Camino Ingles - your detailed guide 2024 (2024)

The Camino Ingles is one of the shortest Camino de Santiago routes to the tomb of the Apostle St.James in Santiago de Compostela. The route dates back to the 12th century. It was used by the pilgrims who arrived at the Northern Spanish ports and wanted to continue their journey to Santiago. Nowadays most pilgrims start their walk in Ferrol.

The Camino Ingles offers a forest/rural scenery and is one of the quietest routes to walk the last 100 km to Santiago de Compostela. There are significantly fewer pilgrims than on the Camino Frances from Sarria or the Portuguese route from Tui.

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You can find more information on the walking stages, distances, maps, and graphs in our post.

Table of Contents

PDF files for the Camino

To make your planning easier we’ve created these downloadable PDF files.

  • Camino Ingles walking stages PDF
  • Camino Ingles places to stay PDF

GPX tracks of the Camino Ingles

Camino-ingles-day-1-ferrol-nedaDownload

Camino-ingles-day-2-neda-minoDownload

Camino-ingles-day-3-mino-presedoDownload

Camino-ingles-day-4-presedo-sigueiroDownload

Camino-ingles-day-5-sigueiro-santiagoDownload

What is the Camino Ingles?

The Camino Ingles is a multi-day pilgrimage route in Northern Spain. It starts in Ferrol or A Coruña and finishes in Santiago de Compostela. It’s one of the shortest routes – a great one for first-time pilgrims who want to try the Camino de Santiago. The route goes through one Spanish region – Galicia. According to the Pilgrims’ Reception Office in 2023, 24 096 people (5,4% of all pilgrims who arrived in Santiago) completed the Camino Inglés.

The Camino was established as a pilgrimage route in the 12th century when pilgrims from England and Northern European Countries arrived in A Coruña via the sea and continued on foot to Santiago de Compostela.

How long is the route?

The total distance of the English Way from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela is 116 km/72 mi. It takes between 4 and 6 days on average to complete the route depending on your daily distances.

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Where does the Camino Ingles start?

There are two route options on the English Camino:

  • the first starts in Ferrol, the total distance is 116 km/72 mi;
  • the second starts in A Coruña, the total distance is 74 km/46 mi.

We’ve walked only the route from Ferrol, but from what we’ve read the route from A Coruña is not well-marked, it’s tricky to find the way and you have to use GPS navigation sometimes. Both routes join at Hospital de Bruma and continue to Santiago together.

The route from A Coruña is shorter than 100 km/62 mi. The last 100 kilometers to Santiago is the required walking minimum for getting the Compostela. For this reason, pilgrims that start from A Coruña can’t get the Compostela for this route unless they live in A Coruña and walk from there to Santiago or they start their pilgrimage overseas and continue from A Coruña. You’ll need some proof e.g. stamps from local churches on the route.

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A great advantage of this route is its short distance, only 116 km/72 mi, compared to the other Camino routes so you’ll need less than a week to complete it. It means you can reduce your luggage to the minimum.

How difficult is the Camino?

The Camino Ingles is a moderate multi-day trail. It is challenging like any other long-distance route for an inexperienced person. You can make it easier or more difficult by changing your daily distances. If you split the route into 6 stages your average daily distance will be less than 20 km/12,4 mi. If you walk the Camino in fewer days it’ll be more challenging.

If you’re not used to walking or exercising regularly it’s recommended to do some training for the Camino even if it’s just a short route like the Camino Ingles.

Is the route well-marked?

Yes, it’s well-marked. The Camino Ingles is marked with yellow shells and arrows painted on fences, poles, trees, ground, etc. Every 500 m to 1 km you can see milestones indicating the distance left to Santiago de Compostela.

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What to pack for the walk?

Disclosure: Stingy Nomads take part in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you buy something recommended in this post, we may get an affiliate commission — but it never affects your price or what we pick.

We have a detailed Camino de Santiago packing list post where you can find packing tips for men and women for different seasons.

There are no best shoes for the Camino de Santiago, you must wear the right shoes for you, choosing the right footwear can be tricky, in this article we give you some tips based on our hiking experience to help you choose the best footwear for your pilgrimage.

Our favorite kind of footwearfor the Camino de Santiago is hiking shoes.

Wearing the right footwear for the walk is very important. Find out the pros and cons of wearing different types of shoes on the Camino de Santiago.

If you want to know the pros and cons of walking the Camino in different seasons read our post on thebest time to do the Camino de Santiago.

Recommended guidebooks

Luggage transfer service on the Camino Ingles

It’s possible to arrange luggage delivery for every stage of the Camino. You can arrange it before you start walking or along the route. If you use the shuttle service you don’t have to worry about packing your backpack light you can pretty much bring as much stuff as you want.

It works very easily; you leave your luggage at the reception in the morning, and the company picks it up and delivers it to your next accommodation place. Usually, by the time you arrive, your backpack is already there. Correos and Pilbeo offer luggage transfer service on the Camino Ingles. The price is 7 Euros per backpack per stage.

When is the best time for walking?

From our Camino experience in Galicia, you can be lucky or unlucky with the weather regardless of the season, we had some cold and rainy days in June and nice and sunny days in October but in general, it rains a lot here. Summer is the warmest time with the least rain and the sunniest days.

We always try to walk the Camino not in peak season, July, and August as it’s the busiest time. May, June, and September are good months for walking the Camino; warm but not too hot, not too much rain, and not too many people. April and October can be nice if you’re lucky with the weather. If you walk this Camino completely off-season (November – March) you might walk the entire route in the pouring rain.

We walked the Camino Inglés at the end of May – the beginning of June and were very lucky with the weather it was very hot for Galicia, about 30°C, we got light rain only one morning, the rest of the time it was sunny. I must say the year before we walked the Camino Primitivo at about the same time and it was different; cold and rainy for 10 days.

The cost of the Camino Ingles

Accommodation. Public albergues cost 8€ per person. Private albergues/hostels 12-15€ per person. Hotels/guesthouses – from 35€ for a double and 30€ for a single room.

Eating out. Traditional Menu del Día (a set meal with starter, main, bread, drink, dessert, or coffee) is about 12€. A tapa (Tortilla, sandwich, etc.) for 2€. A cup of coffee for 1-2€. Breakfast (Tostada/croissant and coffee) from 3€. Beer/glass of wine – 2€.

Shopping (food). We bought stuff in supermarkets and made our food most of the time, our average shopping bill for two meals (dinner and breakfast) was about 7€ per person. It’s cheaper to make food than to eat out.

Transport. It depends on where you come from. Your transport expenses (to get to Ferrol and back from Santiago) can be between 40 and 80 Euros. Buses from A Coruña (the nearest airport) to Ferrol are 10€ per person. For more information on different transport options go to the paragraph “How to get to Ferrol?“.

Luggage transfer (optional). It usually costs 7 Euros per backpack/suitcase per stage.

Our budget breakdown

5 days, 2 people

We stayed 3 nights in public albergues, 1 night in a hotel, and 1 night in a private albergue. We made food most of the time though one day we had to eat out three times because it was Sunday and all the shops and supermarkets were closed. We often stopped for coffee on average twice a day, and sometimes went out for a beer or a glass of wine.

  • Accommodation – 97€
  • Eating out – 57€
  • Shopping (food) – 62€
  • Coffee – 20€
  • Transport (bus A Coruña – Ferrol) – 16€
  • Laundry – 5€

Total: 257€ or 25€ per person per day

We have a detailed post on the cost of walking the Camino de Santiago where you can find a lot of practical information and tips for planning your Camino budget.

What is the accommodation like on the Camino?

There are different accommodation options on the route from public and private albergues (the cheapest options) to hotels. Which one to choose depends on your budget and preferences. This Camino is quite short even if you stay in a private room every night it won’t ruin your budget. On longer Camino routes we book a private room every once in a while.

Public albergues are exclusively for pilgrims who walk or cycle the Camino Ingles. Having a credential is a requirement for staying there. The price is 10 euros per bed (there are some for 7 or 8 euros). Private albergues are more like hostels anybody can stay there; usually, there are mostly pilgrims. Private albergues are more expensive – 15 euros per person but normally have better facilities and are more comfortable.

Comparing public and private albergues on the Camino

FeaturesPublic alberguesPrivate albergues
Only for pilgrimsyesno
The Credential is requiredyesno
Can be bookednoyes
Accept luggage deliverynoyes
Price10 Euro12-15 Euro
Accept credit cardsnousually
Facilities
Hot showeryesyes
Kitchenyesusually
Wi-fisometimesyes
Blanketssometimesusually
Washing machinesometimesusually

Where to find public albergues on the Camino Ingles?

Km 0
Ferrol
Km 14
Neda
Km 28
Pontedeume
Km 40
Miño
Km 51
Betanzos
Km 63
Presedo
Km 76
Hospital de Bruma
Km 86
O Outeiro
Km 116
Santiago de Compostela

How to get to the Camino Ingles?

Most people start the walk in Ferrol. It is a nice coastal city with a beautiful historical center and a charming harbor if you have time you can stay for an extra day to see more of it.

You can get to A Coruña or Ferrol from several Spanish cities. If you come from overseas the best option is to fly to Madrid and take a bus/train or fly to Ferrol.

There is no airport in Ferrol. The nearest airports are in A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela. You can fly to one of them and take a bus/train to Ferrol. A Coruña is a better option because it’s closer to Ferrol and easier to get there.

From A Coruña there are many buses to Ferrol they leave every hour or so. The journey takes about 1 hour, the price is 10€ per person. Tickets can be purchased at the bus station before departure. All buses leave and arrive at the same bus terminal in A Coruña it’s easy to switch buses there.

From Santiago de Compostela there is one direct train to Ferrol and a couple of trains with a connection in A Coruña. The direct train takes 2 hours, the price is 21 Euro.

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Getting to Ferrol from Madrid

If you want to take a bus from Madrid there is a night direct bus to Ferrol that departs from Barajas Airport T4.

MadridFlightTrainBus
Daily departures6+ direct flights to A Coruña
6+ direct flights to Santiago de Compostela
2 direct trains to Ferrol4+ direct buses to Ferrol
StationBarajas AirportMadrid ChamartínEstación Sur
Barajas Airport T4*
Travel time1h20min.7h30min.7-8 hours
Pricefrom 30 Eurofrom 35 Eurofrom 22 Euro
CompanyIberia, Ryanair, AirEuropaRENFEALSA

Getting to Ferrol from Barcelona

The best way of getting to Ferrol from Barcelona is to fly to A Coruña or Santiago de Compostela. It’s possible to get there by train but it’s a very long and exhausting journey. There is no train to Ferrol, you’ll have to take a train to Santiago. We did the trip once and it took us about 15 hours by train to get from Santiago to Barcelona. There are buses but they take just as long as trains.

BarcelonaFlight
Daily departures3 direct flights to A Coruña
3 direct flights to Santiago de Compostela
StationEl Prat Airport
Travel time1h50min.
Pricefrom 30 Euro
CompanyVueling

Where to get a pilgrim’s passport in Ferrol?

  • You can get a Credential (Pilgrim’s Passport) at the Church of San Julian (Co-Catedral de Ferrol) in Ferrol. It’s open daily from 10.30 am to 1 pm and from 5.30 pm to 7 pm (on Sundays only in the morning).
  • At the Officina Municipal de Turismo y de Atencion al Peregrino at Paseo da Mariña, near the starting point of the Camino Ingles. It’s open from 8 am to 1 pm (every day) and from 5 pm to 7 pm (only Sat. and Sun).
  • At La Domus (the bishop residency) in Ferrol at Miramar Street in the morning.

What are the highlights of the Camino Ingles?

  • Ferrol is a nice port town with a beautiful harbour and historical center.
  • Pontedeume is our favorite town on the Camino Ingles. It’s small and charming with many restaurants and bars on the main square.
  • A beautiful Galician forest on the way from Sigüeiro to Santiago.

Where to stay in Ferrol?

There is a public albergue in Ferrol near the port. It’s quite big and considering the number of pilgrims on the Camino Ingles you’re very likely to get a bed there.

You can stay in a private room as well. We stayed at Hotel Almendra, about 700 m from the bus station and 1 km from the port. The place was nice and clean, close to the restaurants and shops. The owners are very nice and friendly people.

More accommodation options in Ferrol

Planning resources for the Camino Ingles

  • The English Way of St.James – walking stages
  • Packing list for the Camino de Santiago
  • Best places to stay in Santiago de Compostela
  • Things to do in Santiago de Compostela

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Alya

The pretty half of Stingy Nomads, responsible for all our land adventures (hiking, climbing, walking the Camino) and following them write-ups. Alya loves walking since she was a child, she prefers to walk 1000 km with a backpack rather than to do a 10 000 km road trip (actually any road trip). Alya is a big fan of Latin America, the Spanish language, and dancing. Every time we go away she desperately misses our dog Chile.

Camino Ingles - your detailed guide 2024 (2024)

FAQs

What is the best guide for the Camino Inglés? ›

John Brierley's 'A Pilgrims guide to the Camino Ingles"

This is the only guidebook covering this short route to Santiago de Compostela: the Camino Ingles, The English Way, also known as the Celtic Camino. It covers the route from Ferrol and A Caruna.

What is the best time of year to walk the Camino Inglés? ›

May and September are high seasons on the Camino. June: It's ideal weather for walking, not too hot (20-30 C) and occassional light rain. There are not too many pilgrims along the way!

Is the Camino Inglés worth it? ›

I am asked this question a lot by people wanting to walk the English Way and the answer is yes, of course. Its a perfect beginner camino for new Pilgrims.

How long does it take to walk Camino de Ingles? ›

The Camino Inglés is also known as the English Way, as it was a popular route for British and Irish pilgrims who arrived by sea to the port of Ferrol. The Camino Inglés is a relatively short Camino route, with a distance of about 120 kilometers (75 miles), and it typically takes 4-6 days to complete on foot.

How far in advance should I book Camino? ›

If you know you would like to cycle the Camino or walk the Camino on specific days, we recommend you book as soon as you can. Allowing at least six to twelve months will be ideal, particularly if you want to travel in busy holiday periods, such as Easter, St James Day, or popular walking months.

What is the hardest part of the Camino? ›

The main physical challenges are the multiple days walking; even fit people will hit the 'wall' at some stage. The hardest day of the Camino is on the first day of the French Way, where you have to cross the great mountain range of the Pyrenees over the Napoleon Pass.

What is the most scenic Camino walk? ›

Camino Primitivo: the oldest Camino

For many experienced pilgrims, this is one of the most stunning Camino routes but also one of the most testing ones, as the first stretch from Oviedo takes pilgrims across the Cantabrian mountain range.

What is the average cost to walk the Camino? ›

Total Trip Costs

Most pilgrim budgets fall in the $30-60 (€25-50) per day range, meaning a 30-day walk would cost $900-1800 (€750-1500). If you don't already have hiking gear, new gear could easily cost $300-600 (€250-500) if you need to get new footwear, backpack and sleeping bag.

What is the average age on the Camino? ›

The average age of Pilgrims walking El Camino de Santiago is between 30 and 60 with nearly 60% of Pilgrims finishing the Camino being in this age group. There are also 15% of Pilgrims being over 60 years old and this is a growing group with more and more seniors walking the Camino de Santiago.

What is the best Camino route for beginners? ›

Camino Francés: A Beginner's Favourite

The Camino Francés often stands out as a top recommendation when talking about beginner-friendly routes. This route starts in St. Jean Pied de Port in France and spans 800 km, crossing over to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Is the Camino in English safe? ›

Along the Camino, you will meet different pilgrims, each with their own story and personal experience and perception of the Camino. If what worries you is the safety of the Camino or the possibility of any mishap, you can rest assured as the Camino Inglés is a completely safe option.

Is Camino Inglés beautiful? ›

It traverses through beautiful rural landscapes, tranquil woodlands, and quaint villages, all leading to the spiritual epicentre of Santiago de Compostela. Being less crowded, it provides a more solitary, intimate experience.

How fit do you have to be to walk the Camino? ›

The Camino is doable for just about anyone; it all depends on your fitness level and the route you are taking. Some Camino routes are suitable for shorter walking days as they have less challenging terrain and are a little easier on the feet.

Can I walk the Camino alone? ›

Walking the Camino de Santiago alone is generally considered safe, and many solo travellers embark on this journey each year. The Camino is well-trodden and marked, leading through a mixture of rural paths and small towns, and is frequented by a diverse community of pilgrims.

How do I get to the start of Camino Inglés? ›

Camino Inglés has two arrival points: Ferrol and A Coruña – both on the northern coast of Spain. From Ferrol there is around 121 kms and from A Coruña it is around 90 kms south to the reach the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela. The easiest I think is to fly via London to Santiago de Compostela and then to Ferrol.

What are the best months to walk the Camino? ›

May-June and Sep are the best time to walk the Camino de Santiago, as the weather is lovely, downpours less likely, and you'll have plenty of company along the way – but it won't be quite as crowded.

Do you need a guide for Camino de Santiago? ›

Independent travellers along the Camino de Santiago do everything on their own. They secure their own transport, accommodations and meals, as well as plan the actual hike and route segments on their own. It isn't a difficult thing to do.

How fit do you need to be to do the Camino? ›

The Camino is not a race and you don't need to be working out. In the build-up to your walk, start gradually increasing the distance you walk each day, as well as varying the terrain you cover. This will greatly improve your stamina.

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