Planning my first Camino in Sept 2019.

[LizKhan]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning my first Camino next year and was hoping to find some like minded or experienced Aussies and Kiwis to give me some tips and advice. I'm in the budgeting stage and would like to hear from you as to how much money to set aside for the albergues and food everyday ? I plan to do the Camino Frances, so would 35 days be enough ? Or should I schedule in some rest days ? I'm keen to find out how you guys went about it. I'm reasonably fit, in my mid 40s and I'm starting a training regime soon. I'm lso keen to know if any of you had a training regime and what it was.

Also, did you do the self guided tours ? I plan on carrying minimal luggage and don't plan on using the baggage transfer option. Did you use a travel company ? Or did you book your flight tickets and then just took a chance on the Albergues every night ? Was it easy to get in ?


So many questions....... more to come. Any advice will be much appreciated.

Cheers

Liz

 

[Anamiri]

Im planning mty third Camino at the same time, leaving NZ around 23 September - we may meet up.

Im hoping by leaving a little later than my last autumn camino (1 sept start at SJPDP in 2016) that it will be less hot.. However this time I have my husband and my 13 year old grandson with me. So it is a cut-down version from Leon to Finisterre-Muxia, with a detour at Ponferada to Lugo and linking back to the Frances.
It has just occurred to me, that it will be quite a different Camino being responsible for two others. I've always been able to do what I wanted when I wanted.My husband is not particular intrepid, so that will be a challenge for me, easing his fears- the concept of not knowing where he will end up each day doesn't sit too comfortably with him. He is also coeliac so that will add to the challenge. However he trusts me to look after him and has agreed to wing it this time as well. My grandson thinks its completely exciting so no problems with him.

I just book airfares and wing it - that always works well for me, and the cheapest option. I would never book a tour, for me the magic of the Camino is doing it on your own - I've never been a tour person. I did very little research the first time, and it worked out really well, and I was completely hooked. I loved every minute and was in mourning when it ended. From Sarria on I booked ahead sometimes, but I always got a bed whether I booked or not and I was never stressed about it.

I was lucky to meet and fall in with a Camino family both times- which really enriched my walking experience - , you need a free timetable to be able to do that.
If you do decide to use pack transport its easy and cheap so if you change your mind and decide for instance that you don't want to carry your pack up to O'Cebreiro (or down to Molineseca) you can decide the night before.
I stayed in a mix of accommodation, mainly albergues but also the occasional hostal (mainly when I wanted a good night sleep and to wash my hair. (very infrequently)
I found its easiest and cheapest to fly into Madrid, and bus to JSPDP or wherever you want to start. and you have options leaving Santiago. I flew to Frankfurt the first time and then home, and Paris the second time, Easy,close, and well priced.
But there are bus options as well
I found Alsa buses easy, comfortable and cheap - and in my case faster than the train.
The Camino Frances from SJPDP took me 33 days, with rest days in Burgos and Leon. Longer would have been nicer, but I had time constraints.
I spend around 25-35 euros most days, but more when I used a hostal, so add more if you want that option There is really nothing to spend your cash on other than a bed, food and beverage. Anything you buy you have to carry so that is a deterrent.
I sprayed my pack and the outside of my sleeping bag with Permethrin, and I couldn't find a store selling it so I bought it online. It is unclear if it helps with bedbugs, but I do it to as a precaution
Both times I was pretty fit beforehand, especially last time as I had completed the NZ Oxfam Trailwalk 100km event a few months earlier and kept my training up. I also live up a very steep hill, in a generally hilly area, But what is hard to prepare for is the heat. Last year in June when we walked into Santiago it was 43 degrees Celsius, and that didn't reduce until late in the evening. And we walked in that heat for days and weeks. The year before in September it was also really hot and I prayed unsuccessfully for cloud each day.
I walk early to avoid the heat, until 2pm or so and stop. Any later and the heat sucks the life out of me.
PM me if you want to chat more.

 

[gittiharre]

Liz, how wonderful. Walked my first Camino in 2006, aged 51, 35 days. SJPP to Santiago.
Many since including Madrid and Salvador.
Do your own thing winging it. Organized tours are totally pointless. Travel light and allow a couple of rest days. If you get to Santiago sooner, stay longer or take a bus to the coast. There are many options.
Stay in between the prescribed stages sometimes, usually fewer people in albergues. I stayed almost exclusively in albergues the first time. Nowadays I tend to mix them with hostals.
PM me if you have other questions. I live in Auckland.
www.gittiharre.blogspot.com

 

[Anamiri]

Forgot to say I was 57 on my first, I'll turn 60 on my third. I also live in Auckland.

 

[Craig Towers]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning my first Camino next year and was hoping to find some like minded or experienced Aussies and Kiwis to give me some tips and advice. I'm in the budgeting stage and would like to hear from you as to how much money to set aside for the albergues and food everyday ? I plan to do the Camino Frances, so would 35 days be enough ? Or should I schedule in some rest days ? I'm keen to find out how you guys went about it. I'm reasonably fit, in my mid 40s and I'm starting a training regime soon. I'm lso keen to know if any of you had a training regime and what it was.

Also, did you do the self guided tours ? I plan on carrying minimal luggage and don't plan on using the baggage transfer option. Did you use a travel company ? Or did you book your flight tickets and then just took a chance on the Albergues every night ? Was it easy to get in ?


So many questions....... more to come. Any advice will be much appreciated.

Cheers

Liz

Hi, you will have a great time. We have done 5 caminos now. My email is ctowersnz@gmail.com drop me a note and I’ll put togeather a list of possible tips you can look at laugh at then decide what makes sense for you.

Biggest tip is to toughen up your feet. Walk barefoot a lot. Buy footwear early. An old soldiers tip was soak your feet in water with old tea bags. Tannin toughens skin. .

Agree with comments about not booking too far ahead. Restricts flexibility.

Listen to your body.

Pick a few towns to stay a couple of days in. Too many people rush it. Then they miss out on feeling the real Spain.

Start early as soon as suns up.

Take a long phone charging cord 3m. Wrap both ends with insulation tape to lessen fraying.

Download the French rail app Oui to get to St Jean if your starting there. Great app. English available.

More if you want.

Craig.

 

[Stacyv]

Hi Liz, I’m a kiwi and walked the St Francés September 2017. I traveled Independently, there is no need to go through a travel agent.
I would recommend booking your first night in St Jean, as that gets crowded. After that there a no need to book. You can’t book albergues anyway....I used a mix of albergues and hostels/pensions. If I thought the trail was looking busy I would book 24hrs out once I knew where I was planning to walk to. You can call directly if you have a bit of Spanish, alternatively Booking.com is very useful.
I budgeted $50 euros daily, you can do it on far less if you choose to.
I was walking 50kms a week in the 6wks leading up to my departure. I put I lot of work into elevations. You want to enjoy the walk and having a good level of fitness will ensure you enjoy it. It’s hard the first week, but you’ll get pack fit quickly.
Footwear is key, I recommend 1/2 to 1 size up. And keep your pack light. Mine was 6.5kg minus water. You only need to carry 500ml water...plenty of places to stop and get a drink. There are a few longer stretches but you’ll know when to carry a bit more.
36 days will give you some rest days. I walked it in 30 with no rest days, but everyone is different. Don’t dismiss the luggage transfer, it’s cheap and reliable if you feel you need a break. You’ll love it! Best thing I ever did

 

[lissie45]

I’m looking at about 6 weeks Pamplona to finisterra - I’m not going to walk through places like Leon without stopping for a day or 2 to see the sites. Also having to to galthia were thinking about spending 10 days returning along the north coast with a car or by train.

 

[LizKhan]

Im planning mty third Camino at the same time, leaving NZ around 23 September - we may meet up.

Im hoping by leaving a little later than my last autumn camino (1 sept start at SJPDP in 2016) that it will be less hot.. However this time I have my husband and my 13 year old grandson with me. So it is a cut-down version from Leon to Finisterre-Muxia, with a detour at Ponferada to Lugo and linking back to the Frances.
It has just occurred to me, that it will be quite a different Camino being responsible for two others. I've always been able to do what I wanted when I wanted.My husband is not particular intrepid, so that will be a challenge for me, easing his fears- the concept of not knowing where he will end up each day doesn't sit too comfortably with him. He is also coeliac so that will add to the challenge. However he trusts me to look after him and has agreed to wing it this time as well. My grandson thinks its completely exciting so no problems with him.

I just book airfares and wing it - that always works well for me, and the cheapest option. I would never book a tour, for me the magic of the Camino is doing it on your own - I've never been a tour person. I did very little research the first time, and it worked out really well, and I was completely hooked. I loved every minute and was in mourning when it ended. From Sarria on I booked ahead sometimes, but I always got a bed whether I booked or not and I was never stressed about it.

I was lucky to meet and fall in with a Camino family both times- which really enriched my walking experience - , you need a free timetable to be able to do that.
If you do decide to use pack transport its easy and cheap so if you change your mind and decide for instance that you don't want to carry your pack up to O'Cebreiro (or down to Molineseca) you can decide the night before.
I stayed in a mix of accommodation, mainly albergues but also the occasional hostal (mainly when I wanted a good night sleep and to wash my hair. (very infrequently)
I found its easiest and cheapest to fly into Madrid, and bus to JSPDP or wherever you want to start. and you have options leaving Santiago. I flew to Frankfurt the first time and then home, and Paris the second time, Easy,close, and well priced.
But there are bus options as well
I found Alsa buses easy, comfortable and cheap - and in my case faster than the train.
The Camino Frances from SJPDP took me 33 days, with rest days in Burgos and Leon. Longer would have been nicer, but I had time constraints.
I spend around 25-35 euros most days, but more when I used a hostal, so add more if you want that option There is really nothing to spend your cash on other than a bed, food and beverage. Anything you buy you have to carry so that is a deterrent.
I sprayed my pack and the outside of my sleeping bag with Permethrin, and I couldn't find a store selling it so I bought it online. It is unclear if it helps with bedbugs, but I do it to as a precaution
Both times I was pretty fit beforehand, especially last time as I had completed the NZ Oxfam Trailwalk 100km event a few months earlier and kept my training up. I also live up a very steep hill, in a generally hilly area, But what is hard to prepare for is the heat. Last year in June when we walked into Santiago it was 43 degrees Celsius, and that didn't reduce until late in the evening. And we walked in that heat for days and weeks. The year before in September it was also really hot and I prayed unsuccessfully for cloud each day.
I walk early to avoid the heat, until 2pm or so and stop. Any later and the heat sucks the life out of me.
PM me if you want to chat more.

Im planning mty third Camino at the same time, leaving NZ around 23 September - we may meet up.

Im hoping by leaving a little later than my last autumn camino (1 sept start at SJPDP in 2016) that it will be less hot.. However this time I have my husband and my 13 year old grandson with me. So it is a cut-down version from Leon to Finisterre-Muxia, with a detour at Ponferada to Lugo and linking back to the Frances.
It has just occurred to me, that it will be quite a different Camino being responsible for two others. I've always been able to do what I wanted when I wanted.My husband is not particular intrepid, so that will be a challenge for me, easing his fears- the concept of not knowing where he will end up each day doesn't sit too comfortably with him. He is also coeliac so that will add to the challenge. However he trusts me to look after him and has agreed to wing it this time as well. My grandson thinks its completely exciting so no problems with him.

I just book airfares and wing it - that always works well for me, and the cheapest option. I would never book a tour, for me the magic of the Camino is doing it on your own - I've never been a tour person. I did very little research the first time, and it worked out really well, and I was completely hooked. I loved every minute and was in mourning when it ended. From Sarria on I booked ahead sometimes, but I always got a bed whether I booked or not and I was never stressed about it.

I was lucky to meet and fall in with a Camino family both times- which really enriched my walking experience - , you need a free timetable to be able to do that.
If you do decide to use pack transport its easy and cheap so if you change your mind and decide for instance that you don't want to carry your pack up to O'Cebreiro (or down to Molineseca) you can decide the night before.
I stayed in a mix of accommodation, mainly albergues but also the occasional hostal (mainly when I wanted a good night sleep and to wash my hair. (very infrequently)
I found its easiest and cheapest to fly into Madrid, and bus to JSPDP or wherever you want to start. and you have options leaving Santiago. I flew to Frankfurt the first time and then home, and Paris the second time, Easy,close, and well priced.
But there are bus options as well
I found Alsa buses easy, comfortable and cheap - and in my case faster than the train.
The Camino Frances from SJPDP took me 33 days, with rest days in Burgos and Leon. Longer would have been nicer, but I had time constraints.
I spend around 25-35 euros most days, but more when I used a hostal, so add more if you want that option There is really nothing to spend your cash on other than a bed, food and beverage. Anything you buy you have to carry so that is a deterrent.
I sprayed my pack and the outside of my sleeping bag with Permethrin, and I couldn't find a store selling it so I bought it online. It is unclear if it helps with bedbugs, but I do it to as a precaution
Both times I was pretty fit beforehand, especially last time as I had completed the NZ Oxfam Trailwalk 100km event a few months earlier and kept my training up. I also live up a very steep hill, in a generally hilly area, But what is hard to prepare for is the heat. Last year in June when we walked into Santiago it was 43 degrees Celsius, and that didn't reduce until late in the evening. And we walked in that heat for days and weeks. The year before in September it was also really hot and I prayed unsuccessfully for cloud each day.
I walk early to avoid the heat, until 2pm or so and stop. Any later and the heat sucks the life out of me.
PM me if you want to chat more.

Thanks So much for your advice, Anamiri. I am planning to do the Pink star walk and then the Oxfam trail walk, as well. I walk about 10 to 12 kms on the weekends on mixed terrain. I do the Browns bay to Murrays Bay cliff top walk which has a few steep hills as well as flat terrain. I'm planning to do browns Bay to Orewa, about 23 Kms, as a way of getting to know if I'm fit enough to take on 25 kms every day on the Camino.

will you be booking your flights via Paris ? or Madrid ?

 

[LizKhan]

Liz, how wonderful. Walked my first Camino in 2006, aged 51, 35 days. SJPP to Santiago.
Many since including Madrid and Salvador.
Do your own thing winging it. Organized tours are totally pointless. Travel light and allow a couple of rest days. If you get to Santiago sooner, stay longer or take a bus to the coast. There are many options.
Stay in between the prescribed stages sometimes, usually fewer people in albergues. I stayed almost exclusively in albergues the first time. Nowadays I tend to mix them with hostals.
PM me if you have other questions. I live in Auckland.
www.gittiharre.blogspot.com

Hi Gitthare,

Thanks for replying. I'm keen to know your flight route. Did you book a round trip or one way each way. Since the camino starts in France and end in spain, did you book one way to Paris and then back through Barecelona or Madrid ?

 

[LizKhan]

Hi, you will have a great time. We have done 5 caminos now. My email is ctowersnz@gmail.com drop me a note and I’ll put togeather a list of possible tips you can look at laugh at then decide what makes sense for you.

Biggest tip is to toughen up your feet. Walk barefoot a lot. Buy footwear early. An old soldiers tip was soak your feet in water with old tea bags. Tannin toughens skin. .

Agree with comments about not booking too far ahead. Restricts flexibility.

Listen to your body.

Pick a few towns to stay a couple of days in. Too many people rush it. Then they miss out on feeling the real Spain.

Start early as soon as suns up.

Take a long phone charging cord 3m. Wrap both ends with insulation tape to lessen fraying.

Download the French rail app Oui to get to St Jean if your starting there. Great app. English available.

More if you want.

Craig.

I'll take you up on the offer, Craig. will email you when I get home today. Thanks a bunch

 

[gittiharre]

Hi Gitthare,

Thanks for replying. I'm keen to know your flight route. Did you book a round trip or one way each way. Since the camino starts in France and end in spain, did you book one way to Paris and then back through Barecelona or Madrid ?

I usually fly into one city and out of another as I visit family in Germany.
Emirates and qatar are good for this.
For Camino Frances I would fly into Paris and out of Madrid.

 

[Anamiri]

Thanks So much for your advice, Anamiri. I am planning to do the Pink star walk and then the Oxfam trail walk, as well. I walk about 10 to 12 kms on the weekends on mixed terrain. I do the Browns bay to Murrays Bay cliff top walk which has a few steep hills as well as flat terrain. I'm planning to do browns Bay to Orewa, about 23 Kms, as a way of getting to know if I'm fit enough to take on 25 kms every day on the Camino.

will you be booking your flights via Paris ? or Madrid ?

Hi LizKhan, I think we may be neighbours, the Browns Bay to Mairangi cliff walk is my regular - it goes on into the Te Aroroa from there as well. I live in Browns Bay. (at the top of one of the hills, so plenty of hill walking). Do you have an Oxfam team, we are looking for a 4th person if you are interested. Or even to train with as our timings are around the same. I'll PM you my phone number.
Re the Camino, I will fly into Madrid, and bus from there to Leon, on the way home I'll fly out of Santiago to Paris, then home from there.

 

[LizKhan]

Hi LizKhan, I think we may be neighbours, the Browns Bay to Mairangi cliff walk is my regular - it goes on into the Te Aroroa from there as well. I live in Browns Bay. (at the top of one of the hills, so plenty of hill walking). Do you have an Oxfam team, we are looking for a 4th person if you are interested. Or even to train with as our timings are around the same. I'll PM you my phone number.
Re the Camino, I will fly into Madrid, and bus from there to Leon, on the way home I'll fly out of Santiago to Paris, then home from there.

I live on Bayview road in Browns bay. I don’t h e an Oxfam team yet. I’m trying to get my team at work interested, but they don’t seem keen. I’d love to join your team.

 

[Kanga]

Members - don't forget the "start a conversation" button under your user names. For exchanging PM (private messages). So that you are not tempted to post private information or plans on a public website. @LizKhan if you want to contact @Anamiri that is the way to do it.

 

[Anamiri]

I live on Bayview road in Browns bay. I don’t h e an Oxfam team yet. I’m trying to get my team at work interested, but they don’t seem keen. I’d love to join your team.

Yes work mates soon lose interest when they realise the 100kms isn't a relay..!

Its pretty compatible training for a Camino though.

 

[RosieRose]

I'm curious how much weight people lose during camino generally

 

[Silus]

Not much, exercise out = food and drink in.