Doing the Camino de Santiago in nine days
Nine days to do the Camino de Santiago is a lot of time. If you still have doubts about whether it is worth doing the Camino de Santiago in 9 days, we tell you not to hesitate for a second. During nine days, you will be able to live some fascinating experiences.
You can enjoy nature, visit numerous places of interest, discover the local gastronomy and all of this while making new friends and getting your body in shape. What more can you ask of a trip?
Many people wait to have enough time to complete one of the long routes on the Camino de Santiago in a single trip. The problem is, sometimes that moment never comes.
We consider that to be a big mistake, because there are so many pilgrim routes, that you can do the Camino de Santiago on more than one occasion. And the best thing is that on each of them, the routes along the Camino de Santiago will adapt to the time you have. They adapt to you, not you to them!
Camino de Santiago routes to do in 9 days
That’s why the first thing you have to do, when you know how many days off you have, is to choose the route. We assume that if you have reached this article it is because you already know that you can dedicate nine days to complete the Camino de Santiago.
Therefore, in the next section we will explain which routes of the Camino de Santiago you can do in 9 days, if you want to end your trip in Santiago de Compostela. In all of them, you will do more than the minimum 100 kilometres necessary to request the Compostela (or wrongly called, Compostelana). So, if you’re excited to come home with the Compostela, you won’t have any trouble getting it.
If your plan is to obtain the Compostela by completing the 100 km calmly and without any hurry, we recommend the Camino de Santiago from Sarria. Leave us your details and we will contact you to help you organize an unforgettable pilgrimage.
Doing the Camino Frances in 9 days
The Camino Frances is the route that has the best infrastructure (hostels, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, etc.) and signage. If you have nine days to do the Camino de Santiago Francés, following the distribution of classic stages, you could leave from Ponferrada.
If you want to have a day to visit the city of Santiago, you can shorten the route departing from Villafranca del Bierzo. That implies a 180.6 km course.
This route crosses one of the most popular and well-known stretches of the Camino de Santiago: the kilometres that separate Sarria from the city of Compostela. If you want to know more about these last few kilometres, you can consult the blog post that we dedicate to the last section of the Camino Frances to Santiago.
What to do in nine days on the Camino Frances
On this route you will find a little bit of everything. The first 3 or 4 stages are somewhat quiet. On them you will find the ascent to O Cebreiro, one of the most feared ascents on the Camino Frances.
But like everything in this life, effort has its reward. O Cebreiro is a quiet village located in a mountain pass, shrouded in the mystery that the fog confers upon it. From there, you will enjoy a spectacular sunrise.
Friends will be made throughout the route, but in the last kilometres even more. Especially if you do the Camino de Santiago in summer.
In addition to all the above, you will enjoy beautiful scenery, characterized by the constant presence of vineyards. The heritage of this route and its picturesque villages such as Portomarín and Arzúa, leaves no-one indifferent.
Doing the Camino Portugues in 9 days
In Portugal you will find two routes on the Camino de Santiago: The Central and Coastal. Both have few slopes and are well-signposted. The two Portuguese routes are listed as the simplest routes!
The Camino Central Portugues in nine days
According to the classic stages of the Camino Central Portugues, in 9 days you could reach Santiago de Compostela, departing from Barcelos. This location is the scene of one of the most well-known legends on the Camino de Santiago.
The route runs over 188.4 kilometres, divided into 9 stages. If you want to shorten it, you can start from Ponte da Lima. So, you will have a day off to visit Santiago de Compostela and the distance is then reduced to 153.9 km.
On this route, you will have the opportunity to cross a border on foot, over the international bridge that joins Portugal with Tui. You can also visit places with a lot of tradition, such as Redondela, Caldas de Reis and Padrón.
Nine days on the Camino Portugues Coastal Route
If your 9 days off are at a time of year when the weather is nice, such as spring, summer or autumn, the Camino Portugues Coastal Route can be a magnificent option. You can start walking from the beautiful Viana do Castelo.
That means doing a 189.1-kilometre journey, divided into nine stages. If you want to have a day off to visit Compostela, you can start from Ancora, reducing the route to 8 stages.
Actually, this route is so simple that you could even join some of the stages together. In this way, you can even take a day off to enjoy the yellow sandy beaches that you will find on this route.
The Camino Portugues Coastal Route joins the Central route in Redondela. Therefore, following this route you can also visit the towns of Redondela, Caldas de Reis and Padrón.
Doing the Camino Ingles in 9 days
Nine days to do the Camino Ingles to Santiago are many days. Unless you want to walk an average of 12 kilometres a day. It is normal to walk around 20 or 25 km a day. Hence, this route can be completed easily in 5 days.
However, the above does not make it a route suitable for a 9-day holiday, but quite the opposite. If you have nine days to do the Camino de Santiago, you can complete the Camino Ingles and continue along the Camino de Santiago Finisterre. Aren’t 9 days long enough?
Doing the Camino del Norte in 9 days
The Camino del Norte runs through an intense green landscape, dotted with yellow sandy beaches. If you have 9 days you can start from La Caridad.
Since this route joins the Camino Frances, in Arzúa, the last three stages will be done together with the people who have chosen the French route for their pilgrimage. Two routes in one trip!
Doing the Camino Primitivo in nine days
The Camino de Santiago Primitivo is not an easy route, but one of the most beautiful and quietest. Its steep slopes cause most pilgrims to dismiss it as a possible route.
If you dare to choose this path and have 9 days to complete it, you can start the tour from Berducedo. A total of 200.6 km.
During that time, you can enjoy a unique landscape, advancing mostly across dirt tracks. This route joins the Camino Frances, in Melide. Therefore, in the latter stages you can enjoy the French route.
Nine days on La Via de la Plata
Doing the Via de la Plata (or Silver Route) in nine days is also a great alternative. You can leave from Mombuey or Puebla de Sanabria, depending on the number of kilometres you intend to do per day.
This section of the Via de la Plata is known as Camino Sanabres. On this tour you can visit Ourense and various hot springs with healing properties.
Other pilgrim routes that you can do in 9 days
So far we have told you about tours that you can do in 9 days and that go to Santiago de Compostela. But there are other possibilities.
9 days to make the Camino de Santiago is enough time to choose any section of the pilgrim routes and live the experience. However, we know that most pilgrims prefer to do the final or early stages. So, then, we will tell you which of the early stages on each Camino de Santiago you can do in nine days.
In the paths that we will mention below, you will not be able to request the Compostela, since you will not walk to Santiago de Compostela. However, if you like the experience, the next time you have free time, you can continue the Camino from where you left off.
Many pilgrims have completed the longest routes of the Camino de Santiago in this way. Remember to keep your pilgrim’s credential so you can always use the same one. It’ll serve as a souvenir!
Doing the initial stages of the Camino Frances in 9 days
The official start of the Camino Frances is located in Saint Jean Pied de Port. However, since the first stage is taken completely in ascent, many people prefer to start from Roncesvalles. In this post, we explain the challenge of the first stage on the Camino Frances, if you want you can consult it to decide from which location to start.
If you leave from Saint Jean Pied de Port in nine days on the Camino de Santiago Francés you can reach Santo Domingo de la Calzada on foot. The locality that is famous on the Camino de Santiago for having been the scene of the mythical legend of the rooster and the hen. The stage outline of this first section would be:
- St Jean – Roncesvalles (24 km)
- Roncesvalles – Zubiri (21 km)
- Zubiri – Pamplona (20 km)
- Pamplona – Puente la Reina (24 km)
- Puente la Reina – Estella (22 km)
- Estella – Los Arcos (21 km)
- Los Arcos – Logroño (27 km)
- Logroño – Nájera (28 km)
- Nájera – Santo Domingo (22 km)
In this section on the Camino Frances, you will advance through a landscape dotted with vineyards. In addition, on the stage that links Estella and Los Arcos you will have the opportunity to raise a glass in the well-known wine fountain at Bodegas Irache.
The initial stages of the Camino Central Portugues
Spending nine days on the Central Portuguese Way will allow you to travel a distance of 226.3 kilometres. You will go from Lisbon to Condeixa to Nova. The stage distribution on this section would be as follows:
- Lisboa – Santa Iria de Azóia (17 km)
- Santa Iria de Azóia – Vila Franca de Xira (19,7 km)
- Vila Franca de Xira – Azambuja (20,6 km)
- Azambuja – Santarém (33 km)
- Santarém – Golega (32,3 km)
- Golega – Tomar (30,5 km)
- Tomar – Alvaiázere (31 km)
- Alvaiázere – Ansiao (12,7 km)
- Ansiao – Condeixa a Nova (29,5 km)
On this route, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful interior landscapes. You can also visit interesting places like Santarém and Tomar.
The early kilometres on the Camino Portugues Coastal route
If you start from Porto, following the Coastal Route, in 9 days on the Camino de Santiago you will reach the city of Pontevedra on foot. The stages would be:
- Porto – Póvoa de Varzim (30,6 km)
- Póvoa de Varzim – Esposende (20,2 km)
- Esposende – Viana do Castelo (25,1)
- Viana do Castelo – Ancora (18,3 km)
- Ancora – Guarda (12,8 km)
- Guarda – Baiona (30,7 km)
- Baiona – Vigo (25,3 km)
- Vigo – Redondela (16 km)
- Redondela – Pontevedra (19 km)
Doing the first stages on the Camino del Norte in 9 days
In 9 days, starting from Irun, you can walk to Castro Urdiales. A 198.9-kilometre course. The classic stages on this section of the Camino del Norte are:
- Irún – San Sebastián (26,8 km)
- San Sebastián – Zarautz (20,3 km)
- Zarautz – Deba (22 km)
- Deba – Markina (24,3 km)
- Markina – Gernika (25 km)
- Gernika – Lezama (15 km)
- Lezama – Bilbao (11,2 km)
- Bilbao – Portugalete (19,7 km)
- Portugalete – Castro Urdiales (34,6 km)
Doing the Camino Primitivo in nine days: initial stages
The Camino Primitivo is the alternative for those pilgrims looking for a demanding route. Doing the Camino de Santiago Primitivo in 9 days, from Oviedo, will allow you to reach the city of Lugo.
The distribution of the stages on this route is as follows:
- Oviedo – Grado (25,8 km)
- Grado – Salas (23,2 km)
- Salas – Tineo (20,2 km)
- Tineo – Pola de Allande (28,2 km)
- Pola de Allande – Berducedo (18,2 km)
- Berducedo – Grandas de Salime (21,2 km)
- Grandas de Salime – Fonsagrada (26,3 km)
- Fonsagrada – Cádavo Baleira (23,4 km)
- Cádavo Baleira – Lugo (30,5 km)
Bonus: alternative route
If you are looking for simply a route that allows you to walk and enjoy nature, an alternative to the pilgrim routes is the Camino de los Faros. The tour can be completed in 8 days, so you have one left to visit Santiago de Compostela.
The Camino de los Faros borders the Costa da Morte. The route is approximately 200 kilometres long. You can read more about the Camino de los Faros in this blog post.
If you don’t want to go home without the Compostela, you can also complete the route in an inverse way. In this article we talk about it.
We hope that the routes we have talked about in this article will help you decide which route of the Camino de Santiago to do in 9 days. If you’re going to arrange the trip on your own, check out our blog post on what aspects you should consider about doing the Camino.
However, do not forget that you can also count on an agency specialized in trips to the Camino de Santiago to help you organize the logistical details. That way you won’t have to spend time on that cumbersome part of the adventure!
We will be happy to help you prepare your nine-day trip to the Camino de Santiago. You can contact us through the contact form on our web, leaving us a comment on this post or using our page on Facebook. Our team will be happy to answer your questions!
Buen Camino!
