Cycling Camino de Santiago

[Landa]

Hi
We are planning to cycle the Camino de santiago in May 2025. Any advice? We are from South Africa.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Hi
We are planning to cycle the Camino de santiago in May 2025. Any advice? We are from South Africa.

Landa, welcome to the forum.

Whilst a walker myself I can understand that others like to ride. Unfortunately there are those on the forum that are not so keen on cyclists, and it can lead to a lot of unnecessary negativity.

You don't mention which of the camino's you intend to ride, there are many!
In terms of research simply tap on the search function (magnifying glass top right), enter one or two keywords and tap titles only.
Happy reading and Buen Camino!

 

[Grousedoctor]

I am probably one of the few on this forum who has both walked and cycled Caminos. These are two very, very different experiences. Even while cycling from Sevilla to Santiago, it was pretty clear to me what I was missing out on by not walking. As much as it was a great biking experience, it lacked, for me, many of the key elements that The Way offers walking pilgrims. If you want the fullest of Camino experiences, then the long walk across Spain is how to find it. In all fairness to you, you didn’t tell us much about your plans, interests, or motivations. There are many places around the world to have great cycling experiences. However, I’m not sure why the Camino would be attractive to you as a cyclist. If this were my first time on the Camino, which it once was, and if there was something special about the Camino that attracted me to it, I’d walk even if it meant doing one of the shorter routes due to time limitations. Nonetheless, as @Peterexpatkiwi indicated, there are a number of threads on this forum with cycling information. But keep in mind that most of the folks here have only walked Caminos so cycling suggestions will generally be limited.

 

[naplesdon]

Like Grousedoctor, I have done both on the CF. I did not enjoy my cycling adventure. There are places where the path is very narrow and places where you will find yourself walking along side your bike due to difficult, rocky terrain and steep unforgiving climbs. There are also many albergues that do not allow cyclist to check-in until the onslaught of hikers for the day has peaked.

 

[David Tallan]

Welcome to the Forum and Buen Camino!

For advice specific to cycling the Camino, you may find this sub-forum helpful.

I remember one hospitalero on my 2016 Camino you couldn't believe that anyone would choose to walk a Camino instead of cycling.

 

[markie6]

Camino Cyclist have a decent website and a rough itinerary to look at.

Some cyclists will hopefully reach out to you here with tips though as they are not that rare

 

[Corned Beef]

Bringing your own or hiring?

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Hi
We are planning to cycle the Camino de santiago in May 2025. Any advice? We are from South Africa.

I have both cycled and walked the Camino Frances. I'll assume that's the route you're talking about.

I also found the cycling Camino paled in comparison to my walking Camino. The best thing about the Camino Frances is all the wonderful people you meet. You don't really do that on a bicycle.

Also with the bicycle on the Camino Frances, you can either take the trail or the road route, or a combination of both. The only thing I would say is that the trail will probably be way too crowded in May to cycle.

If you're looking for a bicycle Camino specifically, I've heard that the Via del Plata is one of the nicest routes to bicycle. And on that route, you won't be riding on crowded trails with irritated walking pilgrims.

All that said, you'll probably have a great time either way. Buen Camino!

 

[Landa]

Bringing your own or hiring?

Hiring?

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Hiring?

Why the question mark? Please give us more information on your plans.
I might be the most experienced bicigrino on this forum. I knew from the start (2012) that I would never be physically capable of walking even one stage. I have been on the camino by bike 8 times. My favourite would be the VdlP. But I have been on the Francés 4 times. I have never cycled the Francés solely following the walking track for reasons that others have already mentioned. I have always done my caminos in June/July so I have very little experience of difficulties that would be encountered due to inclement weather. Some of those tracks would be impossibly difficult after sustained rain. Anyway, ask away. I don't know where to start.

 

[Landa]

Thank's for the reply.

My husband and I want to cycle the Camino in 2025. We are in our planning stage, and any suggestions would be appreciated.

Unfortunately due to back & knee operations, I will not be able to walk all the way. Although, I am a frequent cyclists. We are also aware that there will be sections that we have to push our bikes, that will be ok.

Time frame: +-20 days - Any suggestions what time of the year? (We thought May?)

We want to hire bikes.

Route : Francés way

Do you know if there are any GPS(Garmin) cycling maps available?

 

[Tincatinker]

There is the excellent guide "IN A NUTSHELL: CYLISTS’ GUIDE FROM SAINT-JEAN-PIED-DU-PORT TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA" by Katarzyna Kostrzewska. I got mine from caminodesantiagobybike.co.uk but the site appears to have disappeared.

Katarzyna has asserted her copyright so I can't share but I guess its out there on the internet somewhere. She was a member of the forum but hasn't been active since October '22

 

[Corned Beef]

Do you know if there are any GPS(Garmin) cycling maps available?

You can download the route in a number of formats that should be Garmin compatible.

Camino Frances Full

Camino Frances Full - 773.1 km, +11238 m. Bike ride in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Nouvelle-Aquitaine

ridewithgps.com

This is a slightly different version which should have more road cycling as opposed to trying to squeeze past walkers.

Cycling Tourism in Spain : EuroVelo 3 - Pilgrims Route

Explore the stages of the Pilgrims Route, its points of interest and all the useful information for cycling.

en.eurovelo.com

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Hiring?

it’s possible and common to hire rental bikes to do the Camino. You can pick pick them up along the Frances and return them in Santiago.

Usually they come with Support so if they break down someone comes and rescues you. There’s three or four places.

Here is a link to a thread about bike rentals. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...tals-for-delivery-to-sjpp.86120/#post-1243685

 

[ParisOslo]

I did the Camino Frances last April with my bike. I am from Canada and I started from Paris. I did 4 Camino on foot before and I really enjoyed the experience. Most of the time I ride on the road next to the Camino path. I did it on the road because some pilgrims were insecure to see me on the path. In many case the path is too narrow for pilgrims and bikes.

I met a couple from Australia that just rented bikes for the Camino Frances. The comments were not great about the bikes they rent. In both cases the were complaining that the bike was too small for them. One, the pedal was broken and no repair kit in case of a flat tire was available. They had no choice to take these bikes… they were send to their hotel.

If you can bring your bike put it in a box and bring it with you. It cost me 50$ for the transportation from Canada.