Ep 8: How Long Does it Take to Walk the Camino . . . OR How Much Time Do YOU Want to Spend?

Sep 20, 2022

Delve into the fascinating world of the Camino de Santiago, where the journey you choose is just as important as the destination. Explore various Camino routes and discover how personal preferences shape each unique experience. With tips on pacing and the significance of rest days, you'll learn how to customize your pilgrimage. Mathematical calculations come into play to help you plan your adventure. Get ready to reflect on what your ideal journey looks like and start mapping out an unforgettable experience!

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INSIGHT

Camino Frances Route Details

The Camino Frances is about 800 kilometers from Saint-Jean to Santiago and is the most traveled route.
It has extensive pilgrim infrastructure and a rich history stretching over 1,000 years.

INSIGHT

Route vs. Pilgrimage

An entire Camino route is the mapped trail between official start and end points.
A Camino pilgrimage can begin anywhere on the route and is the pilgrim's personal journey.

ADVICE

Plan Your Daily Distance

To walk the whole Camino Frances in 31-33 days, plan to walk 24-26 km per day.
Consider if walking this distance daily for a month-plus is physically feasible for you.

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How long does it take to walk the Camino?

Well, that depends. In this episode we are going to continue on with our Camino planning roadmap, still working with step four, spend some time thinking about what you want.

This episode is a big one. A really big one. By that I mean that it’s a bit on the long side. But also, I think it’s an important one, as this is where we really begin to design the Camino experience that suits you perfectly.

If you have been following along with this podcast series, then you should, by now, be fairly certain that you do want to walk the Camino. You should have some idea of when you would like to go, what season you would like to walk in, and when a Camino walk would fit into your life. Ready to book your flights?

Mmmm . . . almost. This episode will get you much closer to that point, I promise. Before we dive in, you may want to have a map handy. I will be talking about all the different Camino routes that lead to Santiago, and it may be helpful to see them on the map to give you a sense of how grand the task before you is. I will also be doing some basic mathematical calculations, so you might want to have a pen and paper nearby, too.

To answer the question “how long does it take”, we first will need to answer the question of what “it” is. What do I mean by that? Find out in this episode of the “YOU on the Camino de Santiago” podcast.

Some Questions to Ponder

Here are the questions I pose at the end of this episode:

What would constitute a ‘real pilgrimage’ by your standards?
How much time do you want to take for your Camino?
How many miles or kilometers will you need to walk each day to complete the walk in that time frame? Is that doable, or will you need to adjust your timing or expectation?
How much time do you want in your starting and ending points?
How many rest days will you plan for?
When you add it all up, how does it feel?

In case you are ready to pick up a guidebook for your walk, here are the most popular ones.

Related: Ready to start looking for flights to Europe? Click through for favorite tool for that, which is this episode’s top tip.

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