The Camino de Santiago

What the Camino is

For more than a thousand years, pilgrims have walked to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, in the far northwest of Spain, where tradition places the tomb of the apostle St James. The routes are waymarked with yellow arrows and scallop shells, and in Galicia granite milestones count down the kilometres to Santiago.

People walk it for faith, for history, for the challenge or for the time to think. You sleep in pilgrim hostels called albergues, in guesthouses or in hotels, and you eat in village cafés along the way. No permit and no guide are needed.

We walked the last stretch of the Camino Francés, from Sarria to Santiago, in June 2025, at about 20 km a day. It was busy, friendly and beautiful, and we plan to walk another route.

The main routes compared

Five routes carry most pilgrims. Distances differ between sources; these are typical figures.

• Camino Francés from Sarria: about 115 km in 5–6 days. The shortest walk that earns the Compostela, through Galician oak lanes and villages. The busiest stretch of all: about a third of pilgrims start here.
• Camino Francés: about 765 km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France, in about 33 stages. The classic route: the Pyrenees, Pamplona, the wine country of La Rioja, the open plateau of the meseta, León and the hills of Galicia. Albergues every few kilometres.
• Camino Portugués: about 240 km from Porto, in about 10 stages, with a coastal option of about 270 km. Cobbled lanes, vineyards and Roman bridges, then Galicia. The second busiest route.
• Camino del Norte: about 820 km from Irún on the French border, in about 34 stages. Along Spain's green northern coast through San Sebastián, Bilbao and Santander, with beaches, cliffs and plenty of hills. Fewer albergues and fewer people.
• Camino Primitivo: about 310 km to 320 km from Oviedo, in 12 to 14 stages. The oldest route and the most mountainous, over the passes of Asturias and through the Roman walls of Lugo.

Which route suits your time

• About one week: the Camino Francés from Sarria, or the Camino Portugués from Tui on the Spanish border. Both are about 115 km and earn the Compostela.
• About two weeks: the Camino Portugués from Porto, or the Camino Primitivo if you like mountains and quieter paths.
• Four to five weeks: the full Camino Francés, or the Camino del Norte if you prefer the coast and fewer crowds.
• Less time but a longer route in mind: many people walk a route in sections over several years. The Compostela needs the last 100 km in one go.

The credencial, your pilgrim passport

The credencial is a folded card that you stamp every day. It shows you are a pilgrim, it is needed to sleep in pilgrim albergues, and it is your proof of the walk for the Compostela.

Get it from the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago, from a pilgrim association authorised by the cathedral, or at the start of your walk: parishes, albergues and tourist offices along the routes often sell it. Only credenciales issued by the cathedral or an authorised body count for the Compostela.

Stamps, called sellos, come from albergues, churches, cafés, hotels, shops and restaurants. On our walk from Sarria, almost every café and hotel had one.

How to get the Compostela

• Walk at least the last 100 km to Santiago (or ride 200 km by bike), on one route, without breaks, ending at the cathedral.
• In the last 100 km, collect two dated stamps a day: one where you start and one where you end each stage.
• If you start outside Spain, for example in Portugal, at least 70 km of your walk must be inside Spain.
• Register online on the Pilgrim's Office website, then collect it at the office, Rúa Carretas 33 in Santiago, open daily 10:00 to 19:00 (closed 25 December and 1 January). A QR ticket shows your place in the queue; in busy periods same-day collection is not guaranteed.

The Compostela is free. It is a church certificate given to those who walked for religious or spiritual reasons. Whatever your reason for walking, you can also ask for the certificate of distance (€3), which records your route, start, dates and kilometres.

Albergues, rooms and a daily budget

Albergues are pilgrim hostels with dormitories, shared bathrooms and often a kitchen. In Galicia, the public albergues of the Xunta (the regional government) cost €10 a night in 2026. You cannot book them: beds go first come, first served, for one night, and doors open at 13:00. Elsewhere, municipal and parish albergues set their own prices, and some ask only for a donation.

Private albergues cost about €12–20 and can be booked. A private room in a guesthouse (pensión or hostal) costs about €35–60. We booked private rooms ahead for every night of our walk, which took the pressure off in a busy June.

Budget about €40–50 a day with albergues and pilgrim menus, or €90–120 with private rooms (2026 estimates). The menú del peregrino, a pilgrim's set meal with a starter, main, dessert and drink, costs about €10–15.

Sending your bag ahead

You can walk with a light daypack and have your main bag carried to the next night's address. Correos, Spain's public postal service, runs Paq Mochila on the main routes, including the Portuguese Way from Porto since 2026: one bag up to 15 kg, booked by 20:00 the day before. From Sarria to Santiago it costs €30 a bag for the whole way in 2026. Private luggage services exist too. Public albergues don't accept bag deliveries.

We sent our bags ahead every day with an accredited service, at about €5 a bag a stage.

When to go

Most pilgrims (83%) arrive between May and October. In 2025 the busiest month was September, then May and August. Spring and autumn are cooler for walking; July and August are warm and crowded.

Galicia is green because it rains: Santiago averages about 1,787 mm a year, with the wettest months from October to January and the driest in July and August, when days reach about 24 °C. On the meseta of the Camino Francés, summer afternoons are hot and shadeless: León averages 27 °C in July.

Winter walking is possible on some routes, but many albergues close and the Guardia Civil advises against walking mountain sections from November to March without winter experience.

2027 is a Holy Year, because 25 July falls on a Sunday. The cathedral's Holy Door opens on 31 December 2026 and stays open all year. Expect more pilgrims than usual, especially in Holy Week (21 to 28 March 2027) and in mid-to-late July. Book beds earlier and allow extra time for the Compostela queue.

Getting there by air

Santiago has no direct flights from the Gulf hubs. Emirates flies from Dubai to Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon; Etihad from Abu Dhabi to Madrid; Qatar Airways from Doha to Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, so a connection through one of these hubs works from most of the world. From Madrid, high-speed trains reach Santiago in about three hours. For the Camino Portugués, fly to Lisbon or Porto; for the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo, connect to Bilbao, San Sebastián or Asturias airport.

Food, dietary needs and faith

No albergue states that it serves halal food, and pork is common in Spanish cooking: chorizo, ham, lacón, and caldo gallego, the Galician broth, is traditionally made with pork fat. If you avoid pork or eat vegetarian, check before you order. Fish, octopus (pulpo), eggs, vegetables, bread and cheese are easy to find. Ask "sin cerdo" (without pork), and check whether soups, beans or stews contain pork or chorizo and whether wine is used. Vegan and kosher food is not something to expect in albergues and bars: bring what you need, and explain any allergy clearly when you order.

In Santiago, the Comunidad Islámica de Galicia is at Rúa Penedo 1. A Galician directory also lists Islamic communities in Lugo, Sarria and Melide. If you pray during the day, a qibla app and a light mat let you do so on the trail. If you walk in a group with an operator, ask before you book about meals for your diet, allergies, and time for prayer or other religious practice.

Which visa do I need?

Spain and Portugal are in the Schengen area, and the visa you need depends on your passport: check the rules for your nationality with the Spanish consulate or its visa centre where you live. Some passports need no visa for up to 90 days in any 180; others need a Schengen visa (€90 for adults). Among Gulf passports, for example, UAE citizens need no visa, while Saudi, Qatari, Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani citizens do; they can get a five-year multiple-entry visa on their first application, and in October 2026 the EU began a review of visa-free travel for these five countries, but nothing has changed yet.

Since 10 April 2026, the EU Entry/Exit System takes your fingerprints and photo on your first entry. ETIAS, the online authorisation for visa-free visitors, is not running yet.

Safety

• In an emergency call 112. The AlertCops app from the Spanish Interior Ministry has an SOS button and lets you share your location.
• Some stretches follow or cross roads: walk facing traffic where there is no path, and wear something bright in poor light.
• Take travel insurance with medical cover, especially if you hold no European health card (EHIC).
• Carry water and a hat in summer, and rain gear all year in Galicia and on the northern coast.