Taking my 14yr old son

[Heliman1965]

Hi all,

After my first Camino in 2012 then my second in 2015 I've promised to take my 14yr old son in 2017 for a week/10 days walk on the Camino Frances..
My dilemma is I would like him to receive a Compostela and have no idea were to start so he will be eligible to receive this on arriving in Santiago... Any suggestions for a start point that is on a bus route from Santiago as we will be flying into Santiago...

Many Thanks if you can help

Buen Camino
Bryan

 

[Pablo Mac]

Astorga is a good place to start for a 10 day walk to Santiago , you'll also get to see some of the most beautiful stages and cruz de ferro . I think you can get to Astorga by train from Santiago .

 

[Patch]

IMHO best place and easiest to get to is Sarria - you can catch a bus direct from Santiago bus station. Or you could go via Lugo (which although its perverse logic is probably quicker) which is a stunning little town worthy of 1/2 days walk around. Its about 110 km between Sarria and Santiago which is a 4/5 day walk - probably enough for a 14 year old, their are lots of side walks you can do if you want to extend it. I sort of think Astorga is just a bit to far and their is some hard walking to do as well.

 

[Mark Lee]

In that time frame I would suggest O'Cebreiro or Ponferrada.
If you are just doing it a week, Sarria for sure.

 

[Castilian]

It depends on how fit your son is and how used to walk. IMHO, Astorga would be a bit too far away. Sarria may be too close... I would go for either Villafranca del Bierzo or Ponferrada. Both of them have direct buses from downtown Santiago de Compostela. Ponferrada has direct trains too. You may also take the bus from Santiago de Compostela airport to Lugo and another one from Lugo to either Villafranca del Bierzo or Ponferrada. If the climb to O Cebreiro scares you, you could take a bus from Lugo to Pedrafita do Cebreiro and either walk to O Cebreiro or take a taxi or the early morning bus that runs on working days. There are also buses to Pedrafita do Cebreiro from downtown Santiago de Compostela, if you prefer them.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

There are some suggestions that Sarria is too close for the time that you have but if you start there you could extend the trip to Santiago by going on to Finesterre and/or Muxia. That way you would be certain to have time to make it to Santiago and you could explore some new territory together (assuming that you haven't made it to the Atlantic on one of your previous caminos.)

 

[Heliman1965]

Hi All,

Many thanks for all your help and suggestions I will have a good look at the options...
I'm taking my son out for his first training walk this coming weekend so fingers crossed his enthusiasm for walking the Camino last's

Regards
Bryan

 

[jdpiguet]

Hi Bryan,

I took my 15 years son with me in 2014.
We did Astoria to Santiago in 13 days.

Buen Camino, Jacques-D.

 

[J Willhaus]

We are in the last 100 km now and there are lots of families with children as well as school groups walking. Your son should feel at home if you are walking in the summer when other kids are also out of school. We saw a mother/son walking a few weeks back. The son was 10. Have not seen them for a while. Also saw a family with a 4 yr old several times early in our trek. At the time this seemed unusual, but not in this last 100 km.