If you prefer a bit of a challenge, this stage of the Camino Frances is perfect! Expect 7 consecutive hiking days through rolling hills with steady ascents and descents. Have the benefit of starting in the beautiful historic Spanish town of León, and we recommend spending an extra night here if you wish to take your time exploring the sites.

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 itinerary is graded moderate and includes 7 days of hiking 8-19 miles per day. Expect to hike for between 5-8 hours daily. On the Camino, you will follow a mix of dirt trails, minor roads, and established footpaths.

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

Availability

You can start your Camino on any day of your choosing between February and Mid November. 

Time of Year

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 northern Spain at this time of year. 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 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!

By Air: Oviedo is the closest airport and is serviced by EasyJet from London. There are 8 buses a day from Oviedo to Leon which takes 1hr30. Timetables and fares at Alsa. Madrid airport is the best airport if travelling from outside Europe. Connect by train from Madrid. We can also arrange a private transfer from Oviedo Airport to Leon for a hassle-free start to your trip! 

By Train: León is 2h45 by train from Madrid. Timetables and tickets at Renfe.

By Bus: León is 4h00 by bus from Madrid. Timetables and fares at Alsa.

The best place to fly back from would be Santiago de Compostela. From O'Cebriero you would have to take a taxi down the hill to Piedrafita do Cebriero where you would pick up an ALSA bus to Santiago which takes around 2 and a half hours. From Santiago you can fly back to the UK with Ryanair who fly direct to Stansted and Easyjetwho fly direct to Gatwick. From outside the UK, you can fly from Santiago to Paris with Vueling or from Madrid with Ryanair.

We can also arrange a private transfer to take you from O'Cebreiro to Santiago Airport. 

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.