Which Camino?

The classic — busy, social, full of villages

The route most people mean when they say 'the Camino'. From a Pyrenean foothold over the Roncesvalles pass and west across Pamplona, the wine country of La Rioja, the meseta plateau, and the green hills of Galicia. Albergues every few kilometres, a peer group every day, and enough infrastructure that you can walk it from a small backpack with no booking. Costs the price of admission: this is also the busiest of the lot, especially the final 115km from Sarria.

Quieter, milder, vineyards and granite villages

The second-most-walked Camino, and the only one where you really notice another country before you cross. From Porto north, you walk past Romanesque churches in granite villages, vineyards rolling toward Galicia, and one of the gentlest climbs of any major route. Far more people start at Porto than Lisbon — about 240km, which Gronze splits into ten stages — and cross into Spain between Valença and Tui.

The Atlantic alternative — sand, cliffs, seafood

The Coastal is what you want if you have two weeks and a love of sea air. From Porto you follow the Atlantic north through fishing towns and pine-and-sand stretches, then carry on up the Galician coast via Vigo before joining the Central route at Redondela for the last stretch to Santiago. Less elevation than most major Caminos, and the seafood is excellent.

The wild, hard, beautiful one

The Atlantic coast version: harder, wetter, emptier, and many would say more beautiful. From Irún on the French border you follow the cliffs and beaches of the Basque country, Cantabria, and Asturias, with plenty of short, sharp climbs along the way. Albergues are spread further apart than on the Francés. You see San Sebastián, Bilbao's Guggenheim, the green of Picos de Europa to your south.

The original — short, mountainous, austere

Reputedly the oldest Camino: King Alfonso II of Asturias is said to have walked it from Oviedo in the early 9th century, making him the first recorded pilgrim. From Oviedo it climbs through the green mountains of Asturias, joins the Francés at Melide, and runs into Santiago. Several stages involve sustained mountain climbs. Two weeks, and far fewer pilgrims than the Francés.

The shortest qualifying Camino — a long week

Named for the medieval pilgrims from England, Ireland and the rest of northern Europe who landed at Ferrol or A Coruña and walked inland to Santiago. The Ferrol start (112km) hits the 100km threshold so a Compostela is on the table; the A Coruña start (73km) only counts if you've already walked a recognised route outside Spain, in which case the Pilgrim Office asks for just 70km in Spain. Five or six days on farm tracks, quiet roads and Galician forest, with one decent rise, and you can do it as a long week off work without rearranging your life.

The route after Santiago — pilgrim epilogue

The only major Camino that begins in Santiago rather than ending there. Three to four days west to the Atlantic, walking from the cathedral square through Galician fishing country to the lighthouse at Cape Finisterre. Doesn't qualify for the Compostela, so most people walk it as a coda after the Francés or Portugués.