walking Solo

[Jen12]

Hi all, I'm in the process of organising my first Camino walk. I plan to do the complete trip beginning at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I've looked into travel companies offering unguided tours and am wondering what the expense covers. Is this the best way to do the walk, pay the money and head off, or am I able to walk it solo and find my accommodation at the end of each day, etc. I know I sound naive, but I'm I'm still investigating the walk and found this site along the way. I'm hoping some experienced walkers can give me their thoughts. I have done a few short walks through New Zealand. But that's about my limit. I don't feel daunted by the distance, and welcome the mental and physical challenges that I may face (will face?). I welcome your thoughts.

 

[MendiWalker]

Hi all, I'm in the process of organising my first Camino walk. I plan to do the complete trip beginning at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I've looked into travel companies offering unguided tours and am wondering what the expense covers. Is this the best way to do the walk, pay the money and head off, or am I able to walk it solo and find my accommodation at the end of each day, etc. I know I sound naive, but I'm I'm still investigating the walk and found this site along the way. I'm hoping some experienced walkers can give me their thoughts. I have done a few short walks through New Zealand. But that's about my limit. I don't feel daunted by the distance, and welcome the mental and physical challenges that I may face (will face?). I welcome your thoughts.

Hi Jen12

First of all welcome to the forum.

The questions you have asked here have been asked by many before. I suggest that you should surf the forum previous posts & replies. You´ll find answers to all your questions and answers to things you haven´t thought about yet but will come out soon.

The only problem is when you ask a question e.g. "how to do it?", you´re going to get lots of different opinions. Then it´s up to you to choose what you think suits you best.

My advice regarding using a travel company is quite the opposite - no travel company. Just do your homework , plan your Camino, train properly, pack light, etc............. But as I said, you´ll find some who differ.

Buen Camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The major downside of a travel company would be the resulting rigid schedule. Walking a half-marathon a day for over a month is not the same as weekend trekking. I think you will find that you need a lot of flexibility in your schedule. In addition to finding answers in the Forum, you could purchase a guidebook that will give specific advice on preparation and execution. You should plan to ignore much that is in it! I recommend the John Brierley book, which is available from Amazon.com. Get the latest edition.

You can go to the following site to see the opportunities for accommodations. You will have an opportunity to stop every few kilometers, so when you are walking, you only have to commit to a fairly short distance. If you get there and feel like continuing, you can continue. Do not feel bound to stop in the places defined in guidebooks. Only a few of the large cities are tourist centers, and you may find that you do not like staying in them because of the crowds.

http://www.godesalco.com/plan/frances

Note that it starts in Roncesvalles, because that is the start of the Camino Frances. For the one to two days from SJPdP, look at the end stages of the Chemin du Puy on the same website, which is the Camino Navarra.

Buen camino!

 

[mspath]

Jen12,

Welcome to the Forum!

As both MendiWalker and Falcon have noted there is a WEALTH of information available here to help you plan your camino. Feel free to ask lots of questions; we past pilgrims love to share tips and experiences.

Check out the Australia and New Zealand thread to read what your neighbors 'down under' wrote about their caminos.

Many potential pilgrims consider the organized trip versus individual travel quandary. You can scan their varied ideas in this earlier Forum thread. For me freedom and serendipity are MOST important; during eight caminos ie more than 400 nights I have only reserved Santiago accommodation in advance never else where. Walking in late autumn/winter I have always found an albergue bunk although not all the albergues are open. Since you plan to walk next April if you choose to travel 'unorganized' you, too, should find accommodation easily before the throngs of summer.

Happy planning and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[jennie]

Hi all, I'm in the process of organising my first Camino walk. I plan to do the complete trip beginning at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I've looked into travel companies offering unguided tours and am wondering what the expense covers. Is this the best way to do the walk, pay the money and head off, or am I able to walk it solo and find my accommodation at the end of each day, etc. I know I sound naive, but I'm I'm still investigating the walk and found this site along the way. I'm hoping some experienced walkers can give me their thoughts. I have done a few short walks through New Zealand. But that's about my limit. I don't feel daunted by the distance, and welcome the mental and physical challenges that I may face (will face?). I welcome your thoughts.

hi jen,
am far from experienced but thought I might add my two pennys worth; I thought it would be an unusual 60th birthday surprise for my dad if my sister and I took him off walking ?last year we went from ponferrada to Santiago, it was amazing, we were in all honesty pretty clueless ,I wish we had time for more as the people and just the pure adventure of it all was impossible to put into words,we meet a lot of people all ages going solo and from listening to them I would if I were u go for it!! you will have more freedom with out the travel companies but still have the back up of kind honest strangers to support u ,best of luck,
jennie , ,
ps, we have a saying here just in case you are nervous of strangers ,
"a stranger is a friend you haven't met yet !"

 

[Jen12]

Thank you everyone. I will continue to read and learn from this Forum to prepare for my journey. I'm sold on going it alone - that was the type of experience I was looking for. I will check out some guide books (thanks Falcon269).

Thanks again,
Jen

 

[jirit]

Hi Jen

I believe that one of the take aways from walking the camino is this sense of personal transformation.

It is combination of leaving your comfort zone, stepping away from the routine of everyday life, and undertaking in a physical and spiritual journey, over a long distance in a foreign place.

This is something you may achieve walking with others, and even maybe as part of an organized package tour, but more often achieved if done by yourself.

There is no right or wrong way.

Nor should you expect or want a sense of predefined structure.

The only certainty, is its uncertainty.

It will unfold as it will and only you will appreciate its value and importance.

 

[Cejanus]

G'day Jen, I was like you. However I found this forum and used it extensively to prepare myself for my journey. I am from Australia. I decided to do it alone. However once I left St Jean Pied de Port I found that I found a Camino family. They were wonderful, kindhearted, thoughtful pilgrims. I was never alone. There were times when I needed time to myself and so I walked a little slower or stopped earlier. I was always delighted to meet them all again as I meandered along.

Before I started I doubted whether I could do it at my age but having read this forum I knew that I could. I never worried about it after that and just hit the track. My family all worried and the grandchildren thought I was crazy. But hey I wrote a blog each day (that too was a new experience), they read it and changed their opinions and thinking.

Go for it, you will surprise yourself. Live your life, walk it with faith and trust in yourself and in others.

Next year I am heading back across this world to walk the Via de la Plata.

I did not used a tour company or forward my backpack on. This gave me complete freedom each day.

Buen Camino and God bless.

 

[DawnsJourney]

Good morning!!
I too looked into travel agencies and such. I have decided that in order for me to get out of the Camino what I want, I will need to fly solo so to speak. I don't want to be on some else's time table. Nor do I want to feel pushed. So I am just going to show up and start walking. I don't have the time to walk from SJPDP, so I will be starting in Leon. I will more than likely go back to do more, but for my first time I think this is what will work for me.

Buen Camino!

 

[meriPNG]

Hi Jen12,

I am by no means a seasoned traveler and have never done anything as adventurous as planning to walk the Camino, like you I will set off from SJPDP around mid May 2014 and walk the Camino Frances route through to Finisterre.
I've only begun researching since May but I've found so much information and if you can, talk to people in your local community who have done this Walk. They can be a wealth of information as I have learned.
I'm going into this filled with a lot of excitement even the bits where I'm sure I'll be uncertain BUT I'm confident this is going to be a great adventure and all part of my journey of self discovery. Funnily enough, I'm sort of looking forward to the unknown... it's where you have the best adventures I reckon

I always think, if you're unsure of something, chances are there's people who have, who are and will experience the same thing... so you're never alone!

Buen Camino
Marie

 

[SYates]

Hello and welcome also from me, here my thoughts to your questions:

Travel Company: A trade off between freedom and security, yes you know where you will sleep at night and that you have a bed, but you can't stay spontaneously elsewhere you would like to stay. Also you will need to decide beforehand how many kilometres / miles you want to walk each day. If you are not able to do that one day, you need to catch a bus / cab to catch up.

The majority of pilgrims don't use, nor need, a travel company. For your first day you can reserve a bed in Huntto or Orrisson yourself and then you simply can go with the flow. Cheaper and much more "free" than adhering to the schedule of a travel company. The money saved you can invest in light weight gear, if you don't have that already, to keep the overall weight of your backpack down.

If you tell us which time of the year you plan to go, we can give you better feedback about the bed situation and what kind of gear you need / don't need.

Buen Camino! SY