CaminantesGuides
Practical answers to the questions I had before my first Camino, and the ones I only thought to ask on my second.
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Los Arcos to Viana: the octagon of Torres del Río
Walk the last day in Navarra in five pictures, count the climbs between Torres del Río and Viana, and the eight sides of its church. 27.8 km.
Montes de Oca: the forest climb to San Juan de Ortega
Walk Villafranca Montes de Oca to San Juan de Ortega in five pictures: the steep climb into the oaks, the memorial at La Pedraja, the firebreak through the pines. 11.9 km with no village.
Atapuerca: the oldest Europeans, and the cross above Burgos
Walk from San Juan de Ortega over the stony sierra to the cross above Burgos, then dig down through the caves of the oldest Europeans, one find at a time. Atapuerca to Burgos: 18.4 km.
What to see in Santiago de Compostela after you arrive
The old town is smaller than it looks: every stop here is within 899 m of Km 0 on foot. Pick 2, 4 or 6 hours and walk the squares, the market and the two views.
Camino de Santiago movies and books, on the real map
The Way, Kerkeling, Buen camino and a documentary all start in Saint-Jean. Pick one and watch its walk draw on our measured map, with the km, days and climb.
Two weeks on the Camino: where to start on every route
Pick the days you can walk and how far you like to walk in one, and see the furthest start on all seven routes into Santiago, with the km and the climbing, from our measured stages.
The Camino shell and the yellow arrow
Why pilgrims carry a scallop shell, who painted the first yellow arrows, and which of the two you can steer by. Then read five junctions yourself and see how many you get right.
What is the Camino de Santiago? Twelve centuries, measured
What the Camino is, why people walk it, and its whole history in ten pictures you scrub through, from a tomb in the woods to the next Holy Year. Then: history or legend?
O Pedrouzo: your last morning to Santiago, timed
Pick when you set off and how fast you walk, and watch the last 19.3 km from O Pedrouzo to the cathedral, timed: past the airport and over Monte do Gozo.
Nájera: the long day from Logroño, and the legend of the cave
Walk Logroño to Nájera in four pictures, with nearly all the climbing done by the Alto de San Antón, then follow the falcon into the cave under the red cliffs. 29.3 km.
Frómista: the four locks of the Canal de Castilla and San Martín
Walk the towpath along the Canal de Castilla, fill four locks and watch a barge climb, then reach one of Spain’s best-known Romanesque churches: day 17 from Saint-Jean.
Carrión de los Condes and the long road with no village
Out of Carrión the Camino Francés runs 17.1 km on the old Roman road with no village, the longest gap between two villages on the whole route. Pick your pace and walk it with the clock running.
Palas de Rei: the hardest day from Sarria, over the Sierra Ligonde
Walk the day from Portomarín in five pictures: past the hillfort, up to the highest point between Sarria and Santiago, down to Palas de Rei. 24.9 km.
Rabanal del Camino: halfway up to the Cruz de Ferro
From Astorga to the stone village of Rabanal in five pictures: the gentle half of the climb to the cross, walked and measured, with the monks’ chant at the end.
Estella and the Irache wine fountain
Walk Puente la Reina to Estella in pictures, 21.3 km through Cirauqui and the vines, then on to the fountain that pours wine for pilgrims.
Sahagún: is it really the halfway point of the Camino?
Sahagún calls itself the centre of the Camino Francés. We measured: the middle is out on the empty plain at km 384.3, and the town comes 24.1 km later. Walk to it.
Puente la Reina: over the Alto del Perdón to the queen’s bridge
Walk the first day out of Pamplona in five pictures: up past the iron pilgrims on the Perdón, down the stones, to the bridge built for pilgrims. 24.1 km.
Arzúa: two days left to Santiago
Santiago is 39.2 km away: 19.9 km to O Pedrouzo, then 19.3 km. Walk the countdown stop by stop, and pick out the town’s cheese.
Castrojeriz: the arch of San Antón and the climb to Mostelares
A morning of flat plain, a road under a ruined arch, a town under its castle, then a wall. Walk it stop by stop and watch the climb count up: day 16 from Saint-Jean.
Triacastela to Sarria: the Samos way is 4.2 km longer and 210 m lower
San Xil climbs one hill to 884 m; Samos follows the river past one of the oldest monasteries in Spain, and still climbs more. Walk both and watch the climb add up.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada: the cathedral with live chickens
A white hen and rooster live in the cathedral, for a roast pair that crowed. Tap through the legend, then plan it: the town ends day 9 from Saint-Jean.
Melide: where the Camino gets 13% busier
The Primitivo joins the Francés here, 52.9 km from Santiago. Send the two crowds into one path, then stop for pulpo á feira.
Muxía is only 2.2 km further than Finisterre
Both ends of the world are three days from Santiago, and a 28.2 km coastal path joins them. Pick a plan on the map: one end, or both in four days.
Leaving Villafranca del Bierzo, the hill way climbs 5.4 times as much
Two ways to Trabadelo: the valley road with 85 m of climbing, or the Pradela way over the ridge with 458 m and 2.8 km more. Walk both, and open the Door of Forgiveness.
Portomarín: the town that moved uphill when the river rose
At 92.4 km from Santiago it is too close to start for the Compostela. Drain the reservoir that drowned the old town and watch its church move up the hill.
Monte do Gozo: the cathedral is 5.0 km away and 97 m below
Walk the last stretch from Lavacolla, spot the spires from the Hill of Joy, and see why the first to see them was crowned king.
The bridge at Hospital de Órbigo is 300 m long. The river needs about 20.
Cross it with one button, break a lance with the knight of the Paso Honroso halfway, and see why so much bridge spans so little water.
The Camino from Pamplona: 33 days to Santiago, the Pyrenees already behind you
Day one climbs to the metal pilgrims of the Alto del Perdón. 701.1 km in all, and leaving out the first 3 days saves 9% of the walking but 17% of the climbing.
Santiago Cathedral: what to do when you arrive, in 8 steps
Km 0, the free door in, the hug, the tomb and the Compostela, on a plan you can walk. And this autumn the Pilgrim’s Mass is moving to San Agustín.
The Cruz de Ferro is not the top of the Camino
Leave your stone at 1,494 m, then keep climbing: the Camino Francés tops out at 1,505 m, 5.5 km later. Walk it from Astorga to Molinaseca.
Baiona to Santiago: 6 days, 126.9 km, and 26.9 km to spare
The coastal Camino Portugués from Baiona, day by day: 363 people a day out of Baiona, 458 from Vigo, then 975 from Redondela.
The Camino from Astorga: 12 days, 256.7 km, over the Cruz de Ferro
The Camino Francés from Astorga, measured day by day. Day 2 climbs to 1,505 m near the Cruz de Ferro, then drops 982 m to Molinaseca.
The Camino from Logroño: 29 days, 607.4 km, from the Rioja
The Camino Francés from the capital of the Rioja, measured day by day. Leaving out the first week saves 21% of the distance and 31% of the climbing.
The Camino from Bilbao: 33 days to Santiago, 24 of them by the sea
The Camino del Norte from Bilbao, day by day: 682.7 km along the coast to Ribadeo, then inland to Arzúa, with places to sleep for every day.
Vigo to Santiago: 5 days, 100.3 km, and 0.3 km to spare
The last hundred of the Camino Portugués from Vigo, measured day by day: the sixth busiest start on any Camino, 458 people a day to Redondela, then 975.
The Camino from Roncesvalles: 35 days, 742.7 km, without the Pyrenees
The Camino Francés from the first town in Spain, measured day by day. Leaving out the Pyrenees day saves 3% of the distance and 13% of the climbing.
Camino de Santiago weather, stage by stage and month by month
The meseta at 28.9 °C on July afternoons, Galicia with rain on 13.5 November days, 4 rainy days on a whole Francés from mid-July: every stage, every month.
Ponferrada to Santiago: 10 days, 204.5 km, one climb
The Camino Francés from Ponferrada, measured day by day: one climb to O Cebreiro, then a path that fills from 243 people a day to 1,104 at Sarria.
Botafumeiro dates and schedule: when it swings, to 2030
The 12 solemn days a year the Botafumeiro swings, worked out to 2030, what the cathedral says today, the Pilgrim Mass times, and how 8 men swing 53 kg to 68 km/h.
Lisbon to Santiago: 31 days, 620.2 km, and an empty first half
The whole Camino Portugués from Lisbon, measured day by day: 18 days to Porto with at most 19 people a day setting out, then a path that fills to 975 a day.
Ultreia et suseia meaning: what pilgrims say, and what to answer
Ultreia is “further on”, suseia “higher up”: words from 12th-century pilgrim hymns in the Codex Calixtinus. What each part means, and the answer: et suseia.
Camino Sanabrés: 18 days, 358.2 km, and the hundred from Ourense
Granja de Moreruela to Santiago day by day: 5,654 m of climbing, Galicia from day 7. From Ourense, 109.9 km that climb 482 m more than the hundred from Sarria.
How to pronounce Camino de Santiago, and every town on the way
Camino de Santiago is kah-MEE-noh deh sahn-TYAH-goh. Hear it said, then all 184 stage towns in Spain: 110 of them have a letter an English reader gets wrong.
Camino de Santiago meaning: Santiago, Compostela, word by word
Santiago is Saint James fused into one word, and Compostela is most likely a burial ground, not a field of stars. Of the 211 towns our 10 routes stop in, 12 carry a saint’s title; only the last carries James.
Porto to Santiago: 13 days, 246.4 km, two countries
The Camino Portugués from Porto, measured: 7 days in Portugal and 6 in Spain, 3,176 m of climbing, 199 places to sleep, and a path that fills up from about 191 people a day to 975.
Camino de Santiago map: ten routes, and the 38.7 km most pilgrims share
Ten routes drawn from their own tracks on one map of Spain and Portugal. Seven end in Santiago, and from Arzúa three are one path: in 2025, 291,346 pilgrims, 55%, walked its last 38.7 km.
León to Santiago: 14 days, 304.6 km and both mountains
The two-week Camino, measured: 40% of the Francés from Saint-Jean and 43% of its climbing, 294 places to sleep, and about 215 people a day in week one against 1,104 after Sarria.
O Cebreiro on the Camino: 1,293 m, and 6.8 km at 8.7%
The climb from Trabadelo gains 756 m, and its last 6.8 km are steeper on average than Alpe d’Huez. Where to sleep, who starts here, and the 850 m drop after.
Tui to Santiago: 6 days and 118.4 km from the Spanish border
The Portugués has its own Sarria. 59,764 pilgrims set out from the bridge at Tui and Valença, the 100 km line comes 18 minutes after O Porriño, and about 498 people a day walk it in September.
Burgos to Santiago: 23 days, 485.7 km and the whole meseta
Nine flat days across the meseta climb 1,066 m; two mountain days after León climb 1,103 m. 406 places to sleep, and about 175 people a day through Burgos in September.
Sarria to Santiago: 5 stages, 114.4 km and 1,854 m of climbing
The Camino most people actually walk, measured: more climbing than the whole meseta, 155 places to sleep, and about 1,104 people a day on the path in September.
Camino Portugués coastal route: 23.2 km longer, 246 m less climbing
Coast against central from Porto, measured the same way: 269.6 km against 246.4 km, one more day but flatter. And 47% of Portugués pilgrims took the coast in 2025.
Camino Francés stages: all 36, and 2 in 3 walk only 5
Every stage drawn at one scale, the body-mind-soul saying tested, and the hardest day by an 1892 formula. Day 1 walks like 37.2 km.
Camino albergues: 584 places on the Francés, and where the gaps are
There is no shortage of beds. One Galician stage has 40 places on it and one meseta stage has 3, and the longest gap with nothing mapped falls on day one.
Which Camino is hardest? The ten ranked by climb per km
The steepest route is also the shortest, and the longest is only eighth steepest. All ten measured on both axes, from their own GPS tracks.
What does Buen Camino mean, and how do you reply?
Word for word it is "good path". What it actually does, how to answer it, who says it, and the fifteen other words you will hear every day.
The Variante Espiritual: 74.8 km on foot, or 41.7 km and a boat
The direct line from Pontevedra to Pontecesures is 34.7 km; walking the whole variant is 74.8 km, more than double. Take the Traslatio and it is 7.0 km more than not going at all.
The credencial: 10 stamps from Sarria, and the rule everyone misquotes
"Two stamps a day" is not in the Pilgrim’s Office rules. On our split that is 10 stamping moments from Sarria, and 10 to 12 across the 7 routes that reach Santiago.
Which shoes for the Camino? The Francés descends 10,355 m
Every shoe guide for this walk is written about climbing. 20 of the Francés’s 36 stages descend more than they climb, and the biggest descent day comes 25 days after the biggest climb.
The Camino del Norte from Bilbao: 682.7 km, 33 stages, and flatter than the route
The first 148.9 km carry 27% of the route’s climbing on 18% of its distance, so where you start changes the walk more than the distance suggests.
The Camino in July: 67,013 pilgrims, and the year’s only dip
Fewer than June and fewer than August, which no other month the office counts separately manages, and with the second-longest days of the year: 15h 04m, measured.
The Camino in June: 74,043 pilgrims and 15h 19m of daylight, the most of any month
The brightest month of the year and only the fourth busiest. Every other page here measures its light against June, so this is the one that explains the yardstick.
The Camino in March: 14,068 pilgrims, and the fastest-growing month of the year
The season restarts, and this March ran 27% ahead of last year, more than any other month the office publishes. April then nearly quadruples it.
The Camino in November: 11,072 pilgrims, and the month a stage stops fitting the day
A fifth of October, and the quietest walking month there is. It is also where the daylight stops holding the longest stage on the network, by 27 minutes, for the first time since January.
The Camino in August: 77,095 pilgrims, and no longer the busiest month
August was the peak in 2018 and is third now. What the month still has is light: 13h 59m of it, measured, and every stage on every route fits inside the day.
The Camino in October: 62,854 pilgrims and the daylight to walk them in
How busy October really is, from the office that counts, and how many hours of light it gives you: two measured things, and what they leave on the longest stage of any route.
The Camino in September: 81,534 pilgrims and the daylight to walk them in
How busy September really is, from the office that counts, and how many hours of light it gives you: two measured things, and what they leave on the longest stage of any route.
The Camino in May: 78,650 pilgrims and the daylight to walk them in
How busy May really is, from the office that counts, and how many hours of light it gives you: two measured things, and what they leave on the longest stage of any route.
The Camino in April: 54,642 pilgrims and the daylight to walk them in
How busy April really is, from the office that counts, and how many hours of light it gives you: two measured things, and what they leave on the longest stage of any route.
How many people walk the Camino? 530,722 last year, and the count only goes up
The Pilgrim’s Office numbers in one place, with the arithmetic done: a doubling in ten years, 30.5% of everyone starting at Sarria, September overtaking August as the busiest month, and how many came from your country.
The Vía de la Plata is two routes, and only one of them climbs
Seville to the fork is 636.4 km at 9.5 m per kilometre, flatter than any whole Camino we measure. Then the Sanabrés takes over at 15.8: half the climbing in a third of the distance, with the steepest hundred kilometres, the 109.9 from Ourense, saved for last.
Starting the Camino Francés at León? Every kilometre climbs more than the whole route does
Pamplona, Burgos, León and Ponferrada, measured from where you would actually start. León is 304.6 km and exactly a fortnight, 14 stages, and it skips the flat meseta but keeps both big climbs: 14.8 m per kilometre against 13.6 for the full route from Saint-Jean.
The one Camino that does not end in Santiago
Granada to Mérida is 419.0 km, and downhill. Then the Vía de la Plata takes you the rest of the way: 1,193.3 km and 56 stages in all, eight weeks to the day, and the longest walk to the cathedral we measure.
The Portugués starts at Porto or Tui, not Lisbon. Here is what each one asks of you
From Porto it is 246.4 km, from Tui 118.4, and the 100 km line falls at O Porriño with 1.2 km to spare. It is the flattest of the ten routes, and the flat half is the half almost nobody walks.
Santiago to Finisterre goes down to the sea. It climbs 1,431 m getting there
Three days or four, every split measured, and the sea does not appear until Cee. At 16.8 m per kilometre it is steeper than the whole Francés, which nobody walking it as a victory lap expects.
The Norte never gets above 708 m. It still climbs more than any other Camino
Coast for 640 km and 14,663 m of climbing, 4,217 m more than the Francés. The reason is simple once you see it: 30 of its 39 stages drop to the sea and climb back out.
What the hardest Camino actually means, in six stages
Of the 21 steepest days on all ten routes, 6 are on the Primitivo, and its worst day is the second-steepest on the whole network. Here is where they fall, so you can plan around them rather than into them.
The Camino de Invierno avoids O Cebreiro. Nobody tells you what the detour costs
From Ponferrada it is 60 km and 1,524 m of climbing more than the Francés, and steeper per kilometre. What it buys is a lower ceiling, and that gap is 272 m, not the 428 in circulation. Thirteen stages, measured.
The Camino Inglés is shorter than everyone says, and that changes where you can start
Every page says about 120 km. Our track measures 110.1, so the margin over the Compostela minimum is ten kilometres, not twenty, and ten kilometres is one town: Narón still counts and Neda does not.
What your Camino will cost, on your route, at your budget
Every cost page gives a daily rate and stops, because the multiplication needs the number of nights and nobody has measured them. Pick a route and a budget and get the whole figure, on all ten routes, from our own stage data.
A winter Camino has one real problem, and it is not the cold
It is the daylight. Month by month, how many hours you get, how far they let you walk, and the 8 stages out of 214 that are too long to finish in the light. Which 8 depends more on your pace than on the season.
One week on the Camino: where to start on every route, not just Sarria
Every article about a week on the Camino answers Sarria, because Sarria is what they sell. Where to join all seven Santiago-bound routes in 5, 7 or 10 days, the longest day each asks of you, and the point below which no route earns the Compostela.
Blisters come from going down, not up. These are the ten descents that cause them
The worst drop on each of the ten routes, measured, and the day it arrives. The three our data ranks highest on the Francés are the three pilgrims already complain about.
Train for the day that will actually hurt, not for the average one
The hardest day on each of the ten routes, measured, and when it comes. On the Francés it is day one, and it climbs more than twice what the second-hardest does.
The Camino has ten starting points, and two of them are not in Spain
Three of the routes never reach Santiago, and one starts at the cathedral and walks away from it. Every start measured, with what the first day out of that town will cost you.
How long is the Camino? Ten routes, one honest answer each
Every route measured in kilometres and miles, plus how far is left from Roncesvalles, Burgos, León, Astorga and Sarria. And why the figures elsewhere disagree, which comes down to three things, and none of them is carelessness.
Which Camino should you walk? Three numbers decide it, and one is never published
All ten routes side by side on days, climb per kilometre, and the longest single stage. That last one usually settles the choice, and almost nobody prints it.
The last 100 km: one town misses the line by two hundred metres
Where a Compostela-qualifying walk starts on all seven routes into Santiago, measured from the tracks. One route sits exactly on the line, and three cannot answer the question at all.
You will be fine without Spanish on the Camino. Until you are not
The specific moments where English runs out: the pharmacy counter, the phone call, the doctor, and the last hundred kilometres, where the signs stop being in Spanish at all.
Day one over the Pyrenees is the hardest stage on the Francés. Split it at Orisson
What the stage measures, why the descent and not the climb is the problem, and what stopping at Orisson costs.
The eighty Spanish words a Camino actually runs on
Asking for a bed, the credencial stamp, the pilgrim menu, and saying where it hurts. The words that matter on the trail, and none of the ones that do not.
The steepest Camino is not the one with the most climbing
Elevation gain for all ten routes, measured from the tracks and ranked by climb per kilometre rather than by total, which changes the order more than you would think.
How to get the Compostela, including the exception nobody explains
The last 100 km, two stamps a day, and the A Coruña rule that trips people up. What the certificate is, what it is not, and the second document you have to ask for.
Xacobeo 2027: the Holy Door opens on 31 December 2026. Plan for the crowd now
What a Holy Year did to pilgrim numbers last time, why you cannot book Galicia’s public albergues, and how to plan around both.
How far should you walk in a day? What pilgrims on each route actually do
The real average stage length on all ten routes, from the stage data rather than from advice, and how to set your own number.
Plan your first Camino stage in 50 seconds (video)
A short walkthrough of picking a route and planning a first stage in Caminantes, with a full transcript for anyone who would rather read.
The best Camino apps in 2026, compared by someone who built one
Six apps on planning, offline maps, elevation and beds. I built one of them, and I say so where it matters.
What the Camino really costs in 2026
Real numbers for beds, food and a daily budget, plus the costs first-timers forget until they are standing at the counter.
Pack ten percent of your body weight, and nothing you will not use
A weight-first packing list built around the ten percent rule, and the things to leave at home.
When to walk the Camino: month by month, and which route suits which season
Heat, rain, crowds and daylight for every month of the year, and which routes are at their best in each.
Choosing a route
Every route has its own page with a full stage table, total ascent, the best season for it, and whether it counts towards the Compostela. Compare all ten side by side.
Beyond the guides, the elevation profiles give the measured climbing for every stage of all ten routes.