First time and last minute ...

[sveninesilio]

Hello everyone,

I have had few life dramas happen in the last few months and I am finally able to take some leave to try to clear my head. I have always wanted to do a Camino, especially after reading a few Paulo Coelho books, but never really knew how. I have to say that this forum has been very helpful for me to get started. I am good walker/trekker/hiker having done a few longer tours before. I do however have a few questions.

I just started looking into the Camino Ingles a few days ago and I plan to start walking on the 26th of July! Short notice I know!! Is it still achievable? I do have a full week on the camino so I hope to be able to take my time and enjoy.

Is it possible to just walk up to Hotels, Albergues or is pior booking of some sort required? Should I plan on bringing a sleeping bag and pad just in case I have to bivi? I am still deciding which way to go interms of accommodation...any tips are greatly appreciated.

Having read most albergues donʻt have food, where did people buy their food? Water? How much money should you plan for food and water along the way. This may seem like a bit of a daft question but I just havenʻt had the time to fully research the route.

I appreciate any and all tips!

Regards,

Sven

 

[Tia Valeria]

Hola Sven and welcome to the forum.
If you download Johnnie Walker's guide to the Inglés it gives both distances and suggestions for accomodation along with the route itself. We used a mix of albergue and hostales 2 years ago. The only booking we made was O Meson Novo to split the long day between Betanzos and Méson Novo/Bruma. This involves a pick up and drop off for customers only.
The only day when food is a problem is the day between Betanzos and Bruma, especially if Casa Julia is not open. The first bar is then at Vizoño. You also need enough water for this day. We carried food, water and oranges both days on this stretch. Other days we were fine, although both Sundays some cafés were closed. We took 9 days walking slowly, it should be doable in 7 even splitting the Betanzos Bruma section and many do it in 5 days. You need to collect 2 sellos a day (or a signature with date and place, and seperate sello from your overnight stop) to get your Compostela.
There is a good selection of info in the Camino Inglés section of the forum

Buen Camino

 

[sveninesilio]

Thank you for the tips ... I have booked a night in Ferrol already and I will book the other accommodations accordingly.

 

[Mr BWE]

Thank you for the tips ... I have booked a night in Ferrol already and I will book the other accommodations accordingly.

Hi Sven,

I walked from Ferrol in May of this year with my wife. We flew to Santiago Airport, bussed in to the Central bus station in Santiago and then took the bus to Ferrol. By the time we'd found the tourist office and got our credenzias it was only 13:30, so we started walking instead of wasting a half day in Ferrol. We overnighted in Neda and then marched to Mino, to Café Julia, where we phoned the Meson Novo and they collected us for the night then dropped us back at the Café Julia too start walking the next day. From there we followed the Jonny Walker recommended stops.
It took us 5 days.

I do recommend that you buy or download the Guide to the Camino Ingles by Johnny Walker.

Buen Camino!