How long is the Camino de Santiago?
How long is the Camino de Santiago? is quite a common question. The answer is simple and complex at the same time.
The most straightforward answer is the Camino de Santiago is as long or as short as you want it to be. There are many routes and many different starting points. The most popular Camino de Santiago starting point is the town of Sarria, some 100km away from Santiago de Compostela, along the so-called Camino Frances. Walking over 100km means they can apply for a Compostela certificate when arriving in Santiago.
The French Way, or Camino Francés (as seen in The Way the movie), is the most famous and better-known Camino de Santiago route. It starts in Saint Jean Pied de Port, at the foot of the Pyrenees, and covers over 800kms all the way to Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia. Over 30,000 pilgrims start the Camino de Santiago in Saint Jean Pied de Port every year, according to statistics from the Pilgrims Office in Santiago, making it the second most popular starting point. How long is the Camino de Santiago?
However, many other Camino de Santiago routes converge in Saint Jean Pied de Port, such as the Le Puy Camino, the Vezelay Camino and the Camino coming from Paris and Tours for example. This means you could add another few hundred kilometres to your Camino experience before even reaching Saint Jean!
In addition, other Camino de Santiago trails are heading to Santiago from different parts of the Peninsula: the Camino Portugues starting in Lisbon, for example, the Northern Camino starting on the Basque coast or the English Camino, starting in the port city of Ferrol, in Galicia. The longest Camino de Santiago trail is the Via de la Plata, beginning in the city of Seville in the South of Spain.
So how long is the Camino De Santiago? The definite answer is that it is up to you!
How long is the Camino? The Camino de Santiago is a network of pilgrimage routes. Most of these historic journeys converge in Santiago de Compostela. Because there are so many routes, it’s impossible to say how long the Camino is. We need to combine the different Camino routes to get the proper answer.
Camino routes have been split over the years for ease of reference. For instance, The Paris and Tours Way join the Camino Frances in St Jean Pied de Port. The Vezelay, Cluny and Geneva Way also connect to the French Way in this small French town.
How long is the Camino, the longest Camino?
The longest route is The Paris and Tours Way and Camino Frances, which stretches from Paris to Santiago. The full distance is 1,717 km and takes roughly 75 days to complete. The shortest route is The Englis Way which can be completed in 6 days and is 119km in the distance.
Via Francigena
The Via Francigena is a popular alternative to The Camino. This monstrous pilgrimage begins in the U.K. Stretching from Canterbury in England to Rome, it takes nearly 100 nights to complete. Each year hundreds of pilgrims end the entire walk, covering 2019km on two feet!
Getting your Compostela
To achieve your Compostela, you must walk a minimum of 100km into Santiago. For this reason, the last 100km of all routes have become extremely popular. If you are cycling, you’ll need to cover 200km to get that certificate! The French Way lasting 100km is the most popular route into Santiago,
The longest Camino Routes
- Paris and Tours/Camino Frances – 1717km
- Vezelay Way/Camino Frances – 1, 669 km
- Le Puy Way/ French Way – 1, 511 km
- Arles Way/ Camino Frances – 1, 468 km
- Catalan Way/ Camino Catalan 1,068 km
- Via de la Plata 1,030 km
- Northern Way – 827 km
- Camino Frances Full Route – 772km
Please contact the Camino specialists for more information on our walking or cycling tours.
