Solo female doing Ingles Camino in February

[Tbone]

Hello!

I am a 30YO woman and am thinking of walking from Ferrol to Finnestere in the last couple of weeks of February solo.

I recently (dunring summer) completed Porto-Santiago and felt very safe as a solo pilgrim, but from what I have read about the Ingles way is that I most likely won't encounter many other pilgrims during this journey.

I was wondering if anyone else has completed this stretch in February, and if you can share your experience? I don't really like the idea of being alone in the Albregues every night.. I do enjoy a more quiet walk, but am not looking for an experience of total social isolation.

The weather is not an issue for me

 

[dbier]

You may want to see what's actually open along the routes in Feb first.. Check Gronze, but call to confirm.

 

[Tbone]

You may want to see what's actually open along the routes in Feb first.. Check Gronze, but call to confirm.

Yes thank you, I have checked that things are open. That wasn't my question

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Tbone , welcome to the forum.
I believe @jsalt, @ciccioformaccio, and @Laundoner have all walked in February, and possibly @henrythedog. From memory they were pretty much alone, perhaps coming across just one or two others.
I recall reading at least one other in either February or early March '23 because I was planning for my March camino. Whoever that was saw nobody during the day but up to half a dozen most evenings I believe. Hopefully they'll all see this and chip in with their experiences.
I recall that the statistics at that point showed very few people walking in February.

It's a lovely walk, Buen Camino!

 

[henrythedog]

It is about eight years since I walked the Ingles, in February. I saw one other peregrino in four days.

I believe the route has got busier in recent years, but I’d expect February to still be quiet.

It’s an excellent walk through traditional Galicia with (when I walked it) very little in the way of Camino-specific infrastructure or languages other than gallego and Castilian Spanish spoken.

 

[Tony Lenton]

Hello!

I am a 30YO woman and am thinking of walking from Ferrol to Finnestere in the last couple of weeks of February solo.

I recently (dunring summer) completed Porto-Santiago and felt very safe as a solo pilgrim, but from what I have read about the Ingles way is that I most likely won't encounter many other pilgrims during this journey.

I was wondering if anyone else has completed this stretch in February, and if you can share your experience? I don't really like the idea of being alone in the Albregues every night.. I do enjoy a more quiet walk, but am not looking for an experience of total social isolation.

The weather is not an issue for me

I walked the Ingles with a friend in early March 2018. We didn’t meet a single pilgrim while walking until we reached the “Dinosaur” cafe, just past Bruma, on the penultimate day. That route seems to have become a lot more popular in recent years from what I’ve gathered from posts on this forum. I’m sure you will enjoy it, though it lashed with rain every day, except for the penultimate day, when there was thick fog. I speak pretty good Castilian but not many locals spoke English. Best wishes.

 

[EWhite]

I walked the Ingles from A Coruna-Santiago-Muxia-Fisterra-Santiago in March of last year. I was alone in Albergues both nights on the ingles and saw only a handful of pilgrims along the way. After Santiago there was always a pilgrim presence but not overwhelmingly so.

 

[lt56ny]

Hello!

I am a 30YO woman and am thinking of walking from Ferrol to Finnestere in the last couple of weeks of February solo.

I recently (dunring summer) completed Porto-Santiago and felt very safe as a solo pilgrim, but from what I have read about the Ingles way is that I most likely won't encounter many other pilgrims during this journey.

I was wondering if anyone else has completed this stretch in February, and if you can share your experience? I don't really like the idea of being alone in the Albregues every night.. I do enjoy a more quiet walk, but am not looking for an experience of total social isolation.

The weather is not an issue for me

For safety purposes u should download Alert Cops app from the spanish government. You can call them in an emergency and they can track you on GPS and send help quickly. You can speak with an english language person. I download it on all my caminos. I am a man and I walk quiet caminos with no pilgrims around and i think it is essential in case something did happen.

 

[Amachan]

I walked Ingles in 2022, but in September. A friend and I chose it thinking it was gonna be lonely, and it wasn't at all. Actually we needed to make reservations in advance not to be left without a bed. In our first day walking I talked to a woman who was in charge of a church and she told me that since a couple of years before a lot of people started walking that camino (from that moment I started to make reservations, and that first day we were almost left without a bed).
So, in February is gonna be more empty, but since every year more and more people are walking it, I'm not that sure you are gonna be completely alone in albergues.
I don't know why you don't want to be alone. If it's because you like talking to a handful of pilgrims at the end of the day, then yeah, maybe it's not the best choice. But if it's because you don't feel safe... I wouldn't worry that much. You are gonna walk through not so empty places, and it's not dangerous at all.
I'm Galician, and that part is not really touristic, specially in winter. If private albergues are open in February it's because they expect to have pilgrims enough to make profit.
Still, if you want a short Camino but not that empty in February, I would choose Fisterra-Muxía.

 

[roving_rufus]

It's not a camino I have done yet- but the Camino Ingles, as a solo female, is one that I would comfortably walk in February, even if fairly quiet.
But if you are looking for more company then the CF from Sarria is a better option- more pilgrims but not busy.