Planning Your Camino, Part 2 - the Route

Did you answer all the questions in Planning Your Camino, Part 1? If you have completed that self-evaluation, you might be ready to take the next step, choosing a route.

Planning Your Camino: Choose a Route

Some factors to consider:

1. What is your total distance or time available to walk?

2. What is your level of fitness?

3. Remember your goal from Part 1 - do you want to earn a compostela, have time for solo reflection, and/or meet new friends from around the world?

The map below shows many routes - and there are probably more!

Camino de Santiago maps in Spain/Portugal - photo credit WisePilgrim.com

The Camino Frances

The most popular route is the Camino Frances. You will find plenty of infrastructure - places to stay, eat, shop - and plenty of other pilgrims to meet who might just become part of your 'Camino family' (like Lucy found in Quest for the Enlightened Pilgrim).

Planning Your Camino - Here is Lucy's Route, the Camino Frances

There are a great variety of trails and many elevation changes as you walk across the entire country (if you continue on to Finisterre). Some can be quite difficult, but if you take your time and step with care, you can do it.

Because there are villages almost every five kilometres, this is a great route for those folks who want short walking days and maximum flexibility.

The Camino Portuguese (Coastal and Central)

This route is almost as popular as the Camino Frances, but is divided into two main trails, with a few alternatives, so it may not seem as crowded. The Coastal route is great for those who love the ocean; many days find you walking alongside the beach. (The Senda Litoral is the closest to the water, but overlaps with the Coastal in many areas).

Some say the Central Portuguese route is more traditional, with more villages to walk through that have been part of the Camino for centuries, and may have more of a Camino 'vibe' like on the Frances.

An additional choice is whether or not to take the alternative route after Pontevedra, the Spiritual Variant. This is very special, with a long walk alongside a bubbling brook and a boat ride that follows the path of the boat which carried St. James on his final journey. According to legend, his body was carried in a stone boat to the town of Padron on this river.

Caminos Ingles, Primitivo, and del Norte

These three routes round out the top five Camino de Santiago routes. I don't have personal experience with these paths, but have heard from pilgrims who have walked them that they are beautiful.

The Camino Ingles is one of the shortest routes, where ancient pilgrims would have started walking after taking a boat from the British Isles.

The Primitivo is the first Camino, as the bishop from Oviedo walked from there after the remains of St. James were discovered in the ninth century.

The Camino del Norte weaves it's way up mountains and down to the sea along the northern coast of Spain (lots of elevation changes).

Other Caminos

If you are looking for route that is quieter with fewer pilgrims, be aware that the trade-off is usually less infrastructure. I found this with the Camino de Invierno last year. But I ended up loving that! You might, too - though I wouldn't recommend it for a first Camino!

Planning Your Camino: Choose a Distance

Planning Your Camino - do you want a Compostela?

Also know that the distance is optional. You can start the Camino Frances, for example, in St Jean Pied de Port, or any town along the route. You do need to walk at least 100 kilometres if you want that Compostela, though. On the Frances, that would be at Sarria.

There is a new requirement that can be more flexible for pilgrims - you can walk the majority of your 100 km on any route in Spain, then finish the last stage, about 25 km, of that route walking into Santiago.

You can see from the map that a 100 kilometre radius from Santiago de Compostela is a very small portion of Spain. For some, that is all that they can walk and I have great respect for those pilgrims.

That piece of paper isn't a significant motivation for everyone. Some walk for other reasons, and that is fine.

If you can walk further, I encourage you to do so.

Also, this doesn't have to be a 'once in a lifetime' experience. You might catch the Camino virus like I did and want to keep coming back to this magical part of the world.

Put your Camino route choices in the comments, or send me a message if you like.