6 full days to walk, what route?

[milanvanloc]

Hey all, im landing at SdC on the 15th and leaving on the 22th.
Im looking for a route to do, im expecting to have 6 full days and a half day where I can walk 3-5 hours depending on how long it takes for me to get from SdC to the starting point. I would like to do a Camino like 100km minimum and am fairly fit (I walk a lot already daily and gym and do light cardio regularly).

What route would give me a nice social camino, like I would like to have people to talk to at Albergues etc. and if possible also be scenic. I am considering Ingles right now but I hear a lot of stories of it being empty and stuff. I intend to do most of the walking myself so no socializing isn't the end of the world but it would be a shame.

Any other route ideas? maybe from Tui to SdC?

 

[mgshanks]

Tui to Santiago is definitely do-able in 6 days - I did it recently in four and still had plenty of time to stop and chat, visit local sights etc. It was a really good route too, interesting and very picturesque.

 

[SabsP]

Big fan of the Camino Ingles!
Doable in five days, especially if you take the " shortcut " via the pasarela de tren between Ferrol and Pontedeume. This shaves off five k on the first etapa but the whole distance is still more than 100 k. Important if you want to receive a Compostela.
Certainly enough socialising to be done.

 

[Grousedoctor]

A big fan of both the Inglés and the Portugués from Tui. They’re both very good walks and my wife and I enjoyed both of them. However, and as I’ve been on the Portugués now twice, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it a third time. It’s not a particularly big physical challenge, but it would satisfy your “social” camino interest. Plus, Tui, Ponteverdra, and Padrón are great cities to visit as stopping points along The Way. You can’t really go wrong either way.

 

[staucher]

For a 6-day walk, some 100+ km options would include from Lugo (Primitivo), Ourense (Sanabres), Tui (Portuguese), Sarria (French) or from Ferrol or Coruna (English). Honestly, the French camino from Sarria is very overcrowded, so it would be my least preferred option.

 

[Camembert]

I should say walk the camino Inglês from Ferrol
As suggested in a post here above the Inglês starting in A Coruña does not qualify for a Compostela ( the distance to Santiago is only 86 kms) so start in Ferrol

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

The Inglès, from Ferrol, no shortcuts, 4 1/2 - 5 days without overly pushing yourself based on your comments. I'm 59, moderate fitness level, did it easily in 4 1/2 days - the last morning was almost a gentle stroll with a great group I met along the way, big long coffee/ OJ break a few kms in!
You can get the bus in the evening before from Santiago, or, if you arrive earlier in the day, explore Ferrol a little - it's quite scenic - and stroll the 12 km to Neda towards the end of the day. It'll give you a nice gentle intro, and means you've then just got 4 , roughly 25km days.
Whilst it's significantly quieter than the Frances, according to the pilgrims office over 5000 have already walked the full Inglès this year ( i.e. from Ferrol) - that's far from empty! To put it in perspective, 55,000 on the Frances, 26,000 Portuguese, including 7,000 just doing the Tui section. Buen Camino

 

[julia-t]

I found the Portuguese from Valenca (only a few km from Tui, but it’s a great place to start and cross the river into Spain) much more sociable when I walked in 2018, with many albergues to choose from.
I walked the Ingles in October 2021 and found it very solitary. I hardly saw anyone else walking, and even in the albergues I was often alone or there were groups who kept to themselves. It was a strange Camino for me.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Probably rather like my friends experience in March, two weeks before mine. He shared the Ingles with only 6 others, when I walked it was something like 70+ - both Albergues in Bruma were full, plus the hotel near, and 20 + pilgrims had to walk on or get taxis! To be fair it was Semana Santa, went back to 30 or so daily afterwards. I was told by the Hospitalier in Bruma that it „‚fires Up‘ in April, slows down again September onwards.

 

[mattythedog]

Hey all, im landing at SdC on the 15th and leaving on the 22th.
Im looking for a route to do, im expecting to have 6 full days and a half day where I can walk 3-5 hours depending on how long it takes for me to get from SdC to the starting point. I would like to do a Camino like 100km minimum and am fairly fit (I walk a lot already daily and gym and do light cardio regularly).

What route would give me a nice social camino, like I would like to have people to talk to at Albergues etc. and if possible also be scenic. I am considering Ingles right now but I hear a lot of stories of it being empty and stuff. I intend to do most of the walking myself so no socializing isn't the end of the world but it would be a shame.

Any other route ideas? maybe from Tui to SdC?

I completed Ingles 2 days ago and only saw maybe 12 pilgrims per day. Very lonely. I completed the CF 9 days prior, and despite all the touristegrinos complaining of crowds from Sarria, I saw none of that and had no trouble walking into Albergues to find plenty of empty beds. My vote would be Sarria to Santiago for the social aspects and beauty of the landscape. Oh and there was only one person ahead of me in line at the Pilgrims Office to get my Compostela.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Matty, that’s rough, you were unfortunate. Clearly not easy for you.
Perhaps it literally depends on the day?
According to the Stats, 1877 people walked in today, 49 from the Ingles alone. Bear in mind that apparently appx. 30 % don’t register, so the true number is higher. But that’s today, not two days ago.
To put things in perspective, 299 came in via the P. Costal, 336 P. Central, 889 on the Frances.
I guess it all depends on the day, and how social you want to be. We are all very different!

 

[mattythedog]

Matty, that’s rough, you were unfortunate. Clearly not easy for you.
Perhaps it literally depends on the day?
According to the Stats, 1877 people walked in today, 49 from the Ingles alone. Bear in mind that apparently appx. 30 % don’t register, so the true number is higher. But that’s today, not two days ago.
To put things in perspective, 299 came in via the P. Costal, 336 P. Central, 889 on the Frances.
I guess it all depends on the day, and how social you want to be. We are all very different!

To clarify: I arrived almost 2 weeks ago from CF on a huge feast day and there was only one person in line ahead of me. Had dinner with a volunteer from the Pilgrims Office that night, and he said over 2000 pilgrims came in this day. Must have been by bus after me . Did Muxia and Finisterre walk with usual amount of pilgrims from past years; no problems walking into albergues to get a bed. Did Ingles and that is where there were 10 people ahead of me in line at the pilgrims office. You are correct, it depends on day and time, but my experience in 2016, 17, 18 had many more pilgrims on CF. This CF was about the same as 2021 and 22, which I had no issues with finding beds late in the afternoons, although the line at the pilgrims office was a bit longer then, even with the automation.

 

[vanrobin]

The Ingles has my vote.