Advice needed- Villafranca- Santiago in 6 days?

[Alexandra Kate]

Hi All,

I am planning to walk as much of the final leg of the Camino as possible and would appreciate advice on where to start. Really keen to cover a good distance every day without feeling rushed or unable to appreciate scenery/towns etc. I have roughly 6 days.

I arrive in Santiago @ 1540 on Saturday 25th July, planning to travel (by bus?) to a starting point with the intention of starting the walk the morning of Sunday 26th. From what I can see, for me Sarria feels too close a point to start, and Ponferrada too far. I have until Saturday 1st August to reach Santiago but very keen to finish evening of Friday 31st.

I am 25, fit and healthy (and determined!) but am without long distance walking experience. Very happy to walk 6-7 hours a day but understand I haven't done the walk before and may not appreciate the terrain.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

For a first walk, it might be wise to lower your optimism. Consecutive half-marathons even for five days are not as easy as you may think. It takes five days for most pilgrims to cover the Sarria to Santiago leg. You probably can get the 1610 bus from the Santiago airport to Lugo, and connect to the 1835 bus from Lugo to Sarria. The last bus from Lugo to Villafranca del Bierzo is at 1800, so the bus from the airport may miss that connection. Buen camino.

 

[Alexandra Kate]

Hi Falcon269,

Thanks for your reply- in your experience how many hours walking per day at an average pace would it take to get from Sarria to Santiago?

Alex

 

[Deleted member 3000]

in your experience how many hours walking per day at an average pace would it take to get from Sarria to Santiago?

I am good for about 7 hours, which will cover 21 km, maybe a bit more. Europeans regularly walk at a 5 kph pace, even 6 kph. A backpack makes a difference. Blisters make a huge difference. If you are without long distance walking experience, you do not know what seven hours of pounding the pavement is like, particularly by the fifth day (or 35th day for those starting in France). It is not as easy as some make it sound, but it also is not as difficult as others make it sound!

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hi All,

I am planning to walk as much of the final leg of the Camino as possible and would appreciate advice on where to start. Really keen to cover a good distance every day without feeling rushed or unable to appreciate scenery/towns etc. I have roughly 6 days.

I arrive in Santiago @ 1540 on Saturday 25th July, planning to travel (by bus?) to a starting point with the intention of starting the walk the morning of Sunday 26th. From what I can see, for me Sarria feels too close a point to start, and Ponferrada too far. I have until Saturday 1st August to reach Santiago but very keen to finish evening of Friday 31st.

I am 25, fit and healthy (and determined!) but am without long distance walking experience. Very happy to walk 6-7 hours a day but understand I haven't done the walk before and may not appreciate the terrain.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Hi, it's about 180km. from Villafranca, you have to walk at least 30 km. a day. I think as Falcon said you can do the part from Sarria to Santiago. That's about 110km. in 6 day's that's better. Wish you a Buen Camino, Peter.

 

[waveprof]

I agree with comments about Villafranca, but I think you could easily start in triacastella. That would get you one (very nice scenary) day before the rush from Sarria. Take the bus to Sarria then a taxi or bus to Triacestella. That extra stretch would be well worthwhile, and is still doable within six days

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi Falcon269,

Thanks for your reply- in your experience how many hours walking per day at an average pace would it take to get from Sarria to Santiago?

Alex

Hola!
I can do 7+km/h without training. But I can do that for three hours each day or one day within 3 days, for example. What's you average on flat & without backpack? From that I would cut off (at least) 1/3 and there's your average with 5-9kilos backpack on Camino. VERY ROUGHLY! Multiply that with number of days you have and then you'll know where to start. But overall I agree with some previous posters that Sarria - Santiago is doable for majority of walkers.
Don't ruin your first Camino experience with overdoing. Nobody would know (and wouldn't be interested for that matter) where you've started and how many kms walked. It's entirely up to you wheather you'll allow yourself enjoyable Camino or one with lots of blisters, shin splints and other sufferings... Think about it.

Ultreia!

 

[waveprof]

I agree with comments about Villafranca, but I think you could easily start in triacastella. That would get you one (very nice scenary) day before the rush from Sarria. Take the bus to Sarria then a taxi or bus to Triacestella. That extra stretch would be well worthwhile, and is still doable within six days

Just to add, the stretch from Triacastella to Santiago took us 6 days, and (on average) those were 6 days shorter than our average, and we were carrying a 26 pound 13 month old (plus all of the extra weight from the other two adults having to carry the clothes of the person carrying the baby). Triacastella is really doable, a cute town, and the scenery between there and Sarria is pretty. If you wanted, you could even take the alterate route from Triacastella by Samon and still make it to Sarria that night.....you'd get some real peace and quiet and experience Galicia before Sarria.

 

[MechEngr69]

Hi! In early May I walked from Trabadelo (10 km west of Villafranca del Bierzo) to Monte de Gozo (5 km east of Santiago) in 6 days. I arrived in Santiago at 8 AM on day 7. The 6-day distance was 168 km (104 miles) so my average was 28 km/day (17.4 miles/day) with a 9 kg (20lb.) pack. I’m 6’-1”, late 60’s and fit, but I certainly wouldn’t be able to keep up with a fit person who is 30 to 40 years younger. My longest day was Day 6 from Arzua to Monte del Gozo (35 km, or 22 miles) arriving at 5:30 PM. The other days I arrived at my albergue between 2 PM and 4 PM depending on the distance and number of rest stops for food and drinks. For me, an average of 5 km/hr was easy during spring weather with temperatures rarely more than 20 C (68 F). I would not be able to do this itinerary in late July.

Alexandra, you should be able to start in Triacastle if you leave each albergue by 6:30 AM each morning. If the heat doesn’t slow you down, you could possibly start in Villafranca del Bierzo, but the climb up to O’Cebreiro would be tough since you’ll not arrive until afternoon, during the heat of the day. The other consideration, since I don’t know your travel plans, is jet-lag. If you are arriving in Santiago after a long flight, will you be able to sleep more than a couple of hours the first night? Best of Luck!