Hiking for two weeks - best place to start

[marcy]

If I only have 2 weeks to hike, where is the best place to start the Camino, assuming I'd like to finish in Santiago?

 

[fortview]

Hi Marcy,
If you want to finish in Santiago, do you know how far you'd like to walk each day? You could possibly start in Leon if you're a good walker. Or else start in Astorga, and have shorter days walking, bearing in mind that you'd have the climb up to O'Cebreiro, and you'd be able to break that up into smaller stages.
Have fun with the planning! It's all good..
Buen camino, Helen

 

[MendiWalker]

You could also start in O Cebreiro and once you get to Santiago de Compostela carry on to Finisterra.
But it all depends on lots of factors.

Buen Camino!

 

[StuartM]

I started in Astorga and did it in a comfortable 10 days. It's about 270km from there and has good rail connections. You get Cruz de Ferro on the 2nd day too.

 

[jpflavin1]

You could walk the Primitivo starting in Oviedo.

 

[november_moon]

We have 15-16 days for the walk, and are planning to walk from Leon to Santiago. Based on the stages laid out in John Brierley's book, this will take 13 days, with the shortest being about 20km and the longest just over 30km. We are pretty good walkers and in pretty good shape, so I think we will be able to keep this pace. We have a couple extra days if we want to rest or just find ourselves not walking as far, so I think we will make it. Our backup plan is to take a bus or taxi through a stage or two if we need to.

Astorga to Santiago is 11 stages, so since you have a little less time than we do, that might be a good choice - especially if you want to avoid having to take a bus or taxi for part of the route since 13 stages in 14 days doesn't leave any room for rest days or shorter walking days.

 

[marcy]

thanks everyone for the feedback!

 

[rosefield]

What about starting in St Jeanne - Walking as far as it takes you - and bus to Santiago.

 

[dustylee]

I started in Astorga (wanted to see the Gaudi palace there) & it took me exactly 14 days to Santiago. I decided that 20 kms/day was the right amount for me & the one day I walked 30 kms was too much & I started to get tendinitis. Try to determine what you can do comfortably (e.g., without injuries, etc.) and then work backwards from Santiago to see where you should start. Buen Camino!

 

[Alena]

We did Astorga-Santiago in 10 days, but there were a couple of days walking over 30 km. which at times felt just too much, especially as September was still quite hot as well. It felt good at the end of the day, but probably 20-25 km. is a bit more enjoyable (of course, personally for me). So, I'd suggest start at Astorga, in this way you will not be pressed for time (which might ruin a little the joy of walking) and in case you arrive earlier - Santiago is definitely worth spending more than a day and you can always catch the bus and reach Finisterre too. A place so favourite for me! Buen Camino.

 

[dougfitz]

For a mix of Christian and possible pre-Christian pilgrimage, next year I am walking an extended Camino Ingles (starting in Covas) and then on to Muxia and Finisterre. I expect it to take around 13 days to get back to Santiago if I return on foot from Finisterre, or I might get the bus back and spend a couple of days in Santiago at the end.

 

[alansykes]

There are some good starting points on the Via de la Plata that would give you 14 days to your compostela. Depending on how far you daily limit is, starting anywhere from Zamora to Puebla de Sanabria would give you a wonderful experience.