CaminantesThe best time of year to walk the Camino de Santiago
By August Frederik Kramer · Last updated 25 July 2026
The honest answer: May, June, September and early October. If you can only go in July or August, change the route rather than the dates, and if you are thinking about 2027, read the last section first, because it is a Holy Year.
Month by month
| Season | What it is like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| March to April | Green, wet, cold mornings. Some albergues still shut. Easter is briefly very busy. | Solitude, and the south: Vía de la Plata and Mozárabe are at their best. |
| May to June | The classic window. Long daylight, everything open, wildflowers, manageable heat. | First-timers on the Francés or Portugués. |
| July to August | Hot and full. The meseta is punishing and beds go early. | The northern coast: del Norte and Primitivo. |
| September | Arguably the best month anywhere. Warm, the busiest month of 2025, harvest in Galicia and the Ribeira Sacra. | Almost every route. |
| October | Cooler, wetter west, beautiful light. Services start closing late in the month. | Shorter routes: Inglés, Finisterre, Invierno. |
| November to February | Short days, many closures, snow risk on high sections. | Experienced walkers, and the Camino Invierno by design. |
The year at a glance: light and people
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The light peaks in June, at 15.3 hours. The crowd peaks later: in 2025 the busiest month was September, with 2,718 people a day reaching Santiago.
There is no quiet summer month. From May to September every month brought between 2,162 and 2,718 people a day, and May was busier than August (2,537 a day against 2,487).
The quieter shoulders are April (1,821 a day, 13.3 hours of light) and October (2,028 a day, 11.1 hours). That is the real trade: fewer people for shorter days.
Match the season to the route, not the other way round
This is the part most planning guides skip. The routes behave completely differently by season:
- Camino Francés: brilliant in May, June and September. The meseta in August is a genuine slog, and the Pyrenees crossing on day one can be closed by snow into spring.
- del Norte and Primitivo: high summer is their moment, and the shoulder seasons can hand you weeks of Atlantic rain.
- Vía de la Plata and Mozárabe: March to May or October only. Extremadura and Andalusia regularly pass 40°C, and some stages have no shade or water for 30 km.
- Camino Invierno: the one route designed for winter, taking the low road along the Sil instead of over O Cebreiro.
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What actually decides your day
Three things, in this order: heat, because you cannot outwalk it; daylight, because a 30 km stage in November means walking in the dark at one end; and whether the next albergue is open, which is a season question more than a route question. Crowds come fourth, and are mostly a problem in the last 100 km, which is crowded precisely because that is where the Compostela starts counting.
For the heat and the rain stage by stage, month by month, from ten years of climate records, see Camino de Santiago weather.
2027 changes the calculation
2027 is a Holy Year, because 25 July falls on a Sunday. The Holy Door will be open all year and pilgrim numbers will be well above an ordinary year, on top of a record 530,722 in 2025. If you are walking in 2027, the shoulder seasons stop being a preference and start being a strategy.
Common questions
What is the best month to walk the Camino de Santiago?
May, June, September and early October are the best compromise between weather, daylight and crowds. September is the single strongest month on most routes: warm, and the albergues are all still open. It is not the quiet one, though: in 2025 it was the busiest month of the year.
Is July and August too hot?
On the meseta of the Camino Francés and on the Vía de la Plata, yes, uncomfortably so, and on the Plata it is genuinely risky. The northern coastal routes stay far more manageable in high summer, which is why the del Norte fills up then.
Can you walk the Camino in winter?
Yes, with planning. Many albergues close, daylight is short, and O Cebreiro on the Francés can be snowed in, which is exactly why the Camino Invierno exists as the medieval low-road alternative. Expect solitude and cold rather than danger.
When is the Camino busiest?
From May to September, not just in high summer: in 2025 September was the busiest month of the year and May was busier than August. The final 100 km from Sarria are busy all summer. Add 2027 to that: it is a Holy Year, so expect the popular stages to fill months ahead.
How much does the season change the walk?
More than the route does, for most people. The same stage in April and in August is two different days: one is green and cool with closed cafes, the other is dry, hot and sociable with a bed shortage.
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Take it with you
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