Help - large family,3 weeks,where to start? Porto V Leon??

[Familyof8]

Hi , we are an Australian family of 8 & planning a July Camino for 3 weeks. Kids aged 13-23 & all fit . Trying to get the most out of our 1st Camino and hoping for some insights into the differences between a Porto V Leon Camino start. We are fit but do not want to 'Race'. We are trying to have time to spend an extra day or two along the way.
Thanks!

 

[Arn]

Although I really enjoyed the CP, and unless you take the coastal route...it's a lot of road travel. Leon is well established and, rather that making the 22-28 km stages, you can make more 16-18 km legs finishing earlier in the day. Every three or four days book into a hostal or private albergue to insure no rush no fuss.
Burn Camino,
Arn

 

[KiwiNomad06]

You might like to PM Rachel, the Kiwi Mum of a family who have walked the Camino- and then some... She will have the best advice from her own experience of walking with children. Her profile page is here.
Margaret

 

[Kiwi-family]

Your kids are really adults, so you're an adult group walking together....and that's wonderful! You'll make fantastic memories - what a great experience to share as a family.
You mention Leon and I immediately wondered whether you might consider the Salvador and Primitivo. On the other hand, the Frances from Leon is totally doable at a gentle pace (we did it with young kids) - and the infrastructure makes it a very easy walk. That said, if we ever found ourselves back in Leon again, we would definitely turn right and head to Oviedo again - the scenery was much more spectacular (in our opinions).
Can't comment on your other option.

 

[Familyof8]

Your kids are really adults, so you're an adult group walking together....and that's wonderful! You'll make fantastic memories - what a great experience to share as a family.
You mention Leon and I immediately wondered whether you might consider the Salvador and Primitivo. On the other hand, the Frances from Leon is totally doable at a gentle pace (we did it with young kids) - and the infrastructure makes it a very easy walk. That said, if we ever found ourselves back in Leon again, we would definitely turn right and head to Oviedo again - the scenery was much more spectacular (in our opinions).
Can't comment on your other option.

Thanks for your reply.
We are going to do some homework on your Oviedo suggestion. Sounds like a great way to mix it up a bit.
What a great site! No doubt we will be back for some more help as we get closer.
Cheers.

 

[Camembert]

Keep in mind that the July month it is very busy on the camino .On the French camino walk about 70% more people than on the Portugese caminho.
So finding a bed for you all could be much more problematic every night.

The caminho Portugues is a great walk. it has everything in it.

Bom caminho

 

[Familyof8]

Hello again.
We are wondering if there is a better chance of getting accomodation for 8 on the Primitivo than battling it out with hundreds every day on the Frances?
Does the Primitivo have the short stop villages on the way? Or do we need to achieve 30km a day on this route?
Appreciate any info you may have on this route to help us decide.
Many thanks!

 

[Familyof8]

Thanks for your reply.
We are going to do some homework on your Oviedo suggestion. Sounds like a great way to mix it up a bit.
What a great site! No doubt we will be back for some more help as we get closer.
Cheers.

Thanks. Do you think the way will be marked from Leon to join the Primivido at Oviedo?

 

[Familyof8]

Hi Kiwi family.
My last comment was meant for you. As you can see, I replied to myself ! This is my first attempt at joining a blog and it shows!
Appreciate any help/ thoughts re Leon to Oviedo. - Accomodation, pros V cons of battling the hordes on the Frances, or taking a quieter route like Primitivo.

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

camino francés from león, more chances for your kids to meet other kids their ages and more albergues, hostels, hotels...

 

[Kiwi-family]

Route from Leon to Oviedo is very well marked - you just have to deal with helpful locals as you set off telling you that the Camino is the other way (they are right - the Frances is!)
Distances needn't be 30km/day - have you looked at the gronze site? That gives fairly accurate distances.
A group of 8 is always going to be a big group no matter where you go. In fact, one of the albergues on the Salvador only had 8 beds - although there were extra mattresses and there was space to lay them out.
Everyone talks about the Primitivo being quiet - we must have just chanced an unusual hiccup......our camino family ended up being a group of well over 20 people who we met every day or so - big group. Initially we were all racing against a Russian group of a dozen and quite a few Spaniards who were happy to push in to get beds - thankfully we managed to get ahead of them. We were very relaxed on the Frances and did not worry about beds at all - possibly because there are so many options. The Primitivo stages are a bit more set in stone - we even ended up reserving ahead one night. We often got the last beds and anyone coming after us had to taxi on or back. However, I'm told this is not typical. I don't want to scare you away from it. Also, I was walking with four kids, all of whom were younger than yours so you will most probably be able to walk a lot faster than we did and so be among the early arrivers each day.