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 100km 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. Most people start at Porto rather than Lisbon, which gives you ~14 days at a comfortable pace, and reach Santiago via Tui or Valença.

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 before turning inland near Caminha to join the Central in Galicia. Less elevation than almost any other major Camino, the seafood is excellent, and the route shares its final 100km with the busy Sarria stretch — but the first ten days are quiet.

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 a serious daily climb most of 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, walked by King Alfonso II in the 9th century before the Francés existed. From Oviedo it climbs through the green mountains of Asturias, joins the Francés at Melide, and runs into Santiago. The terrain is the steepest of any route in this list. Two weeks. Few villages. Few pilgrims. A proper undertaking and many people's favourite.

The shortest qualifying Camino — a long week

Named for the medieval English and Irish pilgrims who landed at Ferrol or A Coruña and walked inland to Santiago. The Ferrol start hits the 100km threshold so a Compostela is on the table; the A Coruña start does not. Five or six days, mostly 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 — what medieval pilgrims thought of as the end of the world. Doesn't qualify for the Compostela, so most people walk it as a coda after the Francés or Portugués.