What to leave out - Camino Frances

[Arenita]

We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.

 

[Vacajoe]

I think uninterrupted walking is the best, so IF you insist in starting at SJPdP and ending in SdC, then I’d advocate two long walking sections rather than multiple jumps in your itinerary. Only you can judge your walking speed and daily desired distance, so you’ll need to think about those factors when deciding your route. So SJPdP to Burgos (2 weeks) and then Sarria to SdC (1 week) MAY work if your walking allows that.

As for the Pyrenees? Nice, but I think overrated (start the avalanche of criticism!!!) for the effort folks go through to get to SJPdP. It’s a nice 1 or 2 day walk, but so are other spectacular portions of the CF! I think starting three weeks out from SdC and walking continuously is still the best way.

 

[trecile]

I think uninterrupted walking is the best, so IF you insist in starting at SJPdP and ending in SdC, then I’d advocate two long walking sections rather than multiple jumps in your itinerary. Only you can judge your walking speed and daily desired distance, so you’ll need to think about those factors when deciding your route. So SJPdP to Burgos (2 weeks) and then Sarria to SdC (1 week) MAY work if your walking allows that.

As for the Pyrenees? Nice, but I think overrated (start the avalanche of criticism!!!) for the effort folks go through to get to SJPdP. It’s a nice 1 or 2 day walk, but so are other spectacular portions of the CF! I think starting three weeks out from SdC and walking continuously is still the best way.

I agree with everything that @Vacajoe said. To me, one continuous walk really is more meaningful.
If you must "cross the Pyrenees" then perhaps just walk from St Jean to Pamplona, then take a train to León and walk to Santiago and perhaps Finisterre and/or Muxía.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hola @Arenita Whilst it is (to me) more preferable to walk the whole camino (St Jean to Santiago - or even on to Muxia) in one go, but if time restricts then I think Trecile's advice is sound. I cycled from Pamplona in 2015 and came back in 2017 and walked from St Jean - I still have that last bit to the Atlantic to do.
You can always plan to come back and do those parts left out. Buen Camino.

 

[Geodoc]

Voice of dissent. I loved crossing the Pyrenees. I recommend staying in Orrisson (sp?), though. Much more enjoyable to cross the mountains when you're fresh and not in a rush.

I found the entire CF enjoyable (well, except for the descent into Zubiri) but mountains hold a special place for me (the walk up and down from the Cruz de Ferro was good).

 

[Anamiri]

I like starting in SJPdP. I live on an isolated island, closest country is 4 hours flight away across the Tasman Sea.
So crossing from one country to another over a mountain range is something I wouldn't want to miss. I think it makes for a dramatic start to a Camino. This is despite the fact that the flight and travel to get there is the longest of anyone, and I wont have slept for days. No matter how tired I am, I can always walk up that road and over to Roncesvalles - I can always catch up on sleep in Zubiri or Pamplona.
I guess I have to qualify this with the fact that I live in a very hilly place, so I'm not too phased about the climb.
I realise that if you live on a large land mass where you can travel from one country to the next, it probably doesn't hold the same appeal.
St Jean is a lovely cute place too, and I like that you start the day with French signposts and end with Spanish.
I like to walk continuously, so if this was me, I would either start in SJPDP and walk as far as possible - you would probably end up between Fromista - Leon, where travel back is easy - and return for the second part another year.
Or start in Burgos or Leon, and walk to Santiago where you can collect your Compostela. This wouldn't be my preference, but it does allow you to build up your fitness without large hills, before you hit the mountains at Rabanal.
I wouldnt skip around - it takes you out of the walking every day cycle which is a key part of a Camino.
Its hard to explain to someone else - but the repetitive walking every day - is really important.
There was really no part of the Camino I would miss. Some sections are more scenic than others - but thats all part of the Camino experience.

 

[C clearly]

Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes.

What is it about this experience that makes you want to plan your Camino around it? Maybe it is the idea of starting the journey with a somewhat iconic day. I can understand that, but you will be wasting a couple of extra days in traveling (from your 3 weeks), to accomplish this. If you really want to do it, I'd agree with @trecile - SJPP to Pamplona, and then Leon to Santiago.

 

[Robo]

I agree with everything that @Vacajoe said. To me, one continuous walk really is more meaningful.
If you must "cross the Pyrenees" then perhaps just walk from St Jean to Pamplona, then take a train to León and walk to Santiago and perhaps Finisterre and/or Muxía.

Just what I was going to suggest............

 

[trecile]

I wouldnt skip around - it takes you out of the walking every day cycle which is a key part of a Camino.
Its hard to explain to someone else - but the repetitive walking every day - is really important.

You are right - it's so hard to explain to those who haven't done the Camino yet.

 

[Darby67]

My dos centavos, skip Sarria to SdC. Do that part in the winter at a later date when there aren’t the multitudes of humanity. I don’t say this lightly because it is gorgeous and the villages are lovely. While I respect all manners of walkers, the pious, the tourigrinos, the tweeners, and even self-absorbed social media folk. But it‘s a little bit of culture shock as there is no escaping it. I’m relatively certain that the desire for a Compostela for me has passed unless I detour to another less traveled camino to finish

 

[trecile]

My dos centavos, skip Sarria to SdC. Do that part in the winter at a later date when there aren’t the multitudes of humanity. I don’t say this lightly because it is gorgeous and the villages are lovely. While I respect all manners of walkers, the pious, the tourigrinos, the tweeners, and even self-absorbed social media folk. But it‘s a little bit of culture shock as there is no escaping it. I’m relatively certain that the desire for a Compostela for me has passed unless I detour to another less traveled camino to finish

@Arenita is planning for September/October - Sarria to Santiago is much quieter then than in the summer months.
The trick is to be prepared to meet more pilgrims after Sarria and embrace it!

 

[Arenita]

@Arenita is planning for September/October - Sarria to Santiago is much quieter then than in the summer months.
The trick is to be prepared to meet more pilgrims after Sarria and embrace it!

T

What is it about this experience that makes you want to plan your Camino around it? Maybe it is the idea of starting the journey with a somewhat iconic day. I can understand that, but you will be wasting a couple of extra days in traveling (from your 3 weeks), to accomplish this. If you really want to do it, I'd agree with @trecile - SJPP to Pamplona, and then Leon to Santiago.

Thank you! Good question to ask myself

 

[Darby67]

@Arenita is planning for September/October - Sarria to Santiago is much quieter then than in the summer months.
The trick is to be prepared to meet more pilgrims after Sarria and embrace it!

I suppose it’s all relative. It’s even more barren in February and March, but arriving in Sarria seems to be at least a logarithmic increase in folks even in the quiet times.

 

[Anamiri]

T

Thank you! Good question to ask myself

Another thing to add - for a lot of people, the talking to and befriending other pilgrims is often a highlight of their walk.
I still keep in contact with a Canadian woman I met walking on my first Camino.
Skipping around will prevent that.
This may not be important to you, but its another of those things you don't know until you walk. I intended to walk alone, and ended up on my first Camino in a group of 6 amongst a larger group of 20. We didn't actually walk together but ended up in the same place each evening. I really enjoyed this, it was a highlight
On subsequent Caminos I didnt have a large Camino family, but enjoyed the company of others in a more casual way.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Before my first Camino a Spaniard told me the Camino was like an inverted sandwich, the good stuff was at either end and the boring bit in the middle that can be left out.
I should have listened.
I walked the Mesata in driving rain carrying kilos of mud on each boot and hated it.
On the second Camino I caught the bus from Fromista to Palencia and the train to Leon, blazing hot weather, loved it.
Some people absolutely love the Mesata but it's not for me. If I were ever to do anothe CF it would probably be Pamplona to Burgos then Leon to SdC.

 

[VNwalking]

If you really want to 'cross the Pyrenees' on foot, this isn't the place to do it, because in this area there are no real mountains, just big hills. The Pyrenees of the imagination this is not. It's pretty enough, but very tame.

I completely agree with what others have said about a continuous walk. For a "Pyrenees experience," start in Oleron St Marie and walk the Aragones to Puente la Reina, and as far as you get in the three weeks you have. Then come back where you left off to.walk into Santiago. Plenty of people walk over multiple years like this.

 

[amancio]

I would walk to Pamplona (2-3 days), then train to Frómista/Sahagún, and on foot onwards to Santiago. Alternatively, I would do Pamplona-Astorga by train, then Astorga-Santiago-Muxía on foot. A pity you will be missing so much, but I understand you are so excited to cross a border on foot! I might even consider starting a few days up SJPP in France, like from Navarrenx to SJPP, so you would experience the French Camino de Le Puy, which is a beautiful experience too

 

[Paul McAmino]

I tend to agree with those who advocate stages, returning to make a continuous journey by picking up where you left off. The experience of the Camino Francés is, to my way of thinking, cumulative, and the arrival at the end no less joyous for having split the journey into, say, three three-week sections. Plus you get to go to Spain more often.
Alternatively, a shorter Camino that could be encompassed in the time you have might be the way to go.

All the best,
Paul

 

[CaptBuddy]

I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me.
Yes, I walked it in early October and the weather was perfect; no rain, no mud, no snow.
But it is the section of the CF where you encounter the vastness of the land and sky, and empty your mind of everything outside your immediate experience, and break the Camino down to its most basic.

I might feel different if I had made that journey in August.

I also love the last 100 plus miles through Galicia. Even after doing it twice in the rain and cold.
So I am probably an outlier here.
Good luck, and Buen Camino.

 

[Bettyvel]

I think uninterrupted walking is the best, so IF you insist in starting at SJPdP and ending in SdC, then I’d advocate two long walking sections rather than multiple jumps in your itinerary. Only you can judge your walking speed and daily desired distance, so you’ll need to think about those factors when deciding your route. So SJPdP to Burgos (2 weeks) and then Sarria to SdC (1 week) MAY work if your walking allows that.

As for the Pyrenees? Nice, but I think overrated (start the avalanche of criticism!!!) for the effort folks go through to get to SJPdP. It’s a nice 1 or 2 day walk, but so are other spectacular portions of the CF! I think starting three weeks out from SdC and walking continuously is still the best way.

Thanks, this is a quite interesting tip

 

[jungleboy]

This is a great thread with lots of good advice! Well done community

I walked the Mesata in driving rain carrying kilos of mud on each boot and hated it.

I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me.

Two opposing opinions here for @Arenita to consider.

This is my view: Six Reasons Not to Skip the Meseta

Long after you return from the Camino Francés, it’s often those long days on the plains of Castile and León that stand out the most in your memory. It is the pilgrimage in its most basic yet fundamental form: nothing more than you, the trail and the deep blue sky.

---

Upon reaching León with the Meseta behind you, there’ll be a sense of relief. But weeks later, when you’re shivering in the rain while squelching through mud in the forests of Galicia, you’ll think back to the heat of the Meseta, and you might even long for it.

 

[C clearly]

I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me

Many people on the forum say how much they love the meseta. I do!

However, a different sort of question was asked here, and the decision requires a different set of trade offs - how to start in SJPP and end in Santiago, in 3 weeks. One can't do both ends, and the middle, in that time without at least 2 interruptions. Those interruptions may not allow the meseta to deliver its particular magic.

 

[VNwalking]

You haven't mentioned your fitness.
If you can easily walk 35-40km days, you could walk SJPP-Santiago uninterrupted. Some people thrive on distances like this. The downside is the mismatch between that pace and the general flow - as a result you wouldn't enjoy continuity of connection with fellow pilgrims.

 

[Sue127]

I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me.
Yes, I walked it in early October and the weather was perfect; no rain, no mud, no snow.
But it is the section of the CF where you encounter the vastness of the land and sky, and empty your mind of everything outside your immediate experience, and break the Camino down to its most basic.

I might feel different if I had made that journey in August.

I also love the last 100 plus miles through Galicia. Even after doing it twice in the rain and cold.
So I am probably an outlier here.
Good luck, and Buen Camino.

I've only wked the CF once, and loved it, despite wind rain and blazing sun. For me, a main part of the challenge is to accept what the camino offers and just keep going.

 

[ClaireJJ]

We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.

Buen Camino Arenita, If I were you, I'd wait till I was on the Camino and let your experiences guide you (of course, you will have to decide where to start). Everyone has different tastes and experiences and it seems to me that those experiences are often circumstantial (more related to the people you meet, weather, etc.) and not necessarily places/terrain. That said, I love starting at SJPP and crossing the Pyrenees - it's so darned gorgeous. But, there are interesting and beautiful things and places and people all along the Camino. And, whatever you miss will likely be there the next time you get the bug to Camino. Yep, I'm from the "whatever is, is right" school - today at least.

 

[Sue127]

,

Buen Camino Arenita, If I were you, I'd wait till I was on the Camino and let your experiences guide you (of course, you will have to decide where to start). Everyone has different tastes and experiences and it seems to me that those experiences are often circumstantial (more related to the people you meet, weather, etc.) and not necessarily places/terrain. That said, I love starting at SJPP and crossing the Pyrenees - it's so darned gorgeous. But, there are interesting and beautiful things and places and people all along the Camino. And, whatever you miss will likely be there the next time you get the bug to Camino. Yep, I'm from the "whatever is, is right" school - today at least.

Totally agrere

 

[javirodz]

We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.

I did exactly that back in August 2018. I walked from SJPP to Logroño, then from Ocebreiro to Santiago. I stopped at Burgos and Leon to visit. First, I agree with the Pyrennes crossing, if I had to do it again and only had three weeks I would start at SJPP, but continue walking until I could, I don't mind not getting to Santiago because of the experience of walking with the people you meet in the first few days is the best.

 

[Chris Gi]

I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me.
Yes, I walked it in early October and the weather was perfect; no rain, no mud, no snow.
But it is the section of the CF where you encounter the vastness of the land and sky, and empty your mind of everything outside your immediate experience, and break the Camino down to its most basic.

I might feel different if I had made that journey in August.

I also love the last 100 plus miles through Galicia. Even after doing it twice in the rain and cold.
So I am probably an outlier here.
Good luck, and Buen Camino.

I loved the Meseta too, even though it was raining heavily and very muddy when we walked in the spring... the cookoos, the old men gathering snails under dripping trees, the green of it splashed with red poppies, the vastness of it all made it so very special. I would not have missed it.

 

[jmcarp]

I may have missed it, but is your three-week time frame three weeks' walking time or three weeks' door-to-door? At the very least, you should allow a couple of days at each end of whatever section or sections you choose to walk. Also, if done in sections, the travel time between sections will consume at least another day. If your priority is crossing the Pyrenees or reaching Santiago and getting your Compostela? Choose one or the other, and hopefully, you'll get back to complete the one not accomplished this time at a later date. Your level of fitness will determine how far you'll be able to walk in any given number of days. Don't overestimate your physical limits, and don't push yourself beyond those limits -- that's how people end up with serious injuries.

 

[Former member 91017]

My dos centavos, skip Sarria to SdC. Do that part in the winter at a later date when there aren’t the multitudes of humanity. I don’t say this lightly because it is gorgeous and the villages are lovely. While I respect all manners of walkers, the pious, the tourigrinos, the tweeners, and even self-absorbed social media folk. But it‘s a little bit of culture shock as there is no escaping it. I’m relatively certain that the desire for a Compostela for me has passed unless I detour to another less traveled camino to finish

Turn at Ponferrada and take the Invierno route. Escape hatch found.

 

[Tony Bobcat]

We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.

Hello Arenita, I would start at SJPP take my time and take it all in. Return another time conclude from where you finished the previous time.
I loved every part of the Camino, all the best and Buen Camino

 

[SeaHorse]

I loved Pyrenees from SJPdP, wouldn't want to skip that. Skip the industrial areas of all bigger cities, take a bus or share taxi. Meseta is very good for cycling, you can rent a bicycle from Burgos to Leon.

 

[Frank Wortley]

We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.

I think it depends on what you are lookingfor from a camino experience. If it is to see stuff - leave out what you are not interested in. If it has a large inner journey compnent then different parts of the journey will likely provoke different internal awareness. Maybe the principle is "what is left out is missed out." I find it helpful to also remember that each Camino regardless of length or method of engagement is a full Camino and if I am open to "whatever" then it will be rewarding. YES, a bit contradictory I know.

 

[Bettyvel]

Nice idea

I loved Pyrenees from SJPdP, wouldn't want to skip that. Skip the industrial areas of all bigger cities, take a bus or share taxi. Meseta is very good for cycling, you can rent a bicycle from Burgos to Leon.

Nice idea!! Thank you

 

[Dromengro]

The Pyrenees of the imagination this is not.

I stood at the top of the pass wondering where the Pyrenees where, certainly not how I had imagined.

 

[Miki Goldie]

Before my first Camino a Spaniard told me the Camino was like an inverted sandwich, the good stuff was at either end and the boring bit in the middle that can be left out.
I should have listened.
I walked the Mesata in driving rain carrying kilos of mud on each boot and hated it.
On the second Camino I caught the bus from Fromista to Palencia and the train to Leon, blazing hot weather, loved it.
Some people absolutely love the Mesata but it's not for me. If I were ever to do anothe CF it would probably be Pamplona to Burgos then Leon to SdC.

May/June 2016 perhaps

 

[Jeff Crawley]

May/June 2016 perhaps

First time? September 2001.

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

I crossed the Pyrenees in a snow storm that closed the high route for the two days after me. Would still do it again. To each their own. I echo those who say decide once you’re there but understand your wanting to know what we’d skip. I won’t comment on that since we’re all different, and I actually only did parts of the Frances—I walked the Norte/primitivo primarily, but cut back and forth to the Frances when there were things I wanted to do. So I’m tossing in my two cents that breaking up walking with trains/busses is OK in my book, as is leaving behind people you meet if other things have higher priority. Since I did miss huge swaths of the Frances, this is what I regret missing:
I walked from SJPdP to Irache, enjoyed all of it—and we (mostly) all want to check squares of Pyrenees and the pilgrim cutouts under the turbines and Pamplona, and Eunate of course—my favorite bits were Estella (the basilica a bit off the Camino and one of my favorite albergues St Michael’s) and irache and these’s no good way to skip between them except maybe a taxi. The next time I dipped back was Leon (churches, history) and walked to Ponferrada. I super seriously regret missing Burgos and next time my plan would be dip back down to Burgos and start there (although based on some comments above maybe hit Burgos then hop the train to Leon). Why Burgos: all the art and history and churches. I would definitely see Leon and Astorga (I was on a “Gaudi Camino”) and my favorite albergue from this section Foncebadon and of course the Cruz de fierro. I also loved trading war stories with the bartender in El Ganso who’d been a Bridegroom of Death. Ponferrada was something of a disappointment to me but then I didn’t tour the castle, and it’s the next good spot to catch a train. I regret missing O Cebreiro from others’ descriptions so next time would see if there’s a way to put that in but at the time it seemed to difficult to arrange public transportation to a good start/end point from where I’d be on my Norte/primitivo primary route.

TLDR: it’s very easy to skip over sections by train/bus/taxi and i’d research some tentative places to do that in advance and the websites you will use to do that, but decide once there. Decide what’s important for you on this trip—solitude, meeting people, religious sites, art, food—and star the towns along the way you think will give you that and plan to go there. Then expect it all to change. And it’s totally up to you in the moment—there is no “must see/do” and the Camino will surprise you. I would never have put a star next to El Ganso, and it’s only a super memory for me because I happened to stop for a drink when a fellow veteran happened to be bar tending in a deserted bar.
buen camino!

 

[Lance Chambers]

We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.

If you have to leave something out I would suggest you drop the Meseta. It can be the same every day and isn't as interesting I believe as much of the rest.

I would also skip the section from Roncesvalles down to Zubiri. The last section is very steep and there is a lot of sharp broken black slate. I saw numerous people who had no idea how to effectively use their poles and also numbers without poles. Many had bleeding calves, knees, forearms, etc. I also remember being told that a lady had to be airlifted out.

 

[RENSHAW]

A week in Navarra starting from Pamplona , Bus to Burgos.
A week on the Meseta starting from Burgos , bus to Sarria.
Last 100km to SDC and time it so you have a full day to explore.
That's my 10 cents.
Personally , I have been to SDC so I would just start at Pamplona and walk until I ran out of days.
3 weeks is what it is , perhaps like most of us you will return again.
Whatever you decide , remember , it's YOUR camino.

EDIT: And the distance you walk each day is YOUR choice.

 

[David Tallan]

You haven't given us much to go on here. Just that you want to start in SJPP and have only 3 weeks to walk. I won't question either decision, although the first is not important to me. I will note that without the first requirement, you open yourself up to other routes, some of much might lend themselves to a three week Camino better than the Frances.

Some additional information that might help in providing advice:

• How far are you comfortable walking in a day? This will give us a better idea of the total distance you can cover in three weeks and, when planning sections, multiples of what distance to consider.
• What would make a part of the Camino attractive or unattractive to you? Are wide, flat, somewhat monotonous spaces with lots of time and space to think something you are looking for or something you would want to skip, for one common example.
• Are you more looking for a taste each of the many geographies and cultures of the Camino or for the experience of slowing down and experiencing the rhythm of walking day after day? For the former, lots of small stages with frequent bus trips skipping ahead a bit would be preferable but that would likely ruin the experience of the latter, which is why some of the commenters above have suggested fewer and longer stretches.
• Are you more interested in towns or villages, Romanesque or Gothic, forests or fields, cattle or vineyards?
• In addition to SJPP, are there any places you definitely want to see or reach? For example, if reaching Santiago de Compostela is not essential on this trip, many might advise just walking 3 weeks, stopping where you get, and resuming on a future Camino.
• If reaching Santiago de Compostela is essential, how important is receiving a Compostela? If it is, we need to be sure you have an uninterrupted 100 km immediately prior to Santiago in our recommendations.

The better idea we have of what you are looking for, the better advice we can provide in order to find it.

 

[Anniesantiago]

We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.

I take groups on a 3 week (23 days with extra days in front and back) Camino.
Feel free to check out our itinerary for 2022 (which is FULL by the way so this isn't a cry for clients)
If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you can see it day by day.
This has worked well for me for many years:
http://www.anniewalkers.com/itinerary.html

 

[Former member 91017]

Hello Arenita, I would start at SJPP take my time and take it all in. Return another time conclude from where you finished the previous time.
I loved every part of the Camino, all the best and Buen Camino

I think this advice is fine in a very general sense, but I remain aware that many many people are not fortunate enough to be able to plan for a return. Some people — especially in N. America — simply don’t have the time-freedom; many do not have the economic means; others may be caring for someone dependent whose long-term illness may make a return trip very very unlikely. Assuming that one can alway return later to arrive at the Cathedral or at Fisterra or Muxia (whatever it is that the person sees as the conclusion) is not a safe bet for many, many, many of us.
Perhaps the OP cannot see a time when they could return.

Were I in this situation, with only 3 weeks, and a certitude that I wanted to start from SJPdP and end in Santiago, I would walk as far as Logroño, grab a train for Astorga, continue to Ponferrada and then swing onto the Invierno for a more peaceful walk into Santiago.

One would experience something of the Basque region, of the great culinary cultures of Navarre and Rioja, a chunk of Castile-León, and a pretty complete filling of Galicia.

 

[SeaHorse]

I think this advice is fine in a very general sense, but I remain aware that many many people are not fortunate enough to be able to plan for a return. Some people — especially in N. America — simply don’t have the time-freedom; many do not have the economic means; others may be caring for someone dependent whose long-term illness may make a return trip very very unlikely. Assuming that one can alway return later to arrive at the Cathedral or at Fisterra or Muxia (whatever it is that the person sees as the conclusion) is not a safe bet for many, many, many of us.
Perhaps the OP cannot see a time when they could return.

Were I in this situation, with only 3 weeks, and a certitude that I wanted to start from SJPdP and end in Santiago, I would walk as far as Logroño, grab a train for Astorga, continue to Ponferrada and then swing onto the Invierno for a more peaceful walk into Santiago.

One would experience something of the Basque region, of the great culinary cultures of Navarre and Rioja, a chunk of Castile-León, and a pretty complete filling of Galicia.

I agree. Not always possible to return or not fast enough. I live relatively not too far from Spain (in EU) and even so last time I was there was already 7 years ago. What I feel sorry for now is the speed I walked the Camino. Yes, it's possible to cover 20-30 km a day but should you? Unfortunately it comes for the price not seeing so much of very interesting, important places. I rushed through historical cities and wonderful villages. Now I wish I could return and go slow. Not just sniff roses but make all necessary detours too. Maybe in a few more years.

 

[Chris Gi]

I take groups on a 3 week (23 days with extra days in front and back) Camino.
Feel free to check out our itinerary for 2022 (which is FULL by the way so this isn't a cry for clients)
If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you can see it day by day.
This has worked well for me for many years:
http://www.anniewalkers.com/itinerary.html

I just checked out your web site - so wonderful - I wish I could join you.