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Just bought the plane ticket, now where to go?

Damien Reynolds

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I've been back in the USA for like 3 weeks. I'm stuck here for a bit, just waiting out my 90 days.

I am planning another mega year of hiking/walking in 2025.... Walk the camino for like 2 months for training, then try the PCT again. (then prolly come back to Spain in the back third of the year... )

My flight from the USA will arrive February 18, in Madrid. I will go home April 17, then hopefully have a few days rest before starting the next adventure.

Those who know, know. You all helped me out last year and its a similar request... Where should I walk? Last year's Mozarabe (as suggested by this forum) was great and could do that again. Or something new? Something down south... I don't love the cold.

I'd like some hills (Not the Via de la "Flata"). This one isn't as important to me for actually meeting people, it's more just a training walk.

Any ideas?
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
From your list of Camino's, it doesn't look like you've done any of the routes starting on the East Coast; the Levante, Surest, or Agar. It does probably get cold and quiet once you get away from the coast.

And I seem to recall, there were some other routes that weren't really Camino's, that go from the east coast towards Andalusia.
 
You could always start walking in Madrid, but it will be cold in Madrid. Are you set of walking a Camino in Spain? There are Camino routes all over Europe, have a look here: https://www.jakobswege-europa.de/wege/ Depending on your definitiion of 'cold' the route that starts in Arles (France) might be an option.
BC SY
 
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Damien Reynolds said:
I could start in Lisbon, do that for around 25 days…
Click to expand...
…or start in Lagos, Portugal on the Fisherman’s Trail walking towards Lisbon and then keep going.

Of course, really mild weather in the Algarve to start. I’ve read that it’s really beautiful and I think there’s surfers hostels that serve the same function as Albergues.
 
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Surely not for February, but @Damien Reynolds the Olvidado from Bilbao should be on your list. More mountain stages than any camino I’ve walked, good infrastructure, long distances if you want.

For a February start, the Lana from Alicante (better yet, from Villajoyosa, where you will start with a few mountain stages instead of suburban asphalt) to Burgos. The Levante I think is still impassable from the storm, but you could start in Alicante and switch to the Levante in Almansa. The Levante it is not particularly mountainous (except for some gorgeous stages before Avila) and has a lot of flat wide open spaces with castles. And it hooks up with the Sanabrés in Zamora, where you could get back to some areas with more elevation, though there’s nothing really mountainous.

The Via Serrana from Gibraltar is one of my new favorites, but it ends in Sevilla and you don’t want to walk the Vdlp.

If @islandwalker sees this, she would have good info on non-camino routes in the mountains in the south - Transandalus is one of the trails, I believe, a 2,000 km circle. Lots of mountains and beauty.
 
I can confirm as a possibile option the fisherman's trail in Alentejo and Algarve in the center/south of Purtugal ..If you walk from the south to the north (I hiked on the other direction from porto covo to cabo sao vincente) you can connect with santiago routes in Lisbon area... Just an idea!
 
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@Damien Reynolds, I am watching with interest, not because I have anything to add that would help, but because I got such wonderful ideas when you asked this question before, and expect to see more in response to this. While it is unlikely that I will be able to walk more than a handful of the wonderful places one might walk, it is wonderful to look forward to getting back to Spain to walk again next year.
 
I love you too.
 
yah the obvious choice would be the Levante... but I was in Spain when Dana went down. Thank you for your input. But I end up in Burgos? I mean, I love burgos and Logrono and the rest of the Frances, but, like, I've walked it A LOT.

I'd go from Gibraltar. And do the Vdlp. Again... at least it would be a cool map show.
 
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Backwards? See I have this rule... never pay any attention to anyone walking backwards. They just want attention.
 
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Damien Reynolds said:
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Two live threads come to mind that might be worth reading.

Nick and Wendy's walk from the South of Portugal? Definitely the untrodden path. (I know, not Spain...)

Alan Sykes had a grand adventure this year from down South, too.
Both worth a read.

May the 90 days fly by PDQ, Damian!
 
Lisbon in January this year was nice and sunny so starting in the south would get you warmer weather. But how are you with rain?
 
Just walked the Madrid. Loved it. Excellent choice.
 
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Have thought about walking this for a long time. Would love to hear your thoughts about the camino, signage, cost of sleeping. I assume there are not any albergues. I am sure it is really pretty. Thanks. I know there are other postings about this. I like to hear a variety of opinions. Thanks if you can and no worries if you can't.
 
Via Algarviana in south Portugal from East to West. It has mountains and weather is ok.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.

Camino del Cid | Un viaje por la Edad Media | España

Web oficial del Camino del Cid: una ruta turístico-cultural que atraviesa las provincias de Burgos, Soria, Guadalajara, Zaragoza, Teruel, Castellón, Valencia y Alicante.
www.caminodelcid.org

If you have ever read about El Cid you'd likely find it more interesting, but there is a book by Ciaran Hogan about his walking of the path from Burgos to Valencia.

Edited: Free to read on Kindle unlimited. I read it in 2021 according to my Kindle account.
 
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Hi Damien,

Mega year requires a mega hike. Try the Via Francigena. You won’t be disappointed.

Long, yeah
Flat sections, yeah
Hills/mountains/Alps, yeah
Great culture, food and people, yeah
Amazing experience, yeah

Buen Camino
 
Winter/Spring in Andalucia sounds great, Damien.
Here are some options to consider:
Camino Ruta del Argar from Almeria - lots of ups and downs along the coast from Cabo de Gata on
GR 7 from Tarifa - the most mountainous part starts at Lanjarón.
GR 92 along the Mediterranean Coast
GR 247 in Cazorla Natural Park - circular route, all in the mountains, some stages have free unmanned mountain shelters to sleep in
Gran Senda de Malaga - with topoguide - some mountainous areas
TransAndalus - most mountainous portions are in the provinces of Granada and Jaén
 
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Damien Reynolds said:
OK, how do I do this? I'll be in Mad, to start, Tell me where I have to fly to next. After that, I am pretty sure i can manage.
Click to expand...
Via Francigena is 3200km. It starts in Canterbury UK, but like all Caminos you can pick your starting point to match your available time.

I did mine in 2 separate walks.

Canterbury to Lausanne; then came back and did Lausanne to Rome.

First walk was flat; second was very hilly.

Hardest part was the limited accommodation choices across France and Switzerland (it’s not like the Frances or one of the Portuguese Caminos).

There are a number of threads on this Forum with detailed day-by-day coverage.

Buen Camino
 
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Sidknee said:
If you’re struggling with time, try starting in Lausanne and walking through to Rome
Click to expand...
A good idea, but you can't cross the Great St. Bernard Pass at this time of the year. (Februray)
I did start at March 21st at Canterbury and stopped in front of the Great St. Bernard Pass at May 4th.
Restarted July 8th to cross the pass and stopped July 19th at Vercelli Italy.
I will restart next spring and end up in Rome 34 days later. Pictures from my Blog
 
Last edited:
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Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
Wow, your website blog is amazing.

It has brought back many fond and some challenging memories.

I’m always impressed and envious of people with your talent and patience to so meticulously document your journey.

@Paul-CH thank you for sharing this resource, I have bookmarked it to revisit.

Buen camino
 
Paul-CH said:
The Distance: 2,000km (1,200 miles) Canterbury to Rome. Where did you get the other 1200km?
Click to expand...
Typo on my part, should have read 2,200km.

I did do a detour to Lourdes, but that’s for a seperate conversation.

I know some people say it’s only 1,700km. But I’m not sure how they do it?
 
Yes with great pleasure! My wife and I hiked rota vicentina along the ocean (the fisherman's trail) and not the central way. The signage was quite good, not as the camino de santiago but in any case quite easy to follow.. only a couple of times we had some problems that we could solve without great difficulty. .One third of the walk in one the sand.. we bought the gaiters (I don't know the word in english, I hope it is correct!!!!) to prevent sand in the shoes.. hiking on the beach is more difficult than on a regular path but you have to consider that I am an ordinary urban walker without specific training!! I don't remember having seen albergues.. the villages we crossed were nice with surfers and tourists.. we slept in little pensions (being in couple the global price for a private room was acceptabile - 40/50 euros per night in september for 11/12 nights). Only in carrapateira we slept in the albergue hostel do mar and it was very nice. What about my opinion? Rota Vicentina is quite a solo experience... we didn't meet other people alog the hike except for 2 or 3 each day ...I suppose also because the hike is quite recent.. Obviously it cannot be compared to the camino de santiago with hundreds of years of history that you can feel just walking. Rota Vicentina is just an hike but it is a very personal opinion.. I had no blues at all once arrived in cabo de sao vincente and even now I have good memories still without deep emotions.. the food was wery good .. the landscape amazing..people were nice and prices (in particular before algarve) quite cheap.. I love portugal but it is just different.. my wife wanted to visit Portugal and so we had an hybrid vacation in the north near porto and then in alentejo and algarve along the rota and finally in faro.. but my wife is less camino adicted than me (in reality she is not camino addicted at all!!!). R.V. on the fishreman's trail is a wonderful hike I can really suggest still without the same expectations of the Camino. It is just different.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Hiking from South to North on the fisherman"s traiil you arrive at porto covo two hours bus from Lisbon. I don*t know if there is a path to get the Camino in Lisbon from porto covo.. I suppose because we met a group of french people who were going to Santiago hiking the fisherman"s trail
 
Damien Reynolds said:
Ok, I did a little research. So I get to Lagos on the Fisherman's trail. Then what? Is there a way to go North a bit and then meet the camino in Lisbon?
Click to expand...
I asked about a link between the Fisherman's Trail and the Camino a couple of months ago. Here's one response from @jungleboy

Post in thread 'Routes south of Lisbon to connect to the Camino?'

Post in thread 'Routes south of Lisbon to connect to the Camino?'

trecile said:
I'm thinking of walking from Lisbon again, but I'm interested in a route that I could walk from the south for 5 days to a week into Lisbon. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
This has been asked before but unfortunately just south of Lisbon is a bit of a black hole.

The two routes further south of Lisbon (one camino, one not) are the ‘Central’ from Faro (general thread here) and the Rota Vicentina. These now connect with each other, but not with Lisbon; the Central doesn’t meet the CP until Santarém. If you’re willing to skip Lisbon-Santarém, then the Central would be the best option for a longer...
 
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So funny! Thanks for the link! As of right now I am thinking I'll wait on the fall to do the Via Franc.... but for this trip... I am so confused! So like doesn't the fisherman's trail go from east to west along the southern coast of Portugal, after taking a bus from Lisbon to its starting point, then you cross over to the Rota Vincente and head north? I looked at maps, I read descriptions. All I want to do is something new, down south, killing time and seeing pretty seas until it gets (a little) warmer up north. Sorry friends, I'm better at crushing kms than crushing maps.

On a side note... maybe crushing maps is my next challenge? Half tempted to get a flight to Almería and just do what I know, again.
 
Honestly Damien, if you will buy your ticket and then ask…
You can fly directly into Faro (FAO) and walk from there to Lagos (and thence onto the Fisherman’s trail) if you really want. A quick look at Mapy.cz shows a couple of options. Not sure how you’ll get on accommodation wise, the only person I recall doing this had their tent etc with them. (Good training for you!) Otherwise bus.

Once you’re on the Fisherman’s trail there are hostels at the end of each stage, no idea if they’ll all be open in Feb. I’m told most campsites are closed in winter.
I researched it for October/ Nov ( life got in the way).
I know @NadineK walked the FT, but think that was April
 
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Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Damien Reynolds said:
Half tempted to get a flight to Almería and just do what I know, again.
Click to expand...
@Damien Reynolds, I forgot to say in my earlier reply, the alburgues on the other route from Almeria (Camino del Argar) will be open in the winter, as will the free shelters in Carzorla N.P. (links in #27 above). The same holds true for most accommodation along the Gran Senda de Malaga, the GR 7, and the GR 92.
 
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