I did the
Camino Frances solo in September 2015 and I never had any problems and of all the pilgrims I met only one pilgrim had a problem in a small albergue in Roncesvalles...Spain is extremely safe and these people are the most honest people that I have ever met in the world...I don't know if it is just their culture, the Spanish laws protecting the pilgrims, the fact that camino financially supports many of these small towns, or their respect for religion as part of their heritage in Spain...the advantages of the
Camino Frances is that you are never alone and on the worst day if you fell down on the trail someone would find you in an hour...the problem with the
Camino Frances is that it is becoming more commercial every year with bus tours, taxis, and pack transfer services everywhere which can make your journey easier but creates a hierarchy of pilgrims on the camino...I did the
Camino Frances solo from SJPDP to Muxia on a mountain bike riding the hiking trail and I hear all the time that I did not hike the camino but those people don't know me and understand that I am just lucky to have made the journey at all...but then I saw a man pushing a wheelchair through the desert so maybe I am setting my expectations of myself too low...regardless my opinion of the
Camino Frances is that it can be brutal in places between Pamplona and Leon so in some places in the desert there were only five types of people that I met which included ex-military, triatheletes, cancer survivors, individuals dealing with serious personal issues, and young adventurers...basically mostly pilgrims that survived some very serious situations in their lives and find the difficulties of the camino spiritually cathartic...I am a cancer survivor and the isolation and difficulties of the
Camino Frances is nothing compared to spending 33-days in an isolation room...also the
Camino Frances is a weight loss program because the type and availability of food is difficult some days...if I were to hike the
Camino Frances in the future I would start in Leon and hike to Santiago and spend the remaining time hiking the lesser traveled trails to Finisterre and Muxia which to me was the "real camino" like it use to be before all of the commercial services...also I am planning to do the Camino del Norte in 2017 and my expectation is to struggle more, be away from all of the commercial services, enjoy the scenery and good seafood on a lesser traveled trail, and I am already familiar with all support services to get me to my starting location for my next journey...but for a first time camino I do not have any problems recommending the Camino Portugues from Lisbon to Santiago based on the personal experiences of other local pilgrims that I know...the advantages are that it is less traveled so the local people are more helpful, the trail is well marked and there is a
Brierley book to support your journey with detailed maps and information, there are no significant hill climbs, and the pictures of the seafood are like nothing I have seen in the world...I hope to do the Camino Portugues with my wife some day because it would be the best option for a couples journey based on our abilities...also the majority of pilgrims on the
Camino Frances are young Europeans under 30-years old and retired pilgrims over 65-years old so you are middle-age for the camino and in very good physical condition...and lastly the Camino Portugues has the reputation of being the "family camino" which is most suitable for a multi-generation family camino experience.
