3 day solo female route?

[americanabroad]

I am a university student studying abroad in Europe and have a week off from school at the end of March (I know it's kind of last minute planning). I want to travel part of the camino frances (3 or 4 days max) and am unsure what the best option is (the end or a different section?). I care much about safety (especially as a young/smaller female), obviously beautiful sites, access to airports, and ability to interact with other pilgrims. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[americanabroad]

I am a university student studying abroad in Europe and have a week off from school at the end of March (I know it's kind of last minute planning). I want to travel part of the camino frances (3 or 4 days max) and am unsure what the best option is (the end or a different section?). I care much about safety (especially as a young/smaller female), obviously beautiful sites, access to airports, and ability to interact with other pilgrims. Any advice is appreciated.

^also feel like I should mention that I am not an experienced hiker. I have been reasonably athletic in my past (usually various sports), but have also had some minor injuries in the recent-ish past

 

[FLEUR]

Where are you based in Europe? This might determine how far and how much time you have to reach your start point.

 

[trecile]

^also feel like I should mention that I am not an experienced hiker. I have been reasonably athletic in my past (usually various sports), but have also had some minor injuries in the recent-ish past

I wasn't an experienced hiker or backpacker before I walked from SJPdP to Finisterre.

 

[americanabroad]

Where are you based in Europe? This might determine how far and how much time you have to reach your start point.

Copenhagen, but since I have a whole week off from school may travel to some city first (possibly in Spain for convenience but also possibly elsewhere due to personal interests?)

 

[RJM]

Pamplona to Los Arcos, or if you are making good time and distance, Logrono.
Nice stretch of the Frances with a little bit of everything.

 

[FLEUR]

Agree with RJM
For reaching your start maybe a flight to Madrid and connect from there. Pamplona is really worth visiting.

 

[MinaKamina]

In Denmark, the Ancient Road Hærvejen was used by pilgrims on their way to Santiago, Rome or Jerusalem. The route itself is older.

https://www.haervej.com/ln-int/haervej/danish-camino

 

[Dorpie]

Welcome to the forum. For my first taste of the camino I did Santiago to Finisterre and then Muxia. It took 3 days to walk to Finisterre with a further day to get to Muxia. This has the distinct advantage of being a full route taking in some lovely, varied countryside and finishing at a very definite end....the ocean.

The stretch from Santiago to Finisterre should be reasonably well populated by March and I would say very safe. When I did it six years ago Finisterre to Muxia was much more sparsely populated going largely through woodland and while I'm sure it's also very safe it may not feel like that.

Return transport from Finisterre to Santiago is easy, from Muxia a little less regular.

I loved doing this route and it was enough to convince me to do the whole thing once I had the time.

Buen Camino,

Rob.

 

[Tuaruin]

An option, if Frances is not an absolute, might be the Ingles. Although I’m not sure what the weather is like in March relative to the Frances so you would need to check that.

It is mainly cited as a five day walk but would be simple enough to do in four. Although I had not planned to, I walked it in three days and I don’t class myself as particularly fit. Four days though would allow a more relaxed pace and more time to savour the Camino experience. An advantage of the Ingles option is the satisfaction of walking a complete a Camino and you would qualify for a Compostela.

Enjoy whatever route or section you choose.

 

[americanabroad]

Pamplona to Los Arcos, or if you are making good time and distance, Logrono.
Nice stretch of the Frances with a little bit of everything.

Hi, I'm very much considering doing this section, I was wondering if you knew how difficult it was (i.e. the likelihood of being able to make it to Logrono with four days of walking?) -- also since this happens to be just a less popular individual route, would you still say it is a social section (I guess mainly with people who have already been walking?)

 

[RJM]

Hi, I'm very much considering doing this section, I was wondering if you knew how difficult it was (i.e. the likelihood of being able to make it to Logrono with four days of walking?) -- also since this happens to be just a less popular individual route, would you still say it is a social section (I guess mainly with people who have already been walking?)

Pamplona to Logrono is about 95 km's. You would only have to average about 23-24 km's a day to walk it in four days. Overall the terrain, save for a couple of tall hills, is pretty level. Plenty doable for someone young and in decent physical condition.
Pamplona to Logrono is a very popular section. You will meet many fellow pilgrims at the end of March I am sure. Pilgrims who have started in Saint Jean, Roncesvalles and Pamplona.
Pamplona and Logrono themselves are wonderful cities. Lot's of culture and sights, bars, cafes and restaurants. Also you should have no problem arranging transportation out of Logrono to get home.

 

[alexwalker]

Hi, I'm very much considering doing this section, I was wondering if you knew how difficult it was (i.e. the likelihood of being able to make it to Logrono with four days of walking?) -- also since this happens to be just a less popular individual route, would you still say it is a social section (I guess mainly with people who have already been walking?)

From Pamplona it is easy walking, starting with a short up to Alto Del Perdon, and from there you will have a splendid view ov the flat lands of the Navarra district. Easy walking. And beautiful. It is a very good idea to start in Pamplona and end up where your time allows. Next time, you can continue from where you stopped.

As for planning your stages, depending on your fitness,use this site:

https://godesalco.com/plan

There you can choose your start and ending points, daily distances, and what kind of accomodation you are offered at each stopping place. Play and experiment with it.

As for more details, buy a cheap but good guide from here: and see where you can sleep and have food. Have no fear, it is easy:

https://www.csj.org.uk/product-tag/camino-frances/

 

[RJM]

Hi, I'm very much considering doing this section, I was wondering if you knew how difficult it was (i.e. the likelihood of being able to make it to Logrono with four days of walking?) -- also since this happens to be just a less popular individual route, would you still say it is a social section (I guess mainly with people who have already been walking?)

Also, if you do not have one already, you can obtain your pilgrim's credentials/passport in Pamplona at the Jesus y Maria albergue.

 

[alexwalker]

Also, if you do not have one already, you can obtain your pilgrim's credentials/passport in Pamplona at the Jesus y Maria albergue.

Or you can simply buy it at this forum, together with a patch you can sew on your backpack, and you're ready to go:

https://www.santiagodecompostela.me/

 

[alexwalker]

I am a university student studying abroad in Europe and have a week off from school at the end of March (I know it's kind of last minute planning). I want to travel part of the camino frances (3 or 4 days max) and am unsure what the best option is (the end or a different section?). I care much about safety (especially as a young/smaller female), obviously beautiful sites, access to airports, and ability to interact with other pilgrims. Any advice is appreciated.

Pamplona is a great starting place. You do NOT need to start in SJPdP. How to get to Pamplona? Easy. Take a plane to Madrid or Barcelona, book a cheap place to stay, and take the next morning train or bus to Pamplona (or plane to Pamplona same afternoon to save time). Check out sites like https://www.seat61.com/ (trains) and https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/home (buses). All will be fine; just a little travel planning needed, and off you go !

 

[RR3]

I am a university student studying abroad in Europe and have a week off from school at the end of March (I know it's kind of last minute planning). I want to travel part of the camino frances (3 or 4 days max) and am unsure what the best option is (the end or a different section?). I care much about safety (especially as a young/smaller female), obviously beautiful sites, access to airports, and ability to interact with other pilgrims. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi, I'd be interested to hear about your experience, am planning to do the same route after Easter weekend. Also a solo female traveler, so any tips greatly appreciated!

 

[americanabroad]

Hi, I'd be interested to hear about your experience, am planning to do the same route after Easter weekend. Also a solo female traveler, so any tips greatly appreciated!

My experience was really good. I ended up doing 4 days Pamplona to Longrono, so there was much variation in both the length of walking and what we saw. I was nervous at first showing up partway through without knowing anyone, but I would say I was lucky with my placement the first night, where I slept next to a group of other female solo travelers who had decided to walk together. The likelihood of you finding people (if that's what you want, it's what I wanted) is good, but who you find does somewhat depend on being in the right place at the right time. I personally did not have any of the "bad experiences" you hear about, but I did try to be vary wary, especially at times when I was alone. If you had any more-specific questions feel free to ask but hope this gave a general idea? -- Also if you haven't already looked on Facebook, there's many groups for various purposes (I'm not in most so not sure which are most useful), but Camigas is a generally supportive group for females on the Camino.

 

[nycwalking]

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Will you be at it again?

 

[americanabroad]

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Will you be at it again?

That's the plan, just depends on time/money to travel when and for how long

 

[Glenshiro]

Glad you had a positive experience, and thanks for coming back to tell us.
I often came across groups of solo females who had loosely banded together, and they always seemed to be having a whale of a time!
Why not continue where you left off, when you get the chance? The stretch to Burgos is fairly easy walking, with a range of different terrains, and both ends are reachable by public transport from Madrid. Burgos is worth the trip in itself.