How to plan your journey on the Camino de Santiago
In this article we want to give you all the keys you need to plan your trip to the Camino de Santiago. Making the Camino de Santiago is always an amazing experience but if you spend some time organizing your trip properly, you will enjoy it much more.
In Santiago Ways we have been helping pilgrims plan their Camino de Santiago for many years. Having the help of a specialized agency to help you organize the trip makes it easier for everything to go as you expect.
Therefore, you have two options. Contact us so that our team can help you plan the Camino de Santiago or continue reading and learn how to organize everything by yourself.
Decide that you’re going to do the Camino de Santiago
Many people have the desire to do the Camino de Santiago sometime in their life, but they never choose a date, they never say when. The years go by, and doing the Camino de Santiago, on many occasions, becomes just a dream.
Don’t let that happen to you. Decide firmly that you are going to do the Camino de Santiago and get to work on planning the trip. If you are not yet very convinced to embark on the adventure, we leave you this post in which we tell you some of the reasons why you should do the Camino de Santiago.
Before you continue reading the reasons, if you are already convinced that you want to do the Camino de Santiago from Sarria, leave us your details and the details of your trip, and we will arrange this experience for you.
Do it, any way you can, but do it.
It is common to hear people say that they want to do the Camino de Santiago, but that they do not want to go alone or that they will do so when their children grow up. Don’t wait for anything, or anyone. If you want to do the Camino de Santiago, do it.
If you have young children, doing the Camino de Santiago as a family can be a fantastic experience. You only need to plan the trip to the Camino de Santiago, thinking that you will do the route with children. If you want to know more about this topic, consult the article that we dedicate to the Camino de Santiago with children.
Pets are also not an inconvenience. Many people do the Camino de Santiago with their dog and live a wonderful experience in the company of their faithful friend. Planning the Camino de Santiago with a dog requires greater organization than if you go alone, discover in this post what aspects you must take into account so that the pilgrimage is also a wonderful experience for your pet.
Finally, there are those people who want to do the Camino de Santiago but do not want to go alone and do not find anyone to accompany them. For them there are also solutions. One is to face your fears and embark on an adventure. In this post we give you some tips to do the Camino de Santiago alone.
Another option is to join an organized group. The advantage of this option is that you don’t need to spend time planning the Camino de Santiago. See the article on group trips to the Camino de Santiago to learn more about this alternative.
Calculate your budget
Another thing you need to do to plan the Camino de Santiago is to know how much money you will have for the adventure. This fact, along with the number of days you have available, will end up determining how many days you can spend on the Camino de Santiago.
It will also mark, to a large extent, what kind of Camino de Santiago you will undertake. It is not the same to sleep in hostels as to enjoy pleasant nights in hotels or cottages. Nor does it cost the same eating sandwiches or considering the Camino de Santiago as a gastronomic or wine route.
If you want to find out more about this section, to plan in detail your budget of the Camino de Santiago, you can consult the post that we dedicate to explain how to calculate how much money you need for your trip. In this other, we provide you with some guidance prices.
Choose a date for your journey
Once you know how many days you can spend on the Camino de Santiago, find some fixed dates for your trip. Don’t fall for “I’ll do it next year.” Okay, next year, but when?
The time of year when you have your holidays should not be an inconvenience to do the Camino de Santiago. As we tell you in this article, all the seasons are wonderful on the Camino de Santiago.
Choose your Camino de Santiago to plan the rest of the journey
The next step to plan the Camino de Santiago is one of the most important: choose which of the Camino de Santiago routes you will do. To do so, you must take into account various factors.
The first is the time of year when you will do the Camino de Santiago. The Camino Primitivo, for example, is not highly recommended in winter.
While La Via de la Plata is especially hard in summer. During spring and autumn, all routes live their finest hour.
Another is your physical condition. Not all paths are equally difficult, choose one you can deal with without overdoing it. Check the map of the Camino de Santiago to see the profiles of each route and expand on this article on the main pilgrim routes.
Finally, another element that will determine the route will be the time you have to do the Camino de Santiago. There are as many routes as pilgrims, so you will surely find the section of the Camino de Santiago that fits your time off.
In this article we recommend which route to take based on the days you have available. It’s that easy!
Organize your transport
Once you have chosen your route of the Camino de Santiago, you will have to figure out how to get to your starting point. If you go on foot, transport does not usually involve any great difficulty. However, if you plan to take a flight to the starting point or a nearby city, we recommend that you purchase the flights well in advance.
Find time to plan the stages on the Camino de Santiago
Another topic that usually drives pilgrims crazy, when they are trying to plan the Camino de Santiago, is the stage distribution. In this article we recommend how to organize the stages on the main pilgrim routes and give you some tips in case you want to add modifications depending on your physical condition or type of trip.
Decide where to sleep
Once you have finished planning the stages, you will have to decide where you will sleep on the Camino de Santiago. You have several options: the public hostel network or private accommodation.
If you will stay on the public hostel network, you don’t have to plan anything because you can’t book in advance. In addition, your route will be marked by their presence in the final stages.
If you choose to stay in private establishments, whether hostels, hostels, hotels or cottages, you can spend some time making reservations. This is especially advisable if you decide to plan your trip to the Camino de Santiago during the high season or during a Holy Year.
This part is the one that pilgrims hate the most, because it consumes a lot of energy and involves spending many hours in front of the computer. That is why many risk having to walk extra kilometres in search of accommodation, having completed one of the stages on the Camino de Santiago.
If you do not want to manage reservations and do not want to be worrying about where to sleep on the Camino de Santiago, you can contact us. We take care of this topic and will provide you with a few more services, if you wish.
Training
Once you have dates for your trip, use that step as a motivational one. If you don’t usually do sport very often, and in order to cope with the many kilometres that you will have to travel every day on the Camino de Santiago, you will need to prepare physically.
Mentally preparing for adventure also helps you have a better experience. If you want, consult the post in which we explain how to prepare your physical and mental training for the Camino de Santiago.
Enjoy yourself by investigating
As soon as your interest in the Camino de Santiago awakens, you can start with this beautiful part of the planning. We think it’s one of the best parts.
The Camino de Santiago is an ancient route behind which hides many legends and curiosities. Researching its origin and history will help you enjoy the tour even more.
The best thing about this part of planning is that you can do it calmly from the sofa at home. Check out our Camino de Santiago blog to find topics you’d like to find out more about. We have over a thousand and one curiosities and stories!
Prepare your luggage
One of the last things you have to take care of when planning the Camino de Santiago is your luggage. But don’t wait until the last day, because preparing the backpack for the Camino de Santiago is not as simple as when it is organized for other trips.
Before you start preparing your backpack for the Camino de Santiago, there is something you need to decide. Will you carry the backpack on your back or hire a transport service?
The answer is decisive when preparing your luggage. If you have a backpack transfer service, you don’t have to worry too much about its weight.
However, if you plan to carry it on your back, that’s where things get complicated and you have to do some engineering. Luckily, you have us and we have tips for everything.
Before you go crazy looking for information on how to prepare the backpack for the Camino de Santiago, we recommend that you take a look at these three items. Try to review them in the same order as we show them, because this will make everything much clearer.
- Why you shouldn’t trust any lists
- Things that we recommend to take with you
- Check your backpack according to the time of year
Come and enjoy it
All that is left is to enjoy the experience of doing the Camino de Santiago. In this post, we will tell you many of the fun things you can do during your pilgrimage.
We hope that this article will help you plan your trip to the Camino de Santiago. If you have any questions that have not been resolved, leave us a comment or write on our Facebook page and we will be happy to help you.
Buen Camino!
Planning my first Camino in 2023.
Hi, Dora.
We’re very glad about your interest in walking the Camino de Santiago with us. We will be happy to help you plan an itinerary.
The Reservations team will send you an email as soon as possible with all the information so you can enjoy the magic of the Camino.
If you do not receive the mail in 48 labour hours, please check your ‘Spam’ folder.
Kind regards,
Santiago Ways Team