Starting points for the Northern camino!

[mrudman]

Hi folk! I've decided on hiking the northern way in July to avoid the heat and possibly overcrowded-ness of the French Camino. This will be my first camino, and I have my doubts on how physically taxing this camino will be even as a person that works out regularly. For these reasons, I'm thinking of starting in Bilbao or San Sebastian. Any thoughts on other good starting points? Thanks so much!

 

[Peregrina 2013]

It really depends on how much time you have, and are you planning to go all the way to Santiago de Compostela? If you are able to begin in San Sebastián, I wouldn't miss the sections between there and Bilbao for anything in te world! It is grueling at times, no doubt, and you'll be breathless - from physical exertion, but mostly from the beauty that surrounds you!

* I'd like to add that if you are a person who works out regularly, you should be able to walk the CDN. Just don't try to overdo the daily mileage. I did it 8 months after a hip replacement, and yes, there are demanding ups and downs, but if you pace yourself and listen to your body, you can do it! Try it, I'm sure you'll love it!!

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

Hi folk! I've decided on hiking the northern way in July to avoid the heat and possibly overcrowded-ness of the French Camino. This will be my first camino, and I have my doubts on how physically taxing this camino will be even as a person that works out regularly. For these reasons, I'm thinking of starting in Bilbao or San Sebastian. Any thoughts on other good starting points? Thanks so much!

If you should go on Camino Francés where would you have started then? So we know what you compare with. And how far will your daily stages be?

I didn’t find CN any more physically taxing than CF. I started in Biarritz at the airport. San Sebastián is just one stage (in my case a half stage) from Irún where most people starts and Irún to San Sebastián is a really nice walk as from there to Bilbao. Starting in Bilbao will also give you some really nice days in the beginning and if you fly into Bilbao it makes sense. But the first part is lovely.

 

[JerryStroebele]

If you work out and walk regularly I would start in Irun. I have walked the del Norte twice—love it—but I am now on the Frances in Calzadilla de la Cueza and find this Camino MUCH easier than the del Norte. But I started in Pamplona. Also it is hot today. July yikes! Buen Camino

 

[saara kinnunen]

The hardest part is from Irun to Bilbao. If you have time and you are very fit, that is lovely, but from Bilbao, you will get also wonderful landscapes. I have walked once from Irun and twice from Bilbao.

 

[Vacajoe]

I also started in Biarritz off the plane and found the first stage to St Jean de Luz very lovely! Great food and swimming, too! Followed by the pintxos of San Sebastián!!!! If you are walking the Norte and have the time, those extra stages are not any more difficult than what you find in the CF.

 

[J.Patrick]

Yes, the walk from Irun to Bilbao was tough. I was so exhausted on the day I walked into Bilbao, that I took a rest day. BUT, that first week was so worth it. The harbors and the bay towns, and the beautiful mountain sides of the Basque country were stunning.

As a side note, I arrived early in Irun, and decided to walk into Hendaye, France, right across the Santiago bridge, for a French meal before starting the next day. I got there too early, and all the restaurants were closed. The church bells were calling the locals to Mass, so I joined them. At the end of Mass I asked the priest if he would give me a stamp on my credential, the first of my journey, before walking back to Irun. So my walking pilgrimage actually started a day earlier than I intended, across the border in France. If you’re starting in Irun, consider it. It’s fun to say that you started your Camino in France.

 

[lt56ny]

I think that you should try to start as early as you can as this Camino is difficult for many, myself included, the rewards are at times spectacular.

I also started in Biarritz off the plane and found the first stage to St Jean de Luz very lovely!

If I had known about starting in Biarritz I would have have without a doubt started there. As Vacajoe and others have said it is very pretty. It also gives you a couple of days to walk a pretty easy path to get yourself in a little better camino shape before the much harder but beautiful day from Irun to San Sebastian. If I could do it at 64 years old and in average shape I know you can too!

 

[BombayBill]

Remember too that there are 2 trails in many places on the Norte. The GR trail often goes up and down the escarpments to the beaches. And the Camino trail that may follow the road. The beach / escarpment trail is beautiful but harder.

 

[naplesdon]

July is a busy season for vacationers from Spain headed to the beaches. What would lead you to believe that towns on the Norte will be less crowded than the CF?

 

[Vacajoe]

July is a busy season for vacationers from Spain headed to the beaches. What would lead you to believe that towns on the Norte will be less crowded than the CF?

Trails will be emptier, perhaps, but the towns will definitely be busier given those exact reasons! Also, the CF in July is quieter than you’d expect due to the heat - many locals do not walk then.

Walk the Norte because you want to walk the Norte, not because you are hoping to avoid the unknown on another path.

 

[Philtration]

My brother and I started the Norte from Irun last summer. We made it as far as San Sebastiàn before giving up and switching to the CF. Our downfall was downhills. Our aging knees were not up to the down. Fabulous scenery on the 2 days we did however. If you are in good shape I can highly vouch for the first couple of days. If you can, catch the little ferry between Pasai Donibane and Pasaia.

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[peregrina2000]

July is a busy season for vacationers from Spain headed to the beaches.

I've decided on hiking the northern way in July to avoid the heat and possibly overcrowded-ness of the French Camino.

Don has made a good point. July is still not ultra-high tourist season in the towns on the Norte (that would be August), but if you add tourists plus pilgrim on the Norte vs. pilgrims (and a few tourists, mainly in big cities) on the Francés, I would say that accommodations may be easier to come by in July on the Francés than on the Norte.

I have walked the Norte in June, and found that the huge supply of tourist accommodations and few tourists meant that often we could snag a great deal that would be filled and expensive in high summer. But things will be filling up and prices going up in July, though not as much as in august of course.

I’m not suggesting it’s a bad idea to walk the Norte in July, because it is a beautiful camino and surely gets more beautiful in the lushness of the summer in Northern Spain. But I think you should be prepared for a fair amount of demand for accommodations.

 

[Walli Walker]

My favourite part was Irun to Bilbao. Tough but beautiful.

 

[tjz]

Like Vacajoe, we started from Biarritz this March. We walked from the airport into Bayonne, got a stamp at the cathedral, and started fresh from there the next day. The coastal route in France is beautiful and pretty easy walking. The walk from Hondarribia to San Sebastian was glorious - we took the ridgeline route and it was worth the effort. You'll love the Norte!

 

[trecile]

Also, the CF in July is quieter than you’d expect due to the heat - many locals do not walk then.

Exactly right. I had no problems with "crowds" or getting a bed in July on the Francés - until I entered Galicia. Then I simply booked ahead each day.