Route Planning · All Things Camino

In a previous section, we considered route selection. This section does not provide detailed breakdowns or day-by-day plans for individual Camino routes. There are plenty of resources available to help you with that.

Most guidebooks suggest daily starting and finishing points. These distances generally reflect what an average, reasonably fit and healthy pilgrim might manage, but they are not fixed. Consider your own fitness, capabilities and reasons for walking. A Camino is less about the destination (although reaching Santiago de Compostela is clearly the aim) and more about the journey and the experiences along the way. See Journey vs Destination.

Review your chosen route, identify points of interest and allow enough time to explore rather than simply pass through. Make time for coffee breaks, leisurely meals and casual meetings that turn into hours of deep sharing. These are often the moments that make a pilgrimage memorable.

Study the elevation profiles and allow extra time for steep climbs and descents. Familiarise yourself with the terrain and plan accordingly. Walking along a level gravel road is very different from descending a track covered in loose stones and rocks or slogging your way up a steep climb.

Explore alternative routes. Wandering away from the beaten track often leads to discoveries and interactions you could never have planned. Study the route and adapt the suggested stages to suit your walking style, physical condition and goals. On popular routes such as the Camino Francés, accommodation is generally plentiful, so there is no need to follow the guidebook’s suggested stopping points religiously. However, availability can become limited during busy periods, particularly in smaller villages and at popular stopping points.

Personal Insight

Alternate route

Personal Experience

On my last Camino, I spent the morning exploring Pamplona before taking a relaxed walk to Zariquiegui. This tiny village has only one albergue and is often skipped by pilgrims heading to Puente La Reina, the usual stopping point after Pamplona.

This choice allowed me to leave early the following morning and reach Alto del Perdón before sunrise. I was there by myself since pilgrims starting from Pamplona arrive considerably later, and I captured a distinctive photograph of the pilgrim statue silhouetted against an orange sunrise.

I also had enough time to take the longer alternative route from Maruzábal via Iglesia de Santa María de Eunate to Obanos, before continuing past Puente La Reina to Cirauqui, another intermediate stopping point.

There is only one right way to walk a Camino, and it is Your Way. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.