Actual distance between SJPDP and Santiago: 785 km vs 790 km?

[Princess Kaguya]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

I am finding myself in a bit of a puzzler: I completed the camino frances last year and here I am looking back at photos and notes on my John Brierly guidebook.

As I was trying to recreate the itinerary with our actual stops and distances covered per day (slightly different from the daily sections recommended in the guidebook), I came across this website that really helps in calculating distances: https://godesalco.com/plan/frances

HOWEVER, on this website, much praised by pilgrims, the total distance SJPDP to Santiago is 790 km, while the guidebook, also praised by many pilgrims, says 785 km.

So, which one is correct?

 

[jungleboy]

It could be neither. My compostela says 799km. When I started, I was under the impression it was 791km, but I don't remember the source. It could also depend on which option you choose at the various forks in the road and which route you take into cities like Burgos.

 

[C clearly]

Walking that distance is not a precision matter. The difference of 5 km over 790 km is less than 1%. You cannot expect better than that - unless you want the straight-line-point-to-point measurement by GPS, which would be rather useless when it comes to knowing how much you'll have to walk in a day. Also, little detours happen for road work which can change every day. Then consider that the people walking and measuring it might cross the street and back inefficiently. One could possibly measure a precise length by using very sophisticated mapping and visualization tools (I'm just guessing here), by why would a camino-guide writer do that?

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

I am finding myself in a bit of a puzzler: I completed the camino frances last year and here I am looking back at photos and notes on my John Brierly guidebook.

As I was trying to recreate the itinerary with our actual stops and distances covered per day (slightly different from the daily sections recommended in the guidebook), I came across this website that really helps in calculating distances: https://godesalco.com/plan/frances

HOWEVER, on this website, much praised by pilgrims, the total distance SJPDP to Santiago is 790 km, while the guidebook, also praised by many pilgrims, says 785 km.

So, which one is correct?

When I'am not mistaking the Pilgrimsoffice in Santiago use 790km. on the distance certificate.
But what is a km. more ore les.

 

[Waka]

Getting lost a few times tends to add the miles.

 

[KinkyOne]

I always find distances mentioned in guides slightly different than my Wikiloc recordings. Usually they are shorter than my GPS tracks but I think I know why. I'm measuring them from point to point which mostly means from albergue to albergue and I continue GPS recording the next day at exactly the same spot I finished the day before. OTOH I suspect that guides include distances measured from the end of town to the beginning of the next one but not through the town/village.

There could also be other "glitches". I remember the signs with distances before and after one town on Camino Levante. The one before town A stated that it's (from the memory) 13kms to next town, town B. After I walked 3 kms through town A I found the sign on the outskirts that was saying there are 15kms (instead of 10) to town B. Figure that

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Don't forget that uphill kilometers are longer than downhill kilometers.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Getting lost a few times tends to add the miles.

And thrills.

 

[Deleted member 12253]

Just walk and enjoy. Add 100km for getting lost and you will be fine i never ever request distance certificate

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

I am finding myself in a bit of a puzzler: I completed the camino frances last year and here I am looking back at photos and notes on my John Brierly guidebook.

As I was trying to recreate the itinerary with our actual stops and distances covered per day (slightly different from the daily sections recommended in the guidebook), I came across this website that really helps in calculating distances: https://godesalco.com/plan/frances

HOWEVER, on this website, much praised by pilgrims, the total distance SJPDP to Santiago is 790 km, while the guidebook, also praised by many pilgrims, says 785 km.

So, which one is correct?

Probably neither. I'd assume the measurements are now made using GPS co-ordinates hence the ridiculous number of decimal places on the markers - who needs to know to the nearest millimetre? That wouldn't take into account the up and down slopes. 800km will do me fine.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Don't forget that uphill kilometers are longer than downhill kilometers.

By the way, seriously, a slope doesn't actually add a lot to the distance walked. As an example let's take a steep 20 percent slope of 2,000 meter elevation gain over a horizontal distance distance of 10 km. The length of the hypotenuse/slope is just a bit under 10.2 km.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If it is 790, I don’t think I can make it.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

If it is 790, I don’t think I can make it.

Don't worry. Its really closer to 789.

 

[David Tallan]

There are so many variations and alternate routes at different points along the way that I would take any exact measurement with a grain of salt.

 

[Princess Kaguya]

Thank you for all your replies!
In nutshell, the answer is there will always be discrepancies between measurements due to logistical, geographical and human limitations. The camino is around 790 km, and that's all we need to know

Thank you!

 

[Kathar1na]

It's rather alarming to see how the girth of the earth must have grown between 2014-2016 and now. According to various official Distance Certificates issued by the Pilgrims Office and displayed on the net, the (pilgrim's) distance between Saint Jean Pied de Port and Santiago used to be 775 km and is now 799 km.

PS: Who came up with 799 km? It looks of course more convincing and "more accurate" than 800 km.

 

[Kanga]

It might be that in a straight line but what about wandering around town (a) looking for the best confiteria (b) checking out the opening hours of the church (c) finding an ATM machine (d) wondering which restaurant is favoured by the locals (e) finding the pharmacy with a stock of blue rock tape. By my reckoning that has to add at least 200km!

 

[Bradypus]

PS: Who came up with 799 km? It looks of course more convincing and "more accurate" than 800 km.

Must be the same principle that makes so many shops price things at £3.99 rather than £4. I wonder how many people would refuse to buy if they had to cough up the extra 1p?

 

[Shalaw]

My compostela says it’s 775kms. Lol. So I guess it depends on who fills it out in Santiago?!

 

[t2andreo]

The OFFICIAL distance from SJPdP to Santiago de Compostela is 799 kilometers. It was previously 775 km. My distance certificate from 2014 states the smaller number.

The change is fairly recent. About 18 months ago, someone got the notion to recalculate all of the distances on the various Camino routes precisely, using GPS technology. This is the result.

Hope this helps.

 

[Shalaw]

The OFFICIAL distance from SJPdP to Santiago de Compostela is 799 kilometers. It was previously 775 km. My distance certificate from 2014 states the smaller number.

The change is fairly recent. About 18 months ago, someone got the notion to recalculate all of the distances on the various Camino routes precisely, using GPS technology. This is the result.

Hope this helps.

Hi there. Is there a link??

 

[Jane Silverman]

Don't forget that uphill kilometers are longer than downhill kilometers.

Thank you for the most helpful answer in this thread!!

 

[t2andreo]

Hi there. Is there a link??

Nope. You need to do the Camino and arrive at the Pilgrim Office to get the distance certificate. The distance tables are not published.

 

[Glamgrrl]

When I'am not mistaking the Pilgrimsoffice in Santiago use 790km. on the distance certificate.
But what is a km. more ore les.

The pilgrim office in Santiago wrote 799km on my certificate July 2018

 

[Glamgrrl]

I found none of the guidebooks measured the same as my GPS and additionally two other distance measuring units I had. I consider all distances published “relative”.

 

[jmcarp]

+/- 5km??? It only matters if you're getting paid by the kilometer. What about those kilometers that one walks going from the albergue to a tienda for food, to a bar for a beer or glass of wine with your friends after you've showered and washed your clothes, walked around the town or village to take in a bit of the local culture? They all add up after four or five weeks--do they matter? What about walking from the airport to the taxi stand, bus stop, or train station? Isn't that part of your Camino? Or as someone else said, what about the extra km walked when you weren't paying attention and missed a yellow arrow (or thought the shell symbol really pointed the way based on its orientation)? Sorry if I seem sarcastic, but is that what the Camino is about? Not for me, anyway.

 

[Felipe]

This (in Google Maps) is probably the original source of the 790 km estimation. Even if accurate, it obviously shows the road distance. The path could be longer (it takes some detours by interesting or relevant places) and alternatively shorter (because walkers are able to manage some steep slopes and close turns better than vehicles).
But anyway, we like round numbers. And they are easier to remember.

 

[Shalaw]

Nope. You need to do the Camino and arrive at the Pilgrim Office to get the distance certificate. The distance tables are not published.

That’s exactly what I did, in 2015!! So it makes sense that my distance certificate says 775kms. Sorry, I misread your post and thought when you said, “this is the result”, that there was a link with all the distances for all the caminos. Lol.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

My compostela distance certificate from May 2017 states I walked 799 kilometers. I was surprised they didn't round it up to a nice even 800, especially since I'd walked up that big hill in Castrojerez to see the castle ruins. Lol!

 

[Lance Chambers]

There is a large sign as you leave Roncess valles that tells you that you need to walk 790 kms to get to Santiago and you need to walk 25.4 kms to get to Roncess from St. Jean.

Add them together and you get 815.4 kms. I never trusted the idea that the total was 790.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

There is a large sign as you leave Roncess valles that tells you that you need to walk 790 kms to get to Santiago and you need to walk 25.4 kms to get to Roncess from St. Jean.

Add them together and you get 815.4 kms. I never trusted the idea that the total was 790.

The sign stating 790 kms is a road sign, so that most likely accounts for the differences.

 

[supersullivan]

2015: 832.78 kms, St J. P. de P. to S de C. measured using my hiking G. P. S. unit. Recorded distances daily from departure in morning to arrival at end of day so evening excursions /walk arounds excluded.
There are so many option variations. 2 different routes choices leaving St J P. de P.
Leaving V. del Bierzo presents a choice of 3 routes of different lengths.
Shortly after Leon, 2 choices etc.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...99950740253.2113467.1301217680&type=3&theater

 

[naplesdon]

I assume walking around in circles every time you stop for the day to find food and drink shouldn't be considered as supersullivan found by using his GPS device. This photo is from a stele near the Font de Roland at the French and Spanish border which is a little more than 18 statute km from SJPdP.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

It's rather alarming to see how the girth of the earth must have grown between 2014-2016 and now. According to various official Distance Certificates issued by the Pilgrims Office and displayed on the net, the (pilgrim's) distance between Saint Jean Pied de Port and Santiago used to be 775 km and is now 799 km.

PS: Who came up with 799 km? It looks of course more convincing and "more accurate" than 800 km.

Which brings to mind the question "Who was the first person to put two feet on Mount Everest":

"The first person to put two feet on the top of Mount Everest was Bengal mathematician Radhanath Sikdar. He was the first person to identify Everest as the world's highest mountain. He measured it to be exactly 29,000 feet. However, he thought no-one would believe him, thinking he just rounded the number off, so he added two feet to the measurement to make it look as if he was incredibly precise. So 29,002 feet was the official measurement, although it is now known to be 29,028 feet."

 

[jmcarp]

This whole discussion is more than slightly reminiscent of a Shakespearian comedy -- I think most of you know the title.

 

[jungleboy]

The change is fairly recent. About 18 months ago, someone got the notion to recalculate all of the distances on the various Camino routes precisely, using GPS technology. This is the result.

Hope this helps.

It does indeed, thanks. I was also surprised to see on my Compostela this year that the Primitivo from Oviedo was listed as 334km, when I had thought it was about 311km. So I assume this was recalculated as well.

 

[Avenelite]

When I'am not mistaking the Pilgrimsoffice in Santiago use 790km. on the distance certificate.
But what is a km. more ore les.

My certificate, issued by the Pilgrim Office, having started in St Jean, has 775kms on it. Perhaps I should have checked at the time: June 16th, 2016. (Right then, though, it had felt closer to 1,775kms and the celebratory drink awaited! Priorities?) Thanks "t2andreo" for your explanation above, regarding the change in recent years. Now, why did I laminate that certificate? Just kidding: I am so happy to have it, regardless of kms recorded.

 

[blueskywa]

It's rather alarming to see how the girth of the earth must have grown between 2014-2016 and now. According to various official Distance Certificates issued by the Pilgrims Office and displayed on the net, the (pilgrim's) distance between Saint Jean Pied de Port and Santiago used to be 775 km and is now 799 km.

PS: Who came up with 799 km? It looks of course more convincing and "more accurate" than 800 km.

My thoughts too - 2016 mine said 775km, then this year while getting my del note compostela I saw someone's Frances route said 799km!! No matter the distance, what an experience!!!

 

[Telboyo]

The OFFICIAL distance from SJPdP to Santiago de Compostela is 799 kilometers. It was previously 775 km. My distance certificate from 2014 states the smaller number.

The change is fairly recent. About 18 months ago, someone got the notion to recalculate all of the distances on the various Camino routes precisely, using GPS technology. This is the result.

Hope this helps.

That's global warming for you, the extra temperature has made the earth expand.

 

[t2andreo]

NOT!

 

[Rich1]

I have a handheld Garmin GPS device, a Garmin GPS watch, and an iPhone with GPS. I once experimented by measuring a walk with all 3 devices. Unsurprisingly I got 3 different results.
Whatever the official distance is, the Actual distance is probably at least +/-1%, and that presumably assumes taking the absolute shortest route - the racing line.
I doubt that any of us walk less than 800km if we include visits to cathedrals, and the searches for shops and albergue.
I tell everyone it's 800km...its a good enough figure

 

[jmcarp]

I have a handheld Garmin GPS device, a Garmin GPS watch, and an iPhone with GPS. I once experimented by measuring a walk with all 3 devices. Unsurprisingly I got 3 different results.
Whatever the official distance is, the Actual distance is probably at least +/-1%, and that presumably assumes taking the absolute shortest route - the racing line.
I doubt that any of us walk less than 800km if we include visits to cathedrals, and the searches for shops and albergue.
I tell everyone it's 800km...its a good enough figure

As we say around here, that's close enough for government work.