Camino Stage 1 - St Jean-Pied-de-Port to Logroño
- Begin at the official start point of the Camino Frances, St Jean Pied de Port in France
- Hike across The Pyrenees and the French/Spanish border to Roncesvalles
- Discover the famous fortress town of Pamplona, with its stunning colorful buildings
- Finish hiking surrounded by vineyards in the town of Logroño - the capital of Rioja Spanish Wine
- Experience the comradery of the Camino and share stories with fellow pilgrims along the route
Gallery
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in St. Jean Pied de Port and overnightYour journey starts in St Jean Pied de Port, which straddles the French and Spanish border.
The hotel stands out in the town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port with its pink sandstone façade from the Basque Country, on the banks of the Nive, in the town centre. Once through the door, you will be charmed by the recent renovations (dating back to 2015), modern equipment, contemporary-style decoration and old elements such as the monumental oak staircase and the floor of the hall in cement tiles.
The Ramuntcho Hotel has been welcoming guests since 1895. With a friendly and familiar atmosphere, the hotel is ideally located at the foot of the city walls and is easily accessible.
The guesthouse is the result of a family project. You will be welcomed in a house entirely designed by the family, where the welcome and the well-being of the guests is a priority. Each room is individually designed and furnished with great taste by the lady of the house.
The toughest section stage 1, with a steep climb to the Roncesvalles. Then pass across the Pyrenees on a route called Ruta Imperial (Imperial Route). You will be rewarded with wonderful panoramic mountain views and a great sense of achievement. An alternative route is available along the valley for those who prefer a more gentle option.
The building, now a hotel and apartments, was built in 1725 as the "house of the Beneficiaries", clerics who helped the canons in their ecclesiastical work. Its interior has recently been completely restored as a hotel, an ambitious project led by the Príncipe de Viana Institution, responsible for the conservation of Navarre's cultural heritage. As a result, Hotel Roncesvalles offers the highest levels of comfort in an architectural setting full of art, history and nature.
This Hostal is recommended in the Michelin Guide. It is a 16th century mansion which has been completely renovated to accommodate pilgrims on their walk. The restaurant provides local Basque cuisine and can sit up to 130 people.
Warm rooms, some with balconies & mountain views, in an informal inn offering dining & a bar.
From Roncesvalles, you will cross two further mountain passes before continuing through beech and oak woods alongside the River Arga to the small village of Akerreta
Hotel Akerreta is a small family run bed and breakfast. The stone walled house still has many of its original features with its bread ovens and enormous wooden oak beams.
This traditional house has three floors, two of which have been recently renovated. All rooms are spacious and bright, with wooden floors and stone walls, and have a private bathroom. There is a common area with a fireplace, TV and a fully equipped kitchen. There is also a private garden for guests.
Low-key rooms & dorms with a rustic vibe in a relaxed hostel with a casual restaurant & a lounge. Large and comfortable living room with fireplace, free Wi-Fi, and public garden at the back of the building. Table and billiard games & free parking outside.
At first following the River Arga along shaded paths, today’s walk then starts to get slightly busier as you head towards Pamplona as you follows busy main roads into the city.
Pamplona is a beautiful city lined with medieval streets and famous for the running of the bulls festival which takes place one a year where daring men and women tear through the streets chased by bulls. Be prepared to enter a hustling and bustling city, quite the opposite to the Camino.
Hotel Maisonnave is a comfortable 4 star hotel with a longstanding tradition in the city of Pamplona. Comfort, quality and a very personal style that has evolved in line with the trends of the sector are the hallmarks of the Maisonnave Hotel, which has succeeded in making its clients feel as if the rooms are their own.
Right on the edge of Taconera Gardens, this is a 4-star property with air-conditioned modern rooms.
Charismatic hotel with more than 50 years of history in the historic centre of the city, next to the city walls. The hotel, which is characterised by its simplicity, offers modern and comfortable rooms.
After the first 5km along suburban roads, you are soon back in the countryside. From Cizur Menor, a climb takes you through a field of wind turbines, with wonderful views back over Pamplona. The Arga valley then opens up ahead as you descend down to Puente la Reina.
This bright and spacious hotel is ideal for pilgrims with en-suite facilities, plasma TVs and air conditioning.
This old thirteenth century tower, completely refurbished and decorated with rural and modern elements, offers the chance to rest and discover the culture, history, and gastronomy of Navarre.
This beautifully restored 17th century house offers comfortable accommodation for travellers. Care has been taken to retain the noble materials such as wood, stone and old bricks to create a rustic and personalised style.
Walking through rolling farmland and vineyards will bring you to Estella, please be aware that there are few trees along this path and therefore no where to seek shelter from the sun.
There are also a few examples of Roman roadway on this section from Cirauqui to Lorca especially where the majortiy of the track is along such roman roadways. The first section will have three steep climbs up to hill top villages before you descend into Estella.
A four-star accommodation that devotes care and attention to the small details to provide a unique artistic environment that give a classic look with a unique service that will meet your highest expectations.
Located in the beautiful city of Estella, and a stop on the Camino de Santiago and surrounded by a privileged natural and historical environment, at Hotel Yerri they offer a quality stay with personalised service.
A friendly, family run hotel on the outskirts of Estella.
The majority of your walk today will take you along beautiful natural paths, starting with the first section up to Monjardin. You will have magnificient views southward of the alternative route and Luquin, both route options join for the last section to Los Arcos.
Monaco Hotel is a small friendly family business. It has been catering for pilgrims for over 40 years and provides a lounge where you can swap stories with other pilgrims or just relax before the next days walking.
The Hostal Suetxe is a small hotel which offers rustic charm and clean, comfortable accommodation.
This property offers rooms with a flat-screen TV and fan. Some rooms have a balcony or terrace. All rooms have a private bathroom with free toiletries, bath or shower and hairdryer. Free WiFi is also offered throughout the property.
Wander along natural paths leading you through arable farmland, please be aware that there is little shade along this stretch and make sure you adequetely protected against the sun. Today's day is a long one and contains some short but steep sections into the rio Linares and Cornava river valleys.
Just before entering Logrono you will pass through the region of La Rioja which is renouned for the wine it produces, make sure you try a glass with your dinner!
The hotel was recently renovated and it is really close to the city centre. Its magnificent location means that that in a matter minutes you can reach the historical centre of the city, where its famous bars and restaurants are located, as well as the shopping area, and the main roads in and out of the city.
The four-star Husa Bracos hotel, is located in the heart of Logroño's old town, next to the city's shopping area and Logroño's most symbolic spot - its famous Calle Laurel, a must-visit street for savouring the region's tapas and wines.
The hotel's location offers all the amenities you need: the train station, the bus station, the old town, the best shopping in the city and, of course, the famous Calle Laurel, which is just 700 metres away. The spacious rooms and the tranquillity of the park in front of the hotel will guarantee you a refreshing rest.
After breakfast your walking holiday will come to an end. See the Travel Info section for some useful details for your onward travel.
This trip has a carbon score of 10kg per person per night, meaning it’s one of our best trips! For comparison, a carbon count of 10kg is equivalent to 18 lattes. Here at Macs, we pride ourselves on being a responsible travel company and continue to adopt, develop and innovate ways to positively impact the environment. Find out more information about how we've carbon counted our trips.
Other Information
Is it for me?This is the most difficult stage of the Camino Frances, crossing the Pyrenees from St Jean Pied de Port to Logroño. This itinerary is ideal if you are looking for a challenge or are on the start of your Camino journey with 7 days of consecutive hiking. You have the benefit of overnighting in the famous Spanish town of Pamplona and ending in the Rioja wine region of Logroño. We recommend adding extra nights in these towns if you wish!
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&Bs, inns, and guesthouses.
Solo Travellers, Families with Teens
The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years
This stage of the Camino is graded moderate/strenuous. It involves crossing The Pyrenees and includes daily distances of 10-17 miles. You will follow a mixture of dirt trails, minor roads, and established footpaths. Expect steep ascents/descents as you travel through The Pyrenees on this Camino Stage 1 itinerary.
Although the route mostly leads along wide, relatively easy-to-walk paths, the unpaved sections and the daily distances of between 9 and 30 kilometres require a good basic level of fitness and a certain amount of hiking experience. The first section from St Jean-Pied-de-Port with steep ascents and descents in the Pyrenees is the most difficult. The entire 40-day Way of St James naturally requires a great deal of stamina. But the longer you are on the road, the fitter you will become. Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos and León are fascinating cities that you must visit and the smaller towns are also very charming and often offer wonderful regional delicacies.
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
- 8 nights accommodation in small rural hotels and hostels with en-suite W/C
- 8 breakfasts
- Baggage Transfers
- All your trip documents provided digitally through your online Macs “My Account”
- Access to maps, GPX tracks and daily route information with the Macs Adventure smartphone navigation app
- Emergency support from our local and UK offices in the event of a problem
- Return travel to France/Spain.
- Lunches, dinners (optional), snacks or drinks.
- Travel Insurance.
- Personal Equipment.
- Taxi transfers or public transport should you need to skip a stage.
- Additional nights’ accommodation
You can start your Camino anytime between April and Mid-October.
San Fermín Festival in Pamplona
Please be aware that should you wish to travel during the San Fermín Festival in Pamplona, then accommodation at this specific location is normally very difficult to secure and the hotels may charge a premium. We will always do our best to make arrangements for you, however, at busy times a supplement may be payable for transfers or superior accommodation.
Time of Year
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!
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!
The best place to fly into to get to St Jean is Biarritz airport. You can get here easily from the London and Manchester 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 straight to St Jean for a hassle-free start to your journey!
If you are starting or finishing your Pilgrimage in Logrono (La Rioja wine region) then the best way to reach here is to get the train from either Madrid (3hrs 20) or Barcelona (4hrs) or the bus from Madrid (4hrs) or Barcelona (6hrs). The closest airports are San Sebastian which you can reach by local bus (2hrs 15 mins) : (Check La Estellesa) and also Bilbao airport which you can reach by bus (2hrs). (Check Termibus). Please note that on these websites it is often the case that tickets cannot be reserved until it’s at least less than 3 months, or sometimes even 1 month, before your departure.
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.
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.
Online Documents
At Macs Adventure we care about the environment! We’re taking action to minimize the impact we have by converting the majority of our tour documentation for online delivery.
On this tour, all your detailed tour information will be digitally delivered. You will have access to this documentation via “My Account” on our website.
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).
Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard hiking gear such as good hiking boots or shoes, lightweight clothes, waterproofs and a day pack.
The average daily distance of our Camino tours are between 20 and 25 kilometers and you can expect to walk for between five and eight hours each day. You should do as much walking as possible prior to your walk as this will simply add to your enjoyment.
Yes, many of our guests travel solo. Although the nature of the Camino means that they soon join up with other pilgrims. There is a single room supplement payable for solo walkers.
No, we do not offer group trips as independent self-guided trips are a much better way to experience the Camino.
You can start on any day of your choosing between February and mid November, subject to availability.
Yes, although we find our standard itineraries are perfect for most walkers, we can add additional nights at any point of the Camino and tailor-make the trip to meet your needs.
A mixture of farm/dirt tracks, minor roads and footpaths. The route is well marked and easy to follow.
We suggest you book as far in advance as possible as the Camino is extremely popular. Numbers can rise by up to 100,000 people. We will always try and accommodate late booking requests.
Yes, some people prefer to walk carrying their own bags as a true pilgrim would have. You can select the option for removing the baggage transfers in Step 2 of the Booking Engine.
Although you can walk the Camino most of the year we would recommend April/May/June and September/October when the weather is at its best for walking. July and August can be very hot and are busy.
Public transport and taxis are available, if you are need of support contact us and we will be more that happy to help.
Unfortunately we are unable to change your accommodation bookings and itinerary once you start walking as alternative accommodation is generally not available at such short notice.
We strongly suggest that you have travel insurance which covers you for cancellation, curtailment, illness or injury before and during your trip.
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