English 
Updated on February 26th, 2025
So, finally I am back in the real world after my Camino de Santiago adventure, and it already seems like it was over too quick. I am missing the walking and already have plans to take on another route, for longer in the future.
As promised over the last few weeks, here are some practical tips if you would like to take on the challenge yourself. If you would like to at any time in the future, then make sure you SAVE THIS EMAIL somewhere safe so you can easily reference it when you do.
Who with?
The first step is to decide on your route, how long you have and how involved you want to be in the organisation. There are plenty of companies who can organise the whole thing for you, including accommodation, maps, and bag transfer. They will have specific routes that they serve, and you may also become part of a “group” with natural walking partners along the way. If this is what you would prefer, then drop me a line and I’ll do a little research on which companies look good to me.
How much?
If you would like to walk for longer than a week or two, you may need to organise it all independently. In addition, if you have a tight budget, it is much cheaper to do it all yourself (which I did). The expectation is that things on the route are changeable and so it is also perfectly acceptable for you to plan your stops while already on the route.
How far?
Decide how far you want to walk each day. We met some who were going a lot further than us (47 kilometres in a day?). For me, around 20 was perfect. Enough of a challenge but capability to stretch if needed. Practically, our shortest day turned out to be 19kms and the longest over 28kms. This gave us the chance for a slower start in the morning (just how I like it!), a stop for an hour’s lunch break to refresh our legs and maybe another for a coffee/ice cream in the afternoon. We aimed to arrive at our accommodation around 3.30pm each day. Our latest was 5.30pm, which was too late. The walking felt relentless, and we had less time to rest afterwards.
Where to stay?
There are loads of options on the route, depending on your preferences and budget. As I walked with my partner, we had a principle of a double room and private bathroom, with a budget of around £50-£60 per night for the room. I would thoroughly recommend everywhere we stayed, all booked easily with plenty of cancellation time through Booking.com. However, if you are after something cheaper and more basic, you have some choice:
- The cheapest option is to stay at Municipal Albergues (around €12 per person, often cash only). They cannot be booked in advance, so it’s first come, first served. Important to consider this if you have a long walk or like to take your time.
- Then there are Private Albergues (€14-17 per person, usually cash or card) where you can expect better facilities.
- No matter which you choose, expect dormitories with bunk beds, shared bathrooms/toilets, and a kitchen. Some may also have washing facilities and Wi-Fi.
What to carry?
You can opt to carry all your stuff, but we chose to get it picked up and transported to our accommodation each day. We shared a bag and for the whole week it cost €27.50. Well worth it in my opinion! We used the service from Paq Mochilla which is part of the Spanish postal system. I cannot fault their efficiency. A couple of things to note:
- Changes can be made to your booking regarding taking a rest day and adding your next accommodation up to 8pm the day before collection.
- Most Municipal Albergues do not have facilities for the luggage service and as they can’t be booked in advance, I would not recommend it as an option if you were planning on staying in these.
- Booking both accommodation and luggage service in advance meant we were able to spot easily if where we were staying was part of the service or not. One wasn’t but we were able to make cancellations in plenty of time and rearrange without charges. We were even able to add a bag at short notice on the final day so the service could not be bettered in my opinion.
What else?
We couldn’t have done the whole trip so smoothly without the Buen Camino app. It has a map of the route, list of facilities in each location, accommodation options and all the information you need to complete your journey successfully.
So, what do you think? Is there anything else you would like to know about hiking the Camino de Santiago? I have no doubt I will be discussing it again in future emails, blog posts and videos, so if there is anything I have missed, please let me know. Hit reply to this email to let me know or connect via your social method of choice (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads or LinkedIn) to give me all the details.
Love wine? How about discovering new wines from small producers that you can’t find anywhere else in the world? This week, over on YouTube, I am back in Tasmania, Australia doing just that on a tour of the Tamar Valley. Not only are very few Tasmanian wines exported to the “mainland” but even finding them in local bottle shops or restaurants is not always easy. In my latest video, we go to the producers themselves, learn loads and more importantly sample some truly delicious blends. You can check it all out for yourself HERE. Cheers! 🥂
And if you do love wine, in particular the antipodean variety, then why not check out my blog post on two very different wine tasting tours in Australia (Margaret River and Hunter Valley) using THIS LINK. Or my adventures around the Gibbston Valley in New Zealand HERE.
Until next time,
Safe Travels
Sue x
This newsletter may contain affiliate links. By using these, Sue Where Why What may receive a small commission for which I say thank you, but you will not pay any extra charges for this. My opinions remain my own.
More of my Adventures…
Blog – 2 Different Wine Tasting Tours in Australia
Video – Tamar Valley Wineries – A Fantastic Wine Tour from Launceston
Video – Gibbston Valley Wine Tour – Queenstown, New Zealand
🏠 For accommodation, I use Booking.com. They have their Genius loyalty scheme which is easy to progress through the levels for better discounts and inclusions.
🚍 For tours and activities, my preferred supplier is Get Your Guide.
🗺️ For multi day or week tours, check out G Adventures. I used them for trips in Costa Rica, Peru, and Galapagos.
🤞 I would never leave home without travel insurance. With Safety Wing you can take out an annual policy and pay monthly. This takes the hassle out of having to remember for us regular travellers.
🛫 For cheap flights, check out Skyscanner or join Jacks Flight Club which scans the internet for error fares (UK only).
🧳 For luggage storage on your travels, I recommend the service by Bounce.
Download a PDF VERSION OF THIS NEWSLETTER
Just click the 5th icon in the grey tool bar below (with the down arrow) to save the pdf to your computer.
