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Frances or Portugués?

JeanneB

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
St Jean to Leon (2005)
Portugues (2017)
Some advice please. My bag has been packed for 2 years waiting for me to get my plane ticket. 2020 is the year to do this.
Advice needed. I walked from SJPP to Leon in 2006. Stopping there Was planned by the group I was with. I’ve always wanted to make it to Santiago.
I’m dithering on whether to walk the Camino Frances or Camino Portugues. It would be in September 2020.
I would be grateful for suggestions regarding which route to take??
thank you
J
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Some advice please. My bag has been packed for 2 years waiting for me to get my plane ticket. 2020 is the year to do this.
Advice needed. I walked from SJPP to Leon in 2006. Stopping there Was planned by the group I was with. I’ve always wanted to make it to Santiago.
I’m dithering on whether to walk the Camino Frances or Camino Portuguese. It would be in September 2020.
I would be grateful for suggestions regarding which route to take??
thank you
J
If you do the Francés are you planning to start in León or SJPdP?
I would vote for finishing the Francés.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Some advice please. My bag has been packed for 2 years waiting for me to get my plane ticket. 2020 is the year to do this.
Advice needed. I walked from SJPP to Leon in 2006. Stopping there Was planned by the group I was with. I’ve always wanted to make it to Santiago.
I’m dithering on whether to walk the Camino Frances or Camino Portuguese. It would be in September 2020.
I would be grateful for suggestions regarding which route to take??
thank you
J
Thanks for the quick responses. I was going to start at the beginning in SJPP to get the benefit of the whole experience.
The draw to Portugal - never been there and would like to see it.
 
Hi JeanneB,
In 2017 I walked from Porto to SdC - Muxia - Fisterra. Then, after a week in London visiting my son, I returned and walked from Leon to SdC. It was a wonderful combination! And I'm sure you will never regret completing the CF. Just a thought.
Buen Camino.
 
Just a thought: but if you have your old credencial from 2006 with a last stamp in Leon then you could start again from there. Just get a stamp to show your re-start date. There is no need, no celestial or secular reason, to start again from StJpdP. Camino benefits come in a variety of package sizes.

That said, Portugal is a great country and well worth visiting. And your journey to Santiago can start from wherever you wish and follow any road you wander (pace the Pilgrims Office) ;)
 
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Some advice please. My bag has been packed for 2 years waiting for me to get my plane ticket. 2020 is the year to do this.
Advice needed. I walked from SJPP to Leon in 2006. Stopping there Was planned by the group I was with. I’ve always wanted to make it to Santiago.
I’m dithering on whether to walk the Camino Frances or Camino Portugues. It would be in September 2020.
I would be grateful for suggestions regarding which route to take??
thank you
J
Definitely France for me.
 
I was going to start at the beginning in SJPP to get the benefit of the whole experience.
The draw to Portugal - never been there and would like to see it.
Well, if you want the whole experience then the whole Portuguese way takes 3-4 weeks, the original route starts from Lisbon, is well marked, all the infrastructure is there, especially abundant after Porto, the route is busy in season and Sept is definitely high season there. The stretch between Lisbon and Porto is less crowded, there is a different Camino feel there, slightly off the beaten track, less touristic, plenty of nice small towns to explore on the way, great people, good food, international pilgrim mix, possible to walk only speaking English as many Portuguese are fluent in it. This way you could see different sides of the country, especially if you switch from the Central way to the Coastal after Porto. I walked different Caminos in Portugal in all the different seasons and hope to keep coming for more as the country is amazing! If you research the topic you'll find out there is more then Camino from Porto there. Finishing the Frances now is reasonable but your heart decides in the end :) Bom Caminho! :)
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Call me another vote for finishing the Frances. You can start at Leon (especially if you still have your credencial as Tincatinker says). You will still have the "complete experience" and have walked the entire route (people may differ one where they think the route starts for the "entire route", or even if there is such a starting place, but there is a fair amount of consensus on where it ends. :) ).

Don't get me wrong, Portugal and the Camino Portugues is nice. But I would want to finish what I had started and there are also so very nice bits between Leon and SdC on the Frances.
 
Many thanks for all the replies and suggestions.
It’s clear that Frances is #1 option, starting at Leon. Sadly I’ve lost my credentials (it’s been 15 years and several moves) although I still have my shell.
again - thank you!
 
Whilst I have only walked the CF the thing that I really enjoyed, having started in SJPdP, is the companionship that you build up over the full route that you may not if walking the last 200 miles. Even though I didn't speak their language on most occasions but the pleasure of seeing someone most days or after a few days made the walk/pilgrimage for me. It may be just a shout from a café/bar at the end of the day to join them for a "beverage" or just a handshake of welcome - so for me I would start at SJPdP to enjoy the comradeship experience that you build up if you have the time.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I agree that you do make great friends walking from SJPdP, but last year I started walking from the train station in Leon and met a woman at the first albergue outside of Leon. She had also started walking from the train station that day, and we had been walking about a half hour apart. We ended up having dinner together and walking almost the whole route together to Santiago. We also joined a group that had started in SJPdP and spent lots of the time walking with them. So maybe I was lucky, but I met up with lots of people on the Frances, even though I started in Leon. So if you only have the time to start in Leon, stay open, chat with people, and you can make friends.
 
I just finished the Portuguese in October (from Porto only). While I enjoyed it, I would say Frances.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
My advice would be, to get a new Credential and walk from Leon. Complete you French Camino and hop on a bus to Porto and walk from there.
You’ll find the French Camino busy compared to years ago !
And the Portuguese has its own charms. I loved Porto, and the tiles and cobbles.
Buen Camino or Bom Camino ! Have fun
 
Thanks for the quick responses. I was going to start at the beginning in SJPP to get the benefit of the whole experience.
The draw to Portugal - never been there and would like to see it.
My friend and I are planning our Porto Camino for mid September. Maybe see you there. And let’s share our plan.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Whilst I have only walked the CF the thing that I really enjoyed, having started in SJPdP, is the companionship that you build up over the full route that you may not if walking the last 200 miles. Even though I didn't speak their language on most occasions but the pleasure of seeing someone most days or after a few days made the walk/pilgrimage for me. It may be just a shout from a café/bar at the end of the day to join them for a "beverage" or just a handshake of welcome - so for me I would start at SJPdP to enjoy the comradeship experience that you build up if you have the time.
This is something I'm looking forward to - first Camino next September!
 

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