Last 100kms - Portuguese Way vs French Way

[Karli1077]

Hi Everyone,
My daughter (13) and I would like to walk the last 100kms to Santiago de Compostela in mid July but I can't decide which one to do. If anyone has advice for me that would be wonderful. Thanks so much.

 

[peb]

Look also at the Camino Ingles. The whole route from Ferrol is 119km, so you qualify for your compostela and there is a different sense of achievement about walking the whole of a Camino, as opposed to just walking the last 100km of a longer route.

Other advantages to the Ingles - it is less busy than the other more well known routes, so you can have more of a pilgrimage feeling, as opposed to being part of, what in July, may appear like a crowded procession, and the first two stages walk along the coast, making it very picturesque, and less hot.

 

[SioCamino]

I have only walked into Santiago on two routes - first the Frances and then the following year the Portuguese. I thought at the time that the last 100kms in on the CP was a much nicer walk and experience than the stretch in from Sarria, in particular the last day's walk. So my advice to people has been if you are determined to finish in Santiago and only have a week then do the CP over the CF. I was talking to someone else recently who highly recommended the walk from Ourense but I have not walked that way myself (yet!)

 

[Deleted member 3000]

From Sarria.

 

[lt56ny]

Sarria is way too crowded. Go on CP. I did both also. I may be wrong but I thought I read once that walking only the Inglés doesn’t qualify you for a Compostela, but I could easily be wrong.

 

[andycohn]

Depends where you start on the Ingles. If you start in A Coruna, the distance is less than 100 km, but if you start in Ferrol, it's approximately 110 km and enough to qualify for the Compostela.

 

[Karli1077]

Thank you so much! I hadn't even considered the Camino Ingles. What a great idea! Is it fairly easy to catch a bus to Ferrol to start or should I consider a transfer with a company? I was thinking of going through CaminoWays.com as I was just a little concerned that we might not be able to get hotel accommodation in July without using a company like CaminoWays. Or would you all suggest winging it! Ha ha ha.

 

[peb]

In July, you should book hotels in advance, because even though there are less people on the Ingles, the accommodation options are limited if you want B&B's / hotels. Try to book a room with a bath - believe me, soaking your legs and feet in a hot bath at the end of the day does wonders.

The main reason to use someone like CaminoWays is to transport your luggage to each hotel so that you walk with just a day pack and supplies and you just concentrate on walking as freely as possible. I used a company called Macs Adventures, but only because they came back to me quicker than Camino Ways. The only compliant I had was with the accommodation at Sigueiro. You can alternatively arrange the transfers of luggage yourself via Correos, the Spanish postal service.

I stayed at the following hotels:

Ferrol - Hotel El Suixo - very welcoming and have Credencials at reception, if you need them.

Pontedeume - Pension Casa Apilladeira - ok

Betanzos - Garelos Hotel - all rooms have showers - the only room with a bath is the suite which costs € 66 more than a double. Best € 66 I have ever spent, as the suite has a Porcelanosa Jacuzzi bath! My legs were therefore new after a Jacuzzi in the preceding evening and in the morning before the longest and toughest stage up to and past Hospital de Bruma

Buscas - Casa Rural DonaMaria - 8km further than Hospital de Bruma, but worth the extra 2 hour walk. Best meal I had during the week, home cooking on site by the proprietors

Sigueiro - Hotel San Vicente - this was a horrible hotel. If I had the choice, I would have stayed in the en suite apartment room at the Alberge Camino Real.

All bar the last hotel gave an ample breakfast, sufficient enough to make a packed lunch to eat on the way, supplemented by supplies bought at the supermarkets (the reason I did this, is so that I could eat when I felt I needed to, or on two days, simply where I found a bus stop to shelter from the heavy rain, rather than be constrained by where the cafes were).

 

[peb]

on the transfers to Ferrol, there are buses which go from Santiago direct. The trains go via La Coruna and take longer. I flew into La Coruna rather than Santiago, as it came out much cheaper, and from then took the train to Ferrol. La Coruna is worth spending a day exploring before you start walking

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Sarria - French Camino - it has it all

 

[Camembert]

In July, you should book hotels in advance, because even though there are less people on the Ingles, the accommodation options are limited if you want B&B's / hotels. Try to book a room with a bath - believe me, soaking your legs and feet in a hot bath at the end of the day does wonders.

The main reason to use someone like CaminoWays is to transport your luggage to each hotel so that you walk with just a day pack and supplies and you just concentrate on walking as freely as possible. I used a company called Macs Adventures, but only because they came back to me quicker than Camino Ways. The only compliant I had was with the accommodation at Sigueiro. You can alternatively arrange the transfers of luggage yourself via Correos, the Spanish postal service.

I stayed at the following hotels:

Ferrol - Hotel El Suixo - very welcoming and have Credencials at reception, if you need them.

Pontedeume - Pension Casa Apilladeira - ok

Betanzos - Garelos Hotel - all rooms have showers - the only room with a bath is the suite which costs € 66 more than a double. Best € 66 I have ever spent, as the suite has a Porcelanosa Jacuzzi bath! My legs were therefore new after a Jacuzzi in the preceding evening and in the morning before the longest and toughest stage up to and past Hospital de Bruma

Buscas - Casa Rural DonaMaria - 8km further than Hospital de Bruma, but worth the extra 2 hour walk. Best meal I had during the week, home cooking on site by the proprietors

Sigueiro - Hotel San Vicente - this was a horrible hotel. If I had the choice, I would have stayed in the en suite apartment room at the Alberge Camino Real.

All bar the last hotel gave an ample breakfast, sufficient enough to make a packed lunch to eat on the way, supplemented by supplies bought at the supermarkets (the reason I did this, is so that I could eat when I felt I needed to, or on two days, simply where I found a bus stop to shelter from the heavy rain, rather than be constrained by where the cafes were).

In addition. There are albergues at the Camino Inglés too. The first is in Neda about 8 to 10 kms from Ferrol because I don't know if you can walk all the way to Pontedeume in one time with a child of 13 years old as the OP mentioned.
In Pontedeume is an albergue, directly over the bridge to thecright and after about 50 mters. Desavantage. It openend at 17h00 and you can not leave your backpack on beforehand. After 15 kms was a very nice albergue in the town of Betanzos -by then recently renovated. Desadvantage. No blankets so we slept in our sleeping liners and on top our fleesvests. Rather cold that night.
After 15 kms from Betanzos is the albergue in Miño, a bit deserted just outside the village but it was okay . In Miño are some restaurants and there is a nice beach.
From Miño we walked to Ordes. Another 15 kms. Ordes is not on the waymarked route but on a detour of 2 kms. There is a big hotel in the center of Ordes.
The priest in the church opposite the hotel was not willing to stamp on the credential -Ordes is not on the Camino he said- but the hoteldesk did.
From Ordes there was a shortcut to the waymarked path and leads to Hospital de Bruma. To get in Bruma you had to walk on a very steep hill. I don't know if there is a diversion now to avoid this steep hill by now but just before the hill is a small bar, bar Julia. There we phoned to a hostal , Meson novo in Meson do Vento, a small hamlet nearby Bruma. The owner picked us up by car. We had a nice room,diner and breakfast and he brought us back to bar Julia the next day and we walked back to him without backpack and stayed another night. Very relaxed.
From Meson do Vento there was a short cut to the waymarked path and we ended up in Sigueiro. The place we stayed does not exist anymore as far as I know-it was in 2014 -but there are several other options to stay. From there it was about 20 kms to Santiago ..
we enjoyed this camino although there are some climbs to do.
It took us a week .I definitively prefer the Inglés above the bedrace CF camino from Sarria.

An option is to start on the Caminho Português in e.g.O Porriño , walk as far as Pontevedra and choose there fore the Variante Espiritual. As a bonus there is a boattrip on the Arousa river to Padrón -the same route the dead body of St James was brought to what is nowadays Santiago. Very interesting -included is a walk on a medieval path, a ruta de pedras e de augas -a path with medieval watermills very beautiful. Read on the subforum of the Caminho Português here on the forum about this Variant. Bom caminho