Rest days between Burgos and Santiago

[november_moon]

My husband and I will be walking from Burgos to Santiago in June, taking about 3 weeks for the walk. I figure that at the end of each week, we will appreciate having a rest day, so I am planning that in - nothing set in stone, of course, but just want to have an idea of where we might want to stop.

We'll probably take 1 rest day in Leon. When we walked a couple years ago, we started in Leon, but due to a late arrival in town, we didn't actually see much of Leon itself - and we'll likely get to Leon around the end of our first week of walking. I appreciate other recommendations in the local area though - Astorga seemed like a nice place to spend some time too. Last time around, we stayed in Hospital de Orbigo as a partial rest day - made a short day of walking and had the whole afternoon and evening there, so I probably wouldn't want to repeat that. We liked that town a lot, but want to take the opportunity to see another city or town.

For the second stop, I am thinking somewhere around O'Cebreiro - it should probably take us about a week to get there from Leon. When we walked a couple years ago, we had to cut our Camino short due to an emergency at home, so we didn't get all the way to Santiago and aren't familiar with the towns along the way from about Villafranca del Bierzo onward. So I definitely appreciate any recommendation of good places to stop for a rest day. And we aren't opposed to taking a taxi or bus off-route a bit if there is a nice town or relaxing hotel in a picturesque location nearby

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Astorga deserves a day certainly.

The saint's day for San Juan de Sahagún is June 12 and the town of Sahagún celebrates it. We had to stay there a few days and caught the opening. There were parades of local clubs (all in different color shirts). Then a running of the bulls through the streets and then everyone gathered at the bullring to see kids teasing young bulls. Most just had the bulls chase them until they took cover but some stood there ground and with a twist of their backs make the bull miss. Others would run at the bulls and jump or somersault over them. Around midnight there were fireworks and a concert. And this was just Friday afternoon. Saturday was a traditional 6 bull bullfight and Sunday was one where professional did more of the acrobatic stuff but we had to leave Saturday morning. Here's the program for 2008: http://www.sahagun.org/SANJUAN08.html

We also got to see Corpus Christi celebrated in Carrion de los Condes where they lay flowers out in patterns on the street but in 2016 that will be celebrated in late May. Here is what they do (in Spanish except for the pictures): http://www.carriondeloscondes.org/portfolio-items/corpus-christi/

 

[tomnorth]

I took a rest day in Leon. I really enjoyed Leon. It is a cosmopolitan city. If you stop in Leon, Astorga is soon for another rest day. Molinaseca would be another nice spot for a rest day.

 

[ranthr]

If you take a restday in Leon why not stay at the parador for one night at pilgrimsprice. For the rest of the route I would suggest some short days instead of restdays, like walking Villafranca to O'cebreiro in two days, having a short day from Triacastela to Samos to be able to see the cloister and take part in the evening mess there before moving on to Sarria. With some short days in between you are able to look around. Unless you really need a restday to recover restdays often feels to be boring.

 

[DanielH]

I am planning on starting in Burgos in September and have three weeks. Will need two days for travel but is that ample time to make it Santiago? I dont' necessarily want to rush it so that I can enjoy the Camino, but would appreciate any advice from others that have done this

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I am planning on starting in Burgos in September and have three weeks. Will need two days for travel but is that ample time to make it Santiago?

Please tell us how you did on last summer's SJPdP to Burgos stage. Brierley has a suggestion of 12 days for this. How long did it take you and were there any problems along the way? That will help us determine better if you are going for too much. BY days you are giving yourself 19 days to do a Brierley suggestion of 21 days. And it isn't the same to say that you'll do 10% more each day because the next albergue can be quite a bit farther.

PS - Thanks for the likes.

 

[november_moon]

Thanks for the suggestions. We'll play it by ear, of course, and we might not even want to do rest days when we get there - who knows? We definitely wouldn't plan rest days in Leon and Astorga - just kind of thinking perhaps one or the other. Both are places were there are things to do and see, so I think we could easily spend a day in either.

I was wondering about the sightseeing opportunities further on - if there were any cities or towns with enough to see and do that would fill a day. A couple shorter days might be in order instead. We didn't stay overnight in Molinaseca last time, which we regretted. It looked like such a nice town. On the other hand, if there were any spa hotels along the way, spending a day lounging and soaking might not be a bad thing

 

[DanielH]

Please tell us how you did on last summer's SJPdP to Burgos stage. Brierley has a suggestion of 12 days for this. How long did it take you and were there any problems along the way? That will help us determine better if you are going for too much. BY days you are giving yourself 19 days to do a Brierley suggestion of 21 days. And it isn't the same to say that you'll do 10% more each day because the next albergue can be quite a bit farther.

PS - Thanks for the likes.

Rick--I did twelve walking days without any problem. I did have rest days in Pamplona and Logrono. I averaged 15 miles a day, but I figure with the meseta coming up (which is fairly flat), I may be able to do more miles per day. You are welcomed for the well deserved likes!! Daniel

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I did twelve walking days without any problem. I did have rest days in Pamplona and Logrono. I averaged 15 miles a day

So it looks like you can do Brierley's 12 stage SJPdP (286 km) to Burgos in 10 days of walking. On average then 28.6 km/day (18 miles/day) is do-able for you. You are giving yourself 19 days to do the rest (490 km). That matches up closely with the last 20 stages at the Albergues Camino Santiago website (stages 12 - 32) where their day 32 is only 4.1 km.

The Brierley distance of 490 km divided by the 19 days you have to the camino = 25.8 km/day or 16 miles/day.

The longest stage from the Albergues Camino Santiago site (stage 31) is 34.1 km or 21 miles.

From the numbers standpoint only it looks like you could do it if you can avoid more than one down day.

The Albergues Camino Santiago site is in Spanish only but probably is still usable even without knowing Spanish.
It is at http://www.alberguescaminosantiago.com/etapas-y-mapas/

 

[Whalleyranger]

Molinaseca would be another nice spot for a rest day.

Molinaseca is a great place for a rest day. No sightseeing, just relax by the river with a bottle of wine.

 

[Castilian]

For the second stop, I am thinking somewhere around O'Cebreiro

Villafranca del Bierzo could be a place to consider.

Molinaseca is a great place for a rest day. No sightseeing, just relax by the river with a bottle of wine.

Cacabelos is a good option for that too plus it has some sightseeing.

 

[Castilian]

On the other hand, if there were any spa hotels along the way, spending a day lounging and soaking might not be a bad thing

Something like 3kms out of the camino, you have www.balnearioriopambre.com

 

[DanielH]

So it looks like you can do Brierley's 12 stage SJPdP (286 km) to Burgos in 10 days of walking. On average then 28.6 km/day (18 miles/day) is do-able for you. You are giving yourself 19 days to do the rest (490 km). That matches up closely with the last 20 stages at the Albergues Camino Santiago website (stages 12 - 32) where their day 32 is only 4.1 km.

The Brierley distance of 490 km divided by the 19 days you have to the camino = 25.8 km/day or 16 miles/day.

The longest stage from the Albergues Camino Santiago site (stage 31) is 34.1 km or 21 miles.

From the numbers standpoint only it looks like you could do it if you can avoid more than one down day.

The Albergues Camino Santiago site is in Spanish only but probably is still usable even without knowing Spanish.
It is at http://www.alberguescaminosantiago.com/etapas-y-mapas/

thanks so much Rick! I will certainly take all the great info into consideration.
daniel

 

[DanielH]

Molinaseca is a great place for a rest day. No sightseeing, just relax by the river with a bottle of wine.

Thanks Walleyranger for the suggestion. I have read many great things about Molinaseca. Buen Camino!

 

[DanielH]

Villafranca del Bierzo could be a place to consider.



Cacabelos is a good option for that too plus it has some sightseeing.

thanks for another great suggestion. Buen Camino!

 

[november_moon]

Something like 3kms out of the camino, you have www.balnearioriopambre.com

That looks lovely. I will put that idea in my back pocket for sure

And of course keep Cacabelos and Villafranca in mind as well. These are great ideas.

I could definitely spend a day in Molinaseca sitting by the river with a bottle of wine - heck, I could go for that right now.

 

[ajp]

My husband and I will be walking from Burgos to Santiago in June, taking about 3 weeks for the walk. I figure that at the end of each week, we will appreciate having a rest day, so I am planning that in - nothing set in stone, of course, but just want to have an idea of where we might want to stop.

We'll probably take 1 rest day in Leon. When we walked a couple years ago, we started in Leon, but due to a late arrival in town, we didn't actually see much of Leon itself - and we'll likely get to Leon around the end of our first week of walking. I appreciate other recommendations in the local area though - Astorga seemed like a nice place to spend some time too. Last time around, we stayed in Hospital de Orbigo as a partial rest day - made a short day of walking and had the whole afternoon and evening there, so I probably wouldn't want to repeat that. We liked that town a lot, but want to take the opportunity to see another city or town.

For the second stop, I am thinking somewhere around O'Cebreiro - it should probably take us about a week to get there from Leon. When we walked a couple years ago, we had to cut our Camino short due to an emergency at home, so we didn't get all the way to Santiago and aren't familiar with the towns along the way from about Villafranca del Bierzo onward. So I definitely appreciate any recommendation of good places to stop for a rest day. And we aren't opposed to taking a taxi or bus off-route a bit if there is a nice town or relaxing hotel in a picturesque location nearby

Thanks in advance.

 

[ajp]

When I walked in 2009 and 2013, I enjoyed breaks at ( in no particular order) : Burgos, Leon, Sarria, Astorga, Ponferrada, and Carrion de Los Condes. Although a bit early in the walk, Pamplona or Logrono would be a good candidates. I tried to choose places that had something interesting to see or do there, or in the vicinity. The break is welcome, wherever you choose.

 

[Lou elliott]

I walked the way 4 years ago and had two rest days -one actually in Burgos which I loved -but that was city life ,great tapas and culture
I did not plan this but if felt right at the time
The second was just outside cacabelos -in Pieros in a very small Albergue that I liked so much I just didn't want to leave -the small town was just down the hill,there was a river,the hostel had a large upstairs room to relax in and surrounded by vineyards the view was lovely .good food and calm friendly atmosphere
Buen camino -don't over plan -see how you feel !

 

[peregrina2000]

I agree that it's very hard to know if you're going to feel like a rest day when you walk into cities like Leon, Burgos, Astorga, etc, al of which are great places to spend time as a tourist, but you're not going to be a tourist. Maybe you'll feel like taking a day to see the sights, especially if the people you've become close to have that idea, but maybe you'll feel like walking on. I think it's a good idea to plan for rest days but I always like to have them "in my pocket" in case I need a rest because of physical issues. A rest day to be a tourist (which I often plan in my camino schedule) is very different than a rest day to let something heal. Hopefully you will not need the latter, but having to push on because of a tight schedule can have bad consequences.

 

[Thomas Hourihan]

Molinaseca is a great place for a rest day. No sightseeing, just relax by the river with a bottle of wine.

Had a magical lunch and stop in Molinaseca - restaurant resting on the river below the beautiful arched bridge.

 

[Thomas Hourihan]

I am planning on starting in Burgos in September and have three weeks. Will need two days for travel but is that ample time to make it Santiago? I dont' necessarily want to rush it so that I can enjoy the Camino, but would appreciate any advice from others that have done this

I did the Camino last fall - I walked from Burgos to Santiago in 23 days with two rest day: Leon and small mountain village, Faba, just below the beautiful mountain top views at O'Ocebreiro. To do this half of the Camino in three weeks is, in my humble estimation, both physically demanding and affords too little time to make some stops for the sheer joy of it.

 

[mspath]

One very special spot for relaxing is the Hacienda El Val near Ponferrada in Salas de los Barios. Jorge offers comfy private accommodation as well as dorm rooms. Stayed in late November 2014 and loved it. See more here http://haciendaelval.com/the-place/

Buen camino!

 

[Saint Mike II]

The local festival days are often a chance to get to see a part of Spain that many tourists and pilgrims miss out on. Leon (imho) is worth an extra day/night - the Parador San Marcos will give you the pilgrim discount - I paid 107 Euros for a single occupancy of a double room including breakfast - give them a call from (say) Sahagun. After Astorga/O'Cebreiro you can put in a couple of shorter days and the walking is often easier. Its virtually all down hill from O'Cebreiro to Triacastela. From there you could have a short day to Samos - visit the old monastery. This would then allow you to set up stages that are out of phase to the Brierley stages - more chances of finding a comfortable bed. Good luck

 

[DanielH]

I did the Camino last fall - I walked from Burgos to Santiago in 23 days with two rest day: Leon and small mountain village, Faba, just below the beautiful mountain top views at O'Ocebreiro. To do this half of the Camino in three weeks is, in my humble estimation, both physically demanding and affords too little time to make some stops for the sheer joy of it.

Thanks Thomas. That's great info to have. I feel like it would be pushing it too much as I do want to enjoy the Camino as well. Buen Camino!