Camino with children!

[abblanchette]

Hello to all Caminos! My boyfriend and I are planning on walking the Camino this summer (loosely) in July with a 12 year old, 14, and 16 year old...any advice on kid friendly routes, auberges, or just do it as if they will be fine anywhere anyone else would go...are there opportunities to take a bus for short stretches if they are "done" for a couple of days? would you recommend still doing the full camino French route or another??? how trained up should the kids be? would you recommend conditioning for them as well??? what about packing a family light weight tent and dividing up the weight? vs just sticking with the auberges? we are on a very tight budget anyone out there take kids??? all advice welcome!

 

[Kiwi-family]

We walked with eight children aged 6, 8 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17/18 (she had a camino birthday).
If your kids are ordinarily active, they should be fine. See what they are comfortable with walking - even if it is less than what "everyone else" is doing. Walk a bit at home with loaded packs before you go.
I would advise against taking a tent. Reducing your weight is more beneficial. The lighter your packs, the easier the walk. You can check out where the cheap (municipal) albergues are and spend not much more than 5 euros per person.
Cook for yourselves when possible and you'll save. In fact, if you could carry a lightweight pot, you'd be able to cook all though Galicia - there are wonderful kitchens but no utensils!

 

[ffp13]

We walked with eight children aged 6, 8 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17/18 (she had a camino birthday).
if you could carry a lightweight pot, you'd be able to cook all though Galicia - there are wonderful kitchens but no utensils!

You've got your own flock , must be from the cold South Island ?

It is mainly the Xunta Albergues that have removed all utensils and crockery from their kitchens, some have even disconnected the stoves

 

[Yodapsy]

There are a lot of good comments on the thread I started recently: Walking Camino Frances with two teens and wife- costs. When will you start your pilgrimage? We are starting on June 27.

 

[Vicky]

Hi!
I am really interested in what information you get on this.
We are planning to take our (turning) 11, 13, 15 and 19 year olds with us for our pilgrimage in September/October 2015.
We are travelling from Western Australia and none of us have ever travelled to Europe before.
We would like to know how much to budget financially and timewise if we do it from SJPDP
Any advice would be great thanks.

 

[alexander ellul]

A group of six may be too big to find enough beds in the small alberge. Besides a light sleeping bag 600g best if you ll take with you sleeping mats otherwise you ll be asked to move on to the next alberge.

 

[alexander ellul]

Budget wise. The least should be around e30 per p erson per day. Menu peregrino for dinner is around e10. E15 for accommodation and a packed lunch usually consists of sausages cheese and bread. Breakfast e5. Of course you can go on a cheaper budget

 

[alexander ellul]

On average it takes 28 to 33 days from sjdp. Do not plan your route on mileage but on the ability of your weakest member of the group. When weak avoid staying in the same alberge for more then one night instead move on to the next available Alberge even if its just 6 kms away. Use public transport when the weather is bad this helps you recover from fatigue and gain some mileage.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Of course you can go on a cheaper budget

You certainly can! Municipal albergues are E5 (or did I read they have gone up to E6 in Galicia? Still cheaper than E15 though)
We did not have trouble finding beds for our group of 11 in September 2012 - admittedly we sometimes got the last bunks, and we made sure we arrived not too late in the day, but it can be done. I'm about to walk again with four kids and I'm not in the slightest bit concerned about that this time.
Cooking for yourselves can reduce your eating costs considerably. Even buying cereal and yoghurt for breakfast and some bread and fillings for lunch from a supermercado can keep your food bill much lower than if you eat out all the time.
Take some walks at home and see what your weakest member can handle comfortably and then divide the distance by that number, add a few days for emergencies, a few more for if you want to stop somewhere for an extra day and that will give you a minimum timeframe that you need. If it turns out that you are happy walking 20km a day instead of your projected 15 (for example), you will have no trouble filling in a week at the end of your trip - the only problem will be choosing what to do from the many and varied options.