Camino de Santiago FAQ

Q: I want to walk the camino, but I don't have a religious motivation - i am not catholic. I am just interested in history of pilgrimage and also want to make a long trek through wonderful rural area full of historical sights. Will i experience negative attitude on my way, will albergues let me stay for a night, knowing that I am not a catholic pilgrim but an ordinary backpacker ? Should I take a pilgrim credential?

A: There are many pilgrims not catholic, and also there are many pilgrims not religious at all. However, in El Camino de Santiago everybody is treated the same, there is no negative attitude and everybody is welcome.

There are catholic albergues and also there are private albergues and other albergues run by the government and other associations. They all work the same, the only difference is that the catholic albergues usually offer dinner for everyone together and also offer the possibility of attend to mass, but of course that is not compulsory, it is just an option, you can just sleep there without participate in those things. Finally, just to inform you that no one will ask you what is your religion in the albergues.

One of the main characteristics of el Camino is the tolerance so don't worry at all about this matter.

Q: In the latest edition of the Davis/Cole "Walking the Camino de Santiago" it states that since 2009 Cathedral authorities in Santiago have become very strict on who can issue a "credential" and that now it is only available through them or overseas Camino de Santiago sanctioned organizations. They go on to say a pilgram should pick one up at one of these few groups before going to Spain. I thought I could get one when I arrived at my starting point along the French way. Being confused, I beg your clarification. Thanks, Gerry.
P.S. Great and infomative Web site.

A: I got my credential last july in St. Jean Pied de Port, and I am pretty sure that they will continue providing it. Also, I don't think that important points in el Camino such as cities like Pamplona or Burgos would stop providing with credential.

Also last August, two friends of mine got their credentials in Santander (in the North Way).

I am unaware of this new information in the Davis/Cole book, but either it is incorrect or incomplete. Maybe they just mean that the places that issue the credential along the camino will be reduced, but for sure I won't just be Santiago cathedral the only one issuing them. That is what I can say after my last experience in el Camino in the summer 2009.

Q: Thanks for your fab website - what a lot of information!
We are coming to Santiago de Compostela in the second week of February 2010. We only have one week in Spain. Will there be lots of alberges open between Sarria and Santiago at this time of year? Which towns do we stop in? Also is the last 100kms of the St James Way better than doing the English Way from Ferrol to Santiago?

Thanks for your help.

A: all the albergues run by the reginal government in Galicia are open all the year round and they cost 3 euro per night, so don't worry about the accomodation!!

Personally, I don't know the English way, but I know the Camino Frances, Camino Portugues and Camino del Norte and they are all very nice!!!... If you want to meet some more people I would do the Frances one (from Sarria) because February is still a quiet month, but all the options are good.

Q: Hi, I am planning to walk the Camino Frances in September 2010 by myself. Will this be a busy time and what is the weather like. I know that the summer months are busier but I still hope to meet alot of people along the way. I am a little nervous about not planning any accomodations ahead of time but everything I've read says not to worry is this true. Thank you and great information.

A: September is a great month to walk el Camino, it is still busy enough but not crowded, and the weather is not so hot. There are already some beautiful autumn colours, the grapes are ready for the harvest...

Keep in mind that you don't have to book any accommodation at all, this is a different kind of travelling, this is a pilgrimage and El Camino is full of pilgrim hostels that will host you. It is also an art of improvisation because you can't know beforehand how long will you walk each day and where you will stay each night...

Buen Camino!

Q: I'm hoping to do el Camino de Santiago in February and March 2010. I know this may seem short notice, but the timing is right, and I have the next month to plan this journey with one of my best friends. Your site has been invaluable, thank you so much. I'm writing to ask if you have any additional information with a list of hostels on the route? Again, I won't be traveling alone, but given the time of year, we're concerned that we'll land in towns with nowhere to stay.
Really, just any additional information you have on accommodations to offer would be most sincerely appreciated.
Again, thank you very much for your site.

Courtney

A: I think you will be alright. Besides, the fact that 2010 is a Holy Year makes your situation even better because more pilgrims than a normal year are expected and as a consequence an extra effort providing accommodation will be done, especially at the end of the path in Galicia.

If you are starting in St. Jean Pied de Port you will be given a list with all the albergues or hostels in el Camino, but just in case that you are starting in other point I attach you the list (mine is 2 or 3 years old, so I presume that the new one will include more new hostels).

It will be cold, especially in the nights, however it should be bright and nice. If at some point you can't find a pilgrims hostel open in some village just ask the locals where is the next one opened and if not just ask in the church of the village, the always have some basic rooms to let pilgrims sleep in their sleeping bags in special situations (overcrowded, hostel closed...). So any doubt just ask the people, my experience says that the pilgrims are never let down. There are also pilgrims in December and January, so you won't be alone.

Q: I am planning to walk the camino next year, possibly June/July 2010. I was wondering if it is necessary to learn Spanish or French fluently. I am 63 years old, female and to although I speak a little of both languages, it worries me that I may not be able to communicate. thank you for an excellent website - it has reassured me on lots of other points.
Caz 26/11/09

A: Hi Caz, thank you for the compliment about the website!! 
I don't think it is completely necessary to speak Spanish to walk el Camino but a bit of knowledge of the language will help. Don't be afraid because I've seen people walking the whole Camino for a month without speaking a word in Spanish.

It is true that many (or most of) of the local people in the villages that you will walk through don't speak English at all but some of them manage to speak a basic English.

Besides, el Camino is a very international environment (more than 50% of the pilgrims are non-Spanish) and everybody help each other so if at some point you are stuck with the language you won't have a problem because other pilgrims (Spanish pilgrims who speak English or English-speaking pilgrims who speak Spanish) will help you. I have translated countless times the menus in the bars for other pilgrims!!! I enjoyed showing local foods and traditions to foreign pilgrims, El Camino definitely is an exchange of culture.

Having said that I encourage you to improve your Spanish before your departure so that it helps you to take the most from El Camino de Santiago. It is nice to have the chance of talking to the old locals and other Spanish pilgrims!!

Finally, I wouldn't worry about the French if you start in St. Jean Pied de Port. In that case you will have just a day in France and after that it is all Spain.

Q: Hi There. I am planning on walking the complete route myself over the summer months. Would it be better to start the walk in early june to arrive just before 25th July? Is this a good idea? as i have read this year is a Holy Year!I would love to be there for the feast day or week celebrations. I look forword to hearing from you. Many thanks. 
Chas. Brolly 19/11/09

A: Hi Chas, well, I have never been in the celebrations for Santiago's Day in a Holy Year, but I have some friend that walked the camino in June and July of last Holy Year and arrived in santiago just on time for the celebrations and the fiesta and they were delighted. Take into account that Santiago is the patron saint of Spain, Galicia region, and Santiago de Compostela, the 25th of july used to be a national feast day in Spain... all that combined with the fact that it is Holy Year and there won't be another for the next 10 years... I guess it is going to be a great party altogether!! It also has a deep Christian significance.

But on the other hand, you will have to be ready to put up with the crowds, because for sure next year, and specially on that time of the year el camino will be more crowded. Although, I think the situation will only be that bad in the last part of el Camino (i.e. last 100 km). Anyway it doesn't have to be a bad thing, as long as you are in the mood to walk with more people around. Personally, I quite like the fact that there are plenty of pilgrims and people to get to know and make friends, I think that's the biggest wealth of El Camino, its people.

I wouldn't worry too much about the facilities, because being a Holy Year, there will be an extra effort by the regional governments (especially the one of Galicia) to provide the pilgrims with accommodation.

Q: My wife and I are planning to walk with our backpacks from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela in April and early May 2010. We would like to send our suitcases on ahead to a hotel in Santiago either from Pamplona or Barcelona.
Any suggestion on the best and safest way to do this? Do you know if Santiago hotels in general would store our luggage until we arrive?
Thanks for your info service.
Dave 10/11/09

A: Hi Dave, I suppose there will be no problem to get your luggage stored in your hotel before your arrival but I think you would have to arrange it yourself with the hotel, maybe phoning them...

Anyway I think that the most popular way to do this (in fact many pilgrims overloaded usually have to send things ahead in the middle of el Camino de Santiago) is via the Spanish National Post (CORREOS). You could send your suitcases as a "Paquete Azul" (Blue Packet), it is quite cheap and safe. You can send it to you (To: your name) to a local post office in Santiago de Compostela, they keep it for 2 weeks and during that period of time you can pick it up (usually the blue packet needs 4-5 days to get its destination, so you would have around 18-19 days to pick it). Maybe if it is not enough time for you to get there you can send it to a middle point, i.e. Leon, and then from Leon to Santiago.

Also private companies of packet delivery, i.e. MRW, keep the packet in their office about 15 days. So perhaps if you could arrange something with a hotel it could be the most comfortable way to do it so that you don't have to worry about the time (anyway I advise you to send it as a Blue Packet via Correos, either to a hotel or to local office of Correos).

Some useful links: Paquete Azul, MRW

Buen Camino!

Replay: Thank you.  This is exactly the information I was looking for.  All 3 Santiago de Compostella hotels I contacted by e-mail said they would store our bags at no charge.  Please pass this info on to your readers and thanks again.
Dave

Q: I plan to walk El Camino de Santiago from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela in late March 2010 with a group of about 10 friends. Is the Camino active at that time i.e. accommodation, etc. available, pilgrims passport can be processed? what is the weather like, usually? would many other pilgrims walk at this time of year? grateful for any guidance you can give. 
Al Hayes 4/11/09

A: El Camino de Santiago will definitely be active at that time. You plan to walk the last 100 km of El Camino and that is the part with the best facilities for the pilgrims, so you won't have problems to get the pilgrims credential and you will have plenty of accommodation.

The weather could be wet, specially in spring. The last 180-200km of El Camino de Santiago, along Galicia region (in the Northwest of Spain), are usually quite wet, even in summer, since Galicia is quite a rainy country, and therefore I recommend you to take waterproof clothes. But don't be discouraged because of that, you may also get beautiful days, and the landscape is just amazing. If you had time I recommend you to continue from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre, in the coast, where the camino really ends (extra 100km).

The next year will be a Holy Year (Xacobeo 2010), so el Camino will be very crowded, but I think that so early in the spring you won't have to worry about too many pilgrims.

I think that you could find interesting and helpful the following pages:
Maps
Accommodation
Jacobeo 2010
Planning El Camino

Q: Nice site and has a wealth of information. I would like to do the trail but I am very close to my dog and would like to take him with me. I don't mind sleeping in tents if the 'alberges' do not accept animals. Would this be possible? 
Chris 20/10/09

A: Hi Chris,
of course that it would be possible. It is true that most of the albergues in el Camino de Santiago don't accept dogs inside for hygiene matters, but many of them let you keep them outside, maybe in a courtyard, or maybe let you sleep in a separate place if the dog doesn't like to stay alone in the night.

Having said that, I think it could be very useful if you carry your own little camping tent so that you can be more independent, you would have no problems at all to camp nearby the albergues. Most of pilgrims with dogs do so. 

Finally, there is a fact that I would like to tell you. I have seen pilgrims that had to leave their dogs behind because the trail was too hard for the dogs. This happens when the dogs are small size dogs. A small dog may be able to walk 20-30 km in a day but when they have to keep on walking for 30 days they may be exhausted, so please, evaluate the possibilities of your dog as well as yours. Of course you wouldn't have a problem if your dog is a big one, in that case he would walk double than you!!

I wish you buen Camino!

Q: Hey, I just wanted to know all the options available of doing the Camino de Santiago by myself with regards to accommodation, walking it with or without a guide,etc. The reason to do it by myself is to meet people and not stick to people that I know. Is it possible to walk with an unguided random group?
thanks a lot.
Brendan 21/10/09

A: Hi Brendan,
yes, of course it is possible. Actually I have done El Camino de Santiago as you describe "with an unguided random group" many times. It is my favorite way of doing el camino so that I can meet new people.
You don't need at all a guided group to walk el camino. It is very simple, and you will be surprised when you see that most of the pilgrims, especially those who start it at the very beginning in St. Jean Pied de Port, arrive alone. Then you can make very good friends from all around the world and for sure those friendships will continue after el Camino. 

You will also be very free and as you say "you wouldn't have to stick to people you know". It is funny but very often you walk during one day (or just some hours or even some days) with someone and then you lost track of him or her the following day... then you wonder if you would see them again... don't worry, for sure you will see then again before arriving in Santiago de Compostela, when you expect it less... That's the magic of el Camino de Santiago.

I recommend you more reading about planning el camino and hostels.
and other useful info may be: Maps, Transportation, El Camino Frances.
 
Feel free to ask us if you have more doubts.

Buen Camino!!

Q: Hola, thanks for your lovely website. I would love to walk the last 100km of el camino de Santiago next may (2010). Because my legs are not so good at moving, to do so I plan on only doing the last stages but taking a longer time to do them. Is it possible to walk shorter distances each day than the more usual 20 - 40k? Are there villages to stop in overnight if I can't make the distances shown for each stage? many thanks. 
15/10/09

A: Yes, in the last 100km before santiago (aproximately from Sarria) the installations of El Camino are very good and prepared to receive many pilgrims. Nearly in every village that you walk through there will be public and/or private albergues (hostels). So I would say, there will be no more than 10-15km without a place to sleep.

Next year is a Holy Year so there will be more pilgrims than usual.  

I hope this info is useful. I wish you a good walk!!

Q: hi, thank you for a fabulous web site with lots of very useful info.
I have done 2 stages in france and will now continue from SJPP to comp in oct, can the weather be too rough in late oct?
tor from oslo. 07/09/09

A: Hi Tor, Thank you for your message!!
Once I have done a part of El Camino de Santiago in october (around the 2nd-3rd week) and I liked it a lot, firstly because it is much less crowded and also because autumn is a beautiful time for the colours and fruits in the countryside.
The weather will still be quite warm in the day with very nice sunny bright days that sometimes can even be very hot especially in the first 2 weeks. The nights will be already cool. But also in october, it is frequent to have some stormy and rainy days, so be prepared for some day of rain.
In overall, I think october is a nice month to do El Camino.
I hope that you will have a very nice experience.
Buen Camino!!

Q: Me gustaría saber si tu web del Camino de Santiago está rota o solo te la has currado en Inglés. Resulta que excepto el principio, HOME, cualquier otro enlace está en ingles y claro eso es un obstáculo para entenderte.
Pablo. 16/08/09

A: Hola Pablo, pues no esta rota, es que la idea era hacerla primero en ingles e irla traduciendo poco a poco al espanol, pero por ahora solo me ha dado tiempo a traducir un par de paginas, inicio y un dia en el camino de santiago.
Lo siento si se hace un poco dificil entenderlo si no tienes mucha practica con el ingles, pero te invito a que me preguntes cualquier duda que tengas sobre el camino.

Q: I'm going to walk the camino in late August, is your advice about cost still current?
Ruben 10/08/09

A: Yes my advice about the cost is still valid, you can spend around 20-25 euros a day approximately as I say in the website.

Navarra, especially before Pamplona, is the most expensive part, I would say. Then La Rioja is much cheaper with most of its albergues asking a donativo (that doesn't mean that they are free but you should give some money depending on your possibilities to help them to continue offering hospitality for the pilgrims).

Then Castilla and Galicia are also quite cheap (also the menus and the shops to buy food). In Galicia, the albergues run by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) have a fixed cost of 3 euro.

Q: I am considering doing the walk (first time) but also taking my 13 year old daughter. Are there any kids on the walk? Other than the physical aspect of the journey are there any reason to not take her?
Anonymous 01/09/09

A: I think I can be a very nice and fun experience for your daughter. In general there aren't many kids on El Camino but every time that I have walked it I have met some families with kids. It is better if she knows beforehand that she won't be with more kids. The physical aspect is not to worry about and as long as she knows that she will be sleeping in big rooms with more pilgrims (many of them snoring :D ) and she eats well, she won't have any problem.

Q: I want to walk the Camino in the Spring of 2010. Can anyone tell me about it.
Joni 21/08/09

A: Hi Joni! I think that's probably the best time of the year (April-May) because the weather is already nice and it is not so crowded as in summer. I'm sure you'll really like it!

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