Mr.
Brierley chose 33 days as a framework for the stages in his guidebook as that was the number of years that Jesus Christ lived as a human on earth. I recall that is spelled out somewhere in the overly long preachy bits of his guidebooks.
I am not being critical. His guidebook is among the best.
However, it would weigh a lot less and me more portable if he took our some of the philosophical bits and meditations and simply stuck to conveying useful information. IMHO, the more subjective material could easily have been included in a second, supplemental section that could be easily left behind.
This said, I have done the
Camino Frances from St. Jean Pied de Port twice, using his guidebook. It is getting better with time. However, those same 33 daily stages have become more or less the standard over the past decade or more. This causes a 'pig in the python' effect all along the
Camino Frances.
You can avoid this by using a guidebook that does not prescribe standard stages. IMHO perhaps the best among these books is the
Wise Pilgrim Guide. It is available here in the Forum store. The equivalent smartphone apps are available in your Apple or Android store. I recommend them HIGHLY.
As regards the question of how long it will take, the answer is simply "it depends..." It depends on how much time you can devote, how many km you can walk daily, whether or not you simply want to cover the ground as quickly as possible or smell the flowers along the way.
There are published reports of one fellow walking from SJPdP to Santiago in only 20 days, fueled by Diet Coke and Mars bars... 33 Days appears to be the standard measure. However, in my two trips it took 36 and 39 days, respectively.
Based on my experiences, I opine that a better model, if you have the time starts with the 33 days, then adds days as follows:
Break the first daunting day in two. Stay at Refuge Orisson the first night, get to Roncesvalles on the second night. (+1)
Plan an extra rest day (2 nights total) at Burgos, Leon, Astorga and maybe Sarria.) (+4)
Plan two (or more) full days after your arrival day and not including your travel day, at Santiago de Compostela. You will be glad you did. Total three nights at Santiago... (+2)
This doesn't add for additional delays due to medical issues, sightseeing imperatives, or just because... However, if you take the 33 days, then add the + numbers above, you come out to an extra week or 7 days, totaling 40 days... Hmmm...that also has biblical connotations...not my intention.
If you followed the 40 day model, you would still be following the
Brierley guide book stages and pace. But you would have rest days built in.
799 kilometers from SJPdP to Santiago, divided by 33 walking days is an average of 24 km daily. If you add, say two days, the average goes down to 23 days. The total goes from 40 to 42 calendar days or six weeks. But you might still have a few 30 km days.
A total of 40 walking days, 47 days total, reduces the daily walking average to 20 km daily.
So, back to my original point, the time needed is relative. If you have the capability to invest the time, then something like 42 - 43 walking days (10 more than
Brierley) and a total of 49 - 50 including my extra 7 recommended days, works out to about 7 weeks.
All in all, this is about two extra weeks beyond what Mr.
Brierly postulates. However, as my next birthday will see me celebrating 66 trips around the sun, I am planning for the seven-week plan the next time I do this.
This said, the only viable way to trim time is to either:
- start in Spain, say at Pamplona, instead of at SJPdP. True you avoid the very daunting first day's walk up the Pyrenees, but you do cut 4 - 5 days off the front end, or,
- adopt a "leap frog" approach, using buses tor taxis to skip over some stretches that might be boring (e.g. industrial 'rings' around larger cities like Leon or Burgos - the grey aras in Brierley's city maps), or areas that simply do not interest you (some say the Meseta, but I love it). This could also cut maybe 4 - 5 days from the total.
There is more than enough information available. The essential decisions are your to make. if you started in Pamplona AND skipped the industrial areas I think you might cut another week from the total estimate.
As long as you walk the final 100 km on the route into Santiago, you qualify for a Compostela. Before that, you can do pretty much what you want. For most pilgrims the 'drop dead' threshold is at Sarria, some 118 actual km from Santiago.
Hope this helps.