Road to Santiago Compostela
 

Planning to do a pilgrimage hike on the "camino" to or from Santiago Compostela. We will have a week to walk about 15 miles per day and we don't care where we start. Can you recommend a route, not too hard and airport or train station nearby?
Thinking about going in the spring. Has anyone done the Portuguese Way? Will add 2 weeks to the trip for other sights via car/trains.

You normally walk "to" Santiago, not from. Allowing 7 days at 15 miles/day, you can start your journey somewhere along the Camino Primitivo, picking it up at A Pontenova (Galicia).

The Camino Portugués runs from Porto to Santiago, about 143 miles distance total.

Do a search here for posts by lreynold1. She has walked several routes of the Camino de Santiago and has some good trip reports. Also do a search on camino for other reports.

Additionally you can join the fraternity of st james for lots of information on the walks and lodging.

Some books to read about walking the French route are:
Travels with My Donkey
Off the Road
Pilgrim Tales

There are other books but I thought these were the best.

I'll add to Adrienne's list "The Year We Seized the Day", just finished reading it and really enjoyed it.

Thorn - can you check the title of that book please. I've search on Amazon, Alibris, and Novelist Plus and can't find it.

http://www.theyearweseizedtheday.net/

Maybe marketted under a different name in US? (I've just discovered that is not uncommon.)

To be honest you will get better information from those that know more about the subject on this forum.
lreynold1 (as given above) also posts on the forum.
http://www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com/board/

Good DVD to watch is THE NAKED PILGRIM by Brian Sewell. Very touching and made me more want to travel along this road.

Pilgrim Snail: Busking to Santiago (Paperback)

gives you the walk from Canterbury, takes a bit more than 2 weeks though

To earn a 'la Compostela,' you don't have to hike all the way from the French frontier or from Pamplona. I teamed up with a couple who started theit Pilgrimage in o'Cebreiro to qualify for that credential.

surely the journey is the point not the arrival (it is not a competition)

bilboburgler Yes but has anyone told those pilgrims that get up as 5 in the morning to rush to the next albergue so that they get a bed?

thanks to all.
Robert, I will look into Camino Primitivo and Portugues. We were talking about beginning in Portugal. Can you tell me which one has better scenery and level of difficulty?

Zanne, the walk is in your mind, the views will be in your mind, your support will be in the weather and those you meet along the way.

Sorry this appears to be a bit too zen but I think you are asking some very odd questions. Did you ever read "Pilgrims Progress" at school?

The path to Santiago starts from all over, but physically there are paths from Italy, France, Germany, Uk