Our hikes follow clearly indicated pathways across easy to moderate terrain. The majority of the hiking will be on dirt paths, while we will occasionally walk a few miles on pavement. The trip’s first two days consist of a half-day hike and a half-day spent in the neighboring towns learning about the Camino’s history. The remaining days consist of two hikes: one in the morning until approximately 1:00 pm and another in the afternoon from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm.
We strongly advise you to prepare for your vacation because your level of fitness will have a significant impact on how much fun you have. Hiking, especially over hills or rugged terrain, is the best way to prepare for a hike. Running, swimming, cycling, and other cardiovascular exercises rank second to first. Stair climbing machines are a great way to be ready for an uphill hike. Additionally, you should prepare your feet by making sure your hiking boots are comfy, strong, and well-brooded.
You should be ready for a range of situations, even though we have planned our trip for the best hiking weather. Typically, the days are dry and pleasant without being overly hot. It can get rather chilly at night. Although there is usually sunshine, showers could happen at any time.
Our carefully chosen hotels and paradors will greet you every night, including two nights at the magnificent Parador de Santiago de Compostela. The rest of our lodgings are in pleasant places that are conveniently located along the Camino, if not very opulent. The rooms are not usually uniform or international in size because they are sometimes located in old houses. Our leaders make every effort to assign rooms fairly so that everyone has an equal opportunity to benefit from the trip as a whole. Due to the hotels’ limited space, single rooms can be requested but are not always available. Please request a single room as soon as feasible if that is your preference.
A buffet breakfast is served at our hotel each morning with fruit, bread, whole grains, cold cuts, cheese, butter, ham, olive oil, tomato, yogurt, coffee, and tea. We’ll enjoy lunches in cafés or restaurants along the trail that offer local foods including cheeses, fresh vegetables, salamis, ham, fresh fruit, and bread. These are the typical restaurants where pilgrims stop to eat, and they give us a great chance to be part of the community. Pilgrims come from all over the world to hike El Camino and are always very friendly and willing to share their experiences. Some of the items you’ll see on the menu are hearty soups, a variety of cheeses and hams from the region (including jamón serrano), salads, pimientos del padrón (roasted green peppers), and trout served the Spanish way (expect to see the whole fish!). We often don’t convene for our lunches until around 1:00 pm as lunch starts late in Spain. Dinner is at our hotel or a nearby restaurant and includes other local specialties like lamb and fresh seafood. Please note that in Spain, the dinner hour is considerably later than what it is in the US. We do our best to secure early reservations for our groups, but most often the evening meal will be at 8:00 pm.