El Camino de Santiago 15 Day Self Guided Bike Tour
Cycling El Camino de Santiago
This epic 14 day Camino bicycle pilgrimage across northern Spain takes you from Pamplona, near the Pyrenees, to the sanctuary at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
"the finest journey in Spain and one of the two or three best in the world." wrote James Michener in his monumental book on Spain, Iberia. For more than a thousand years, since the bones of St. James the Apostle, were reputedly discovered here in 813AD; common people, thieves, beggars, writers, bishops, priests, kings, popes, saints - even Shirley Maclaine - have made this famous pilgrimage. The movement reached its height during the Middle Ages when monasteries, churches and hospitals sprang up all along the way to care for the pilgrims. Many of these remain, wholly or partly, but all of them evoke a powerful feeling of the spirit of the Camino de Santiago. Many pilgrimage routes lead to Santiago, but the most popular and for some the most sacred, is the Camino Francés, along the North of Spain, and that is the route you will follow on this exciting 14 day bicycle journey. |
Day to DayDAY 1 - PAMPLONA
Your trip begins in Pamplona, famous for the running of the bulls during July’s Fiesta de San Fermín, but it's also a very prosperous and tidy city with lots of natural parks and cycle paths. The old part of town, where you’’ll be staying, is lovely to walk through with many medieval churches and narrow streets. DAY 2 - PAMPLONA TO ESTELLA
55 Km / 34 Mi A short warm up ride today from Pamplona into the countryside. On the way, you'll visit the tiny mysterious 12th C Sta. Maria Eunate Church, standing alone in the middle of a corn field. You'll also pass the medieval town of Puente La Reina, the famous meeting point of the 2 main pilgrim routes: the French Camino and the Aragonese Camino. From here onward, most pilgrims followed the same route to Santiago.
DAY 3 - ESTELLA TO LOGROÑO
48 Km / 30 Mi An early start today as you'll need plenty of time to tackle the beautiful, hilly and sparsely settled Navarese and Basque countryside. You’ll spend the night in the city of Logrono the hub of the Rioja wine country.
DAY 4 - LOGROÑO TO SANTO DOMINGO
64 Km / 40 Mi Today you'll visit one of Spain's most important wine producing areas - the fertile valley of the Rioja Alta which produces some of the world's best wines. You’ll cycle through the most famous vineyards and bodegas of the Rioja on the international wine circuit (such as Marques de Riscal housed in a fabulous Frank Gehry architectural masterpiece in El Ciego).
DAY 5 - SANTO DOMINGO TO BURGOS
71 Km / 44 Mi Beautiful riding today over the Montes de Oca (Goose Hills) brings you to the great cathedral city of Burgos and home of Spain's favorite son, El Cid. Along the way you'll pass the sanctuary of San Juan de Ortega rebuilt in the 15thC by Queen Isabel after her prayers there for a child were answered.
DAY 6 - BURGOS TO CARRION
95 Km / 59 Mi Today's ride is one of the longest but one of the most evocative of the “Camino” where you can really get the feel of the centuries of pilgrims before you.
DAY 7 - CARRION TO LEON
104 Km / 65 Mi The longest ride of the trip but fortunately not very hilly. Today's first stop will be in Sahagún, the 7th official stop of the Codex Calixtinus and one of the most famous stops along the way. It was here that King Alfonso VI took refuge at the local monastery and later turned it into the Spanish equivalent of the great Monastery of Cluny in France.
DAY 8 - LEON
The one time capital of Spain and one of its most beautiful cities. Enjoy a day off your bike taking in the sights of this captivating city. DAY 9 - LEON TO ASTORGA
65 Km / 40 Mi An easy ride passing fields of hops along the Obrigo river to Astorga with its flamboyant cathedral and neo gothic Palacio de Gaudi (one of only four Gaudi buildings outside of Catalunya).
DAY 10 - ASTORGA TO CACABELOS
74 Km / 46 Mi Heading into the wilds of the Montes de Leon that separates the provinces of León and Galícia. The way is dotted with many small hamlets - some deserted - containing the ruins of pilgrim hospitals, churches and monasteries. These little villages are almost unchanged since the Middle Ages and, as a consequence, it's here that the "feeling" of the Camino is at its strongest.
DAY 11 - CACABELOS TO O CEBREIRO
38 Km / 24 Mi Onward, along a stretch of the Camino, infamous in medieval times for its bandidos, you have a long climb into the Montes of Galícia before reaching your night's destination, the mystical little hamlet of O Cebreiro, just inside the Galician border.
DAY 12 - O CEBREIRO TO PORTOMARIN
69 Km / 43 Mi A lovely ride through the rolling green hills of the Galician countryside but no long climbs. It’s in these hills that paganism and Christianity most easily intertwine. Witches stirring their brews in misty forests mesh with accounts of miracles performed by St. James.
DAY 13 - PORTOMARIN TO ARZUA
65 Km / 41 Mi Today's ride will be hilly but not mountainous following the actual Camino for much of the way. As we get closer to Santiago, we’ll see more and more pilgrims anxious to reach their final destination just as you are.
DAY 14 - ARZUA TO SANTIAGO
46 Km / 26 Mi Take heart - the end is in sight! Today's ride is a short one in order to give you more time in Santiago. On this day, the Camino is very palpable - you’ll see hundreds of pilgrims all rushing in the same direction and the excitement will be tangible and certainly infectious.
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Outstanding accommodationComfortable accommodations with private, en suite bathrooms ranging from boutique city hotels, country manors, old taverns & converted monasteries - all chosen for the 3 C’s; comfort, charm and convenience to sights. All photos show the actual hotels we use.
Hotel upgrade options are available for this tour. Contact us for more details. |
Exceptional value
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More about the Camino
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When to ride the CaminoGenerally, the most favorable weather conditions are from May to September, while August can get very hot. Find out more about weather here.
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Optional ExtrasDaily Luggage Shuttle
€290 per bag, up to 15kg Bags left daily at reception and collected by 8am. Luggage Transfer from start to final destination €160 per bag, up to 15kg Bags collected from your Pamplona hotel and delivered directly to your hotel in Santiago. Single Supplement €560 per person Extra cost for having a single room to yourself. E-bike Upgrade €275 per bike |
Quality AssuredCould not rate these guys highly enough. They had to put up with endless questioning from our party prior to our arrival, to ensure we were going to be using the correct type of bike and kit etc. Nothing was too much trouble for them. We would have no hesitation in recommending these guys. We enjoyed every minute of our Camino and can't wait for the next one now! |
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Go E-Bike!E-bikes are available as optional upgrades for this tour. Why go electric? If you love cycling but don't like uphills or head winds, electric assisted e-bikes are the way to ride.
Our premium e-bikes feature powerful, German made electric motors and a high capacity battery. Find out more here. |
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