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Preparing for My First Camino Ingles: Seeking Tips and Advice

S

Saidch

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
May 2023
Hello everyone, I hope you are well and your new year is beginning great!

I am preparing my first ever camino, I live in Bordeaux France, and since I always have a week off, i decided to do the Camino Ingles, I did many research and made this itinerary :

I still have to decide if I take a plane Friday afternoon Bordeaux to A Coruna and then Saturday bus to Ferrol,
or I take a place saturday to A Coruna and then sunday morning bus to Ferrol where I begin my Camino...

The planning i prepared is this :
  • Sunday : Ferrol - Neda around 2h30 (14km) + Neda to Pontedeume (around 3 hours, 3h30) : 6 hours all
  • Monday : Pontedeume to Betanzos - 5 hours approx (18 - 20 km)
  • Tuesday : Betanzo to Hospital de Bruma approx 5 hours
  • Wednesday : Hospital de Bruma to Sigueiro approx 5 hours (22 km)
  • Thursday : Sigueiro to Santiago (around 16 km) approx 3h30
I have a place Sunday to go back to Bordeaux from Santiago.

Could you please tell me what you think of this planning?
i noted that I need to have 2 stamps per day to get the compostella, so i'll begin having them in Ferrol on Sunday i guess.
plus in every city i arrive to , I will check for the public dorms otherwise see if there are private ones.

I would appreciate to have your opinion on this route and any advice and tips you can give me as it is my first camino.

Thank you so much for your time and help,
 
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Your itinerary is very similar to ours when we walked the Inglés. We had a bit of extra time so we didn’t go quite that fast. Since it’s your first Camino, let me offer a couple suggestions that worked well for us.

1. Leave early so you can finish early in the afternoon. If it is warm in May, you’ll appreciate walking in the coolness of the morning and finishing before it gets too hot.
2. Travel light. You don’t need much on the Camino.
3. Accommodations shouldn’t be any problem particularly if you arrive in the early afternoon.
4. The towns of Pontedueme and Betanzos are particularly nice. Do be sure to try the tortilla español in Betanzos. It’s quite special. The one served at Casa Miranda is excellent.
5. Collecting your two stamps a day is quite easy since almost everywhere offers a stamp. In fact, getting a stamp everywhere we stop is part of our Camino routine and the passport then becomes a wonderful souvenir of your journey.

Enjoy your Camino.
 
How exciting.

I walked the Camino Inglés This past fall very similar to your itinerary. One thing to note is that the Camino from A Coroña and the Camino from Ferrol join at Hospital de Bruma. The Albergue de Peregrino there has only 21 beds! So if you're planning on staying there you're going to need to get there early. I got there about 11:30 in the morning and was able to visit with the other people who were also waiting of which there were maybe 10.

There is another place to stay.
I'm not sure if it's a pension or a hotel before the pilgrim Albergue. And they were full with reservations. when I passed it.

Have a Great Camino!
 
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  • Sunday : Ferrol - Neda around 2h30 (14km) + Neda to Pontedeume (around 3 hours, 3h30) : 6 hours all
Click to expand...

There is a shortcut on the Ferrol - Neda section. When you come to the Mosteiro de San Martiño, the rail line crosses the estuary at that point. There is a walkway under/beside the rail line which allows you to cut off the section around the estuary and takes you into Neda at the other side of the bridge.

As this will be your first day, you may not want to do this but it's there if plans change.
 
Did the Ingles in 2019.
Here is my blog: days 7 to 15.
Might give you some ideas.

Camino Adventure 2019

A return to visited lands, and a start in new places. Re-living the beauty and wonder of Ireland, Portugal and Spain. Learning about the culture of Switzerland and the majesty of the Swiss Alps. I hope to hear from you whether you have walked the Camino, are planning to walk or just find the...
caminoadventure2019.blogspot.com
 
 
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Beware Betanzos to Hosppital de Bruma there is no where to eat or drink for about 17km. At hospital de Bruma you.need to order out for food or cook .
 
Your plan sounds just fine! I would add to make sure to stop at the Bar Avelina in As Trevasas, where the two routes meet, just before Hospital de Bruma. Avelina takes care of pilgrims and she will show you their pilgrim-supported little church, Capela de San Roque. It may be one of your best experiences on this camino. You can read more about it here, on my website.

Also, if the albergue is full in Hospital de Bruma, there is another private albergue in town, and more accommodations, 1.8 km away in the town of Ó Mesón do Vento. My website, for day six on the Camino Inglés, covers this information as well!

Have a fabulous Camino and happy planning!
 
Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
It’s a wonderful camino for beginners, because you experience a little bit of everything regading to nature, views and different surfaces. I did the exactly the same itinary on my very first camino too, also in mid-January (2020). I took a train from La Coruña to Ferrol. But I needed almost 9 hours for Ferrol to Pontedeume via Neda.

Three years ago the albergues were all open and almost empty (only 2 other pilgrims stayed in Betanzos, Hospital de Bruma and 3 in Sigüero). I only booked the first night in advance. Since I had the information that the albergue in Pontedeume doesn't have heating (that maybe changed?), I had booked a private room at Hostal Restaurante Cruceiro. Accommodation and food were fine, but the hostal is on the outskirts of town and that meant I had a very tough climb to finish my first day on the camino. The next day the albergue in Betanzos was without heating too (and no hot water), but that was obviously an accident and I was invited to stay for free, which I did.

And yes, there was a lack of places for buying supplies or having a coffee in between towns. So better make sure you have some snacks with you. Several times places I planned to rest were closed. I remember one café bar in A Calle on stage 4 was closed because the owners went to vacation to Gran Ganaria in January (chatty neighbour told me). Bar Avelina in As Traveiras on the other hand was lovely and welcoming, there you'll find some real camino spirit.

I wish you a lovely first camino and dry weather!
 
Last edited:
Like already mentioned...why the rush?
I did the Inglès in June 2019 and did it slow, absorbing the experience and stopped almost every opportunity to have something to drink and collect sellos.
Have a look what you can visit/see along the road. There a lot of alternative roads (longer) that you can walk instead of the 'straight' way.
And yes, the Camino is passing a lot near the high way
Buen Camino
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
thanks so much! i will surely pass there!!
 
thanks for your advice, unfortunately, i cannot take many days off from work and I really want to do it, but I will surely try to make the best our of the best time I have!
 
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I agree that the days look fine, but the hours seem very compressed (at least, for my personal pace). I was doing 4km per hour on caminos, given all the ups and downs, rests and everything. Sometimes even less, in a long, tiring day.
But if you are a strong hiker, hey, go for it!
 
Is there a way to avoid walking along the highway or busy roads? I've read about alternate routes. Andy advice?
 
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Ivan Himboski said:
Is there a way to avoid walking along the highway or busy roads?
Click to expand...

Hi Ivan and welcome to the Forum! Don’t know if this answers your question, but even though the Camino Inglés follows the highway at times and goes along busy roads at times, there’s always a dedicated path set apart from the road in these instances. I.e. very rarely are the pilgrims walking directly beside cars, and these moments are in the smaller villages where they’re walking through quiet neighborhoods.
 
I would be interested in reading your slower itinary, and any options for avoiding road walking. Plus all the opportunities for eating and drinking!

Many thanks for any info!
Planning for Octover 2024
(I just started looking for flights for Easter 2024, and now l am driven towards a cheaper time of year!)
 
Well, did you manage to make your camino?
 
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