"Official" stages

[mariuszm]

What are the "official" stages of Via de la Plata?
I know you can decide on your own if there is enough albergues on the way, but even on Camino Frances they were giving some "official" split into the days, I'm curious what is pre-planned for VdlP.

I found this one for example, which gives me some idea that 35 days is roughly how long it will take to walk it:

1 Sevilla
2 Guillena 23.1
3 Castilblanco de los Arroyos 18.2
4 Almadén de la Plata 30.1
5 Monesterio 34.9
6 Fuente de Cantos 21.2
7 Villafranca de los Barros 45
8 Torremejía 28.1
9 Mérida 16.5
10 Alcuéscar 37.2
11 Cáceres 39
12 Embalse de Alcántara (FR 0,6 km) 33.9
13 Grimaldo (FR 1 km) 19.7
14 Carcaboso 31
15 Aldeanueva del Camino 39.6
16 La Calzada de Béjar 22.6
17 Fuenterroble de Salvatierra 20.7
18 San Pedro de Rozados 28.6
19 Salamanca 24.5
20 El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino 37.6
21 Zamora 32.6
22 Montamarta 19
23 Granja de Moreruela 23.3
24 Tábara 26.6
25 Santa Marta de Tera 23.3
26 Mombuey 37.8
27 Puebla de Sanabria 32.8
28 Lubián 32
29 La Gudiña 25.3
30 Laza 35
31 Orense 41.4
32 Cea 23
33 A Laxe 38.2
34 Outeiro 34.1
35 Santiago de Compostela 16.7

 

[SYates]

The VdlP is far more restrictive when it comes to stages as the CF is, simply because there is less accommodation available and also less villages on route. One word of caution - be careful at stage 12 of your list. When I walked it, there wasn't any accommodation available near the Embalse.

BTW To plan your stages/Camino I can recommend this guide book https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FKMGH8G/?tag=casaivar02-20
or, if you prefer an app - the one of the Wise Pilgrim Guides series

Buen Camino, SY

 

[mariuszm]

@SYates Thanks for the reply.
I have this book and was curious what the typical stages are. I know planning on Camino can be a funny thing, but after my experiences on Frances I added roughly 2 days in my head to figure out how long VdlP will take. After closer inspection I found out that there are some 40km and I feel like 32 is my comfortable max. Because there are less albergues there is a smaller flexibility, which may result in crazy distances on the next day if the day before you didn't calculate correctly. On Frances I didn't follow the "official" guide handed out in SJPdP, which was great adventure, letting the day unfold on its own. Here however, I feel like more planning is needed and was curious what the typical stages are.

What did you do near Embalse?

 

[C clearly]

@SYates after my experiences on Frances I added roughly 2 days in my head to figure out how long VdlP will take.

Since the VDLP is about 200 km longer than the Camino Frances, I don't think adding just 2 days would work! In addition, there is less flexibility in planning stages of the length you want.

At the Embalse de Alcantara, there is no choice. Either you walk 34 km or you take a taxi for some part at the beginning.

 

[mariuszm]

I meant I add at least two days for resting etc. to the initial plan (so 35+2), not 2 days more than the Frances

 

[SYates]

... What did you do near Embalse?

I bit the bullet and started early and walked from Casar de Caseres to Canaveral - taking my time aka the whole day, see https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-plata-february-abril-2016.38377/#post-383974

BC SY

 

[Saint Mike II]

As our wise pilgrim SY advises - take your time, be flexible. Your stages 10 / 11 / 12 are all 30+ km. When I tried to walk this Camino back in 2013 there was a government albergue at the Embalse. Over the years the accommodation at this spot has changed so much that almost as soon as an information paper is printed its out of date. I have a copy of the Camino guide published by the Amigos Del Camino De Santiago De Sevilla. Compared to Brierley its just a basic route and distance book, but a good useful planning tool. It has 35 stages from Sevilla to Santiago (the four stages from Media are all 35+ km - with a total of 12 stages in excess of 30 km). Buen Camino.

 

[domigee]

As our wise pilgrim SY advises - take your time, be flexible. Your stages 10 / 11 / 12 are all 30+ km. When I tried to walk this Camino back in 2013 there was a government albergue at the Embalse. Over the years the accommodation at this spot has changed so much that almost as soon as an information paper is printed its out of date. I have a copy of the Camino guide published by the Amigos Del Camino De Santiago De Sevilla. Compared to Brierley its just a basic route and distance book, but a good useful planning tool. It has 35 stages from Sevilla to Santiago (the four stages from Media are all 35+ km - with a total of 12 stages in excess of 30 km). Buen Camino.

I was lucky too, we managed to stay at the new hostal - which I hear is now closed to pilgrims....
That Spanish guide was very useful I thought, I bought it in Sevilla.

 

[HeidiL]

Yet again, I have to recommend the planner at Godesalco. If you use it, you can plan the length of your stages according to the availability of accommodation - and print out little profile maps that show you both ups and downs and possible alternative places to stop - which you will no doubt need, as your walking distances are likely to change depending on weather and form...

 

[koknesis]

Yet again, I have to recommend the planner at Godesalco. If you use it, you can plan the length of your stages according to the availability of accommodation - and print out little profile maps that show you both ups and downs and possible alternative places to stop - which you will no doubt need, as your walking distances are likely to change depending on weather and form...

yes, indeed. having figured out the distances with Godesalco you may go to https://www.gronze.com/via-plata and see how they actually look like and where one can find an accomodation.

 

[Kanga]

We are walking the Vdlp and Sanabrés from Salamanca. Our official stages will be wherever we stop. For planning purposes less than 30 km a day. Many of your stages would be too long for us. I used Gronze to check that I was being realistic, and that there is accommodation available within our parameters. It seems fine, although some of our days will be quite short, simply because adding the next section looks too long. We will see how we get on, we may surprise ourselves. Or not.

 

[camino07]

It took me 43/44 days to walk from Seville in 2012 that was including 3 rest days and I expect about the same this year. My longest day was 33kms walking to Zamora which nearly killed my feet..

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi Marius
not sure how useful this will be as it's from 2010, but it was so easy to copy and paste from my flickr page that I've done it anyway! It might give you some further ideas. There's a lot more accommodation along the way these days. I had a plan before I started, but actually most decisions about where to stay were made along the way, in discussion with the other pilgrims I met and with whom I shared parts of this adventure. It's an amazing camino.
Cheers, tom

Seville to Muxia/Finisterre
2 October 2010 to 13 November 2010
43 days, 1120 km or 700 miles
Average 26 km per day or 16 miles

DAY DATE TO KM
From Sevilla
Day 1 02/Oct Guillena 23
Day 2 03/Oct Castilblanco18
Day 3 04/Oct Almedan 28.5
Day 4 05/Oct Monesterio 37.5
Day 5 06/Oct Fuente de Canos 22
Day 6 07/Oct Zafra 26
Day 7 08/Oct Villafranca 20.5
Day 8 09/Oct Torremegia 28
Day 9 10/Oct Merida 16
Day 10 11/Oct Aljucen 17
Day 11 12/Oct Alcuescar 21.5
Day 12 13/Oct Valdesalor 28
Day 13 14/Oct Casar de Caceres 23
Day 14 15/Oct Canavaral 34
Day 15 16/Oct Galisteo 28
Day 16 17/Oct Oliva de Plasencia 29
Day 17 18/Oct Aldeanueva 25
Day 18 19/Oct Calzadar de Bejar 23
Day 19 20/Oct Fuenterroble 20
Day 20 21/Oct Morille 33.5
Day 21 22/Oct Salamanca 20.5
Day 22 23/Oct El Cubo Tierra 35
Day 23 24/Oct Zamora 32
Day 24 25/Oct Montamarta 19
Day 25 26/Oct Granja Moreruela22
Day 26 27/Oct Tabara 28
Day 27 28/Oct Santa Marta 23
Day 28 29/Oct Rio Negro 27.5
Day 29 30/Oct San Salvador 21
Day 30 31/Oct Puebla Sanabria 22.5
Day 31 01/Nov Lubian 33
Day 32 02/Nov A Gudina 24
Day 33 03/Nov Laza 34
Day 34 04/Nov Xunqueria 33
Day 35 05/Nov Ourense 19
Day 36 06/Nov Castro Dozon 33
Day 37 07/Nov A Laxe 19
Day 38 08/Nov Santaguino 34
Day 39 09/Nov Santiago 15.5
Day 40 10/Nov Negreira 22.5
Day 41 11/Nov Olveiroa 33
Day 42 12/Nov Muxia 31
Day 43 13/Nov Finisterre 36
1119 KM

 

[SUSIE]

We are walking the Vdlp and Sanabrés from Salamanca. Our official stages will be wherever we stop. For planning purposes less than 30 km a day. Many of your stages would be too long for us. I used Gronze to check that I was being realistic, and that there is accommodation available within our parameters. It seems fine, although some of our days will be quite short, simply because adding the next section looks too long. We will see how we get on, we may surprise ourselves. Or not.

Hi Kanga
I would like to know when you are starting....
I am also planning to start in Salamanca 16th Sept.
I would love to hear of the stages you have planned and accommodation and how they compare to your real experience on the Way...
Beuno Camino

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I posted my planned stages here a few months ago. i think the thread title was VDLP etapas for short legged people. I don't like days over 23km very much.

For standard stages, take a look at the Ersoki site.

 

[Old Gringo]

As our wise pilgrim SY advises - take your time, be flexible. Your stages 10 / 11 / 12 are all 30+ km. When I tried to walk this Camino back in 2013 there was a government albergue at the Embalse. Over the years the accommodation at this spot has changed so much that almost as soon as an information paper is printed its out of date. I have a copy of the Camino guide published by the Amigos Del Camino De Santiago De Sevilla. Compared to Brierley its just a basic route and distance book, but a good useful planning tool. It has 35 stages from Sevilla to Santiago (the four stages from Media are all 35+ km - with a total of 12 stages in excess of 30 km). Buen Camino.

In 2015 we aimed for the Albergue at the Embalse. We found it closed (for three years we were told, caught up in some legal wrangle with no end in sight). The backup plan was a hostel close by but a phone call confirmed that it was full due to a fishing tournament. The next Albergue was 16 Km further along.

 

[HeidiL]

We had a reservation at the fishing place, but when we got there, they didn't open the door. Not recommended.

 

[brian560]

@SYates Thanks for the reply.
I have this book and was curious what the typical stages are. I know planning on Camino can be a funny thing, but after my experiences on Frances I added roughly 2 days in my head to figure out how long VdlP will take. After closer inspection I found out that there are some 40km and I feel like 32 is my comfortable max. Because there are less albergues there is a smaller flexibility, which may result in crazy distances on the next day if the day before you didn't calculate correctly. On Frances I didn't follow the "official" guide handed out in SJPdP, which was great adventure, letting the day unfold on its own. Here however, I feel like more planning is needed and was curious what the typical stages are.

What did you do near Embalse?

Don't forget to take your lunch with you. There are no lunchtime food options on many of the stages.

 

[Larry OHeron]

I broke 6 and 7 into Fuente to Sancho Perez to Villafranco.
Larry

What are the "official" stages of Via de la Plata?
I know you can decide on your own if there is enough albergues on the way, but even on Camino Frances they were giving some "official" split into the days, I'm curious what is pre-planned for VdlP.

I found this one for example, which gives me some idea that 35 days is roughly how long it will take to walk it:

1 Sevilla
2 Guillena 23.1
3 Castilblanco de los Arroyos 18.2
4 Almadén de la Plata 30.1
5 Monesterio 34.9
6 Fuente de Cantos 21.2
7 Villafranca de los Barros 45
8 Torremejía 28.1
9 Mérida 16.5
10 Alcuéscar 37.2
11 Cáceres 39
12 Embalse de Alcántara (FR 0,6 km) 33.9
13 Grimaldo (FR 1 km) 19.7
14 Carcaboso 31
15 Aldeanueva del Camino 39.6
16 La Calzada de Béjar 22.6
17 Fuenterroble de Salvatierra 20.7
18 San Pedro de Rozados 28.6
19 Salamanca 24.5
20 El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino 37.6
21 Zamora 32.6
22 Montamarta 19
23 Granja de Moreruela 23.3
24 Tábara 26.6
25 Santa Marta de Tera 23.3
26 Mombuey 37.8
27 Puebla de Sanabria 32.8
28 Lubián 32
29 La Gudiña 25.3
30 Laza 35
31 Orense 41.4
32 Cea 23
33 A Laxe 38.2
34 Outeiro 34.1
35 Santiago de Compostela 16.7

 

[Rosemary314]

What are the "official" stages of Via de la Plata?
I know you can decide on your own if there is enough albergues on the way, but even on Camino Frances they were giving some "official" split into the days, I'm curious what is pre-planned for VdlP.

I found this one for example, which gives me some idea that 35 days is roughly how long it will take to walk it:

1 Sevilla
2 Guillena 23.1
3 Castilblanco de los Arroyos 18.2
4 Almadén de la Plata 30.1
5 Monesterio 34.9
6 Fuente de Cantos 21.2
7 Villafranca de los Barros 45
8 Torremejía 28.1
9 Mérida 16.5
10 Alcuéscar 37.2
11 Cáceres 39
12 Embalse de Alcántara (FR 0,6 km) 33.9
13 Grimaldo (FR 1 km) 19.7
14 Carcaboso 31
15 Aldeanueva del Camino 39.6
16 La Calzada de Béjar 22.6
17 Fuenterroble de Salvatierra 20.7
18 San Pedro de Rozados 28.6
19 Salamanca 24.5
20 El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino 37.6
21 Zamora 32.6
22 Montamarta 19
23 Granja de Moreruela 23.3
24 Tábara 26.6
25 Santa Marta de Tera 23.3
26 Mombuey 37.8
27 Puebla de Sanabria 32.8
28 Lubián 32
29 La Gudiña 25.3
30 Laza 35
31 Orense 41.4
32 Cea 23
33 A Laxe 38.2
34 Outeiro 34.1
35 Santiago de Compostela 16.7

We are just completing the cvdp, resources that were useful are Kelly' s book available on Amazon, and check the app store. We used one called Via de la Plata, then Sanbres app for the option through Ourense. There are a couple of long days (32km) and they may be back to back. But do-able, because they were downhill or easy! You will need to do your homework as there is no equivalent book to the camino frances! The french have good maps, in their books, so might be useful. We left our book((kelly) in a bar after about a week, and managed well with the apps. Only difficulty there is you will need wifi, so I wrote out the pertinent points each night. Its a great experience, so different from CF. We saw a total of 26 different people on the cvdp from feb 10 to March 28!! Buen camino!

 

[mariuszm]

Thank you all
I am in El Real de la Jara and as expected earlier plans for stages already changed

 

[geraldkelly]

Hi

Just a quick update. The latest information I've received (just a few days ago) is that the albergue at Embalse de Alcantara is still closed.

Also, there's confusing signposting before Alcuescar, but I'll make a separate post about that.

Buen Camino!
Gerald

 

[SUSIE]

Hi

Just a quick update. The latest information I've received (just a few days ago) is that the albergue at Embalse de Alcantara is still closed.

Also, there's confusing signposting before Alcuescar, but I'll make a separate post about that.

Buen Camino!
Gerald

Hi Gerald ....received your book now...yippee time to highlight and make it personal would like to add the changes and info....Thank you Susie

 

[notion900]

I have just posted a resource on the problem stage at the Embalse.