Full Camino - St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago
40 Days & 39 Nights 4.8 Read 61 reviews- Walking the full French Way from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago
- Arriving at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela after a journey of 791 km
- Leon, Burgos and Pamplona - Northern Spain's most beguiling cities
- Enjoying wonderful camaraderie with your fellow pilgrims
- Varied landscapes including the dramatic Pyrenees, lush Galicia and immense plains
What To Expect
Trip Type:
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.
Activity:
Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.
This trip is suitable for:
Solo Travellers
Ideal if you have an interest in:
- Long-Distance Trails
Grade & Terrain
This walk is graded moderate and includes daily walks of 19-30km so you will be walking for between 5 and 8 hours each day. The trail consists of a mixture of dirt tracks, minor roads and footpaths. Despite the fact that the ascents and descents are for the majority fairly small, the terrain is fairly easy and the navigation is easy, we have graded this tour moderate due to the fact that walking for 35 days in itself is a challenge and there are also a couple of longer days around 30km.
Navigation
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 guidebook including maps, 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 smartphone.
Accommodation Information
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 walking days.
- 39 Nights accommodation in small rural hotels and hostels, twin/double rooms with en-suite W/C
- Daily breakfast
- Baggage Transfers
- A detailed information pack including route notes, maps and local information
- Camino guide book with maps
- Access to the Macs Adventure Smartphone App
- Emergency support from our local and UK offices
- Travel to St. Jean Pied de Port / from Santiago
- Lunches, snacks or drinks
- Travel insurance
- Personal Equipment
- Taxi transfers or public transport should you need to skip a stage
- Additional nights’ accommodation
When To Go
You can start your Camino anytime between April and Mid October.
Weather and Climate
The weather on the Camino will change slightly as you travel from the Pyrenees over to Galicia. The spring months of April and May 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!
Getting to the Start
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 travelling 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!
Getting from the End
You can fly directly from Santiago back to the UK with Ryanair who fly direct to Stansted and Easyjet who fly direct to Gatwick. Another good point to connect through to travel internationally is Paris. You can fly from Santiago to Paris with Vueling or from Madrid with Ryanair.
We can arrange private transfers to take you from your hotel directly to Santiago Airport.
Baggage Transfer
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 per person). Your main bag will be transferred each day between your overnight accommodation so that you only need to walk with a day pack.
General Information
The distances and ascent/descents are approximations of the recommended routes. Please be prepared by packing all necessary items, for example, proper rain gear (jacket and pants), sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.
Pilgrim Passport
The Pilgrim Passport is issued by the Church of St James, you will find this in your pack waiting for you at your first hotel. Alternatively, you can obtain one at the start of your walk in the Pilgrims’ Office or the local church in town. You need to get the passport stamped in churches, restaurants and hotels along the way. At the end of the walk, in Santiago, you can obtain your Compostela Certificate (only if you have walked the last 100km).
Equipment
Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, lightweight clothes, waterproofs and a day pack.
Travel Insurance
It is a requirement of booking this tour with Macs Adventure that you have suitable travel insurance which covers you for the activity and emergency evacuation and hospital care.
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in St. Jean Pied de Port and overnight Day 2 St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles 14.9 miles / 24 km Day 3 Roncesvalles to Akerreta 16.7 miles / 27 km Day 4 Akerreta to Pamplona 9.9 miles / 16 km Day 5 Pamplona to Puente La Reina 14.3 miles / 23 km Day 6 Puente La Reina to Estella 13.7 miles / 22 km Day 7 Estella to Los Arcos 12.4 miles / 20 km Day 8 Los Arcos to Logroño 17.4 miles / 28 km Day 9 Logroño to Nájera 16.7 miles / 27 km Day 10 Nájera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada 13 miles / 21 km Day 11 Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado 13.7 miles / 22 km Day 12 Belorado to San Juan de Ortega 14.9 miles / 24 km Day 13 San Juan de Ortega to Burgos 15.5 miles / 25 km Day 14 Rest day in Burgos Day 15 Burgos to Hornillos and transfer to Isar 13 miles / 21 km Day 16 Transfer to Hornillos and walk to Castrojeriz 12.4 miles / 20 km Day 17 Castrojeriz to Frómista 15.5 miles / 25 km Day 18 Frómista to Carrión de los Condes 11.8 miles / 19 km Day 19 Carrión de los Condes -to Calzadilla de la Cueza 11.75 miles / 18.8 km Day 20 Calzadilla de la Cueza to Sahagún 13.6 miles / 22 km Day 21 Sahagún to El Burgo Ranero/Transfer to Sahagun 11.2 miles / 18 km Day 22 Transfer to El Burgo Ranero/Walk to Mansilla de las Mulas 11.8 miles / 19 km Day 23 Mansilla de las Mulas to León 10.6 miles / 17 km Day 24 Rest day in León Day 25 León to Villar de Mazarife 13 miles / 21 km Day 26 Villar de Mazarife to Astorga 19.3 miles / 31 km Day 27 Astorga to Rabal del Camino 12.4 miles / 20 km Day 28 Rabal del Camino to Molinaseca 14.9 miles / 24 km Day 29 Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo 18.6 miles / 30 km Day 30 Villafranca del Bierzo - Herrerías de Valcarce 11.2 miles / 18 km Day 31 Herrerías de Varcarce to O Cebreiro 5.6 miles / 9 km Day 32 O Cebreiro to Triacastela 13.7 miles / 22 km Day 33 Triacastela to Sarria 11.2 miles / 18 km Day 34 Sarria to Portomarín 14.9 miles / 24 km Day 35 Portomarín to Palas de Rei 14.9 miles / 24 km Day 36 Palas de Rei to Arzúa 17.4 miles / 28 km Day 37 Arzúa to A Rúa 11.8 miles / 19 km Day 38 A Rúa to Santiago de Compostela 11.2 miles / 18 km Day 39 Rest day in Santiago de Compostela Day 40 Onward travelBlog Articles
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