3 weeks only,where to start the walk?

[vickyb33]

hi there!
me and my dad are going to be in spain for 3 weeks and hoping to walk part of the camino..however my dad is 70 years old so i was hoping to find a shorter path that isnt too strenuous, but that is still scenic and beautiful. any ideas of where to start? we have 3 weeks so we want to see a fair bit but also take our time, not walk more than 20 km a day.

also is there accomodation all along the route? or is it few and far inbetween? will we be forced to walk more than 20km to find a bed for the night at any point along the trail?
any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated!

im looking forward to being in spain in july to walk ,i know it will be hot but i love the heat and cant wait to explore!
thanks so much!
vicky

[Leslie]

Hi,

It really depends on how fit your Dad is. There are also hills on the Camino, but most of it is rolling hills and not like hill walking.

There is a list of the Hostels here - Camino Pilgrim Hostels - Camino Frances Albergues

You will never have to walk more than about 10km for a hostel except for one day where the shortest is 16km - but they are usually about 4/5km apart - and normally there are a few in each village or town.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Vickyb33 ~

Leslie's right, of course, that it all depends on how fit your dad is and that there are many housing options allowing you to travel as far or as little as you'd like each day.

You might also be interested in a useful resource that we often recommend here on the Forum -- the Godesalco camino planner you can access here: http://www.godesalco.com/plan/frances . This can help you plan distances so you know where to start to meet your 3-week timeframe, and also has helpful topography graphics so you can see how steep the daily climbs will be for your proposed itinerary.

As you will see by using the Godesalco site, a 21-day, 20km/day itinerary starts you somewhere between Burgos and Leon. This stretch happens to be in the middle of the Meseta, which is a sparsely populated, flat stretch of the Camino. Transportation is not terribly easy to the towns between Burgos and Leon (which themselves are two of the largest towns on the Camino and easy to get to by train), though bus service is available (with some work to find out where/how). If you do need help on that, there are many of us on the Forum who'd be happy to help you.

Wishing you the best in your upcoming camino!

[grayland]

hi there!
me and my dad are going to be in spain for 3 weeks and hoping to walk part of the camino..however my dad is 70 years old so i was hoping to find a shorter path that isnt too strenuous, but that is still scenic and beautiful. any ideas of where to start? we have 3 weeks so we want to see a fair bit but also take our time, not walk more than 20 km a day.

also is there accomodation all along the route? or is it few and far inbetween?....snip
vicky

I am not a walker nor do I exercise in any way....but in 2009 I walked the Camino with my wife and then again in 2010 from St Jean.
I was 70 in 2009 (wife 68) and did not have any more problems then most others...probably less. If your dad is willing and planning to go he should not have too bad a time. Be sure you both do some training with your pack before you go and get you equipment right.
There are many sources of information on this if you need information.
20 km a day will almost always get you to an albergue, small hotel, hostal, etc.

The only caution I can offer is the first day out of SJPP over the mountain. It is about 25km to Roncesvalles on lower route. Many break up this 1st day at Valcarlos (about 12 km). I am not sure where you are are starting...but the same is pretty much true whereever you start.
Buen Camino

[vickyb33]

thanks so much for all your help everyone! i really appreciate it.
im not sure where exactly we are starting, possibly from leon and walking all the way to santiago or maybe from SJPP and then hopping transit part of the way and walking the rest.
does anyone know if you can reserve the albergues in advance or is it first come first serve? also are there any services that offer baggage transfers?
thanks again for all your help! its great talking to people who have already done it and can give suggestions.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi vickyb ~ Starting in SJPP the hopping transit makes all kinds of sense. Although I love the Meseta I know some people choose to skip over that portion, particularly in the hottest summer months. It's somewhat common in my experience for people to skip from Burgos to Leon out of concern for hot, flat walks in that stretch.

Nope, you can't reserve albergues in advance in Spain -- always first come, first served. Yes, there are baggage transfer services available. Best to talk with the albergue's hospitaleros onsite to find their recommendation for each stretch. There are "group walks" in which this is all handled by the same service that arranges hotel beds, but it sounds like you're set for albergue life rather than a cushy group tour.

Buen camino!

[Larry]

Dear Vicky

I am 60 and I met several people that were older than me that walked the Camino all the way from St. Jean in France. With that said, the first day from St. Jean was a killer. Realizing that I did the whole route from St. Jean to Roncevalles in one day it is no wonder that I was toast. The trail from Roncevalles to Pamplona is mostly down hill with only a little strain from Larrasoaña into Pamplona. Outside of Pamplona there is a very arduous gradient to the Alto de Pardon. If your father is in decent health without heart problems and carries a very light pack it will be slow going but doable. Good luck