First time Camino/Pelegrino

I'm doing a approx 20km/day (I'll see how it goes once I am on the trail of course) Burgos to Leon or Astorga in early April. I need to go look at my notes but I think it's 9 camino days. Thought I'd do my meseta portion while it's still coolish!!

You may care to consider walking from Lourdes to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

I say this, not out of personal experience but from having read in these pages details about leaving Lourdes towards SJPdP.

You will need to do some research as to the route that suits you best.

Google Maps, as starting point to develop from, tells me it is 123 km between the two on more direct westerly routes. This is about 5-6 days depending on where accommodation is to be found and your willingness. Of course any Google Maps selection may not be the most appropriate route for you.

A slightly longer route is to head north west towards the chemin that started in Le Puy-en-Velay and connect with that at about Navarrenx and then walk the established route to Saint-Jean. Google maps says about 80 km from Lourdes to Navarrenx. The guide books for the Le Puy route says about 65 km from Navarrenx to SJPdP.

The advantages of starting from Lourdes are no days dead travelling to another start point and at least one more nights accomodation, you end at a well established start point should you chose to continue the Camino at a future date and there are regular trains out to Bayonne and on from there. And you don't have to cope with a change of language just yet.

This is just my first take. I am sure there are lots of other opportunities for you to consider.

venezchef said:

Hi, my husband and I will be traveling from Florida to walk the camino for the first time, sometime in April. We have about a 3 week span during which we would like to connect our trip to Lourdes and a flight to Paris for a few days. Can anyone recommend a route, I am tossed between the French Way and the Northern Spain Route? We are in our 60s but physically fit, looking to spend 8-10 days on the Camino Walk and 5 days to see Lourdes and Paris. All suggestions are welcomed.

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Venezchef:

A lot depends on what you want out of your trip. If you are looking to reach Santiago and get a Compostela, I would recommend you start in Sarria, Lugo or walk the Ingles. Any of these starting points would allow you to get a Compostela and if you enjoyed the walk continue on to Finisterre. Starting at Sarria or Lugo you will be with larger numbers of other Pilgrims. The Ingles will be much more quiet.

If you are just looking to walk a section of a Camino in Spain, you could start in Irun or SJPdP and just walk as far as you can. The Norte is Coastal and the Early Frances is in the Pyrenees.

Check out the Gronze.com website. It will give you an idea of the routes and what cities they pass through.

Ultreya,
Joe