First Stages of the Camino

This route marks the beginning of the Camino Frances. It starts in the French town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port and finishes in Pamplona, known for the famous "Running of the Bulls" festival each July during San Fermin, as described by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises. The path begins with the Route de Napoleon over the Roncesvalles Pass at 1,500 meters, leading into the Basque country. It then continues into the more gentle terrain of Navarra.

This first section of the Camino Portugues Coastal from Porto to Oia takes you along the sealine past beaches and spectacular ocean views on flat boardwalks. It honours historical figures, including the city’s native son and one of the patrons of Portuguese exploration, Henry the Navigator! Following the Camino de Santiago from Porto in Portugal​, you can start by exploring the compact historic city centre with its many cafes, ornate religious buildings and narrow shopping streets. Then walk out past Viana de Castelo and its surrounding beaches and forested hills on the road to Oia.

The first section of the Camino Portugues starts in the capital city of Portugal, Lisbon, and heads north to reach Santarem and its magnificent scenic views over the area. After the urban surrounds at the beginning of the route, the route heads towards a rich agricultural area, often considered as ‘the garden of Portugal’. On this leg, the Camino also coincides with the famous Caminho de Fatima and mainly follows the Tejo River valley. The flat landscape of the area makes it doable for anybody with an average level of fitness.

This first section of the Camino del Norte takes you from the city of San Sebastian to the city of Bilbao. San Sebastian makes a wonderful starting point for the Camino del Norte. Located on the Bay of Biscay in the mountainous Basque Country, San Sebastian is known for its beaches and waterfront promenade. Here you can enjoy world-renowned cuisine as well as the more informal dining experience of pintxos and wine pairings. This route will take you along the coast’s scenic beaches to Bilbao, the capital of Basque culture.

This explores the first section of the Camino Primitivo, or Original Way. Here, you embark from the capital of the Asturias province, Oviedo, and cross the Cantabrian Mountain range. With some steep sections up and down you need to fit for this. But with this great effort comes spectacular views and panoramas over the mountains before descending into the Galician countryside and finishing in the town of Lugo.

This Camino explores the first section of the Camino de Invierno or Winter Way from Ponferrada to Monforte de Lemos. The route begins in Ponferrada and finishes in Monforte de Lemos, traversing initially through the Birezo region of Leon you quickly cross into Galicia and the province of Ourense. Everyday, during your Camino walk, you're guaranteed a high level of comfort and gastronomy. The Camino de Santiago is clearly marked with the scallop shell, showing you the way. This walk can be physically demanding and requires a reasonable level of fitness. However, it's a highly rewarding route that includes numerous cultural highlights and a tremendous feeling of achievement when you receive your Compostela, your Latin certificate of completion, at the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Certificate.

You will be booked into a hotel (en-suite rooms) in the heart of A Coruna, a vibrant coastal city well known for its excellent food, great beaches, historic monuments and culture. Some of the main highlights of the city are the San Anton Castle, the 12th century Church of Santiago (Igrexa de Santiago), the Plaza de Maria Pita, Parque de Los Menhires and the Tower of Hercules.

Starting from Sevilla, in the heart of the southern province of Andalucia, to Monesteria at the gateway of Extremadura, the ‘Scallop Shells’ lead us north towards Santiago. Heading out from the beautiful city of Sevilla, pilgrims will encounter relics of a past in which Iberian and Islamic culture mixed freely, creating a culture, architectural style, and lifestyle unique across all of Spain.

Starting out surrounded by the Auvergne's green, dormant volcanoes, this first section of the Le Puy Camino runs through undulating landscapes. Passing over the Velay massif and the Gévaudan plateau, pilgrims stop in notable regional towns including Sauges before traversing light woodlands and hillside scrub before reaching Aumont-Aubrac, gateway to the mythic Aubrac high plateau.