Can the Camino del Norte be as Magical as the Frances and Portuguese Routes for a first timer?

July on the Norte - you might run into a few accommodation issues because that is an extremely popular time for tourists to hit the beaches and many Albergues are not restricted to just pilgrims. Plus their prices are pretty high!

Frances in July - perhaps a tad on the warm side (35 degrees)

14 days (I'm assuming these are walking days, not including transport)

How about The Primitivo? If you are considering walking the Norte, then you are able enough to walk the Primitivo. And 12-14 days is pretty standard.

I walked the Primitivo last year, starting mid-july. Not excessively hot because you're in the mountains.

Not so sure about your wish list though - 1/ never saw any bloody feet
2/ only one small random vendor in the middle of nowhere, shortly before Lugo. (until the last few days when the Primitivo/Frances merge of course).

But:
1/Wine in the evening is pretty ubiquitous, you're in Spain after all.
2/Multiple excellent private Albergues with great hosts. (Eg: Bodenaya, El Pascual - both Donativos with communal dinner- Albergue A Pociña de Muñiz ).

A couple of really attractive stops along the way - Oviedo (start point),Salas, Lugo instantly spring to mind. Should you wish you can even stay at the monastery in Cornellana; you'll have to rework your stages a little but it's definitely doable.

Great scenery, and a better path to road ratio than the Norte. Oviedo is extremely easy to access - you can fly straight into Asturias Airport (OVD); and fly out of Santiago.

Plus, you can then have the joy of walking into Santiago - perhaps not important, but nice for your friend on their first Camino.

@Peterexpatkiwi idea is an excellent one, and one that I am sure would give your friend a wonderful full Camino experience.

Otherwise I think the first two weeks of the Frances from St JPdP is hard to beat.

I’m going to second @Peterexpatkiwi suggestion of walking the Primativo. The magic that one seeks can be found on any Camino. So, if one is open to discovering it, it is already there.

Two things added to the magic I experienced other than what’s already been mentioned: 1) the human experience one has along The Way, and 2) entry into Santiago. For me, and it is the single most important reason that I continue to return to the Camino, the pilgrims and local people I have met made The Way magical. For a week or a month, the types of human interactions one has makes the pilgrimage most special. If I were interested in just walking in solitude, I would probably decide to go elsewhere.

Second, for me, a most magical moment on every Camino I have done is when I get the first glimpse of the cathedral spires in Santiago. I feel a connection with thousands of pilgrims who have walked for centuries to Santiago. For me, and it has absolutely nothing to do with getting a Compostela, it marks the successful completion of a physical, psychological, and spiritual journey. So, regardless of the route you choose, if you, too, have experienced the magic of the “arrival”, it seems that you’d want to include this in your friend’s Camino. Buen Camino!

The Camino do Norte at times and places is quite remote.
The Portuguese Central route is a good alternative but in summertime very busy too.
If you just want to walk and arriving in Santiago is not an issue for you walk a part of the Portuguese between Lisbon and Porto.

Norte is a different thing altogether. It can be magic, but it’s hard to find amongst the tourist hordes of summer. I just walked it and found it to be mostly a really great and long hike, but barely Camino-like in that magic you seek.

All previous posts are great but I'd like to remind you one thing.
Whener someone asks me why I think the camino is so magical, I answer that the BEST thing about the camino is the infrastructure it offers (no bed race times...). Of course the villages are beautiful, the other pilgrims are great people but the most important thing is to have cafes and albergues almost every 5 km.
Any walk can be special. The place you are is secondary.
Walk any camino with a great mindset and you'll enjoy it.

Rsian said:

A year and a half ago I walked the Frances and few months before that I walked from Porto - i loved every bit of both!



In the middle of July I’m walking for 14 days with my friend - who has never walked any of the caminos.



My question, if we walk the Norte - from Irun and to however far we get - will he experince anything similar to the Frances and Portoguese? By that I mean some the small weird things that add up to make it special and magical…private albergues with amazing hosts, small random vendors in the middle of nowhere, red wine in the evening with other pilgrims, bloody feet at municipal albergues and so on.



Or should I just suggest the frances?



Thank you for your time

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Yes! My 1st camino was the Frances with my second from Lisbon and onto the coastal from Porto. While I found amazing adventure on the Portuguese I was so happy to go back to Spain to the Camino del Norte. It had the magic of the Frances for me plus the stunning scenery. Camaraderie was much more than the Portuguese for me. So I highly recommend the Norte.

Rsian said:

A year and a half ago I walked the Frances and few months before that I walked from Porto - i loved every bit of both!



In the middle of July I’m walking for 14 days with my friend - who has never walked any of the caminos.



My question, if we walk the Norte - from Irun and to however far we get - will he experince anything similar to the Frances and Portoguese? By that I mean some the small weird things that add up to make it special and magical…private albergues with amazing hosts, small random vendors in the middle of nowhere, red wine in the evening with other pilgrims, bloody feet at municipal albergues and so on.



Or should I just suggest the frances?



Thank you for your time

Click to expand...

Hi my wife and I are walking the entire Norte starting on July 17. We booked accommodation ahead of time in the main towns. The remainder we shall wing it. Having done many through hikes over the years I find each of them exciting and special in their own way. It’s difficult and unnecessary to compare. Buen Camino and maybe we shall see you.

The section of the Norte you are contemplating is an epic passage i.e. beautiful scenery, challenging trail conditions, long stages, steep ascents and descents. When I walked, my interactions were almost 100 percent Europeans, many of which were not on a pilgrimage. July will be hot. The Norte was my first Camino, and I don't regret it, in fact I'm going back next year to complete a section in the middle I had to skip due to time constraints. However, for the situation you are describing, it may be better to choose another route. Primitivo sounds good, but I haven't done it (yet), so cannot recommend.