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Best Route for only 5 days

J

jpabloo

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
18 Jul
2024 - C. Primitivo
Hello! Im new here. Im doing the Camino in 3 weeks but i still haven't chosen a ruta. I intend my pilgrimage to be more spiritual (catholic) and focused on scenery and the little towns and everything, more than meeting new people; which lead to me to discard the ruta francesa.

I would really appreciate if anyone could give me their input!. For what im looking for, whats the best route to take?

Thank you all so much and I hope to become an active member!
 
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There are so many routes and so many variants to each route!!!
 
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Peterexpatkiwi said:
@jpabloo, welcome to the forum.
Given what you're looking for I personally would opt for the Camino Inglès, as it seems to fit all of your criteria.

Buen Camino!
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Thanks! Why do you think thats the most adequate if you dont mind me asking?
 
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Camino Baztán also fits your requirements. And you would be walking in both France and Spain.
It can be walked in 5 days where no stage will be more than 25 kms. I really think you should check it out:


Camino de Baztan | Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

El Camino de Baztan o Camino de Urdax-Baztan enlaza la ciudad francesa de Bayonne con Pamplona, en el Camino Francés. Fue un ruta medieval de peregrinación alternativa: cruza el Pirineo por el Puerto de Otsondo, de menor altitud que el Puerto de Ibañeta. Aún minoritario, el camino cuenta con...
www.gronze.com

Buen camino!
 
dbier said:
You haven't said whether it's important to you to arrive in Santiago.
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If it is, my last 100km suggestion is always the Portuguese + Variante Espiritual.

A five-day plan could look like this:

1. Tui-Mos 23km
2. Mos-Pontevedra 29.4km
3. Pontevedra-Armenteira 20.5km
4. Armenteira-Vilanova de Arousa 23.7km
5. Vilanova-Santiago Boat + 27.2km
 
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Ingles
 
As you state that a spiritual Camino is what you’re looking for, I’m going to second the recommendation of @jungleboy. I certainly enjoyed walking the Inglés, but from the more spiritual perspective I’d suggest a walk that included the Variante Espiritual. The walk up to and our visit to Armenteria and then out along the Ruta de la Piedra y del Agua were two of the highlights of our CP. Finally, the short boat ride from Vilanova de Arousa towards Padrón is quite moving. And after walking for five days, your first glimpse of the Santiago cathedral puts the whole Camino into perspective on why we walk.

​

 
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I agree the Portuguese Spiritual Variant would be a very good choice. However, the boat ride from Vilanova de Arousa to Padron was (spiritually) disappointing, much so that my wife and I plan to do the alternative walking stage next time (despite its own shortcomings and distance). I would recommend that, if it is open, you visit the Iria Flavia church (near Padron).
 
My first thought was the Ingles, because that gives you a "complete" Camino.

But when I read that you are looking for a more religious Camino, my thoughts shifted to the Portugues, from Tui or Vigo, because they would lead you through Padron, with its sites directly connected to St. James.
 
Hola,

I would recommend you the beautiful SAN Salvador! It is also very convenient with the transport as you start in Leon And arrive in Oviedo.
 
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Bayonne to Pamplona can be done in 5 days.
 
If you're willing to revisit the Frances, Pamplona to Logrono fit your timeframe perfectly. Start at cathedral. End at Iglesia de Santa Maria la Redonda in Logrono with crucifixion painting by Michaelangelo. If you have the time/stamina take detour to Obanos and check out historic medieval church there. A number of others of note along the way if your interests lie there. It shouldn't be high season on that part of the Frances, and if you take alternatives when available you run into fewer people during those stretches.
 
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Do you know where i can find this alterntive walking stage? And what are the shortcomings and distance you mentioned?
 
You mention a "complete" Camino; what makes it "complete"? Both are more than 100km.

Thanks.
 
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jpabloo said:
You mention a "complete" Camino; what makes it "complete"? Both are more than 100km.
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The Inglés begins at Ferrol, so that's a complete camino. The Portuguese starts further back, at Porto or even Lisbon, so starting from Tui makes it 'incomplete'. These are largely arbitrary and modern starting points anyway so you don't have to read much or anything into it if you don't want to.
 
jpabloo said:
You mention a "complete" Camino; what makes it "complete"? Both are more than 100km.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
For me a complete Camino is one wherein I wake up one morning on a park bench, in a church porch, or amongst the discards on a bar floor. I have a slightly different concept of Camino than that held by many.

The Camino Ingles has a particular history because in the days before Easyet and Ryan’s hair most English, Welsh, Scots and Irish pilgrims made their way to the north coast of Spain by boat. Mostly to Ferrol and A Coruna but many of the other ports of Galicia and Asturias. One of the reasons for that was that the sea voyage was, marginally, safer than the land journey and much faster. One of the ships captains licenced to carry pilgrims from my home port advertised his service “Santiago and back in a month”. Pilgrims could grab a bit of salvation sometime between hay making and the wheat harvest.

Those that’ll still argue that a complete Camino starts from your own front door and ends when your neighbour’s phone the police to report a vagrant sleeping in your overgrown lawn have a valid point of view. Meanwhile, the Ingles has the surprising but deserved status as the shortest “complete” Camino available in Spain
 
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I generally don't hold with the idea of a "complete" Camino, unless it is from your front door, which is why I put the word in quotation marks. I especially don't hold with it for the Frances, which has had different "starting points" at different times and according to different people. Nevertheless, I recognize that the term is meaningful to some and thus take it into account, after a fashion, when providing advice.
 
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Camo said:
From Ferrol or A Coruna?
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Depends on how important a Compostela is to the pilgrim. In most cases* a Compostela is only available to those who walk from Ferrol because the distance from A Coruña is too short to qualify.

* Note that the Cathedral authorities have given Compostelas to some pilgrims who have walked the necessary additional distance on established and approved routes in their own countries before continuing on from A Coruña. I know that there are several of these routes in the UK and Ireland, as well as at least one in Canada.
 
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dbier said:
And I believe there are now 4 in the US...
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I know of the San Antonio Mission walk, which has been accepted.

There's a St. Augustine route that they are trying to get off the ground, but as of now I think there is only one actual group walk a year (https://www.babystepscamino.com/ )

Similarly there's a walking pilgrimmage once a year to Doylestown, PA but I'm not sure if it is accepted in Santiago. (http://www.walkingpilgrimage.us/English/Pilgrimage_Main.html )

Which are the ones you are thinking of?
 
The Camino Ingles has a good cross section of terrain, 20/25 km per day, the Junta albergue’s are very good, the people along the way are really great and a delight to be with. it’s a small Camino with a little of everything and it gets better and better as you get closer to Santiago. Plus you enter Santiago from the north and you don’t have to walk in on the Frances. Which for me is a real bonus.
 
What is the issue with the "walk in on the Frances"?
 
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Mrphl. Of course I can't find the source now, but San Antonio, St Augustine, and I thought Doylestown and the Mission trail.
Mrphl...of course I can't find the article I thought I read.

San Antonio, St Augustine ( although there are recent threads indicating that that one apparently still requires a letter from a local priest), and I can't find what I thought I read. :/
 
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Camo said:
What is the issue with the "walk in on the Frances"?
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I walked the Frances twice in 2015 and 2021 and I really do not like the herding effect of the walk from Melide into Santiago due to the heavy commercial vibe. I find it sucks all the magic from the Camino.
I now get in a cab in Melide and go to the Monistario of Sobrado (25euro) and walk in on the Camino del Norte, being careful to avoid being directed down to Asua. It’s loverly. It rejoins the Frances near the Airport.
 
I didn't find the Camino after Melide to be especially more commercial than the Camino before Melide. Melide is about 50 km from Santiago, so there is as much of the heavily trafficked post-Sarria Camino before Melide as after it. And I found that the "heavy commercialization" started even earlier, in O Cebreiro (where it always strikes me in terms of contrast to my first visit to the village).

In terms of the herding effect of the Camino post-Medlide, it is easy to avoid it simply by stopping at places other than Arzua and O Pedrouzo. That certainly worked for me when I stopped at Salceda and Lavacolla instead and wasn't in any "herd", with plenty of solitude on my walk.

For me, these small adjustments to my walk are vastly preferrable and less disruptive than hopping into a cab and riding to a completely different Camino. But different strokes for different folks.
 
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