A Quiet Camino Route?

[Walkingboy]

Hi I am looking for my next Camino and like the look of this one starting in Seville. I am a solitary individual and comfortable with my own company. My last one was the camino Madrid which was very peaceful. My question is how many walk this route and would I be able to find my own space?

 

[davejsy]

I am assuming you are referring to Via de la Plata, which by all accounts would suit your solitary requirements until maybe the very latter stages.

Be careful not to rule out other routes though based on a single criteria, because sometimes the last thing you want is the first thing you need.

 

[Antnix1]

If you want quiet... The Mozarabe in January.

Anyway i joined vdlp in Merida in mid-February and can confirm you'll have plenty of space and only a handful of other pilgrims you'll likely meet in the albergues in the evenings.

But after the mozarabe it was odd seeing other people occasionally while walking

 

[trecile]

What time of year are you planning for your Camino? That will make a difference as to how busy a route is, or in the case of the VdlP from Sevilla, how advisable it is to walk at that time.

 

[dick bird]

What time of year are you planning for your Camino?

The VdlP fits the bill but don´t go in high summer, it will be much too hot and there is little support between towns and villages. The Olvidado, which starts in Bilbao would be better in summer but it finishes in Ponferrada on the Francés. From there you could follow the Invierno.

 

[ward4e]

I've been lucky enough to walk this way twice. The pro's there are days where you can see a pilgrim a click or two a head and a click or two behind and you have space. You wave when they pass but you dont have to talk. It hurts to talk some days. There are otherdays blessidly, where you say good bye to the camino family at the accomodation and never really see them or hear voices again until dinner.

Its a route that you can set your interaction level and then go, make friends or make peace with your self. I went in late April. Didin't get to Seville untill the 15th of may? will need to check the stamps. Seville was full of summer tourists but the road was quiet.

I hope this helps.

 

[MesaWalker]

The VdlP is very quiet. We hiked it from mid-September through October last year - During the day sometimes we might see 5 or 6 other pilgrims, sometimes none. Including cyclists, the most crowded we saw at albergues was maybe 15. But we didn't stay in alburques in the big cities, so there might be more then.

If you want something even more solitary, we started by walking the 10-day Via Serrana from La Linea de la Concepcion (right by Gibraltar) to Seville. We saw a handful of hikers but nobody who was a pilgrim walking the route we were walking during that entire 10 days. An extraordinary camino, but you have to be resourceful with GPS, etc. - it's not the world's best-markered camino.

I agree with the comments about the time of year. The VdlP gets brutally hot for several months during the summer. But it's a splendid camino with magnificent cities, amazing history and varied terrain.

 

[ward4e]

The VdlP is very quiet. We hiked it from mid-September through October last year - During the day sometimes we might see 5 or 6 other pilgrims, sometimes none. Including cyclists, the most crowded we saw at albergues was maybe 15. But we didn't stay in alburques in the big cities, so there might be more then.

If you want something even more solitary, we started by walking the 10-day Via Serrana from La Linea de la Concepcion (right by Gibraltar) to Seville. We saw a handful of hikers but nobody who was a pilgrim walking the route we were walking during that entire 10 days. An extraordinary camino, but you have to be resourceful with GPS, etc. - it's not the world's best-markered camino.

I agree with the comments about the time of year. The VdlP gets brutally hot for several months during the summer. But it's a splendid camino with magnificent cities, amazing history and varied terrain.

Loved Via Serrana, good recommendation!

 

[lt56ny]

What time of year are you planning for your Camino? That will make a difference as to how busy a route is, or in the case of the VdlP from Sevilla, how advisable it is to walk at that time.

The VdlP fits the bill but don´t go in high summer, it will be much too hot and there is little support between towns and villages.

I would agree about the time of year. I started in Sevilla about October 20, 2021 and it was over 90 every day for about 9 days. No shade at all. I would avoid all southern camino routes from mid May until late October. Temperatures can easily rise above 100F consistently.
When I walked there were alot of days I met pilgrims in albergues. During the day I hardly ever saw pilgrims as I walked. If you seek solitary as I do when I walk the caminos like the VDLP, Mozarabe, Lana etc. are made for you! I was thinking of doing the Mozarabe this year but because of circumstances I would end up starting about October 10. So ii has to wait for next year for the Mozarabe. I will be walking three different caminos this year. WIll start on the Madrid about October 23 or 24.

 

[Madamjoy]

Hi I am looking for my next Camino and like the look of this one starting in Seville. I am a solitary individual and comfortable with my own company. My last one was the camino Madrid which was very peaceful. My question is how many walk this route and would I be able to find my own space?

I walked half of the Via de la Plata last April starting in Sevilla. Very few people compared to Frances, Portuguese, Norte etc. I would see same half dozen people on the trail most days. I mostly walked alone and did meet someone that I walked with for a week or so. He wasn’t a big talker so it was nice peaceful walking. You’ll find lots of peace and quiet on this route.

 

[MagnusPompey]

Hi I am looking for my next Camino and like the look of this one starting in Seville. I am a solitary individual and comfortable with my own company. My last one was the camino Madrid which was very peaceful. My question is how many walk this route and would I be able to find my own space?

I did the VdlP in April, it was quiet and I moved north with the advancing spring weather. The migratory birds were returning, the countryside was alive. There were other pilgrims, it was not crowded or solitary.

 

[oursonpolaire]

Cami Catalan, out of Montserrat. I've done it three times, totalling 40 days walking, and met five pilgrims in total. On the Vadiniense (10 days) I was the only one.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Cami Catalan, out of Montserrat. I've done it three times, totalling 40 days walking, and met five pilgrims in total.

@Walkingboy, I agree that the Catalan is a good candidate for you. I walked Oct/Nov. At albergues for the first few days I met walkers going the opposite direction on the Camino Ignaciano. One night with a very fast walker heading to Santiago and one night sharing an albergue with a hiker using it as a base camp for day hikes in the Pyrenees foothills. Log books indicated other walkers were ahead of me by days. You can continue walking on the Aragonese with more people but the numbers will still be low. In the autumn I found the landscape dreary but in spring it should be cheery (green fields and orchards in bloom). As a northern route the heat shouldn't be oppressive.

 

[Giorgio99]

Hi I am looking for my next Camino and like the look of this one starting in Seville. I am a solitary individual and comfortable with my own company. My last one was the camino Madrid which was very peaceful. My question is how many walk this route and would I be able to find my own space?

I’m currently on the via de la plata and can confirm it is quiet. For the past 7 nights it has only been me and a french woman in the albergues. Today we are in Lubian and it is slightly busier in the albergue but I walked today and saw no other pilgrims. I did chat with some old locals and saw great wildlife

 

[Rita Flower]

I started from Sevilla on 22 September. In the early weeks it was hot but quite manageable by starting before dawn - around 6.30 and finishing by 1.00 pm at the latest.
I had days when there was only me - both walking and in albergues. There were other days when there were more people with whom I could hang out with or not - as I felt like it.
I think most pilgrims on VDLP are a solitary lot - that’s why they chose that Camino. It’s a wonderful Camino - particularly if you have time to walk to Santiago via the Sanabres. Such a range of landscapes.
Buen Camino.