The rest of this page breaks that down by section, shows the maths so you can use your own stride, and explains how to walk it virtually if Spain is not on this year's calendar.
How long is the Camino de Santiago?
There is no single Camino. The routes to Santiago form a network across Europe. The one most people mean is the Camino Francés, the French Way, which starts at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France, crosses the Pyrenees and runs west across northern Spain.
Our figure of 763.7 km is the sum of the stage distances published by Gronze, a widely used Spanish stage guide, following the Napoleon route over the Col de Lepoeder. Another stage guide runs about 1 to 2% longer. Printed guidebooks quote anything from 770 to 800 km because they follow different variants, so treat every Camino distance, ours included, as plus or minus a few percent.
One practical note: from 1 November to 31 March the Napoleon route over the mountains is officially closed, and pilgrims take the Valcarlos variant instead. It's 23.4 km to Roncesvalles instead of 24.2 km.
How many steps is the Camino, section by section?
Here is the Camino Francés split into the same four sections as in Caravan, with the bonus walk to the coast. Steps assume a 75 cm stride. Days assume 5 km a day, which is about 7,000 steps.
| Section | Distance | Steps (75 cm stride) | Days at 5 km a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Logroño (over the Pyrenees, through Navarre) | 160.5 km (100 mi) | 214,000 | 32 |
| Logroño to Frómista (La Rioja and Burgos) | 185.8 km (115 mi) | 247,700 | 37 |
| Frómista to Ponferrada (the Meseta and the mountains of León) | 214.0 km (133 mi) | 285,300 | 43 |
| Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) | 203.5 km (126 mi) | 271,300 | 41 |
| Saint-Jean to Santiago | 763.8 km (475 mi) | about 1,018,000 | 153 |
| Bonus: Santiago to Fisterra and Muxía | 117.0 km (73 mi) | 156,000 | 23 |
How do I work out the steps for my own stride?
Steps are distance divided by stride length. In metres:
steps = 763,800 ÷ your stride in metres
| Stride | Steps per km | Steps for the Camino Francés |
|---|---|---|
| 65 cm (a shorter stride) | about 1,540 | about 1.18 million |
| 75 cm | about 1,330 | about 1.02 million |
| 85 cm (a longer stride) | about 1,180 | about 0.9 million |
Your iPhone already knows your stride. In the Health app, open Browse, then Mobility, then Walking Step Length. A pilgrim with a heavy pack on a steep climb takes shorter steps than the same person on a city pavement, so the real number on the road would be higher.
How long does it take to walk the Camino?
It depends entirely on how far you walk each day:
- At 5 km a day (about 7,000 steps, a normal day for many people): about 153 days, or five months.
- At 7.5 km a day (about 10,000 steps): about 102 days.
- At 25 km a day, a full day on foot if you walked it in Spain: about 31 days.
The first day is the hardest. From Saint-Jean, at about 170 metres, the path climbs to Orisson at around 800 metres in barely 7.5 km. It tops out at about 1,430 metres at the Col de Lepoeder before dropping to Roncesvalles. Nearly nine centuries ago, the Codex Calixtinus, the 12th-century pilgrims' guide, said that whoever climbs this pass feels they could touch the sky.
What are the stops on the first section?
The section from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Logroño is 160.5 km with 24 stops in Caravan. Some of them:
- Roncesvalles, km 24. It has welcomed pilgrims for nearly 900 years. In 778 Basque warriors ambushed Charlemagne's rearguard in these mountains; legend later turned one of the fallen, Roland, into an epic hero.
- Pamplona, km 66. The Roman general Pompey camped here in the winter of 75 to 74 BC, and the city took his name: Pompaelo.
- Alto del Perdón, km 79.5. A ridge of iron pilgrims and wind turbines, with the inscription "Where the path of the wind crosses the path of the stars".
- Puente la Reina, km 90. An 11th-century queen of Navarre paid for the bridge so pilgrims could cross the Arga. Historians debate which queen. The 12th-century guide says four routes to Santiago join here into one.
- Estella, km 111.5. On a carved capital in the Palace of the Kings of Navarre, Roland battles the giant Ferragut. The sculptor signed it: Martin of Logroño made me.
- Logroño, km 160.5. Over the Ebro into La Rioja, and the end of the first section.
Can I walk the Camino virtually from home?
Yes, and plenty of people do: before a real pilgrimage, after one, or instead of one. The idea is simple: the distance you walk at home is counted against the real route, so you "arrive" in Pamplona when your total reaches 66 km.
That's what Caravan does on iPhone. It reads walking and running distance from Apple Health, which your iPhone records anyway. A camel walks the Camino Francés as you walk. When your distance reaches a real village, you get its postcard, with history checked against at least two sources. At big stops, such as Roncesvalles and Pamplona, you unlock a real treasure from the road's history.
The first section, Saint-Jean to Logroño, is free. Your health data stays on your iPhone. Get Caravan on the App Store.
For the same maths on the other roads, see how long it would take to walk the Silk Road and Route 66's first chapter, stop by stop.