What a nice honeymoon you're preparing. I'd like to contribute. I've done that part of the Camino a couple of times and I'll propose you a tentative itinerary. I supose that as long as you're in Honeymoon you deserve and need som privacy, so I'll state the Hotels/Hostels/ pensions that I've used and that I've personally liked.
Day 1 – Leon- Visit the wonderful Cathedral and don’t miss the Pantheon of the Kings at Saint Isidoro Church. It’s called the Sixtine Chapel of Spain due to the wonderful Romanesque paintings in the walls.
Day 2 - Leon- Villar de Mazarife- 22 kms. Easy and flat. You surely know there are two routes from Leon to Astorga. I always choose the more scenic country road sleeping the first day in Villar de Mazarife. The other route goes by the side of a busy road and is more stressing. In Villar you can sleep in Albergue Tio Pepe, a nice albergue with a couple of private rooms, quiet and clean. It has a nice patio to rest too.
Day 3 - Villar de Mazarife- Astorga- 29 kms. Easy too. Halfway in the day you will arrive to the wonderful Puente de Orbigo, the longest medieval bridge in Spain where the famous tournament of Suero de Quiñones was held (read about it, it’s a pure delight). From Hospital you can also choose two routes to Astorga. I’ll take the country road through Villares de Orbigo and Santibañez. Althought a little hilly and a little longer, it goes far from the road and through some nice pine forests. In Astorga you have a choice of different nice hotels. I’ve stayed in Hotel Ciudad de Astorga. It’s good and has a perfect location. Don’t miss the cathedral and the Gaudi Palace with the Pilgrim’s museum inside. And if you like sweets, don’t miss Mantecados, the typical Astorgan sweet. Really good. Be careful if you ask for a Cocido Maragato to eat. It’s really serious eating….
Day 4 - Astorga- Foncebadon- 26 Kms. Medium hard. You really have the choice of sleeping in Rabanal del Camino, a beautiful Camino town. But I prefer to walk 5 kms more and sleep in the ghost town of Foncebadon so the next day the walk to Ponferrada is shorter and I can enjoy the sunrise in the top of the mountains as I walk the 3 kms from Foncebadon to La Cruz de Hierro. Don’t miss the Cowboy bar in El Ganso (really curious and a perfect place to have a rest) and in Foncebadon you can sleep in El Convento de Foncebadon (nice and clean) and dine in a curious and nice “medieval style” restaurant called La Taberna de Gaia (right by the side of the hotel). Foncebadon it’s a real magical stop.
Day 5 - Foncebadón- Ponferrada- 26-Km. Medium –Hard. It’s my favourite stage of the whole way. The sunrise from Foncebadon is magic. Start early so you can reach the legendary Cruz de Hierro with the first lights. Don’t forget to bring a small stone from home to leave it at the Cross as millions of pilgrims have done before you. Visit in Manjarin the Templar Albergue; a nice place to rest and see and then appreciate the views of Ponferrada from te top of the mountains. Magic. Then begin the deep descend to Ponferrada crossing the nice towns of El Acebo and Molinaseca. Both are beautiful. The last stretch from Molinaseca to Ponferrada is tiring but once you reach Ponferrada don’t miss the incredible Templar castle. Something to be seen. In Ponferrada there are a lot of hotels, I like a nice (and expensive) hotel in the centre called Aroi Bierzo Plaza.
Day 6 - Ponferrada- Villafranca- 23 kms. Easy. You cross the whole Bierzo valley in one day, finishing in the very nice town of Villafranca with three magnificent churches and some very beautiful streets. There are a lot of hotels, including a Parador. I personally like the Hostal La Puerta del PerdĂłn, very nice and with a superb staff.
Day 7 - Villafranca- O’Cebreiro- 28 kms . 20 easy kms and 8 hard, hard, hard kms. You enter Galicia. It really deserves the effort. You go along the River Valcarce valley the first 20 kms in an easy walk, and then you climb the Cebreiro mountain. Difficult, specially the first 4 kms, but the view from the top of the mountain deserves it all. I like to sleep in the little village of O’Cebreiro (normally in Hotel O’Cebreiro or Hotel San Giraldo de Aurillac, both of the same property). Enjoy the whole small town; the church of the famous Cebreiro Miracle, the beautiful Pallozas, and (if the weather allows) don’t miss the wonderful sunset from the small hill above the Albergue (where some picnic tables are set). Perfect for a honeymoon¡¡¡.
Day 8 - O’Cebreiro- Triacastela. 21 kms. Medium-Easy. You descend to Galicia, but you have still to climb Alto del Poio, where a beautiful statue of a Pilgrim is. A nice walk. In Traicastela all you can do is rest. There are some Hostels. I’ve used Albergue Complexo Xacobeo, which has a small private room.
Day 9 - Triacastela- Sarria. 19 Kms through San Xil or 24 through Samos. I nice walk both ways. Lots of forests. The longest route goes through Samos, one of the earliest and biggest Spanish monasteries. It’s very nice. Sarria is a big town with all kind of services. I like Hotel Alfonso IX, big and very conveniently placed. You have to take an evening drink in the beautiful Paseo del Espolón, by the side of the river.
Day 10 - Sarria- PortomarĂn- 22 kms. Easy. (except for the first three kms out of Sarria). A very scenic walk. In the middle of the day you reach the sign of the last 100 kms to Santiago. Then you have to cross a big bridge to enter PortomarĂn. The church is beautiful . various hotels. I like La Posada de Portomarin. Very good and with magnificent views.
Day 11 - PortomarĂn- Palas de Rey. 25 kms. Easy. A nice walk approaching Santiago. In Palas I like Hotel casa Benilde. Not expensive, familiar, clean and well located.
Day 12- Palas de Rey – Arzua- 29 kms. Easy until you reach Melide. Then very tiring to Arzua. A long day. Stop halfway in Melide to try the famous Octopus (Casa Ezequiel is a good place to have it, and it’s just by the side of The Way, in the center of Melide). Save energies for the very tiring final stretch form Melide to Arzua, with three steep climbs. In Arzua I like to stay in Casa Teodora. Good hotel and superb and cheap restaurant.
Day 13 - Arzua- Lavacolla- 29 kms. Easy but long. Final kms. You can stop at Pedruzo, (19 kms from Arzua) but I always try to arrive to Lavacolla, 10 kms further, leaving a final short day to Santiago. That allows my to reach Santiago in my final day with time enough to assist to the Pilgrim’s mass at the Cathedral wich is held all days at noon.
If I stay in Pedrouzo I like Hotel O’Pino, If I stay in Lavacolla, Hotel Ruta Jacobea or the beautiful Pazo Xan Xordo.
Day 14 - Lavacolla- Santiago- 10 kms. Easy. TIP: When you reach Monte del Gozo, if you want to see the cathedral from there, you cannot do it from the hill in which the monument of Popo John Paul II is. In fact you have to go to a hill that is seen some 300 meters to the left of it and in which there’s a very nice monument representing two pilgrims. From there you can descend to the enormous albergue and rejoin the Way to enter Santiago. Once there you can book two tours that will give you a very different perspective of the cathedral. One allows you to access the roof of the cathedral and the other to the foundations of the cathedral and the excavations that are being mada there. Very nice and singuar both of them. (check at
http://www.infomuseo.com/catedraldesantiago/espanol/individual/index.php?lng=en )
In Santiago I like Hotel As Artes, not expensive, very small and just 100 mtrs from the Cathedral. Very convenient to do sightseeing.
Day 15 - Finisterre. Day by the sea. You can take a Bus there or rent a car and see the sunset from the end of the world. It’s not pilgrimage, but it’s nice.
Hope it helps.
