Staring Point: Villafranca del Bierzo?

[Patrick1755]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to start the Camino at Villafranca. My father and I have around 8-10 days to walk the Camino. We were also thinking about taking a bus to Muxia after we get to Santiago de Compostella. This will be are first time walking the Camino so we were having difficulty figuring out where to start. Is Villafranca easy to get to from Madrid?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Getting there is not so much the issue but the fact that you have O'Cebreiro to climb that day. Not sure that would be my first choice, especially if jet lagged. How fit is your dad?

If the climb, or horse ride, don't scare you then take a bus from Madrid to Ponferrada, and a local bus after that. Buses leave from different stations at different times, including the airport. Check out the alsa.es website.

https://www.alsa.es/checkout?p_auth...gionalZone=&promoCode=&jsonAlsaPassPassenger=

Here are local bus schedules: http://www.villafrancadelbierzo.org/areas-transportes-taxis.php

Ah, the magic of Google.

 

[MileHighPair]

Villafranca is a beautiful town. You don't have to go all the way to O'Cebreiro on the first day (I agree with the previous comment, that would be difficult). I would suggest a first stage to Ruitelan and a second day to Fonfria. Both towns have wonderful albergues and both days would be about 13 miles.

 

[Deleted member 43985]

I think one of the questions you have to ask yourself is how in (Camino) shape you are. The hike up O'Cebreiro is the biggest on the Camino Frances and you'd be tackling that without the benefit of having conditioned yourself for a few weeks leading up to it. If I had 8-10 days and wanted to spend a day out in Finisterre and Muxia I'd be inclined to consider starting in Triacastella. That would give me 7 days at just under 20kms per day, a day in Santiago to take in the sights, a day trip to the coast and a day in pocket should anything not go quite to plan. Myself, I'd rather not walk quite as far but fully enjoy the limited days I did have instead, however, if you know you're capable of going 23kms a day including the big climb then maybe Villafranca del Bierzo is a good choice too!
Good luck and Buen Camino,
Jordon

 

[DanielH]

Villafranca del Bierzo is where I left off last fall. An Irish friend of mine and I will be flying into Santiago and taking a train or bus to the Ponferrada in May 2017. That will give us an extra day before we head up the mountain into O'Cebreiro. For what its worth and from what I understand it's not any tougher that if you were doing the first leg from St. Jean to Roncevalles.

 

[whariwharangi]

Renfe train from Madrid to Ponferrada.
http://www.renfe.com/

ALSA bus from Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo.
https://www.alsa.es/en

Hermanos Ferrin from Santiago to Muxia.
http://www.grupoferrin.com/

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

If the climb, or horse ride

As you walk to O'Cebreiro you will come across signs for taking a horse up the mountain. On the other hand, if you want to do mountains you can take an alternate trail to Trabadelo from Villafranca that gets you off the highway, the Ruta Pradela. It is steep and takes you longer but it has good views and cames you off a stretch of highway. Take plenty of water though as there is none along it and you will need more with the climb.

 

[QuailHiker]

Villafranca del Bierzo is where I left off last fall. An Irish friend of mine and I will be flying into Santiago and taking a train or bus to the Ponferrada in May 2017. That will give us an extra day before we head up the mountain into O'Cebreiro. For what its worth and from what I understand it's not any tougher that if you were doing the first leg from St. Jean to Roncevalles.

I'd call the hike up to O'Cebreiro and past La Faba and Laguna de Castilla much steeper than the walk over the Pyrenees.

 

[Kanga]

The difference is probably that there are many places to stop, and stay if you want to.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I'd call the hike up to O'Cebreiro and past La Faba and Laguna de Castilla much steeper than the walk over the Pyrenees.

There is a profile map of the French Way at http://www.wikicamino.org/wen/images/c/c5/Wikicamino_frances.png
The vertical red lines indicate their stages. At the left the Pyrenees are in the first stage and Villafrance to O'Cebreiro is in stage 24 (the stage at the 600km mark). Stage 1 looks to me to beat out stage 24 in both steepness and length of climb.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

If you are worried at all about the mountain at O'Cebreiro an alternative would be to start closer in to Santiago at Sarria which the Brierley guidebook indicates would save you three days and then use those three days to walk to Muxia. Starting from Sarria still gives you a 100km walk to Santiago which qualifies you for a compostela. And you will have a more peaceful (and level) walk ahead of you.

[Edit: Don't forget to get TWO stamps a day in your credential from Sarria onwards.]

 

[mspath]

To avoid the steep climb to O Cebreiro you might consider
walking the bike route. From Ruitelan follow the CV 125/1 to Laguna de Castilla . Leaving Laguna after a welcome coffee at the bar/albergue there is a marked junction with the bike and walking paths. Continue on the left for the walking path or straight to follow the bike route. Both arrive at O Cebreiro.

 

[FLEUR]

On that stretch we walked from Villafranca (Albergue Leo) to Trabadelo (Albergue Camino Y Leyenda lovely but a bit too close however there was a reason for this) both private albergues and VERY comfortable. Then on to albergue at La Faba, coffee stop at La Laguna then over O'Cebriero to Fonfria. This broke the climb into easier sections and was doable for a 68 yr old. A beautiful walk if the weather is good. We were lucky.
Don't miss out Samos, it's a lovely walk.

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

Villafranca del Bierzo is where I left off last fall. An Irish friend of mine and I will be flying into Santiago and taking a train or bus to the Ponferrada in May 2017. That will give us an extra day before we head up the mountain into O'Cebreiro. For what its worth and from what I understand it's not any tougher that if you were doing the first leg from St. Jean to Roncevalles.

Hello Daniel, Wife and I will be leaving Villafranca Del Bierza May 24 (reservation there for May 23rd). perhaps we will see you. Ed

 

[Saint Mike II]

To avoid the steep climb to O Cebreiro you might consider
walking the bike route. From Ruitelan follow the CV 125/1 to Laguna de Castilla . Leaving Laguna after a welcome coffee at the bar/albergue there is a marked junction with the bike and walking paths. Continue on the left for the walking path or straight to follow the bike route. Both arrive at O Cebreiro.

Having ridden my bike up this route (the turn-off was about a 1km or 2 west of Herrerias) it is " a little easier" although quite steep in places. One point make sure you have your water bottles filled before you depart Herrerias as there is nothing until you reach Laguna, from here you can follow the road or the walkers Camino to O'Cebreiro. I can vouch for the coffee/food - I stayed at Laguna back in 2015. Cheers

 

[DanielH]

Hello Daniel, Wife and I will be leaving Villafranca Del Bierza May 24 (reservation there for May 23rd). perhaps we will see you. Ed

We will be walking May 2-14th so will miss you all. Buen Camino to you both!

 

[Appalachian]

Villafranca is a beautiful town. You don't have to go all the way to O'Cebreiro on the first day (I agree with the previous comment, that would be difficult). I would suggest a first stage to Ruitelan and a second day to Fonfria. Both towns have wonderful albergues and both days would be about 13 miles.

Thanks for these helpful suggestions. My friend and I will also be starting in Villafranca in May. Can someone tell me if there is a sporting goods store in Villafranca where we can buy hiking poles. I suspect there is, but want to be sure. We don't want to risk delaying our start due to lost luggage, so we plan to carry our packs onto the plane from USA and would not be allowed to include our poles. Thanks in advance.

 

[DanielH]

Thanks for these helpful suggestions. My friend and I will also be starting in Villafranca in May. Can someone tell me if there is a sporting goods store in Villafranca where we can buy hiking poles. I suspect there is, but want to be sure. We don't want to risk delaying our start due to lost luggage, so we plan to carry our packs onto the plane from USA and would not be allowed to include our poles. Thanks in advance.

I don't recall seeing a sporting goods store, but it's a fairly good size town so I'm sure one of the shops has poles you can purchase. I found a random shop that had poles along the Camino when I least expected it. They were 9 euros a pole, far less than the $99 REI poles from the US.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Can someone tell me if there is a sporting goods store in Villafranca where we can buy hiking poles. I suspect there is, but want to be sure.

I don't think there is. You may want to try Madrid, Leon, Astorga or Ponferrada on the way. Leon is big and may likely have a shop. Astorga does have a sporting goods store good for pilgrims but I don't recall seeing poles there. Maybe from the international departure terminal at Madrid you can pickup up some poles for free that were confiscated.

 

[William Marques]

As far as I can see there is a Decathalon in Ponferrada which sells baston de travesia (hiking poles) at between €5 and €30 (not all will be in stock). It is at P.C. La Herreria 24400 just of the Avenida de los Escritores next to McDonalds and another sportswear shop Sprinter.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Here's a thought: order the poles online and have them sent to the post office for you to pick up. Make sure that they are ordered from a country in the EU though. If from outside the EU there are many complications that may prevent you from getting them.

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

I did a google search and the closest sporting goods store seems to be in Ponferrada.

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...!3d42.545255244951505!3m2!1i1325!2i719!4f13.1

 

[Appalachian]

I don't recall seeing a sporting goods store, but it's a fairly good size town so I'm sure one of the shops has poles you can purchase. I found a random shop that had poles along the Camino when I least expected it. They were 9 euros a pole, far less than the $99 REI poles from the US.

Just got back home. Was able to take my poles (collapsed) inside my pack as carry on on Delta Airlines. Had I not been able to do that, it turns out that there was, in fact, a small shop on Calle Campairo, just off the main plaza, where they sold hiking poles and other pilgrim supplies along with miscellaneous general store type merchandise. Even the very helpful hotel staff I had emailed with this question were unaware of the shop's existence.

 

[Plusultra]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to start the Camino at Villafranca. My father and I have around 8-10 days to walk the Camino. We were also thinking about taking a bus to Muxia after we get to Santiago de Compostella. This will be are first time walking the Camino so we were having difficulty figuring out where to start. Is Villafranca easy to get to from Madrid?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

I am doing same in 3 days. Flight into Madrid early in the morning, rent a car and drive to Ponferrada (@ 4 hours) taxi or bus to Villafranca del Bierzo (@ half hour) then walk until trobadelo.

 

[Felipe]

I recommend in Villafranca the Albergue Casa Leo. Good, friendly, modern instalations in a very old house. I had a good talk with the owners about the village's old times.
http://www.albergueleo.com/

 

[FLEUR]

Felipe, so pleased you enjoyed your stay at Albergue Casa Leo. The owners are really special and it's a treat to stay in their old family home.

They recommended the albergue Camino Y Leyenda in Trabadelo, another lovely old Spanish home.

 

[rector]

My wife granddaughter and I are just back after doing more or less what you intend to do. We got the train from Santiago to Ponferadda and a taxi to Columbrianos and started there. We had to take it a bit on the easy side as I had had a heart attack three months before. Herrerias is a good spot to walk to from Villafranca and to start your accent from, there is ample accommodation and the cycle road is a little, but only a little bit easier. You should have ample time for your journey, but it will mean that you may not have much time for anything else. Please remember to smell the roses it is a journey inside and out, NOT A RACE!