Walking the Camino de Santiago is a great adventure and for many a life-changing one.
You will here find my recommendations for your Camino.
Use them if you feel like it, and remember, walking the Camino is a personal adventure – there is no wrong way to, only your way!
What to bring?
You will, on the Camino, be travelling light!
You will have to carry everything on your back for 20-30 km a day in hilly terrain, for several days in a row – so only pack what you really need, and that is way less than you think!
You should as a rule of thumb, only be carrying between 10% and 15% of your body weight.
Remember you will be in Spain, not in the wilderness.
You will find all the amenities you need along the way, and you will be able to buy the things you
You will also be able to do your laundry along the way, a lot of pilgrims do so every day or every second day.
You can find my packing-list (as an inspiration) here
How much does it cost?
The required budget depends a lot on what you want.
- Are you ok with a bed in a dorm room in an albergue, or do you need a private room at the hotel?
- Are you willing to cook your self, or together with other pilgrims in the Albergue kitchen?
- Would you like to stop at bars along the route to grab a beer and a bite to eat, or do you prefer to buy your food in the local supermarket and eat it under the shade of a tree
along the route?
It is, of course not, an all or nothing answers to the questions above, you will most likely prefer a mix depending on your budget. You can in the table below find some approximate figures to give you an idea of the budget you will need.
What | On a tight budget | Standard | Camino de lux |
---|---|---|---|
A bed for the night | 5€ | 10 – 15€ | 25-40€ |
A meal | <5€* | 10€** | 15€ |
Breakfast | 2€ | 5€ | 5€ |
Snacks, lunch and beveraged | 5€ | 10€ | 15€ |
Transportation, backpack*** | 5€ | 5€ |
* Many albergues comes with a kitchen where you can prepare a hot meal.
You can, if do this, keep the cost very low
**A lot of bars have a 3 dish pilgrim meal for 10€, this includes a bottle of wine
***You can get your backpack transported to your next albergue
Money on the Camino
The Camino is a cash-based, do not expect to be able to pay with your credit card. You might find a few albergues and some bars
You will find ATM’s along the road, but not in every city, and you might also experience longer stretches without any ATM’s, so make sure to make cash withdrawals, when you have the option.
You can find the atm’s along the route in our My Camino app