This itinerary is perfect for those who want to experience the highlights of one of the world’s greatest pilgrimages, but don’t have the time to do the full trail. With our first-hand knowledge and experience, we carefully designed this itinerary to ensure you make the most of two weeks on the trail whilst still qualifying for your Compostela certificate. Graded as moderate, expect the first few days to be the most strenuous as you hike over the Pyrenees Mountains. The trail then gradually climbs and falls over rolling hills before flattening out as you near Santiago. Overnight in a mix of rural hotels and hostels all private en-suite rooms.

Pilgrimages | For those looking to follow a path of self-discovery. Our Pilgrimage and Camino routes take you on a journey through diverse landscapes and local flavours, while meeting like-minded adventurers along the way.

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.

Solo Travellers, Families with Teens

The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years

This itinerary is graded moderate overall, and includes daily hiking distances of 9-18 miles. Expect most days to be over 13 miles. The first section of the trail from St. Jean Pied de Port to Akerreta is graded as moderate/strenuous as it involves some steep ascents through the Pyrenees. You will be hiking for between 5-8 hours each day and will follow a mixture of dirt tracks, minor roads, and established footpaths.

Our Camino Tours include small rural hotels and hostels close to the route of the Camino. You will always have a private room and en-suite (attached) bathroom. When staying in Leon, Pamplona, Sarria and Santiago, you will stay in 3* hotels, the other nights will be in a mixture of rural hotels and hostels.

Single Rooms

Single rooms are available, although a supplement is payable. The price for a single room is available on the included tab of this tour and in the booking engine.

Meals

A light continental breakfast is included each morning, which can sometimes just be coffee, bread and orange juice. Lunch and dinner are not included so you are free to choose from the available options. Every place you stop will have evening meals available, you can get a pilgrims menu for about 10 Euros which includes 3 courses, wine and water!

Extra Nights

We can add extra nights if you wish, allowing you to have rest days in between the longer hiking days.

The Camino is very easy to follow. The route is marked with yellow painted arrows and a yellow shell on a blue background. The detailed travel pack we supply includes a detailed information pack for planning and preparing for your Camino, detailed instructions of how to find your overnight accommodation and everything you need for your Camino.

In addition to the printed route notes, you will receive in your travel pack, you will also have access to our Macs Adventure App, allowing you to follow the route on richly detailed mapping on your cell. 

Recommended Reading

Although not essential, if you would like more information on the route please see our recommendation below:

• A Guidebook to the Camino de Santiago by John Brierly

You can start the Best of the Camino on any day of your choosing between March and Mid-November.

Time of Year

The weather on the Camino will change slightly as you travel from the Pyrenees over to Galicia. The spring months of March and April tend to offer nice mild conditions for walking although the nights can be quite cold at this time of year and there can be quite a lot of rain in the region of Galicia at this time. The summer months of July and August can get very hot and humid. The autumn from late September through to October offers cooler temperatures again although daylight hours start to become less at this time. The region of Galicia in particular experiences higher rainfall than the rest of Spain so you should come prepared with waterproofs!

The best place to fly into to get to St Jean is Biarritz Airport. You can get here easily from London and Manchester Airports with Ryanair or if you are traveling internationally it is often a good idea to fly into Paris and either take the train down to Bayonne with SNCF, or to take an internal flight with Air France or Easyjet to get to Biarritz. From Biarritz, you simply take the bus from outside the airport to Bayonne rail station (20 mins) and then from there take the mountain railway up to St Jean (1.5 hours) which you can book in advance with SNCF.

We can also arrange private transfers from Biarittz Airport to St Jean if you want a hassle-free start to your journey! 

Ryanair fly direct to London Stansted Airport in the UK from Santiago and Easyjet fly direct to London Gatwick. For destinations outside the UK, you can fly to Paris with Vueling or via Madrid with Ryanair.

From Santiago Airport to city centre and vice-versa

From Santiago you can arrange a private transfer through Macs Adventure, to ensure a smooth end to your Camino. Alternatively, a bus runs between the airport and Plaza de Galicia in Santiago, stopping at different points in the city (Pazo de Congresos, Capilla San Lázaro, the bus station, the railway station, Rúa da Rosa, and others). From the airport the bus departs from 00:00 to 23:30, every half hour (duration 20 mins). Please see the Santiago Airport website for current timetables.

From Santiago to Madrid by train

If you would prefer to travel by rail, you can take a train (fast trains are available, 6h30 duration approx.) from Santiago to Madrid with RENFE.

By Bus within Spain

There are good bus connections from Santiago to other cities within Spain – see http://www.alsa.es for bus schedules.

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.

Baggage transfers are included (max 20kg / 44lbs per person). Your main bag will be transferred each day between your overnight accommodation so that you only need to hike with a day backpack.