Valencia to Toledo (how far is it?)

[Sheffield James]

I'm researching the Camino de Levante, but I've had contradictory information about the distance between Valencia and Toledo. One website says it is 429kms (Mundicamino), whereas another says it is 475kms (Vieirigrino), a difference of 46kms.
As this equates to roughly 2-days walking time, I'd welcome any opinions as to which of the two distances is closer to the truth. Thanks!

 

[KinkyOne]

I'm researching the Camino de Levante, but I've had contradictory information about the distance between Valencia and Toledo. One website says it is 429kms (Mundicamino), whereas another says it is 475kms (Vieirigrino), a difference of 46kms.
As this equates to roughly 2-days walking time, I'd welcome any opinions as to which of the two distances is closer to the truth. Thanks!

Hi, James,

I walked Valencia-Toledo in 2015 and my Endomondo counted 550km. BUT last year I was using both Endomondo and Wikiloc and figured out that Endomondo is up to 10% exaggerating. So I would say approx.500km. Minus 3km from the beach in Valencia to the cathedral and another 5 or so kilometers of zig-zagging on exit from Albacete

In recently started thread (5 days ago?) about accommodation I posted my overnight stays with intermediate distances. Search for it in subforum, my post is second in that thread.

Anyway if you're average walker I'd say 3 weeks are very easy, but I know it can be done in 15-17 days. Depends on type of accommodation you want to stay in I guess. Much more possibilities if you're not on a budget...

Ultreia!

 

[Donovan]

I'm researching the Camino de Levante, but I've had contradictory information about the distance between Valencia and Toledo. One website says it is 429kms (Mundicamino), whereas another says it is 475kms (Vieirigrino), a difference of 46kms.

James, When I walked this route I didn’t measure anything, but felt that the Vieirigrinos numbers were generally about right. Add a few km if you intend to go via Alpera

 

[peregrina2000]

This is frustrating, I know. But a 46 km difference here is about 10% of the total. In my experience, I don't think you're likely to get much closer than that. I don't think you should think of it in terms of adding two days, though, because what will happen is that what you thought was going to be a 32 km stage turns out to be a 29 km stage or a 35 km stage. I would never plan a camino with fewer than two days wiggle room, anyway!

I think that if you look through the stages in the various guides and make a guesstimate and then add a couple of days, you will be fine. I think that's a better way to make a game plan anyway. I know people who just take the total and divide it by their average kms per day, but in my experience that doesn't always work out -- either because of spacing of albergues or elevation issues, etc. Good luck with this, you're in for a castle-studded camino!

 

[Sheffield James]

Hi, James,

I walked Valencia-Toledo in 2015 and my Endomondo counted 550km. BUT last year I was using both Endomondo and Wikiloc and figured out that Endomondo is up to 10% exaggerating. So I would say approx.500km. Minus 3km from the beach in Valencia to the cathedral and another 5 or so kilometers of zig-zagging on exit from Albacete

In recently started thread (5 days ago?) about accommodation I posted my overnight stays with intermediate distances. Search for it in subforum, my post is second in that thread.

Anyway if you're average walker I'd say 3 weeks are very easy, but I know it can be done in 15-17 days. Depends on type of accommodation you want to stay in I guess. Much more possibilities if you're not on a budget...

Ultreia!

Thanks KinkyOne. I wasn't really looking for anyone to add kms to the larger of my two quoted distances, but I guess The truth hurts sometimes!!
I will now search out your accommodation list to flesh out my embryonic plan.

 

[Sheffield James]

This is frustrating, I know. But a 46 km difference here is about 10% of the total. In my experience, I don't think you're likely to get much closer than that. I don't think you should think of it in terms of adding two days, though, because what will happen is that what you thought was going to be a 32 km stage turns out to be a 29 km stage or a 35 km stage. I would never plan a camino with fewer than two days wiggle room, anyway!

I think that if you look through the stages in the various guides and make a guesstimate and then add a couple of days, you will be fine. I think that's a better way to make a game plan anyway. I know people who just take the total and divide it by their average kms per day, but in my experience that doesn't always work out -- either because of spacing of albergues or elevation issues, etc. Good luck with this, you're in for a castle-studded camino!

Thanks @peregrina2000. I agree with your comment about the averaging of total distances + only mentioned it as a shorthand for the problem in hand.

I also agree with you about 'wiggle room' days and because my intention is to walk from Valencia to SdC via the Levante, Madrid, Francés and Invierno on a fixed time schedule, the big question is how many contingency days I can build in to the overall plan. At the moment, I will be walking over a max 50days.

 

[Sheffield James]

James, When I walked this route I didn’t measure anything, but felt that the Vieirigrinos numbers were generally about right. Add a few km if you intend to go via Alpera

@Donovan, I'm early in my Levante research, but I'll make sure to check out Alpera if it is an optional extra along the camino route. Cheers!

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks @peregrina2000. I agree with your comment about the averaging of total distances + only mentioned it as a shorthand for the problem in hand.

I also agree with you about 'wiggle room' days and because my intention is to walk from Valencia to SdC via the Levante, Madrid, Francés and Invierno on a fixed time schedule, the big question is how many contingency days I can build in to the overall plan. At the moment, I will be walking over a max 50days.

50 days, wow, that is glorious!

Being the officious intermeddler that I am, I will offer the unsolicited opinion that the Toledo to Avila section of the Levante is not to be missed. The mountain stretch before Avila is just beautiful. Where would you cross from Levante to Madrid?

Buen camino, Laurie

p.s. I'm working on the forum Invierno guide now, so you will have the most up to date version.

 

[Sheffield James]

50 days, wow, that is glorious!

Being the officious intermeddler that I am, I will offer the unsolicited opinion that the Toledo to Avila section of the Levante is not to be missed. The mountain stretch before Avila is just beautiful. Where would you cross from Levante to Madrid?

Buen camino, Laurie

p.s. I'm working on the forum Invierno guide now, so you will have the most up to date version.

Laurie, the plan is to turn north at Toledo and plot an off-camino path for the ~76kms to Madrid. I would love to continue on the Levante to Avila, but that would make it too difficult time-wise to transition to the Madrid at its start-point in the time we have available.

I look forward to your revised Invierno guide. Will it be ready by end-March?

Regards from Brexitania!
James

 

[peregrina2000]

Wikiloc shows a few different cycling options for Toledo to Madrid but I didn't see any GPS tracks from walkers, so I guess you'll either be stuck on bike paths or low traffic roads (hopefully). You probably already know that the Cercanias line goes as far south as Parla, so you can avoid the entrance to Madrid if need be. My impression is that coming in from the south will not be the quick, non-industrial trail that the exit to the north is, since so much of Madrid's industry is to the south.

I have a friend who lives in Soto el Real (about 15 km north of Colmenar el Viejo, which is on the Madrid route). He can cycle the 50-odd kms from his house to the river route along the Manzanares in south Madrid on a path that does not require him to intersect with car traffic at all. I find that astonishing, but I don't think the infrastructure is the same in the south of Madrid, undortunately.

Good luck with this -- I'd be interested to see what route you decide on.

Buen camino, Laurie

p.s. I expect that the Invierno guide will be out for revisions and comments from loyal forum fans in the next week or so, so there will be no problem having it done by March. But the current one is certainly adequate for your planning.

 

[Sheffield James]

@peregrina2000, you've really set the 'cat among the pigeons' with your recent posts. I'm now tempted to continue on the Levante beyond Toledo to Avila, then turn right for the Madrid, joining it at Segovia. My calculations suggest it is going to involve 7-days walking regardless of the route I take. I've walked the Madrid recently, so this would enable me to enjoy more of the Levante, including the great city of Avila, without the uncertainty of the Toledo-Madrid transition. Gracias!

 

[moromauro]

I guess from Avila northbound you have also plenty of other options to get to the Camino de Madrid.

Using the local and provincial roads, you can easily connect your Caminos between Medina del Campo (on the Levante) and Valdestillas in one day walking (about 27 kms; it could be a bit shorter if you find a more direct way to walk than the provincial roads); another option could be going from Arevalo to Coca (or to Nava de la Asunciòn) , passing by Santiuste de San Juan Bautista: again, 25/27 kms.

As you have certainly noticed while you were walking your Camino de Madrid, in that countryside provincial & local roads have a very little traffic of cars, so one day walking over them can be acceptable, even if it's probably mostly on tarmac.

Whenever you get to Medina del Campo going along the Camino del Levante you could also keep further on the Camino del Sureste for one more stage, till Tordesillas, and then try to get to Camino de Madrid in Simancas (or Puente Duero): it's even shorter than the previous options but maybe the roads are more crowded in that area; there could be some itinerary along the river Duero but some more accurate search has to be done in order to find a pleasant and safe track to walk!

Anyway, the Camino del Levante/del Sureste (stint from Arevalo to Villalpando) runs in parallel to the Camino de Madrid (stint from Santa Maria La Real de Nieva to Medina de Rioseco) for a very long distance and there are always 23/28 kms walking from one track to the other: so you can find plenty of opportunities to switch from Levante/Sureste to the Camino de Madrid in just one day.

Managing properly the map at the following address can allow you to plan several options for your "Camino switch":

http://www.caminosantiago.org/cpperegrino/caminos/nuestroscaminos.asp

 

[Sheffield James]

I guess from Avila northbound you have also plenty of other options to get to the Camino de Madrid.

Using the local and provincial roads, you can easily connect your Caminos between Medina del Campo (on the Levante) and Valdestillas in one day walking (about 27 kms; it could be a bit shorter if you find a more direct way to walk than the provincial roads); another option could be going from Arevalo to Coca (or to Nava de la Asunciòn) , passing by Santiuste de San Juan Bautista: again, 25/27 kms.

As you have certainly noticed while you were walking your Camino de Madrid, in that countryside provincial roads have a very little traffic of cars, so one day walking along them can be acceptable, even if on tarmac.

Whenever you get to Medina del Campo along the Camino del Levante you could also go on along the Camino del Sureste for one more stage, till Tordesillas, and then try to get to Simancas: it's even shorter than the previous options but maybe the roads are more crowded in that area; there could be some itinerary along the river Duero but some more accurate search has to be done in order to find a pleasant and safe track to walk!

Anyway, the Camino del Levante/del Sureste (stint from Arevalo to Villalpando) runs in parallel to the Camino de Madrid (stint Santa Maria La Real de Nieva to Medina de Rioseco) for a very long distance and there are always 23/28 kms walking from one track to the other: so you can find plenty of opportunities to switch from Levante/Surest to the Camino de Madrid in just one day.

Managing properly the map at the following address you can plan several options for your "Camino switch":

http://www.caminosantiago.org/cpperegrino/caminos/nuestroscaminos.asp

@moromauro, thank-you very much for your detailed response. I wasn't aware of the proximity of the Levante/Sureste routes to the Camino de Madrid, so I've even more food-for-thought than I could have imagined. I look forward to taking a look at the map link tomorrow.

 

[peregrina2000]

You know,now that I think about it, there was a guy from Wisconsin who was going to walk with his son on some combination involving the Madrid, the Levante and the Sanabres, but I do not remember the details. And I think a female forum member who wanted to go to Avila for some reason connected with Santa Teresa was also doing some playing around with criss crossing between these caminos. I will have to do some searching to see what I can find.

 

[peregrina2000]

Aha! Thanks to the search function, and to the fact that the forum member noted his Wisconsin location in the message, I was able to find one of the threads with Avila and Wisconsin as the search words!

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/new-member-s.30054/#post-255681

 

[Sheffield James]

You know,now that I think about it, there was a guy from Wisconsin who was going to walk with his son on some combination involving the Madrid, the Levante and the Sanabres, but I do not remember the details. And I think a female forum member who wanted to go to Avila for some reason connected with Santa Teresa was also doing some playing around with criss crossing between these caminos. I will have to do some searching to see what I can find.

Laurie, I'm delighted to have captured your interest in this project and, naturally, I'll be very interested in anything you can find out.

 

[Sheffield James]

Aha! Thanks to the search function, and to the fact that the forum member noted his Wisconsin location in the message, I was able to find one of the threads with Avila and Wisconsin as the search words!

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/new-member-s.30054/#post-255681

Wow! That was quick.

 

[peregrina2000]

This must be my lucky day, I am pretty sure the woman I was thinking of is @Pray'nwalk. You can find more of her posts pretty easily, but here is one. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-plata-costs-and-alberques.43245/#post-445259

She went from Avila on the Levante to the Sanabres, so maybe not useful for you. Alansykes has also done some crossing over. I am not sure it's relevant to you either, but since it's in the same neck of the woods, here's a link that may lead to others. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...rom-the-madrid-to-the-vdlp.32119/#post-357805

 

[Sheffield James]

This must be my lucky day, I am pretty sure the woman I was thinking of is @Pray'nwalk. You can find more of her posts pretty easily, but here is one. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-plata-costs-and-alberques.43245/#post-445259

She went from Avila on the Levante to the Sanabres, so maybe not useful for you. Alansykes has also done some crossing over. I am not sure it's relevant to you either, but since it's in the same neck of the woods, here's a link that may lead to others. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...rom-the-madrid-to-the-vdlp.32119/#post-357805

It's my lucky day, Laurie. Thank-you! Time for you to stop for a nice cup of tea, methinks! James

 

[Donovan]

UOTE="Sheffield James, post: 475570, member: 23079"]@Donovan, I'm early in my Levante research, but I'll make sure to check out Alpera if it is an optional extra along the camino route. Cheers![/QUOTE]


James, Alpera is between Almansa and Higuerela and allows you to split the 38km 6th stage suggested by Vieirigrino. It is slightly off the track, but you don’t have to walk out and back, you can swing around and rejoin the camino at a point beyond where you left it. Alpera is a nice place - see Laurie’s blog. Other favourable comments have also been posted – mine included.

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi, James,

There is also GR14, called Senda del Duero that runs along the Duero river from Zamora, Toro & Castronuno (Levante) through Tordesillas (Sanabres) to Puente Duero on Camino de Madrid.
Check it out here:
http://www.lasendadelduero.com/rutas-por-el-duero/sendero-gr-14/