This page is designed to accompany the print guide.
Table of Contents
About the guide
This book is intended as a practical, no-nonsense guide to the Camino de Santiago for pilgrims walking it in the traditional manner carrying everything they need and sleeping in pilgrim hostels.
The route described is the Camino Francés, the French Camino, which is generally considered to start in the picturesque French village of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, from where it winds its way for almost 800km across northern Spain, through the rolling hills of Navarra, the vineyards of La Rioja, the endless plains of Castile, before arriving finally in the green valleys and forests of Galicia. It ends on the magnificent square before the western façade of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
After many centuries of near abandonment this ancient pilgrimage route suddenly (and to the surprise of almost everybody) sprang back into life in the latter years of the 20th century. Today it welcomes pilgrims in numbers not seen since its heyday in the early middle-ages.
The rapid development of new accommodation and other pilgrim resources in recent years have made the Camino Francés one of the most easily accessible long-distance walks in the world. Nowadays people of all ages and abilities walk this Camino, whether just the last 100km or from much further afield.
The Guide Content
Pilgrim albergues (hostels)
The following information is given about pilgrim albergues: whether it is private, religious, etc. (how many people it sleeps, the cost and opening dates, if none are given then it's open all the time) its name. This is followed by a description of how to find the hostel and any other relevant information.
Some of the hostels on this Camino are basic. However, unless otherwise stated, all of them have the following:
- Electricity
- Beds with mattresses
- Toilets
- Showers with hot water
- Drinking water
- Heating (although it may not be very effective and it may not be switched on)
Any other facilities are mentioned in the guide. If the guide says 'Laundry facilities' it means there's a washing machine and drier. If this isn't mentioned then the laundry facilities available are probably a sink where you can hand wash clothes and a line where you can dry them (weather permitting).
Many hostels are not adequately heated and during the cold months (a period which varies according to latitude and altitude but means approximately November to March) it will be cold in those hostels. This underlines the necessity of having a good sleeping-bag. Not all hostels have a kitchen. Where the hostel has one and it is in working order, it's mentioned.
Donativo
If the price of a hostel or a meal is shown as donativo that does not mean it’s free, it means you should leave whatever amount you can afford and that you should leave at very least enough for the hostel to cover its costs. Donativo hostels are the heart and soul of the Camino, if we don’t support them they’ll disappear and we’ll all have lost something precious.
How prices are written
Spain uses the euro, the symbol for which is € after the amount, 1€. You will sometimes see it written before the amount, €1. Numbers are written using a point as the thousand separator and a comma as the decimal separator 2,25€ (so, the opposite of what's normal in English speaking countries). Occasionally, an apostrophe is used as the decimal separator, 2'25€. Or the euro symbol is used as the decimal separator, 2€25. Just to confuse things further, prices are also sometimes written without the € symbol and minus trailing zeros: 4,5 or 4'5 = 4,50€. You’ll figure it out.
Walking notes
The distance in kilometres and approximate walking time is given before the name of the place. The distance given here is the total distances between places with pilgrim hostels. This is the one you should use when calculating the length of your walking day.
The estimated walking time is calculated using the Munter Method (Munter was some German lad). This method considers 1km walked = 1 unit, and 100m climbed = 1 unit. The time needed to walk a distance is the number of units divided by 4 (4 being kilometres walked per hour by an average walker over the course of a day). Example: Walking 8km on flat terrain would take about 2 hours. Walking 8km with ascents totalling 200m would take about 2 hours 30 minutes (8+200/100)/4=2.5. This is an estimate and is there to give you an idea of the difficulty of the terrain.
Information about the route and things you will meet between hostels are given under the heading Walking Notes. Distances given in this section are NOT cumulative.
1.5km Café - 1.5km to a café
2.2km Steep descents - 2.2km after the café
1.1km Bridge - 1.1km after the bridge
Towns and villages
The following information is given about facilities available in towns and villages:
- café / bar generally they serve food of some description
- shop, for food and a variable range of other essentials
- bank, meaning an ATM
- pharmacy
Walking the Camino
Waymarkings
Everywhere you will find painted yellow arrows and a variety of other official and unofficial waymarkings. Generally the painted yellow arrows are your best friend, follow them and you can’t go wrong.
Maps
The route of the Camino is shown as a line of black dots. When there is more than one route option both routes are shown. Route options are also described in the text.
Each populated place is shown with the number of beds in albergues and icons to show what facilities are available locally.
The Camino in Summer 2024
Online resources
If you’re unfamiliar with the Caminos and you’d like to read more then much more detail is available fon our website www.caminoguide.net
Frequently asked questions
Most of the most obvious questions have been answered on our Frequently asked questions about walking the Camino page.
Altitude profile
There's an altitude profile of the whole Camino.
Packing
If you’re currently trying to decide what to bring with you on the Camino you may find our packing blog useful, it contains information and advice about what clothes and equipment you’ll need
Online guide
There’s also an interactive version of the guide with the ability to book online through Booking.com.
Drinking water
Drinking fonts and springs are not mentioned because many of them are dry some of the time, or the water may not be safe to drink (there’s usually a sign: agua no potable / no apta para el consumo humano). Stock up on water whenever you can and don't set off without enough to get you to the next inhabited place.
Contact
You can contact me at this from the CONTACTS PAGE.
About me
My name is Gerald Kelly. I’m Irish. I started walking Caminos in 2004 when I walked a small part of the Camino Francés. I returned two years later to finish the job. I’ve been back most years since then, annual leave and pandemics allowing, to do it again.
Thanks
Thanks to everybody who helped me with this project.
Buíochas le gach duine a chabhraigh liom leis an tionscadal seo.
Gracias a toda persona quien me ha ayudado con este proyecto.
And...
Buen Camino!
Copyright © Gerald Kelly 2025. All text and photos.