How long from Santander to Santiago?

[Alicia R]

Hi,
We will be walking the Northern route next June. But that is not written in stone.
How long will it take from Santander to Campostella?
We only have 14-16 days? What route can anyone suggest?
Maybe part of the Norte and then part of the Frances or Primitivo?
Any help would be much apprectiated.
We are semi-experienced backpackers, but very sincere pilgrims.
Thanks so much?

Alicia

 

[CaminoJohn]

Hi! Welcome! This site, in Spanish, shows the steps or etapes for the Norte. It is about 21 days from Santander to Santiago if you follow the pace outlined.
http://www.gronze.com/camino-de-santiago/caminos/guia-del-camino-del-norte
John

 

[Daniel O'Connell]

Alicia, I was thinking of the same route next year. I alloted 24 days for walking from Santander to Santiago, which would be about 14.6 miles per day. I thought with the undulations in topography that was about all I could do. I may be kidding myself, I might need an extra or two to finish. I think you're biting off too much for two weeks. If that time period also includes travel time between home and back, you have to take that into consideration. Instead of overdoing it, take a shorter route from a nearer town or even switch caminos and think about the Camino de Ingles for your 1st Camino. If you started in Ferrol, you would qualify for the Compestela and if you had enough time you could go to Finesterre. You could walk there and take the bus back. Good luck with your plans!

 

[Alicia R]

Great suggestion, Daniel! I will look into the Ingles. Do you know the best way to get to Ferrol from the states ?

 

[Castilian]

Do you know the best way to get to Ferrol from the states ?

Disclaimer: I assume that by the states you mean the USA but let me know if my assumption is wrong.

It depends on your departure point in the USA, your travel date...

Closest airport is A Coruña (IATA code: LCG). You can fly to A Coruña airport with Iberia changing planes in Madrid. Iberia codeshares flights with American Airlines so your leg from the USA to Madrid might be operated (either fully or partially) by American Airlines. You can also fly to A Coruña with TAP changing planes in Lisbon but TAP doesn't fly to many American airports.

Another option is to fly to London with the airline offering the best fare on your travel dates and from London to A Coruña with Vueling. Or to fly to Madrid and continue overland to Ferrol (e.g.: by train). If you opt to fly to Madrid, you could also look for a cheap flight from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela (second closest airport to Ferrol) with Ryanair (don't forget to read the T&C's of Ryanair flights to avoid -unpleasant- surprises). You could also fly to Paris with the airline offering the best fare on your travel date and from Paris to Santiago de Compostela with Vueling. If you live close to Toronto (Canada), you could look for the fares of Air Transat (they fly to Porto -aka Oporto- and Madrid from where you could continue overland...)...