Updates
NEW 2024 EDITIONS NOW AVAILABLE
We continue to inhabit a world where change seems to be the only constant. The number of pilgrims on the caminos continues to increase dramatically with each year, encouraging investment in new infrastructure and the opening of new albergues and other services. However, the economic repercussions of recent years also continues to have an impact and while investment takes place in some areas, in others pilgrim infrastructure and albergues that took decades to put in place are struggling to survive.
In this constantly changing situation we beg your patience and understanding for any updates that may come to us after the books have gone to print or for anything we may have missed. We also trust that despite the inevitability of change the information in our books will be more than ample to guide you to Santiago. Along the way you will meet fellow wanderers and the locals who call this land home. But above all you may meet your Self – and that may make all the difference.
E BOOKS
New 2024 eBook editions are now available for our full guides to the Camino Francés and Camino Portugués. These are available on Apple Books, Kobo, Nook, etc. as well as the Kindle. For best results, including interactive contents pages and live links we recommend the Apple Books/Kobo/Nook versions.
SANTIAGO CITY PLAN
You can download the updated 2024 city plan and accommodation information for Santiago de Compostella here.
CAMINO FRANCÉS
Updated 2024 versions are now available of both the full guide and maps only edition, with eBook versions of the full guide also available on a number of platforms.
As the popularity of the camino Francés continues to grow so too does pressure on the final stages into Santiago. For those seeking a quieter end to their pilgrimage we have created a guide to the Camino de Invierno (The Winter Way). This largely overlooked route allows an alternative ending to the Camino Francés by branching off at Ponferrada and entering Santiago via the stunning Las Medulas (World Heritage Site) and the largest gold mines of the Roman Empire.
CAMINO FRANCÉS: O CEBREIRO – SARRIA – SANTIAGO
For those walking only the final stretch of the Camino Francés we have once again produced a guide to the final 7 stages through Galicia. This guide contains the detailed planning and introductory information but means you do not need to carry the additional weight of the full guide if you plan on only walking the latter stages. Updated 2024 edition now available.
CAMINO PORTUGUÉS
2024 editions of both the full guide and maps only are now available with updated accommodation and route information. Both continue to feature options for the Camino Central, Camino da Costa, Senda Litoral and Variante Espiritual.
Updates to the 2024 edition include:
Stage 1 Lisbon – Alverca do Ribatejo:
A new pedestrian bridge and boardwalk along the Tejo was opened in 2023, this reduces the full stage distance by 7.8km and offers a delightful traffic free alternative. It meanders over the marshland between the estuary and the IC-2. The boardwalk joins the original Trilho Riberinho at Pova de Santa Iria at café Porto de Abrigo. Both routes then continue through the derelict industrial area to Praia dos Pescadores.
Download map: Stage 1 Lisbon – Alverca do Ribatejo.
Senda Litoral: While this alternative path has been included in the guide for some time the popularity of the coastal route and Senda Litoral have inspired us to include more detailed information and directions. If you are travelling with an older guide you can download these new notes for stages 15a to 20a below:
CAMINO INGLÉS
The Camino Inglés continues to be available as a full guide in its own right. Updated 2024 edition expected in the spring this year.
Updates to the 2022/23 edition include:
Ferrol: New Xunta Albergue opened in 2023: Alb. Ferrol Xunta. [60÷3] €10 r/ Estrada Alta, 25. Impressive modern building near the harbour and route starting point equipped with all necessary facilities.
Stage 2 Neda – Pontedueme: Vila do Colo Alb. Natureza de Laraxe Priv.[16÷1] €19 +4 €70 ✆ 981 430 270, Lugar Paraje Peón, 1.
CAMINO FINISTERRE
The only camino to depart from Santiago continues to be available as a full guide. Featuring options to walk the route from Santiago to Finisterre, to continue on to Muxía and to walk the route as a circuit to and from Santiago, a distance qualifying the pilgrim for a compostella. 2022/3 edition continues to be available with an updated 2024 edition expected summer 2024.
CAMINO SANABRÉS & CAMINO DE INVIERNO
This combined edition features two routes. Both being over 100 km, entitle a bona fide pilgrim to a Compostela and both avoid the relative overcrowding of the routes into Santiago via the Camino Francés through Sarria and the Camino Portugués via Vigo or Tui.
The Camino Sanabrés begins in Ourense, which is very accessible with direct rail and bus services every hour throughout the day from Santiago and there also direct bus services from other main cities with airports including Madrid.
The Camino de Invierno (or Winter Way) can be walked as a route in its own right or as an alternative to the crowded final sections of the camino Francés (see Francés updates above).
Updates to the 2022/3 edition
There is a new albergue in Chantada:
•Alb. Dpaso Priv. [28÷2] €19 ✆ 621 262 184. www.dpaso.es r/do Rego, 13.
TITHING
The tithing from royalties of the sale of these guidebooks continues to support various initiatives that seek to preserve the physical and spiritual integrity of the Caminos de Santiago. Thank you for buying these guidebooks that help support and promote the caminos.
PILGRIM STATISTICS 2023
There has been no end to the pattern of increasing pilgrims numbers, with 2023 being yet another record breaking year.
Records held at the pilgrims office in Santiago show that 446,035 pilgrims collected a Compostela in 2023.
The Camino Francés remains the most populous route. With 219,785 pilgrims choosing this path (50% of total pilgrim on all caminos). Of these pilgrims 131,128 (60%) commenced their journey in Sarria and 31,670 (15%) in St Jean Pied de Port.
The Camino Portugués has once again seen a dramatic increase in numbers, making it easily the second most populous path. 141,463 pilgrims walked the Portuguese paths in 2023 (32% of total pilgrims on all caminos). 52,746 (12%) of these pilgrims were found on the Camino da Costa making this coastal route the 3rd most popular camino.
This year Tui overtook Porto as the most popular starting point with 32,855 (25%) of pilgrims commencing their journey here. Porto followed close behind attracting 27,907 pilgrims (21% of those on the camino Portugués).
The Camino Inglés continues to grow in popularity and remains the 4th most popular route attracting 24,092 pilgrims.
It is worth remembering that these figures show only those pilgrims who register for a Compostela in Santiago, as such they represent a bare minimum figure for the true number of pilgrims on the path.