I found it to be worth hiking a second time. I wrote this before I hiked it the second time, but indeed --- it was a great trip (both times). http://appalachiantrials.com/why-hik...a-second-time/

[BrianLe]

Oops, sorry, it was Francis Tapon, not Skurka that wrote the "10 reasons it sucks" article. I get these really famous long distance hikers confused sometimes! :-)

[KnightErrant]

I walked the Camino (St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago) last summer during peak season, and it was only in the last 100km that it was truly crowded. Like someone else mentioned, the last 100km (Sarria-Santiago) is the minimum you can walk and get the compostela, or certificate that you completed the journey. Naturally, that makes it really popular among people who only have a week of vacation, or people who are doing it with children, etc. Other than the stress of not being sure if there will be beds left at the albergues, I never minded the extra people. I figure you can't complain about all the other people when they're just doing the same thing that you are. That's a bit hypocritical, no?

As for good sections, if you like mountains, I would go Astorga to Sarria. You start in a beautiful city with some weird and wonderful Gaudi architecture, then hike the biggest mountains on the Camino before descending into Ponferrada, where there's an awesome Moorish castle. Then you head back out over some more mountains into Galicia, where you will suddenly feel like you're in Ireland, or maybe the Shire (there are actual underground houses with round doors). You'd finish in Sarria, thus avoiding the crowds that happen from that point on, if that's important to you.

If you like both mountains and wine, I'd go St. Jean Pied de Port to Logrono (or all the way to Burgos if you have the time). You cross the Pyrenees in the first couple days, then later you can hit up the wine fountain as you're leaving Estrella.

The area between Burgos and Leon is relatively uneventful in terms of terrain, although the sunflowers were blooming while we were there and that made it very scenic despite being flat and straight. I actually enjoyed the emptiness of it very much, but if you're only going for a week, that's the part I'd skip.

In general, if you want to avoid the stress of crowded albergues, I would avoid the "bubbles" leading up to the San Fermines festival in Pamplona and the festival of Saint James in Santiago. Lots of people try to hit Pamplona during the running of the bulls (beginning of July) and lots of people try to finish in Santiago during the week of Saint James (end of July), so if you coincide with those groups, you might have trouble finding a place to stay sometimes. But overall, for us that was never an issue, even though we hiked from the end of June to the end of July.

[SkeeterPee]

The other advantage is that you can sleep in a bed every night and can have good food and wine. My wife who likes hiking but is not willing to try backpacking finds this trip interesting. I am not sure if it was mentioned above, but you can actually ship a bag ahead everyday so you can have a very light pack. Even if you don't want to ship ahead and have a more relaxed schedule of stopping when you want, you still do not need a tent or more than snacks. I was just hiking with a guy who was training to start his in about a month. He was going that relaxed schedule where you don't have to plan out where you are stopping each day.

[Foxtrot]

This is my interest point. The culture of somewhere other than east coast or US deserts. I want to hike in truly old country, on someone else's turf, and hopefully experience the same hospitality I have on the first half of my AT journey. I want to debunk that "southern hospitality" can only be found in the south, and that it spreads through many cultures. And I want to fill my camelback up with wine

If you get a chance, check out the Appian Way (Italy) or the Egnatian Way (Albania to Turkey). It's possible that they may provide what you are seeking, albeit with fewer crowds, I would wager.

[mandolindave]

I would love to hike the CS ( The Way ?) I have mostly desert canyon hiked, in which you basically are always alone, and are hiding from the sun, and carrying tons of water. This is why I was drawn to the A.T. ( some shade, some water, and some people ) The cultural aspect, the ease of resupply, and good food of The CS sounds interesting.

My perception ( from watching videos ) is that there is a fair amount of road and paved trails. So I was thinking it might be important to wear shoes designed with more cushion.

[mandolindave]

I'm guessing that info from someone who watched videos, will go over like a cement tent. But, I did pick up an interesting and somewhat funny tip. One guy got really bad blisters, and had to go to the doctors. The doctor fixed him up, and gave him feminine hygiene pads to wear on his feet to keep his feet dry and help prevent infection.

[BrianLe]

"If you get a chance, check out the Appian Way (Italy) ..."

Interesting. Last year my wife and I rented bikes in Rome and rode just for a day along the Appian Way. The original Roman road (and you're on it some) there is pretty rough biking. But very cool of course. I didn't realize it went on for some distance, we just took the train out to the nearby station and did and out-and-back.

If hiking in Italy appeals to you, we hiked for most of a week along the Via Francigena in Tuscany. Not as well known, we saw few other hikers. Adequately marked with guidebook, at least that stretch (it goes from Canterbury to Rome). One key is that there is really no 'support system' --- no Albergue system like along the Camino. No one knows what you're doing, no pilgrim meals, etc. The lodging factor in particular makes it tougher, especially if you don't speak Italien, unless you want to be on a pre-determined schedule. Also lodging is of course a lot more expensive than Albergues on the Camino in Spain. And more road/hear-or-along highway walking, of which there's very little on the Camino Frances in Spain.

Still. Despite all of that, I liked it! Enjoyed the food better than in Spain, liked the Italien people in general, the history, the beauty, etc.

[Starchild]

And recommendation for a guide book(s)? Perhaps one that has the overview of multiple routes?

[BrianLe]

Alternate path choices on the Camino Frances, or one that includes the Coastal route as well as the Camino Frances, or ... ? Not sure what you mean by multiple routes exactly here. There are lots of pilgrim routes in Europe in General, including at least four I can think just in Spain.

I think the most common (?) guide for english speakers is the Brierley guide, titled "A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago". It includes the basic Camino Frances and the common alternate path choices on that route along the way. I used the current-year version of this both times I hiked the trail and was happy with it.