Confirmation of Route

[AllisonNFLD]

Hi there. This will be my first Camino and I'm doing it with my Dad. We are only doing a portion - six days of walking, total, with plans to complete the full walk in pieces. Anyhow, since this is the first time we are undertaking the walk, I've built out what seems to be a straightforward itinerary but I'm nervous that I've made a mistake. I would be enormously grateful if someone could take a look at the below and reply to let me know that it's either a good plan or too ambitious or whatever it may be. Thank you very much!



Day 1

St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles - 24 km. Steep climb.


Day 2

Ronscesvalles to Larrasoana - 27.4 km


Day 3

Larrasoana to Pamplona - 16.5 km


Day 4

Pamploma to Puente la Reina - 24.2 km


Day 5

Puente la Reina to Estella - 21.7 km


Day 6

Estella to Los Arcos - 22.5 km


Day 7

Los Arcos to Logrono

Day 8

Train from Logrono to Barcelona

 

[C clearly]

I'm guessing that you have a fixed schedule for this trip, and I have no idea of your fitness level or walking experience, so it is hard to comment! You have very few options:

• Stop earlier on Day 2 - Zubiri instead of Larrosoana
• Start in Roncesvalles instead of SJPP, and have an extra day to play with
• Take a bus if one of you needs to

Are you asking because you are planning to make reservations in advance? It probably isn't necessary at all in October. At most, I'd say to reserve no more than one day in advance.

 

[SYates]

What @C clearly has said. I also would like to stress that, unlike you are both fit and used to hiking, the first two days as you have planned them could be too much. Buen Camino, SY

 

[Felipe]

I'd modify the second day: just Roncesvalles to Zubirí. The final descent is quite steep.
And have a plan, but decide on the spot where are you going to stop. In October, as mentioned above, lodging should not be a problem. There are many options, too.
It is a good and nice month in the Camino; still mild weather, and less crowded.
Walking with your father will be a great experience. I walked with my son, and still remember and treasure the memories.
Buen camino!

 

[AllisonNFLD]

What @C clearly has said. I also would like to stress that, unlike you are both fit and used to hiking, the first two days as you have planned them could be too much. Buen Camino, SY

Thanks to you both

I'm guessing that you have a fixed schedule for this trip, and I have no idea of your fitness level or walking experience, so it is hard to comment! You have very few options:

• Stop earlier on Day 2 - Zubiri instead of Larrosoana
• Start in Roncesvalles instead of SJPP, and have an extra day to play with
• Take a bus if one of you needs to

Are you asking because you are planning to make reservations in advance? It probably isn't necessary at all in October. At most, I'd say to reserve no more than one day in advance.

Thank you all so much! I am fit and so is my Dad (he is 66 but an avid walker) HOWEVER neither of us are used to walking with weight on our backs and I would hate to kick off the trip with both of us miserable from overdoing it. I'm especially nervous of the steep decent as my knees tend to hurt when I'm going down for too long. I will look at adjusting our second day but I wonder, will that affect the remainder of my planning? Or is it not too difficult to go from Zubiri to Pamplona?

I'm also going to float the idea of skipping the SJPP into Roncesvalles by my Dad - he wants to do it the "authentic" way, but I don't see why we shouldn't try to make it as painless as possible! Thank you!!

 

[AllisonNFLD]

I'd modify the second day: just Roncesvalles to Zubirí. The final descent is quite steep.
And have a plan, but decide on the spot where are you going to stop. In October, as mentioned above, lodging should not be a problem. There are many options, too.
It is a good and nice month in the Camino; still mild weather, and less crowded.
Walking with your father will be a great experience. I walked with my son, and still remember and treasure the memories.
Buen camino!

Thank you! I'm really looking forward building memories with my Dad and it's good to hear that we shouldn't worry too much about lodging.

 

[SYates]

... I'm also going to float the idea of skipping the SJPP into Roncesvalles by my Dad - he wants to do it the "authentic" way, but I don't see why we shouldn't try to make it as painless as possible! Thank you!!

The authentic way is walking from your front door to Santiago and back to your front door again - anything else is anyway a compromise ;-) So starting in Roncesvalles is as 'authentic' as starting in Roncesvalles ;-)

If you really want to start in SJPdP, I would do

SJPdP > Orisson
Orisson > Roncesvalles
Roncesvalles > Zubiri
Zubiri > Trinidad de Arre or Pamplona
...

This would give you time to actually enjoy the sights and get used to the exercise instead of being dead on arrival ;-)

Alternatively the route via Valcarlos the first day is also nice and highly historical - Valcarlos = Valley of Charlemagne

Buen Camino, SY

 

[domigee]

There is no such thing as an 'authentic way'. Pilgrims of yore used to start from their doorstep, for obvious reasons. Are you prepared to do that?
Oh, and walk back home, of course

Seriously.... I walked your suggested plan the 1st time, St Jean to Roncesvalles and then to Larrasoaña . Next stop was Cizur Menor.
I had no problems and I was NOT an experienced walker nor had I ever walked carrying a backpack.
I therefore think it is very feasible.... Provided you are not carrying a very heavy load!
Btw, on this 3rd Camino, I chose to descend to Roncesvalles by the road, not the forest, as the weather was vile and it had been raining heavily. I do recommend taking that path, it is actually very nice!
I wish you both well, buen camino

 

[C clearly]

Prepare for success, by:

1. Testing your shoes and pack weight on at least one 20-km walk beforehand.
2. Keeping your pack weight to maximum 7-8 kg including water.
3. Using 2 walking sticks, especially if you have knee problems.
4. Transporting some of your things on that long first day.

I did all of those things and walked from SJPP to Pamplona in 3 days without problems, at 66. The bag transport is very simple to arrange in SJPP. Put your excess things into a different bag for transporting, and WEAR your good backpack as it is probably the most comfortable one.

The reason I suggested stopping in Zubiri was to lessen the distance for the second day. You would just walk that extra distance on Day 3, when you had planned only 16.5 km. But stay flexible, provided you haven't tied yourselves down with bookings.

 

[AllisonNFLD]

The authentic way is walking from your front door to Santiago and back to your front door again - anything else is anyway a compromise ;-) So starting in Roncesvalles is as 'authentic' as starting in Roncesvalles ;-)

If you really want to start in SJPdP, I would do

SJPdP > Orisson
Orisson > Roncesvalles
Roncesvalles > Zubiri
Zubiri > Trinidad de Arre or Pamplona
...

This would give you time to actually enjoy the sights and get used to the exercise instead of being dead on arrival ;-)

Alternatively the route via Valcarlos the first day is also nice and highly historical - Valcarlos = Valley of Charlemagne

Buen Camino, SY

Good point! If my Dad complains that this route is not "authentic", I will share this with him haha.

 

[AllisonNFLD]

There is no such thing as an 'authentic way'. Pilgrims of yore used to start from their doorstep, for obvious reasons. Are you prepared to do that?
Oh, and walk back home, of course

Seriously.... I walked your suggested plan the 1st time, St Jean to Roncesvalles and then to Larrasoaña . Next stop was Cizur Menor.
I had no problems and I was NOT an experienced walker nor had I ever walked carrying a backpack.
I therefore think it is very feasible.... Provided you are not carrying a very heavy load!
Btw, on this 3rd Camino, I chose to descend to Roncesvalles by the road, not the forest, as the weather was vile and it had been raining heavily. I do recommend taking that path, it is actually very nice!
I wish you both well, buen camino

Wonderful to hear! I have read many threads about packs and we both are going to try to pack as light as possible. I'm wondering if Cizur Menor before or after Pamplona? Do you recommend stopping there instead of Pamplona?

 

[AllisonNFLD]

Prepare for success, by:

1. Testing your shoes and pack weight on at least one 20-km walk beforehand.
2. Keeping your pack weight to maximum 7-8 kg including water.
3. Using 2 walking sticks, especially if you have knee problems.
4. Transporting some of your things on that long first day.

I did all of those things and walked from SJPP to Pamplona in 3 days without problems, at 66. The bag transport is very simple to arrange in SJPP. Put your excess things into a different bag for transporting, and WEAR your good backpack as it is probably the most comfortable one.

The reason I suggested stopping in Zubiri was to lessen the distance for the second day. You would just walk that extra distance on Day 3, when you had planned only 16.5 km. But stay flexible, provided you haven't tied yourselves down with bookings.

This makes perfect sense - thank you! I think we will choose this route - it keeps us on schedule but perhaps lessens the risk of getting worn out. We will both definitely take walking sticks and I think that transporting extras is a fantastic idea! I will look into it. Thank you so much!