Where to start if we only have 18-22 days of walking?

[borealprojects]

My wife and I can only get 18-22 days and decided that rather than starting at StJean and pushing ourselves with heavy days, we would shorten the walk and enjoy ourselves and the experience. The problem is that we don't know which cities on the Camino have easy access (preferably rail).

As background, we are mid-30s and walk 25km - 30km in a day regularly (so would want to be about 500km's from Santiago). We don't have our flight booked, so can fly into any airport (though will be flying from London).

Many thanks for any help.
Richard.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Richard,

Burgos is just about 500 km from Santiago, but I wasn't sure from your post if ending your walk in Santiago is important to you. As far as flying into Spain from London, others probably have more up to date information, but if you need a round trip in and out of the same place, Santiago is probably the best. (but it's a long, 9 hour bus ride to Burgos from Santiago, and you will go through many of the places you'll be walking -- kind of like a movie spoiler, so I wouldn't like that too much).

If you can go in and out of different cities, then Ryan Air to Santander or Easy Jet to Bilbao, with either bus or train to Burgos, would be options. And there may be other cities as well with air service to London that I don't know about.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

p.s. I just saw that you prefer to travel by train once in Spain. Check the renfe.es website -- the train from Santiago to Burgos, for example, goes twice a day and is 7 1/2 hours.

Santander to Burgos requires a transfer in Palencia.

Bilbao to Burgos goes three times a day and takes between 2 1/2 - 3 hours depending on the train.

And if you buy train tickets ahead of time, the fares are incredibly cheap online.

 

[julie]

Hi Richard

At the 25-30km rate you could start a bit further away from Santiago but if you start in Burgos you won't have to push yourselves and should finish in Santiago with a bit of time to relax and soak up the atmosphere or walk to Finisterre if the mood takes you.

Ryanair has a few flight options. As well as the others mentioned, it flies to Valladolid which connects by train to Burgos. You can find connecting train information from one of my favourite travel planning sites:

http://plannerint.b-rail.be/bin/query.exe/en?L=profi&

Although you can't make bookings through this site it is terrific for planning the journey.

Happy planning

Julie

 

[sillydoll]

Phsew! So many options and combinatons!

You could start at Roncesvalles - walk to Belorado in 9 days.
Get a bus from Belorado to Astorga (via Burgos)
Belorado to Burgos by bus takes less than 1 hour. : http://www.grupo-jimenez.com/#
Spend some time in Burgos and then a bus to Astorga

Walk to Santiago in 12 days.

 

[Nandy61]

Not surprisingly, IMO, Sil's advice is the best. You would have a fabulous 9 days walk out from Roncevalles. If you stayed overnight in Burgos you could visit the Cathedral, the Castillo and have yourselves some incredible tapas and equally sumptuous wine. Astorga is another gem, and the walk from there to Santiago is lovely. Best parts of the Camino, again IMO.

 

[viajero]

Above it was mentioned that Ryanair flies to Valladolid. From Valladolid it is just over an hour by train to Fromista which could also be a starting point for you.

 

[borealprojects]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Your help is definitely appreciated. We have two more questions to help us make a final decision:

1. Is our estimate of 25-30 km per day a normal walking distance for the pilgrimage or aggressive? (we only have long-distance hiking experience in the mountains and are really unsure how far to budget).

2. We plan to start next Sunday (29 Aug), and from what I've read the walk from Burgos to Leon can be quite hot at this time of year (looks like temps are in the low 30's). Are we better starting from Leon to miss the heat?

Thanks a lot,
Richard.

 

[sillydoll]

The 9 day weather forecast for both Burgos and Leon is for temperatures ranging from 20oC to 30oC.
25km to 30km per day is more than doable - especially on the meseta.
If you enjoy mountain hiking you'll find this stretch a bit disappointing! Although I love the meseta many people find the endless wheatfields, flat terrain and featureless horizons tedious and boring. Burgos is 860m and Leon 835m.

 

[Ange]

Hi this is Ange, Have a look at the Camino Primitivo - it starts from Oviedo so gives you a sense of having done a complete Camino - around 300kms. After Lugo it joins up with the Camino Frances at Melide. I have already written a garbled route in Advice for the camino primitivo a day or two ago - if you check that section you should find it: if you refer to the mundi web site and then read my suggestions you will have a wonderful trip and hopefully be able to time your walk to stop in some of the better albergues. If you do decide to start from Oviedo think seriously about where you will stop the first night. The distance to Villepanada is at least 27 kms and the last few are seriously uphill. OK if you are warmed up after a few days but for the first day it is not a good idea - hence the suggestion to sightsee in Oviedo for a couple of hours then walk to Escamplero. It is also a good idea to check out any tourist offices for information on albergues - especially emergency ones, where they are and contact information to obtain access/key. If you speak spanish then you can wait till you arrive but not all albergues have a resident hospitalero - in which case the nearest bar should know when they are full. Read the albergue information carefully because some are in small hamlets - no bars or shops - and no hospitalero till around 5pm. Oviedo is accessible by train and bus. Whichever route you choose - Buen Camino

 

[peregrina2000]

So, to mix things up a bit, I would second the suggestion of the Primitivo, but since that gives you fewer kms than you want to walk, and since you like mountains, why not start in Leon, or a few days before Leon, and then in Leon take the Camino del Salvador for 4 - 5 days over the mountains that separate Leon from Asturias. That takes you to Oviedo, where you can start the Camino Primitivo. There is plenty of information/advice on here about both of those routes, but in a nutshell -- they are stunning!

As a ballpark, I walked the Primitivo in 11 days and the Salvador in 4 (and I'm 60, which means nearly twice your age, OMG). That means you would have some cushion and some extra time to sightsee if you like that sort of thing -- Leon, Oviedo and Lugo are all "worth a visit." Or start a few days before Leon to get warmed up on the flatlands.

Time of year may make a difference, because I remember that a few years ago, Kevin and Kari on this forum started the Camino in October a few weeks after me and decided to move down to the Frances because of all the cold/inclement weather on the Primitivo. I started from Leon around September 20.

Anyway, if this appeals to you, let us know because there are lots of us here with experience on these routes. Buen camino a todos, Laurie

 

[jabri]

.......... I walked the Primitivo in 11 days and the Salvador in 4 (and I'm 60, which means nearly twice your age, OMG). .........

Mind you!

If you see her walk (and we did some times in the past) you think she is 25!!!

Jan Brilleman

 

[borealprojects]

Thanks everybody for the help. It is really appreciated.