Via de la Plata on 500-700 euros?

[Tom]

I've been reading up on the route options for a while now, and have finally decided to go for the Via de la Plata next summer...yes, in July, and yes, I'm probably insane to do that! My problem is that the amount of money I'll have for the journey by next year will be limited to a maximum of about 500 British pounds (700 euros) - I'm a student and I only have a part-time job. All the write-ups and guides that I've read say that an average of about 1000 euros is needed for the VdlP. There is no way I will have that kind of money by next summer. Can anybody say, from their own or second-hand experience, whether it would be possible to complete the VdlP on my budget? I am in very good shape, and would be aiming to complete at least 30km a day, although I realise that summer temperatures may restrict me from doing so. So if anyone has any advice as to how I could keep costs to a minimum, I would be very grateful to hear from you.

Thanks in advance,

Tom

[John Hussey]

Some of the obvious...

To go as cheaply as possible would be to spend less time where you obviously use your money-namely, in towns and villages. This would mean you camp instead of going the albergue route, even though so many are mostly donativo. Another of the obvious, stay out of restaurants with their 'menus de peregrino' and buy your food in markets and prepare it at your campsite. Get a small trangia ( http://www.trangia.se/english/ )alcohol stove to cook with
...or search the net for the cheaper still route for (homemade alcohol stoves)and make your own alcohol stove like the super cat stove ( http://timberwolf.us/SuperCat/ )for almost nothing, saving more money still. They burn 100% denatured alcohol, 200 proof, purchased in hardware stores (ferreterias) along the way.

As a pilgrim, many churches, etc, where tourists have to pay, are free for you with your credential-if you ask- so don't be afraid to do so.

Use your imagination. Anything is possible if you wish badly enough to do it and try. So, good luck and Buen Camino!

I walked last year from Sevilla to Zamora and there seemed to me to be more camping possibilities than on the Camino Frances as it was 'wilder', for lack of a better word. I did not camp but slept each night in an albergue, although there were a few of the longer stretches where I longed for the ability to have done so. To be honest, I believe a heavy tent would not have been as necessary as just a small, lightweight fitted tarp such as: http://www.integraldesigns.com/produ...roducttypeid=1

or, the one I often use:

http://www.integraldesigns.com/produ...roducttypeid=1

weighing just 1 pound or 1/2 kilo- a third of the weight of a tent.

[Tom]

Thank you very much for that information. I had considered camping, but I don't know a lot about doing so in Spain. What are the laws regarding 'wild' camping? Are they as lax as in somewhere like Scotland, for example, where as long as you are out of sight of buildings, anywhere is legal camping ground (or something like that)? Or what provision is there for legal campsites, are there many along the route? Still, you're right and it can be done fairly cheaply depending on how strictly you budget yourself - staying in the 'cheaper' albergues and cooking your own food can probably be achieved with less than 10 euros a day.


Tom.

[John Hussey]

A better word than "wild" camping is "stealth" camping. You are doing it somewhere that others will not see you. As for the legality of it i cannot honestly say but it would seem logical that you could camp right alongside the marked trail about anywhere you chose to do so as i hardly think that the Camino trail is private, even though it may go through private areas. I cant seem to recall seeing anywhere a "No Camping" sign so, in its absence, I would surmise that you could, in fact, camp. Besides, you would make a very low-impact campsite and so long as you left no trace of it when you left in the morning, nobody would even know that you did spend the night under some tree, in a little glade, alongside the trail.

I did see a young German on the VdlP that camped some. In fact I first met him when I came upon him early one morning when he was breaking camp. So, others have done it there before you. that should ease your mind some. Fill your water containers in the late afternoon so that you can make a "dry" camp (one without a ready supply of water) and have enough for the evening meal as well as your morning breakfast, leaving an estimated amount to get you into the next village where you could replenish your water. In retrospect, I believe camping is very doable and would make an interesting distinction to an interesting Camino which, in the final analysis, is really yours alone-however you choose to do it!

[Tom]

It certainly seems like an interesting prospect, and one which I may now consider more seriously than before. It would be an extra challenge, but then on a pilgrimage that should be seen as a positive thing. The money I saved on accommodation could even be put towards a 'menu de peregrino' now and again!

Tom.

[arturo]

I read a bit about law. It is allowed to camp in Spain outside of private areas (in the latter case you need a permission). It may be forbidden to camp in the mountains. Restrictions on camping:it is forbidden to camp closer than 150m of main road (highway?), closer than 100m of historic building, no more than 10 people and 3 tents in one camp. It is forbidden to camp in the same spot longer than 3 days. All this info - from Langenscheidt Spanish language book
The Lonely Planet guide suggest the use of official camping sites. If there no "No camping!" sights- you can put a tent. Well, it is not allowed to camp closer than 1 km to the official camping site.
Some links: Campinguia. Guia de camping en Espa?a. Opiniones campings and Campings OnLine.com - Informaci?n y reservas en Campings y Bungalows de Espa?a. Campings Espa?a por Campings OnLine.com