My head is about to explode with questions & options

[cheekyaussie]

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are walking the camino next year.... which one? what month? Sleeping bag or or sleeve? Do I stop in that place or not? ... oh so many questions! I think I've settled on June 2025
Are there any places you

• must see
• would "skip ahead"

We have 21 -28 days. I want to start at Saint Jean,and ideally,I also want to walk the Primitivo. Before saying "oh just come back and do the rest" please remember that we have to fly 27+ hours to start anything. I would appreciate any, helpful, suggestions!

Buon camino y'all

 

[trecile]

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are walking the camino next year.... which one? what month? Sleeping bag or or sleeve? Do I stop in that place or not? ... oh so many questions! I think I've settled on June 2025
Are there any places you

• must see
• would "skip ahead"

We have 21 -28 days. I want to start at Saint Jean,and ideally,I also want to walk the Primitivo. Before saying "oh just come back and do the rest" please remember that we have to fly 27+ hours to start anything. I would appreciate any, helpful, suggestions!

Buon camino y'all

If you want to walk the Primitivo I recommend that you start on the Norte. San Vicente de la Barquera could be a good starting point with your time frame.

St Jean Pied de Port is a nice enough town, but not nice enough to plan your entire trip around IMHO.

I also recommend no skipping. There's something magical that happens during a continuous walk without taking motorized transport. Decide on a starting point where you can comfortably reach Santiago and go for it.

 

[C clearly]

Are there any places you

• must see
• would "skip ahead"

No.

We have 21 -28 days. I want to start at Saint Jean,and ideally,I also want to walk the Primitivo.

Therein lies a problem. You will have to make some compromises, but only you can decide whether the bucket list item of Saint Jean Pied de Port outweighs the different satisfaction of a continuous long walk.

we have to fly 27+ hours to start anything.

In order to start in SJPP, you might need to add 27 more hours to your travel itinerary, to get to SJPP and then hop around on ground transport to get to other places further along the route. That is why many people, including @trecile above, recommend simplifying your planning by picking a start point and walking from there.

 

[Robo]

We also fly from Oz (Sydney)
Our next one will be the 5th time.....

You'll get loads of advice and tips here.
All well intentioned, some of it conflicting.
i.e. There is no single answer......

For what it's worth, I would approach it like this.
Assuming you want to end in Santiago.

1. Work out how many 'walking days' you have.
2. How many kms you are comfortable walking each day.
3. Allow a day in Santiago at the end.
4. Allow 1-2 rest days along the way (you may need them)
5. Then take your actually walking days x your daily distance.
6. Whatever that is.......start that far from Santiago.
7. Skipping parts is difficult for many reasons. (You miss out on places and friends)

As for route, the Frances is hard to beat as a first or 'one off' Camino.
But read about the different routes and see what appeals to you.
Do you want a 'busy' very social Camino?
One with more solitude?

Don't be too hung up on starting in St Jean.
It's a large 'quaint' village, followed by a tough first day walking.
There is nothing historically 'significant' about starting there.