What is the hardest part of El Camino?

The main physical challenges are the multiple days walking; even fit people will hit the 'wall' at some stage. The hardest day of the Camino is on the first day of the French Way, where you have to cross the great mountain range of the Pyrenees over the Napoleon Pass.



People Also Ask

Via de la Plata: the longest one Best for Finding solitude. This is one of the quietest Camino routes and it passes through the fewest settlements. This is the route to take if you really want to get to know Spain. It runs for an epic 620 miles from its southern to its northern tip.

MORE DETAILS

The Camino Ingles is the least travelled at an average of only 4% of all pilgrims taking this route. There are no major cities along the route, just tiny villages where locals often speak Galician over Spanish.

MORE DETAILS

The hardest day of the Camino is on the first day of the French Way, where you have to cross the great mountain range of the Pyrenees over the Napoleon Pass. You must hike 26km to get to the first stop, but you are awarded with a stay in the stunning monastery town of Roncesvalles and two days later Pamplona.

MORE DETAILS

The best approach, especially at the beginning, is to get out and start walking (or cycling if you plan to cycle the Camino). If you are walking the Camino, you're going to want to build up to being able to walk 20km a day comfortably.

MORE DETAILS

Total Trip Costs Most pilgrim budgets fall in the $30-60 (€25-50) per day range, meaning a 30-day walk would cost $900-1800 (€750-1500). If you don't already have hiking gear, new gear could easily cost $300-600 (€250-500) if you need to get new footwear, backpack and sleeping bag.

MORE DETAILS

The Camino Frances (French Way) is the most popular Camino route. As per its name, this route starts in Saint-Pied-de-Port and crosses the French-Spanish border in the Pyrenees.

MORE DETAILS

Many pilgrims who have never set foot on a pilgrimage route are afraid of getting lost along the way. The truth is that orienting yourself on the Camino de Santiago is quite simple, even for beginners. It's unusual to get lost.

MORE DETAILS

The difficulty of your first day will largely depend on where you start. For example, the French Way (Camino Francés) begins in the Pyrenees at St. Jean Pied de Port, presenting a challenging uphill climb on the first day. On the other hand, the Portuguese Way (Camino Portugués) starts with a gentler, flatter terrain.

MORE DETAILS

Public bathrooms are not frequent on the Camino de Santiago. But, cafes, restaurants and bars are frequent, you may find one or two during the day, and these all have bathrooms that customers can use.

MORE DETAILS

The average age of Pilgrims walking El Camino de Santiago is between 30 and 60 with nearly 60% of Pilgrims finishing the Camino being in this age group. There are also 15% of Pilgrims being over 60 years old and this is a growing group with more and more seniors walking the Camino de Santiago.

MORE DETAILS

Following our Camino Portugués guidebook's itinerary, you could walk from Lisboa to Santiago in 26 days averaging 24km/15 miles a day. Many pilgrims walking the Camino Portugués start from Porto and can complete the trip to Santiago in just under two weeks at a similar daily distance average.

MORE DETAILS

How far do you walk on the Camino each day? In general, pilgrims on the Camino walk an average of 20 to 25kms, roughly 12 to 15 miles per day.

MORE DETAILS

The busy months between May and August are the most crowded on Camino routes. It's worth remembering that the most numerous nationality on the Camino are from Spain and therefore their public holidays in this country also coincide with the busy times on the Camino de Santiago.

MORE DETAILS