Walking and Cycling the Camino de Santiago
So far, I have walked El Camino de Santiago as a pilgrim 6 times and numerous times as a guide for groups:
- June 2003 (see my diary), walking almost 700km from Pamplona to Santiago in 25 days.
- 2003 to present I regularly serve as guide 3 or 4 times a year for organized groups for tours of 10 or 15 days.
- August 2003, cycling the Camino, about 440km from Burgos to Santiago in 8 days.
- Feb/March 2004, cycling from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago, 800km in 13 days with lots of snow, headwinds, rain and even a bit of sun!
- February and March, 2005, In 12 days I walked the final 280km from Puente de Orbigo. Snow, wind, bit of rain, some sun!
- March 2006, I walked the final 114km of the Camino from Sarria as a guide for 2 clients.
Burgos Cathedral at night.
Custom Made Tours - get in touch for further details and a quote.
I can organise a guided or unguided walk or cycle of the Camino for you, staying in good but inexpensive local hotels or camping. I have a detailed knowledge of the Camino, its history and legends and interesting places to visit and to eat! I can select the most interesting sections or you can start anywhere along the Camino, typical starting places are:
- St Jean Pied de Port in France - 780km to Santiago.
- Roncesvalles, just over the border in Spain, 750km to Santiago.
- Pamplona , 700km to Santagio.
- Burgos, 460Km to Santiago.
- Leon , 270km to Santiago.
- Sarria, 111km to Santiago.
- Portuguese Trail - Porto - 270 km, 10 days to 2 weeks to Santiago..
- Portuguese Trail - Valenca/Tui - 117 km, 5-7 days to Santiago.
I can arrange for transfers from where you arrive to your starting place, from one night's lodging to the next, and back from Santiago, as you wish.
Note: On the Camino de Santiago one must carry a Credential to be an official Pilgrim. I can get these for you and your group at a small cost. To receive your Compostella (Certificate of Pilgimage) you must walk at least the final 100km (or cycle the final 200km) to Santiago, though most people do much more! You get the Compostella by taking your Credential to the Pilgrims Office, at the top of Rua de Villar in Santiago, near the Cathedral.
Note: You are entitled to eat for FREE at the Parador Reyes Catolicos, next to the Cathedral in Santiago. Breakfast is 9am, Lunch 12 noon, Dinner 7pm. Wait in the garage entrance down to the left of the main entrance with a copy of your Compostella. In summer or peak times arrive early, the free meals are only given to the first 10 pilgrims. You can take these meals within 3 days of arriving in Santiago.
Poppies and wild flowers in a field alongside the camino in Navarra.
Typical Walking trip
A typical moderate walking trip for the final 270km from Leon is:
- Day 1. Meet in Leon by 2pm and go on an organized tour of the old area, visiting its splendid Cathedral and the San Isidoro Monastery.
- Day 2. San Martin de Camino, 22km, mostly flat.
- Day 3. Astorga, 22km, small hills, lovely rural countryside.
- Day 4. Rabanal de Camino, 20km.
- Day 5. Molinaseca, 26km. On arrving at the Iron Cross, pilgrims typically drop a stone brought either from the flat lands near Leon, or even from there own country!
- Day 6. Villafrance del Bierzo, 30km, mostly flat.
- Day 7. O Cebreiro, 30km, all uphill, gradual until the final 8km which is steep for a few kms then less challenging.
- Day 8. Samos, 29km. Visit the famous monastery.
- Day 9. Sarria, 14km, an easy day!
- Day 10. Portomarin. 21km. Slowly uphill the first 12km then down hill to the bridge below Portomain.
- Day 11. Palais del Rey, 24km First 12km are slightly uphill.
- Day 12. Ribadiso do Baixo, 23km. Small hills.
- Day 13. Arco do Pino, 21km. Small hills, nice Eucalypt forest!
- Day 14. Santiago! 22km. Finally there! Go to the Cathedral! Stop at Monte de Gozo de see the view before entereing Santiago.
Cloister, San Zoilo Monastery.
Typical Cycling Trip
A typical cycle tour of the camino for the final 270km from Leon based in local hotels and with all your gear transported by our back-up vehicle:
- Day 1. Meet in Leon by 2pm. and go on an organized tour of the old area, visiting its splendid Cathedral and the San Isidoro Monastery.
- Day 2. Cycle Leon to Molinaseca, a lovely medieval town next to a nice river. Stop on the way to see the Cathedral and Gaudi Palace in Astorga and at the 'Iron Cross', at 1500m the highest point on the Camino.
- Day 3. Cycle across the Bierzo valley then up and up to arrive in O Cebreiro, an old celtic hamlet, just inside Galicia, where local legend says the Holy Grail was once housed.
- Day 4. Today we go downhill and along lovely green valleys and stop for lunch and a tour of the monastery at Samos. We continue cycling onto Portomarin for the evening.
- Day 5. Continue onto Santiago, visit the Cathedral, obtain our Compostella certificates and enjoy our last meal together.
- Day 6: Leave.
The price depends on the size of your group, and time of the year (Spanish hotels are more expensive in July and August high season), please contact me for details.
Here are some interesting websites for the Camino:
- Associones de Amigos de Camino de Santiago. Very good, easy to navigate site with maps and a lot of information. In Spanish.
- Jacobean network site. Good introductory site. In Spanish and English.
- Camino World site. A good guide to the route and each stage, with pictures. In Spanish and English..
- Walkers World. A Canadian travel company offering excellent walking and cultural holidays including guided 11 and 15 day trips of the Camino.
Useful books:
- A useful little guidebook The Way of St. James; Le Puy to Santiago available from Cicerone Press.
- The best cultural handbook to the camino is The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago by D. Gitlitz and L.K. Davidson. This book is relatively hard to find outside of North America, but if you email me, I can send you a copy for 50 euros plus postage (or equivalent in other currencies).
Some Camino fotos, with thanks to Gloria Myers:
Typical Camino section in Galicia 
Fig and walnut seller.
Statue on Burgos Cathdral 