French Camino finished-Advise on what camino to do next

[Mhcamino]

Hi everyone I would love to hear your opinions. My mum and I did the French Camino over the last 4 years in stages finishing in Santiago in October 2021. We are itching to go again this April. Has anyone done the Camino Portugues coastal route or Camino del Norte after doing the French camino? We love walking and the sense of community with other pilgrims. Are these routes as busy and buzzy at coffee stops etc? Would we be silly starting the French route again without trying the others ?

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi everyone I would love to hear your opinions. My mum and I did the French Camino over the last 4 years in stages finishing in Santiago in October 2021. We are itching to go again this April. Has anyone done the Camino Portugues coastal route or Camino del Norte after doing the French camino? We love walking and the sense of community with other pilgrims. Are these routes as busy and buzzy at coffee stops etc? Would we be silly starting the French route again without trying the others ?

If you put “second camino” into the search space up on the right, you will come up with a lot of good discussion of this topic.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/search/2277211/?q=second+camino&c%5Btitle_only%5D=1&o=date

Both of the caminos you mention are well traveled and have lots of that community vibe. To get opinions more directed at your particular interests, are there other things you are looking for? What about terrain? Stage length? Mainly albergues?

Planning caminos is a favorite pastime of many on the forum, so you can be sure we have lots of opinions. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Mhcamino]

If you put “second camino” into the search space up on the right, you will come up with a lot of good discussion of this topic.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/search/2277211/?q=second+camino&c%5Btitle_only%5D=1&o=date

Both of the caminos you mention are well traveled and have lots of that community vibe. To get opinions more directed at your particular interests, are there other things you are looking for? What about terrain? Stage length? Mainly albergues?

Planning caminos is a favorite pastime of many on the forum, so you can be sure we have lots of opinions. Buen camino, Laurie

Hi Laurie thank you for your reply. My mum will be 72 this year but extremely fit. I don't know what to chose as we still haven't walked from Santigo to Finisterre which my mum would like to do but we realistically would only be able to walk 7 or 8 days due to holidays. Any suggestions?

 

[lt56ny]

If you want an easy 7 days and don't need to finish in Santiago take the Coastal CF. If you want a more challenging camino maybe the Norte from Irun to Bilboa. There is also the Camino Inglis if you want to end in Santiago and get a Compostela.

 

[Gazelle2]

Hi everyone I would love to hear your opinions. My mum and I did the French Camino over the last 4 years in stages finishing in Santiago in October 2021. We are itching to go again this April. Has anyone done the Camino Portugues coastal route or Camino del Norte after doing the French camino? We love walking and the sense of community with other pilgrims. Are these routes as busy and buzzy at coffee stops etc? Would we be silly starting the French route again without trying the others ?

I have walked the Camino Frances twice , the Portuguese from Lisbon to Santiago , Stephensons Way , plus a 20 day walk to Rome and I can honestly say nothing comes near The Le Puy , it is the most beautiful walk full of culture and history , it is demanding but so rewarding , nothing comes near it

 

[hikentravel1234]

Hi everyone I would love to hear your opinions. My mum and I did the French Camino over the last 4 years in stages finishing in Santiago in October 2021. We are itching to go again this April. Has anyone done the Camino Portugues coastal route or Camino del Norte after doing the French camino? We love walking and the sense of community with other pilgrims. Are these routes as busy and buzzy at coffee stops etc? Would we be silly starting the French route again without trying the others ?

I have heard that the Portugal route is good but I don’t have first hand informatio,
I have heard that the Norte route can have long distance, that many people can’t obtain, between places to stay. Again, no first hand info-/y’all may be able to do the longer distances and hopefully there are now more places to stay.

 

[MikeK]

Hi everyone I would love to hear your opinions. My mum and I did the French Camino over the last 4 years in stages finishing in Santiago in October 2021. We are itching to go again this April. Has anyone done the Camino Portugues coastal route or Camino del Norte after doing the French camino? We love walking and the sense of community with other pilgrims. Are these routes as busy and buzzy at coffee stops etc? Would we be silly starting the French route again without trying the others ?

Well, there are other good walks around besides all the caminos leading to Santiago. For example there is the via Francegina leading from Canterbury to Rome. Or the Norwegian pilgrim trail from Oslo to Trondheim. Besides all the religiously tinted walks there is the European Long Distance Walking Trail Network with its 12 trails, too of which some of the Caminos are part. I hope this helpes, MikeK

 

[Mhcamino]

Thank you for your replies. My mum would really like to finish her camino by walking from Santiago to Finisterre so we would be looking at 5-7 days walking before this either arriving into Santiago or somewhere that there's a direct bus to Santiago

 

[David Tallan]

Hi everyone I would love to hear your opinions. My mum and I did the French Camino over the last 4 years in stages finishing in Santiago in October 2021. We are itching to go again this April. Has anyone done the Camino Portugues coastal route or Camino del Norte after doing the French camino? We love walking and the sense of community with other pilgrims. Are these routes as busy and buzzy at coffee stops etc? Would we be silly starting the French route again without trying the others ?

I can't speak to either the Portugues Coastal or the Norte because I haven't walked either of them. I did walk the Portugues from Porto, but it was just a bit along the coast (Senda Litoral) and mostly the Central.

I can say that you would not be silly walking the Frances again without trying the others. Many pilgrims walk the Camino Frances over and over again and feel no need to try other routes. Some like to try a new Camino each time. Some like to mix it up, sometimes returning to routes they've walked and sometimes trying new ones. All are valid options.

Walking the Frances again will not be a repeat of the same Camino and it would be a mistake to approach it expecting that. The weather may be different. The people you meet will be different. The places you stop and stay might be different and you will certainly be different.

But if you want to explore new places while still experiencing the sense of purpose, the daily routine, and the sense of community of a Camino, the routes you mention are good options.

 

[NiniSum]

Thank you for your replies. My mum would really like to finish her camino by walking from Santiago to Finisterre so we would be looking at 5-7 days walking before this either arriving into Santiago or somewhere that there's a direct bus to Santiago

My last camino in 2019 was the Camino Inglés from Ferrol. This can be done in 5-6 days and you end in Santiago. If I had had more time I would have added the Santiago-Finisterre-Muxia leg on to it. It is a lovely walk, and is becoming more popular, but we didn't see an awful lot of other pilgrims when we went in June. Brierley has a C.Inglés and Finisterre guidebook available in the Forum Store.