Camino de Santiago from Burgos

Burgos | Wikimedia Commons

Why choose Burgos to walk the Camino de Santiago?

Burgos is one of the most important cities in the long history of the Camino de Santiago and a mandatory stop for all pilgrims who travel the entire French Way (or at least from Castilla). If you choose to do the French Way from Burgos, 19 stages await you (although you can divide some of them to walk shorter stages) and almost 500 kilometers to the final goal, in Santiago de Compostela and along the way, the possibility of knowing points stop as spectacular as Astorga, León, Sahagún, Villafranca del Bierzo, or in Galicia, O Cebreiro, Sarria, Portomarín or Palas de Rei.

If you choose Burgos to make the Camino de Santiago you will need more than 20 days to travel to the finish line, counting the trips to the Castilian city and returning from Santiago home. The French Way from Burgos crosses the Castilian plateau and the Galician forests, crossing some of the busiest sections of the entire Jacobean road network, which on the other hand has a large number of hostels, accommodations and all kinds of services for the pilgrim, In addition to a more than complete signaling.

When to walk the Camino de Santiago from Burgos? What to consider?

In high season (summer), the Camino de Santiago from Burgos is a hotbed of walkers, but outside the most popular months (end of June, July and August), the agglomerations descend and walk much more comfortable, with less extreme temperatures (especially in the case of the Castilian plateau) and more pleasant.

We know that many times it is not up to the pilgrim to choose at what time to do the Camino de Santiago, but if it is in your hands, we would recommend you leave aside the busiest months and take a walk in months like April, May, early June, September or early October. During these dates you will find a large number of available accommodation, without problems of places and you can walk more at your leisure, although in the last section of the Camino de Santiago Road (last 100 km from Sarria) you will walk with many other pilgrims from inevitable way.

As for the weather if you do the Camino from Burgos, on the Castilian plateau the rainfall is not too frequent in summer, although at the end of spring and beginning of autumn some storm can catch us. Another very different thing is once we cross Galicia, where temperatures tend to be lower in summer and where we can surprise a shower at any stage. If you travel the French Way towards the end of autumn or winter, you must be especially attentive to the weather once you leave the plateau, during the mountain stages between León and Lugo, where you have to go very well prepared against bad weather.

How to travel the Camino de Santiago from Burgos?

As you may know, the Camino de Santiago can be traveled in several ways, whether on foot, by bicycle or on horseback. The most common on the French Way is to travel on foot or by bicycle; Either way is totally recommended. From Burgos we are separated by about 500 km from Santiago de Compostela, more than enough distance to obtain the compostela both on foot (a minimum of 100 km is required) and by bike (a minimum of 200 km is required), a certificate that we can request upon arrival at the finish line, in the cathedral of Santiago

How to return home from Santiago de Compostela when you finish the Camino?

Santiago is one of the most and best connected cities in Galicia with the Iberian Peninsula, with multiple connections by train, by plane and on four wheels. The walkers will not find problems to return home without complications; The Galician capital is well prepared and accustomed to the continuous transit of pilgrims throughout the year.

The Santiago airport (Lavacolla airport) is 11 km from the city center (an intercity bus runs every half hour), with connections to the main Spanish cities and some European capitals of weight. From La Coruña station, pilgrims can easily arrive by train to Madrid, Barcelona, ​​A Coruña or Bilbao, to name a few cities.

If we prefer to move by bus, the Santiago de Compostela bus station, on the Rúa de San Caetano, is close to the historic center of the city. From this point we can take the Santiago de Compostela-Madrid line, although there are also direct coaches to other national points, such as Gijón, Bilbao or Irún, in addition to destinations such as France, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal or Germany.

The stages of the French Way from BurgosMaking the Camino de Santiago from Burgos, as we have already told you, involves traveling 19 stages for almost 500 kilometers, a challenge for which we must prepare physically in advance, plan the stages before leaving home and choose what we take

• Stage 1: Burgos - Hontanas (32 km)
• Stage 2: Hontanás - Frómista (33,10 km)
• Stage 3: Frómista - Carrión de los Condes (20,90 km)
• Stage 4: Carrión de los Condes - Terradillos de los Templarios (26,60 km)
• Stage 5: Terradillos de los Templarios - El Burgo Ranero (27,20 km)
• Stage 6: El Burgo Ranero - León (43 km)
• Stage 7: León - San Martín del Camino (25,40 km)
• Stage 8: San Martín del Camino - Astorga (24,20 km)
• Stage 9: Astorga - Foncebadón (25,90 km)
• Stage 10: Foncebadón - Ponferrada (27,30 km)
• Stage 11: Ponferrada - Villafranca del Bierzo (24,10 km)
• Stage 12: Villafranca del Bierzo - O Cebreiro (28,40 km)
• Stage 13: O Cebreiro - Triacastela (21,70 km)
• Stage 14: Triacastela - Sarria (21,30 km)
• Stage 15: Sarria - Portomarín (21,60 km)
• Stage 16: Portomarín - Palas de Rei (25 km)
• Stage 17: Palas de Rei - Arzúa (28,80 km)
• Stage 18: Arzúa - Pedrouzo (18 km)
• Stage 19: Pedrouzo - Santiago de Compostela (20 km)