One week, six people aged 50 -ish !

[MarkG]

We're a group of six friends and as part of a rash of 50th birthday celebrations we're wondering about spending a week walking to Santiago along the Camino Frances.

Is a week enough to cover 130-150 kms?
Is that far enough to qualify ?
What's the best starting point for us? (will fly/train from the UK)

thanks for your help

MarkG

[Covey]

If you want to "qualify" then you have to walk the last 100kms in to Santiago, and for most first timers on the Camino, that means starting at Sarria and walking to Santiago which is the final stage of the Camino Frances..

One advantage of the Sarria start point is that you can fly in to Santiago and then back home from the same airport. To get to Sarria, you can catch the coach to Lugo from outside the terminal door, and then catch a local bus from Lugo to Sarria. Some will walk Sarria to Santiago in 3 days, most will take 5 and that will leave a couple of days for sightseeing in Santiago and maybe a day trip to Finesterre.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Mark, and welcome to the Forum.

Covey is probably right in giving you a nice, leisurely camino. But if you want to challenge yourselves more you could start at O Cebreiro and walk 160 kms to Santiago. O Cebreiro is a wonderful beginning point -- essentially starting at the top of a long climb -- with great vistas in a picturesque and historic setting. Your following days' journeys could be to Triacastela(20.9km), Sarria (24.6km), Portomarin (22.4km), Palas de Rei (24.9km), Ribadiso (25.7km), Pedrouzo (21.5km) and Santiago (20.1km). If these distances aren't too much and you want to give it a shot I'd recommend you fly to Madrid (easyJet or RyanAir are very cheap), train it to Ponferrada via Leon, bus it to O Cebreiro. One-way flights back to London Stansted are not expensive via RyanAir's direct flight. With connections your week is probably more like 9 days, but starting at O Cebreiro will give you a very good taste of some of the best of the camino.

Or, do as Covey says for an easier trip. Either way, you have a great time ahead of you. Buen camino!

[Tanya Yaksich]

Hi Covey and Huskynerd.
Both your suggestions are good, however depending on the time of the year, starting from O Cebreiro in the wrong months could be very cold. Also if you're not used to hiking, going downhill can be tough on the toes. Apart from that i would prefer to start from O Cebreiro as the scenery is awe inspiring.
Cheers Tanya

[Covey]

The downhill leg from Cebreiro to Tricastella is somewhat deceptive. The first year I made the mistake of following the arrows including the excursions off the road to the bottom of the valley to see some disused church only to have to climb back up the steep hill to the road again. Did not make that mistake again!!

Whilst standing at the top of Cebreiro, the thought of a gentle downhill wander for the day seems inviting, but my knees soon remind me that long downhill stretches are often harder than going uphill, and long downhill stretches on a road/track will bring on the blisters if you are not careful.