Teenagers on the Camino

[DScamino]

Hello!

I am interested in walking the camino in late June. If you are or know of a teenager who has walked or is planning to walk it, what is it like? How should I plan? Who should I go with? Are there lots of teenagers on the Camino? Are there any groups to join? Any advice is appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[C clearly]

Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to ask questions. However, it is hard to give any special advice for your circumstances, if we don't know more about you! Are you 13 or 19? What travel experience do you have? Do you speak Spanish? Where are you thinking of walking and how much time will you have?

Mostly, the planning and preparation depend much less on age than on the other factors.

 

[alexwalker]

Hello!

I am interested in walking the camino in late June. If you are or know of a teenager who has walked or is planning to walk it, what is it like? How should I plan? Who should I go with? Are there lots of teenagers on the Camino? Are there any groups to join? Any advice is appreciated!

Thank you!

Are you a teenager, or are you bringing one with you?

 

[trecile]

Summer is definitely the time for teenagers on the Camino. I think that the youngest that I've met who was traveling solo was a 17 year old girl from Germany.

 

[DScamino]

Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to ask questions. However, it is hard to give any special advice for your circumstances, if we don't know more about you! Are you 13 or 19? What travel experience do you have? Do you speak Spanish? Where are you thinking of walking and how much time will you have?

Mostly, the planning and preparation depend much less on age than on the other factors.

Hi! I am 17 and would say I am pretty well traveled. I speak fluent Spanish and was thinking of walking the Camino Frances due to it being the most popular/beginner friendly. I would like to walk for around 1.5-2 weeks, and would either recruit one or two friends to do it or join a group of teenagers beforehand (speaking of which, are there any organizations/known groups that connect teenagers looking to walk the Camino?)

 

[DScamino]

Are you a teenager, or are you bringing one with you?

I am a teenager and would likely travel with a group of teenagers.

 

[C clearly]

July and August are the months when you will find the most teenagers on the Camino - especially Spanish school groups. That could be fun for you, if you can time it accordingly. You don't even have to officially "join" a group - they might have pre-arranged accommodation. I'm sure you could easily find companionship among those groups and among miscellaneous other pilgrims. For 1.5-2 weeks, perhaps consider starting in Astorga and walking to Santiago. Or, start in Sarria and plan to walk on to Finisterre.

I'm sorry I can't help with connections to others. Perhaps a local Camino association would have ideas. @trecile recently started a thread that has links that might be helpful.

 

[trecile]

Another thing - don't get hung up on connecting only with other teenagers. One of the most wonderful things about the Camino is the equality of those that you meet along the way. Most everyone has the goal of reaching Santiago, and you may find connections with people you may never have considered talking to in your regular life.

 

[David Tallan]

I'm not aware of any groups that connect groups of teenagers looking to walk the Camino. I'm way too old to know where teenagers tend to hang out. I'm pretty sure it isn't Facebook. Reddit? Discord servers? Something else? That's probably the best way to find and connect to other teenagers, if there are ways to navigate to where teenagers with that interest might hang out.

As trecile says, the summer is the best time to find other teenagers on the Camino because, of course, that is when they aren't in school. Those who aren't in organized groups (from their school, church, etc.) will probably be travelling with a parent. When I walked with my teenage (15-16) in 2016, that was the case. And there weren't that many that summer. It tends to be the slightly older university age kids (there - I'm showing my age) who set off without parents or an organized group, rather than high school teenagers.

You are likely to see a lot more teenagers in the last 100 km after Sarria, because that's where those organized groups tend to walk. How easy it will be to hang out with those teenagers will depend on how comfortable you are integrating yourself with a previously established group.

As a note to end on, one of the lovely things about the Camino is how well people socialize and communicate and help, support, and understand each other on the Camino across all the distinctions that tend to separate us elsewhere including nationality, occupation, social class, language, and - yes - age.

 

[mae283]

I’m a girl who walked the Camino Frances solo last year when I was 18. I started the end of March and finished in April. Personally, I’m glad I decided to start early in the year, I’m not a big fan of crowds. Also really happy I chose to walk solo, you connect way easier and faster with people that way. I was definitely (one of) the youngest walking and at times I felt like some kind of phenomenon. People were usually very impressed that I was walking at this age by myself and I earned a lot of respect, which I must say isn’t too bad haha. The youngest person I met during the walk was 20, but my group of friends that I made consisted for the most part of 50 year old men. They were the most wonderful people I have met and honestly I had a hard time readjusting to spending time with people my own age once I got home. Of course it depends on what kind of person you are but I would say if you want to walk the Camino you’re probably tough in some kind of way and I would advise to just take the jump and go start the beautiful way on your own! If you’re open to it you will meet good people wherever you are!