Two weeks on the Camino ANYWHERE in Spain

[brothersamuel]

Dear friends,
after my last year's pilgrimage on the Primitivo with my oldest son, this year is the turn of my daughter...
The idea is, once again, to walk in autumn, most likely October, I can take at the most two weeks off from work (she will be in her last year of home-schooling, so school holidays can be arranged very easily... )
Now, I know that the usual recommendations for two weeks worth of walking would be either the Primitivo or the Portuguese. But...
I do not want to walk the Portuguese way - from what I hear and read there are too many people, and - given that my daughter has been learning Spanish for some years now one of the ideas is to let her have some practice - hence we would prefer walking in Spain.
Primitivo is always the option, but I would like to keep it as a "last resort" option - I mean, I loved it last year, but I keep telling myself, that there is a lot of Spain to discover besides Primitivo...

Having talked it over with my daughter, we came to the conclusion that we do not necessarily need to finish walking in Santiago itself - I mean, we could start a chunk of a different camino - and leave it for her to finish by herself once she is a bit older. This all brings me (finally) to the point of my question: What would be your pick of a section of a Camino, for two weeks worth of walking, in Spain, in October?
Our criteria would be

• great nature (mountains, if possible)
• no crowds (definitely no Camino Frances...)
• at least some pilgrim infrastructure

Where would you head out?

Thank you

 

[Robo]

Camino Invierno (start in Ponferrada)

Stunning mountains and river valleys.
Though No Crowds kind of means no pilgrims on that route........
Enough infrastructure.

And you can finish in Santiago, with a gorgeous entry to the City.
It kind of tips you gently into the city in the last few kms.

 

[brothersamuel]

Thank you, @Robo - I have to say that I kind of overlooked the Invierno as an option by itself, I've always thought about it as just a variant of the Frances, but it does make sense...
Regarding the entrance to Santiago itself - I did think that maybe a final part of Via de La Plata would do, but honestly, from our last year's experience - apart from the moment of jubilation of actually arriving at the Cathedral, Santiago itself was kind of an anti-climax of the pilgrimage for us and I wouldn't mind missing it this time...
And as for no crowds = no pilgrims - I get your point, but I would say that it is easier to find a pilgrim in the more remote and less travel places, than in the screen-fixed crowds on the french highway. (Rant aborted )

Also - as I said in the first post - I really would not mind exploring a different part of Spain...

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

An option could be to walk the Camino del Norte from Irun to Santandar. I gives you the best of two worlds : seaviews and mountainous terrain

 

[VNwalking]

I'm with @Robo in suggesting the Invierno from Ponferrada. It ticks a lot of boxes. Mountains, not so much - they're more like big hills. But there's a lot of knock-your-socks-off natural beauty. And 2 weeks would be a perfect (relaxed) amount of time to walk it.

 

[jungleboy]

I also think the Invierno ticks all the boxes you want, but you don't seem too keen on it.

Regarding the entrance to Santiago itself - I did think that maybe a final part of Via de La Plata would do

The end of the Invierno joins onto the Sanabrés which is also the VdlP's most common entrance to Santiago, for whatever that's worth.

Since it'll be October and not too hot in the south, you could choose a portion of one of the southern caminos, e.g. approx. 9 days on the Mozárabe from Almería to Granada, allowing you to visit the Alhambra at the end, and then maybe visiting Córdoba and Sevilla as well to wrap up your two weeks. This part of Spain, Andalucía, is the most magical part of the country for me.

 

[OzAnnie]

Our criteria would be

• great nature (mountains, if possible)
• no crowds (definitely no Camino Frances...)
• at least some pilgrim infrastructure

I did think that maybe a final part of Via de La Plata would do,

Sounding like you’re aware that The Sanabrés which starts in Granja de Moreruela is the perfect fit.

To shorten by a day - start at Tabara which is accessible by bus from Zamora.
Buen camino.

 

[roving_rufus]

I'd say the Invierno,. Or if you arent set on reaching SdeC maybe the Via Bayona which you could start in France in Bayonne or in Irun- enough pilgrim infrastructure, a mix of scenery

 

[J Willhaus]

If it does not have to go to Santiago, what about the Aragones? Maybe walk a week there and join the CF and end around Logroño or Santo Domingo de la Calzada depending on your walking speed? In October the crowds on the CF will be thinning. The Aragones will be virtually empty. I love the stretch of the CF after Samto Domingo to Burgos.

 

[JerryStroebele]

Camino Frances on the Meseta from Burgos to Leon or Astorga. I don't think your daughter will find it too crowded at all. #2, Pamplona to Burgos. Buen Camino

 

[lt56ny]

Aragones or Sanabras or the Vasco

 

[Bradypus]

The Sanabres from Puebla de Sanabria? Easy access by train or bus. Some serious hill walking over the Galician border. Then the chance to unwind in the hot springs in Ourense before the comparatively quiet final 100km into Santiago.

 

[DTCamino]

I vote for the Camino de Madrid. You start in Madrid and end in Sahagun so transportation to and from is easy. It takes 13-14 days to walk, has infrastructure, mountains and the Meseta. The albergues are never full, or you can do private accommodations for nearly all of it. Also has castles, churches, water features the whole way. Also being less traveled your daughter can work on her Spanish and you can get the less crowded feel of how the Camino used to be. The route is well marked with the usual blue arrows and Gronze, Buen Camino App and RayyRosa are available for route information as is this forum.
All the reasons you listed are why I walked it last October and loved it.

 

[brothersamuel]

Thanks everyone for chiming in - I greatly appreciate your tips.
One thing I maybe should have mentioned is, that we are quite fit walkers - last year with my son we have walked from Villaviciosa to Santiago in less than 12 days - our total was somewhere around 370km (we were not in particular rush, we just like walking a lot and have long legs )

That may also explain why I have hitherto overlooked the Invierno - as being maybe a tad too short - but reading your praise on this route I will definitely give it a due consideration - in the end, the distance can be improved by walking to finisterre or somewhere

An option could be to walk the Camino del Norte from Irun to Santandar. I gives you the best of two worlds : seaviews and mountainous terrain

Thank you, I have been thinking about the Norte - or parts of it - I think it would partly depend on the time of the year - from fellow pilgrims at the end of september / early october I have heard plenty of stories of bed races which is something I would prefer to avoid - but if we start towards the latter half of October, it might be a less of an issue... And we could make the detour on the camino Lebaniego (if I remember the name correctly) - via Picos de Europa...

I'm with @Robo in suggesting the Invierno from Ponferrada. It ticks a lot of boxes. Mountains, not so much - they're more like big hills. But there's a lot of knock-your-socks-off natural beauty. And 2 weeks would be a perfect (relaxed) amount of time to walk it.

Knock-my-socks-off natural beauty? I will take that any day! (And not just because I also like walking barefoot / in sandals ) No, honestly, I will definitely consider the Invierno!

If it does not have to go to Santiago, what about the Aragones? Maybe walk a week there and join the CF and end around Logroño or Santo Domingo de la Calzada depending on your walking speed? In October the crowds on the CF will be thinning. The Aragones will be virtually empty. I love the stretch of the CF after Samto Domingo to Burgos.

OK, interesting - from the first camino on the Frances all those years ago I do have fond memories of those Pyrenean foothils... ( and ending in La Rioja? In October? Sign me in! ) will definitely think about it.

I vote for the Camino de Madrid. You start in Madrid and end in Sahagun so transportation to and from is easy. It takes 13-14 days to walk, has infrastructure, mountains and the Meseta. The albergues are never full, or you can do private accommodations for nearly all of it. Also has castles, churches, water features the whole way. Also being less traveled your daughter can work on her Spanish and you can get the less crowded feel of how the Camino used to be. The route is well marked with the usual blue arrows and Gronze, Buen Camino App and RayyRosa are available for route information as is this forum.
All the reasons you listed are why I walked it last October and loved it.

Thank you indeed! The idea of Camino de Madrid did occur to me, mainly because of the ease of transportation, but I knew very little about the features. But your description prompts me to look more deeply into it.

Since it'll be October and not too hot in the south, you could choose a portion of one of the southern caminos, e.g. approx. 9 days on the Mozárabe from Almería to Granada, allowing you to visit the Alhambra at the end, and then maybe visiting Córdoba and Sevilla as well to wrap up your two weeks. This part of Spain, Andalucía, is the most magical part of the country for me.

Now this is "out-of-the-box" thinking... I've never visited those parts of Spain - being something of a history/architecture nerd as well, it might be fun... I am not very fond of big cities (prefer nature and smaller settlements), but to see those marvels might be worthwhile...


Anyway, thanks once again to everyone, I will definitely look deeply into these options and - of course - discuss them also with the young lady If anyone has some more ideas, I can still throw them in the bag

 

[ROjeda]

Take the Frances from Burgos to Leon, and then from Leon to Oviedo in the Camino del Salvador. Three great stops of Camino and Spanish history there. The Meseta will provide great time for conversation, and the Camino del Salvador (where she could also complete a pilgrim passport) will have great natural beauty. I’m doing that with my daughter next year.

 

[Simperegrina]

Take the Frances from Burgos to Leon, and then from Leon to Oviedo in the Camino del Salvador. Three great stops of Camino and Spanish history there. The Meseta will provide great time for conversation, and the Camino del Salvador (where she could also complete a pilgrim passport) will have great natural beauty. I’m doing that with my daughter next year.

This does sound rather appealing!

 

[MJB]

I really enjoyed the Invierno. As Medulas is interesting and I'll bet beautiful in fall. (I've only been in spring and summer. Pretty then too.) The views of the valley of the Rio Sil are breathtaking. O Barco de Valdeorras is one the most agreeable small (13,000 population) cities in Spain, with its riverwalk and several very good restaurants. Monforte (also small, 18,000) has some beautiful buildings, including the Parador (Palace of the Counts of Lemos) and the Colegio de los Padres Escolapios/Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Antigua. (Beautiful chapel and small gallery of El Grecos.) Silleda, Quiroga and Lalín offer good places to stay and dine.

The Sanabres is another good choice. Zamora-Santiago in 14 days is doable, especially since you say you are quick walkers. Zamora is easy to reach by train from Madrid and a great city to visit. Fontanillas de Castro and Tábara have very welcoming donativo albergues. The villages on the way forward are welcoming and somehow manage to mostly have very good restaurants. (Me Gusta Comer in Rionegro del Puente is a standout.) If you take the longer variant, you get to see three interesting towns, Verin, Xinzo de Limia, and Allariz, before getting to Ourense and then the Cistercian monastery at Oseira.

Both caminos end with a great last stage into Santiago, descending into the city and skirting the City of Culture. There is a very good fish restaurant/pulperia, Restaurante Santa Lucia, in Piñero, as you get to the built up outskirts of town. I got out of heavy rain for a great lunch on my most recent descent.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Dear friends,
after my last year's pilgrimage on the Primitivo with my oldest son, this year is the turn of my daughter...
The idea is, once again, to walk in autumn, most likely October, I can take at the most two weeks off from work (she will be in her last year of home-schooling, so school holidays can be arranged very easily... )
Now, I know that the usual recommendations for two weeks worth of walking would be either the Primitivo or the Portuguese. But...
I do not want to walk the Portuguese way - from what I hear and read there are too many people, and - given that my daughter has been learning Spanish for some years now one of the ideas is to let her have some practice - hence we would prefer walking in Spain.
Primitivo is always the option, but I would like to keep it as a "last resort" option - I mean, I loved it last year, but I keep telling myself, that there is a lot of Spain to discover besides Primitivo...

Having talked it over with my daughter, we came to the conclusion that we do not necessarily need to finish walking in Santiago itself - I mean, we could start a chunk of a different camino - and leave it for her to finish by herself once she is a bit older. This all brings me (finally) to the point of my question: What would be your pick of a section of a Camino, for two weeks worth of walking, in Spain, in October?
Our criteria would be

• great nature (mountains, if possible)
• no crowds (definitely no Camino Frances...)
• at least some pilgrim infrastructure

Where would you head out?

Thank you

Invierno.

8-10 days from Ponferrada to Santiago, then add the walk to Fisterra and/or Muxia? That would be 14 days!

 

[Tandem Graham]

Ruta de Lana, from either Valencia or Alicante. A Camino with lots of scenery and villages who are keen to welcome pilgrims. In summer the heat might put you off, but October should be excellent walking conditions.

 

[Kiwi-family]

You have a good range of suggestions here already. I'll add one more, although you may discard it immediately as it may spend too much time in France. It's a little loop I put together for myself, just in case I ever find I have a couple of weeks to spend in Europe and want a quick beautiful walking option in the mountains (gotta be prepared)
From Pamplona onto the Aragones, then switch to the Arles and a few days on the Camino Del Piamonte to Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, from whence you join the excited crowds starting out for a couple of days (or take a bus back to Pamplona if you prefer!)

Pamplona loop: Aragones/Arles/Piamonte/Frances - Google My Maps

20-21 days

www.google.com

 

[brothersamuel]

I really enjoyed the Invierno. (...) The Sanabres is another good choice.

Thank you, they certainly would feature on our future list of choices And thank you for good tips!

Ruta de Lana

Never heard of that one, looks interesting - from a quick image search, maybe more people are doing it on a bicycle? (Maybe I will save this one for a future bikepacking trip then... )

You have a good range of suggestions here already. I'll add one more, although you may discard it immediately as it may spend too much time in France. It's a little loop I put together for myself, just in case I ever find I have a couple of weeks to spend in Europe and want a quick beautiful walking option in the mountains (gotta be prepared)
From Pamplona onto the Aragones, then switch to the Arles and a few days on the Camino Del Piamonte to Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, from whence you join the excited crowds starting out for a couple of days (or take a bus back to Pamplona if you prefer!)

Ah, I am glad I am not the only one who tries to be prepared... Got loads of "just in case" routes planned, though mostly for cycling... Just in case I have a day to spare somewhere on a business trip
Anyway, while the loop does look interesting, I think if I ever have time to roam around Pyrenees, I would pick something like the GR10 or maybe even HRP...

 

[J Willhaus]

Not on the Camino de Santiago, but there is the Camino El Cid if your daughter is interested in castles and history about a Spanish legend.

The Way of El Cid / Medieval and natural route in Spain

Official website of The Way of El Cid: a cultural & tourist route that crosses Spain retracing the footsteps of the Spanish medieval hero El Cid Campeador.

en.caminodelcid.org

 

[JerryStroebele]

You didn't say how old your daughter is. I raised two, and from toddler into teen years we hiked together all over our "great nature, all mountains" here in Alaska. One very shy, the other not at all. From pre-teen on to early adulthood, though, both preferred "their own kind." Your daughter is much more likely to encounter her own kind on the Camino Frances, Portuguese or del Norte. ps. My not shy at all now very adult daughter regularly joins me on the Camino, including, again, next week. Buen Camino

 

[VNwalking]

Since you're fit, this gives another possibility:

8-10 days from Ponferrada to Santiago,

Gives some serious flex.
One option is to start in Leon, and connect to the tail-end of the Olvidado, about 6 days of walking:

https://www.google.be/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/my-stages-on-the-camino-olvidado.28456/%3Famp%3D1&ved=2ahUKEwjwqNPR1riEAxXSUWwGHUfGCxwQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1Z2PlovdPB8JCe6pom9whS

Another (shorter) option would be to start in Astorga. Either walk the Francès to Ponferrada and pick up the Invierno there (an extra 3 days or so), or be more adventurous. Two options there. Walk to Ponferrada via the Camino Manzanal then continue on the Invierno. Or from Acebo or Ponferrada walk to Peñalba and go to Las Médulas from there (recent posts at the end of this thread):

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/mountain-splendor-from-ponferrada-or-el-acebo.27697/#post-1225058

 

[Giorgio99]

Dear friends,
after my last year's pilgrimage on the Primitivo with my oldest son, this year is the turn of my daughter...
The idea is, once again, to walk in autumn, most likely October, I can take at the most two weeks off from work (she will be in her last year of home-schooling, so school holidays can be arranged very easily... )
Now, I know that the usual recommendations for two weeks worth of walking would be either the Primitivo or the Portuguese. But...
I do not want to walk the Portuguese way - from what I hear and read there are too many people, and - given that my daughter has been learning Spanish for some years now one of the ideas is to let her have some practice - hence we would prefer walking in Spain.
Primitivo is always the option, but I would like to keep it as a "last resort" option - I mean, I loved it last year, but I keep telling myself, that there is a lot of Spain to discover besides Primitivo...

Having talked it over with my daughter, we came to the conclusion that we do not necessarily need to finish walking in Santiago itself - I mean, we could start a chunk of a different camino - and leave it for her to finish by herself once she is a bit older. This all brings me (finally) to the point of my question: What would be your pick of a section of a Camino, for two weeks worth of walking, in Spain, in October?
Our criteria would be

• great nature (mountains, if possible)
• no crowds (definitely no Camino Frances...)
• at least some pilgrim infrastructure

Where would you head out?

Thank you

We’re currently on the via de la plata in Spain. We left Seville nearly two weeks ago and are now in Alcuescar. It’s been quiet - Sone days no other pilgrims so accomodation is easy to get, practicing spanish is fun and the people are amazing

 

[WGroleau]

Dear friends,
after given that my daughter has been learning Spanish for some years now one of the ideas is to let her have some practice - hence we would prefer walking in Spain.

In the area between Estella and Los Arcos, there are many small villages near the Camino Frances, and many walking paths or low traffic roads between them. So, not the Camino, but in most of these villages, it will be hard to find somone who speaks English, hence plenty of opportunity to practice Spanish. And both woods and fields. North of Los Arcos, also mountains. If that interests you, I can provide links to maps of some of the routes I took. Some of them have markers to click for images of the place. Also the GPX files I used to create the maps.