CaminantesCamping on the Camino: the longest stretch without a campsite, on every route
By August Frederik Kramer · Last updated 1 November 2026
Which route are you walking?
Longest stretch with no campsite on the Camino Francés
90.9 km
From Carrión de los Condes to León. Nights without a campsite: 4.
The longest stretches
- Carrión de los Condes to León: 90.9 km, days 18 to 22
- Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Burgos: 69.4 km, days 9 to 13
- Santa Marina de Somoza to Trabadelo: 66.9 km, days 26 to 29
- Roncesvalles to Puente la Reina: 60.4 km, days 2 to 4
- Trabadelo to Sarria: 52.9 km, days 29 to 31
24 campsites that take tents within 2 km of this route.
Each bar is a stretch between campsites, as wide and as tall as it is long; each tent is a campsite. Gold is the longest. Tap a bar to see it.
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-PortSantiago de Compostela
Carrión de los Condes to León: 90.9 km. Nights without a campsite: 4.
On the Camino Francés the longest stretch without a campsite is 90.9 km, from Carrión de los Condes to León: 4 nights on our stage plan with nowhere to pitch a tent. Pick your route to see its longest stretch, and tap the strip to see any other.
How far apart the campsites are
We count 24 campsites that take tents within 2 km of the Camino Francés, and still the longest stretch without one is 90.9 km, from Carrión de los Condes to León, with 4 nights on the way. The longest of all is on the Vía de la Plata: 301.6 km from Seville to Cáceres, with 14 nights on the way. On the other routes the longest stretch is 298.8 km on the Camino Mozárabe, 249.5 km on the Camino Portugués, 162.3 km on the Camino Invierno, 152.2 km on the Camino Primitivo, 131.1 km on the Camino del Norte, 78.0 km on the Camino Finisterre, 73.2 km on the Camino Inglés and 55.7 km on the Camino Lebaniego.
Can you camp outside a campsite?
Not in Galicia, where most routes spend their last days. Galicia’s heritage law bans any kind of camping within three metres of either side of the Camino (Ley 5/2016, article 78.2.b), and its campsite decree bans tourist camping anywhere outside an authorised campsite (Decreto 159/2019, article 1.4).
Outside Galicia, in the rest of Spain and in Portugal, the rules are set by each region and often by the town hall, and they change from place to place. We have not found one rule we can quote for each, so ask at the town hall or the nearest campsite before you pitch anywhere else.
The nights between campsites
On a night without a campsite you need a bed. OpenStreetMap marks no albergue within 2 km of any of these routes as taking tents, so do not count on pitching in an albergue garden: ask ahead. Campsites also close for the winter: of the 11 campsites on our routes whose opening months are mapped, 10 are shut in January. Our albergue guide shows where the beds are.
Campsites mapped in OpenStreetMap on 1 November 2026, within 2 km of our GPS track for each route, leaving out those mapped as taking no tents, private, for groups only, scout camps or closed. Distances, days and nights are from our own stage plan, the one the route pages print. The laws are quoted from the official consolidated texts.
Common questions
Can you camp on the Camino de Santiago?
Yes, at campsites. On the Camino Francés we count 24 that take tents within 2 km of the route, and the longest stretch without one is 90.9 km, from Carrión de los Condes to León. In Galicia, camping outside an authorised campsite is banned.
Is wild camping allowed on the Camino?
Not in Galicia: the heritage law bans camping within three metres of the Camino, and the campsite decree bans tourist camping outside authorised campsites. Elsewhere the rules depend on the region and the town hall, so ask locally before you pitch.
Where is the longest stretch without a campsite on the Camino?
On the Vía de la Plata: 301.6 km from Seville to Cáceres, with 14 nights on the way.
Keep reading
How much of the Camino is asphalt? Measured on every route
Pick your route and see how much of it is on asphalt or concrete, from OpenStreetMap along our own tracks, then tap the strip to see what is under your feet anywhere on it.
What to eat on the Camino Francés: seven regions, seven protected names
Tap a region of the Camino Francés and see where it starts on the walk and the one food the EU protects there, from white asparagus to almond cake.
Camino myths, true or false: ten things pilgrims are told, checked
Ten things every pilgrim is told before setting off, from the length of the Francés to the busiest month. Tap True or False and see the number behind each answer.
Take it with you
Caminantes is free, works offline, and plans your stages around your own legs rather than a guidebook's.
