The Camino de Santiago for beginners
You don't need to walk eight hundred kilometres or be an athlete. These are the realistic routes to start with and what to know before the first step.
The 100 kilometres
To obtain the Compostela, the official certificate, you must walk at least the final hundred kilometres to Santiago (or two hundred by bicycle), and stamp your credencial at least twice a day along that stretch. That's why Sarria is the most common starting point for anyone short on time.
The starter route: Sarria to Santiago
Just over a hundred kilometres of the Camino Francés, in five or six stages. It's very well waymarked, there are hostels every few kilometres and you always find people. The easiest option and also the busiest, especially in summer.
Alternatives if you want fewer people
The Camino Portugués from Tui, similar in distance and considerably quieter. The Camino Primitivo is harder with more ascent, for people with some stamina. And the Camino del Norte follows the coast and involves more climbing than people expect.
How many days and kilometres
For a first-timer, 20 to 25 kilometres a day is a sensible pace. More than that on day one is the surest way to end up with blisters and no morale. Five or six days for the Sarria stretch, eight or ten starting further back.
The credencial
The document you stamp along the way to prove you walked it. Available from pilgrim associations, some hostels and parish churches. Get it before starting and stamp it in bars, hostels and churches en route.
Where to sleep
Public and private hostels line the whole route, cheap and in shared rooms. Public ones generally don't take bookings and work on a first-come basis. In summer they fill early, so either start early or book private ones.
The pack: the 10 percent rule
It shouldn't exceed ten percent of your body weight. The commonest mistake: people carrying fifteen kilos who wreck their backs in three days. Less clothing than you think, and everything gets washed along the way.
Footwear and blisters
Break in your boots or shoes weeks beforehand, never on day one. Seamless technical socks, and stop the moment you feel rubbing, not once there's a blister. Blisters are the number one reason people quit.
How to prepare
Walk a few long days in the preceding weeks, with the pack loaded as you'll carry it. You don't need more training than that, but you do need that.
When to go
May, June and September are best: good weather and less crowding than July and August. In winter some routes have snow sections and many hostels close.
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