Going to be out of HS soon, looking to do the Camino

[DanGordon]

Hi guys, I'm about to embark upon my senior year in high school and, after watching The Way and doing a fair bit of research, I've begun to plan my own Camino Frances trek for July of next year. I'm fairly fit and have a good bit of hiking experience behind me, mostly just small AT section hikes and the occasional NH 4000 footer, but I was wondering if you could answer a few questions. These being: is it safe to hike the Camino alone at my age? Are such rare events as theft the main source of danger on the Camino? Is it relatively easy to contact family out of country (i.e. is a SIM card needed? is wifi available?).

Any and all help you can give is much welcomed. These answers are more to ease and allow my father to let me do this. Again thank you for any help.

Buen Camino,
Dan G.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Your age won't be a problem. There will be a surge of youth at that time of the year. It is quite safe. Even theft is rare if you take very little, and keep an eye on it at all times. Expect to spend about 30E per day. There is WiFi (wee-fee) along the route, and computers at nearly every albergue. If you have an unlocked GMS three-band cell phone, you can buy a SIM chip in Spain and have instant emergency communications almost everywhere. Text messages are very cheap, calls to Spain inexpensive, but calls to the U.S. can be a bit expensive.

Buen camino!