Camino's
Everything regarding the Camino De Santiago
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What to expect on the Camino de Santiago?
The Camino de Santiago is a hike that holds a place in many hearts and was further brought into the worldwide eye by movies and books. You can expect certain things to happen and certain things to not happen on the Camino. I share my tips and views in this article. It’s a long-distance hike Above all else, the Camino de Santiago is a long-distance hike and one of the most popular in Europe and even outside of Europe. So expect a lot of walking. The most popular Camino way is the Camino Frances, which is a little short of 800 kilometers. The Portuguese Coastal Way is about 280 kilometers.…
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Is there WiFi on the Camino de Santiago?
WiFi or internet access is available in most cases on the Camino de Santiago but can vary from Albergue to Albergue. In this article, I discuss what you can do to get your internet fix while underway. WiFi in Albergues In the hostels or Albergues you’re gonna be staying at while walking the Camino de Santiago most are gonna have a WiFi connection available, especially the privately owned ones that cost a few euros more a night. It’s usually not gonna be the best internet connection you’ve ever had, but it can provide a basic connection to download a few maps, songs, movies, or TV shows whenever you feel the…
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Can you Camp on the Camino de Santiago?
On the Camino de Santiago, you can sleep in hostels or Albergues along the way. Camping is not the right fit in most circumstances when walking the Camino Frances or Portuguese. Let’s get into the reasons. Infrastructure on the Camino is not meant for camping When hiking with a tent, sleeping bag, mat, and all that goes with it you also need a campsite to sleep in. Campsites are often located far from the Camino trail and you will need to backtrack a bunch. Wildcamping is not allowed in Spain and you will get fined accordingly depending on the location that your camping in. It is not impossible to stay…
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How to avoid Blisters on the Camino
Blisters are an issue that pretty much any hiker will have experience with. Even with your favorite hiking shoes and socks, there’s always a chance. Here is how to do your best to prevent blisters on the Camino. Affiliate links may be mentioned in this article, by purchasing a product through those links I may receive a kickback. At no extra cost to you. Trailrunning shoes My advice is to take Trailrunning shoes instead of heavy hiking boots on the Camino, especially on the Camino Frances or Portuguese. You encounter a lot of different road surfaces, but a good chunk is asphalt. Walking with heavy hiking boots on asphalt is…
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Can you do laundry on the Camino?
The Camino de Santiago is not a wilderness hike, and you can stay all along the route in Albergues or hostels just for pilgrims. You will have plenty of opportunities to do laundry on the Camino. In this article, I share what you need to know and how to keep your clothes clean. Laundry on the Camino – What you will need Nearly every Albergue will have a laundry machine and a place to hang up your clothes to dry or use a dryer machine. These are almost always coin-operated, and what I have seen will usually ask for 2 euros a load, having some coins on hand during the…
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How much water to carry on the Camino?
Water is vital on any hike, on the Camino de Santiago you have a bit more infrastructure than most other hikes. But even then, carrying your own water and refilling is necessary. I recommend you take at least 1.5 liters of water with you. And refill as needed during the day. I also like to camel up at any water source (or drink extra and refill). But I am a (small) Dutch guy at 1.88 meters or ~ 6.2 feet. So I burn through a lot of water during the day on hikes. Filling up your water along the Camino All along the Camino, there are water fountains you can…
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Mistakes made on the Camino de Santiago
All plans tend to fall apart when getting hit in the face, and with big hikes like the Camino, plans, ideas, and preparation sometimes don’t work out that way. Here are the mistakes I made on the Camino Frances and Portuguese. Not bringing hiking poles from the start Hiking poles took a while for me to be a cheerleader for, but when I finally gave them a proper chance I’m not going back to hiking without. I would highly suggest that you give them a try if you haven’t yet, and either pick them up at the beginning of the Camino you’re on or take them with you from the…
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Do you need hiking poles for the Camino?
Lots of pilgrims walk with hiking or trekking poles on the Camino Frances, or any other Camino for that matter. I did the Portuguese Coastal without, and the Camino Frances with. And I have become a convert like many others. I never did much hiking with hiking poles in my younger years, and always felt weird with them whenever I tried them out. Hikes I did without trekking poles include the Hadrian’s Wall path, Dutch Limes, Camino Portuguese Coastal, and a section hike on the Appalachian Trail of Big Bald Mountain. I had it in my head that trekking poles were for the weak, and that they made an annoying…
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How much weight to carry for Camino de Santiago?
The Camino de Santiago is not a wilderness hike, as such, carrying weight is not as big a deal on many other hikes where you have to bring a tent and everything that goes along it. In this blog post, I share the recommended weight for your backpack and some examples. The weight of your backpack on the different Camino’s should not exceed about 10 to 15% of your body weight. You can however carry more or less depending on what you need or are used to. Mine weighed a bit more than 9 kilos altogether on the Camino Frances, but that was mostly because I had to carry a…
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How long does it take to walk the Camino Frances?
Walking the French Way of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela starts in Saint Jean Pied de Port and takes you to Santiago. The amount of days walking differs wildly from pilgrim to pilgrim, in this article I share my experience. And what you can expect. My Camino Frances took 33 days Of those 33 days, we spent one day not hiking, and one day just hiking 7 kilometers due to an injury in my group that required a short day. Other than that we hiked anywhere from 20 to 35 kilometers in a day. With days more than that or less. When starting at around 8 in the morning,…