Dividing the Camino in stretches

Advantages of dividing the Camino in stretches

Walking the Camino in different stretches offers various advantages without the need to turn the Jacobean experience down. We gather here some of them.

• Better preparation. Dividing the Camino in stretches allows to plan it with better attention to detail: looking for the best option (in terms of time and money) for arriving to the starting point and back home, finding the best accommodations, getting to know the route better or planning the services you may need (from places to eat to Correos offices from where you may want to send your luggage).

• Ease when packing the bags. You already know that the weight of the bags does not have to be a problem because thanks to our PaqMochila in Correos we take care of transporting it from hostel to hostel (or any other kind of accommodation you may choose). But the fewer the days, the easier it is to pack. Remember: in the Camino, just as in life, less is more. Here we link a list of essential items when it comes to packing the suitcase for the Camino.

• Meeting new people. The Camino joins people from everywhere, including different ages, ethnicities and conditions. And that is one of the things that make it such a magical experience. Meeting new people and spending time with them during a few days is very fulfilling, and dividing the Camino in stretches allows you to live it again and again.

• More flexible. The Camino is not a rigid experience. Dividing it in stretches will allow you to walk shorter stages if you want. Or spending more time getting to know the places you walk by.

• More cost-effective. Dividing the Camino will allow you to adapt the budget better in terms of transportation, food, accommodations and other services the pilgrim may need (shipments, small purchases, luggage storage, etc.). The expense will be more spread over time and in each stretch you can adjust to what you foresee you will be spending.

Photo by Antonio Marcos Fonseca de Souza

How do I get the Compostela if I divide the Camino in stretches?

At this point, you may already know that getting the Compostela is not essential when it comes to walking and enjoying the Camino, but it always is a nice souvenir of our pilgrimage. For those who are asking if it is possible to get the Compostela while walking the Camino in different stages, the answer is yes.

How? The same way that is required when making a full Camino: stamping our Credencial twice a day, in the start and ending point of our distance.

Remember that the Credencial can be filled in different moments as long as there is a chronologic and geographic continuance. That is why the Credencial will always be the same one, adding the corresponding daily stamps every time we go back to the Camino.

The only thing you must consider is that if you are willing to cover a long distance it is possible that you run out of room for the stamps, which are limited. In that case, you would have to get another Credencial, starting it from the point you left it.

How to divide the Camino in stretches

There are multiple possibilities of dividing the different routes. The most important thing is that this division is adapted to you in terms of availability, budget, fitness level, etc.

However, as a general guideline, we tell you how to divide some of the longest and more popular among the pilgrims Caminos.

• How to divide the Camino Francés

The most popular stretch of the Camino Francés is the one that goes from Sarria to Santiago, corresponding with the last 114 km of this popular Camino and with the minimum required for obtaining the Compostela.

However, if you want to enjoy the Camino Francés to the fullest, you can cover it starting in Saint Jean Pied de Port or Roncesvalles.

• Saint Jean Pied de Port – Logroño: 7 stages. 163 km.
• Logroño – Burgos: 5 stages. 121 km.
• Burgos – Sahagún: 6 stages. 184 km.
• Sahagún – Ponferrada: 7 stages. 215 km.
• Ponferrada – Sarria: 4 stages. 92,5-98 km.
• Sarria – Santiago: 5 stages. 114 km.

• How to divide the Camino Portugués

Lisboa is the traditional starting point of the Camino Portugués. However, since a couple of years ago, Oporto, the second most important city in Portugal, has become the favourite starting point. Whichever you choose, here is a possible division of the Camino:

• Lisboa – Golega: 5 stages. 124 km.
• Golega – Coímbra: 5 stages. 123 km.
• Coímbra – Oporto: 6 stages. 127 km.
• Oporto – Tui: 5 stages. 125 km.
• Tui – Santiago: 6 stages. 115 km.

• How to divide the Camino del Norte

This is one of the longest routes and, because of that, we offer a division in six stretches that will allow you to enjoy passing by Euskadi, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia:

• Irún – Bilbao: 6 stages. 275 km.
• Bilbao – Santander: 6 stages. 107-131 km.
• Santander – Llanes: 5 stages. 111-116 km.
• Llanes – Gijón: 4 stages. 99 km.
• Gijón – Ribadeo: 7 stages. 154 km.
• Ribadeo – Santiago: 9 stages. 190 km.

• How to divide the Camino Primitivo

In spite of not being as long as the other routes, the Camino Primitivo is known for its hardness. That is why, even if you have enough days, it is recommended to divide it if you are not in such good shape or if you want to enjoy the Route during more time:

• Oviedo – A Mesa: 5 stages. 120 km.
• A Mesa – Lugo: 4 stages. 100 km.
• Lugo – Santiago: 4 stages. 103 km.

• How to divide the Camino Vía de la Plata

Along with the Camino Mozárabe, the Vía de la Plata is one of the longest Jacobean Routes that cross Spain. The orography and the villages it goes through mark an itinerary with stages a little longer than the average. Here we have two different suggestions on how to divide this Camino:

• Vía de la Plata through Sanabria:

• Sevilla – Mérida: 9 stages. 210 km.
• Mérida – Salamanca: 10 stages. 270 km.
• Salamanca – Puebla de Sanabria: 8 stages. 225 km.
• Puebla de Sanabrua – Ourense: 5 stages. 140 km.
• Ourense – Santiago: 5 stages. 110 km.

• Vía de la Plata though Castilla y León:

• Sevilla – Mérida: 9 stages. 210 km.
• Mérida – Salamanca: 10 stages. 270 km.
• Salamanca – La Bañeza: 7 stages. 180 km.
• La Bañeza – Sarria: 7 stages. 146 km.
• Sarria – Santiago: 5 stages. 114 km.

We hope that this information enourages you to walk the Camino por tramos in different stretches and to make out of the Jacobean Routes an annual plan you cannot miss.

Before ending this article, we remind you that Correos has offices along all the routes offering different services to the pilgrims, such as PaqMochila, PaqBicicleta, PaqPeregrino, luggage storage in Santiago and more.

Buen Camino!