Travel information

How to get to your starting point

Most Caminos start in or near a city with an airport. From there, you take the train or the bus to the starting point of your route. Below you'll find what you need to know for each type of transport.

Flying

Choose your departure airport and your destination. Useful airports for each route:

Portugal

• Porto (OPO): the Caminho Português Central and da Costa from Porto, and a good place to travel on to Braga or Ponte de Lima
• Lisbon (LIS): the Central from Lisbon, and the Fishermen's Trail (by bus to Porto Covo)
• Faro (FAO): the Caminho Nascente (by train to Tavira)

Spain

• Biarritz (BIQ): for Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the start of the Camino Francés (by train via Bayonne), and for Irún at the start of the Camino del Norte
• Bilbao (BIO): the Camino del Norte, and by bus to Pamplona
• Madrid (MAD): by train or bus to Pamplona, Salamanca (Camino de Torres) and Sarria, among others
• Barcelona (BCN): for the routes that start in Catalonia
• Oviedo (OVD): the Camino Primitivo
• A Coruña (LCG): the Camino Inglés
• Seville (SVQ): the Vía de la Plata
• Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) and Vigo (VGO): for Sarria, for the routes in Galicia, and for your journey home

By bus

For many pilgrims, the bus is the easiest way to get to the start, and to travel home again. In Spain, ALSA runs most long-distance routes, including to Pamplona, Oviedo and Santiago. Within Galicia, Monbus is the main operator, including to Sarria and Fisterra. Many buses run between Porto and Santiago every day, and some of them also stop at Porto airport. In Portugal, Rede Expressos is the main operator.

By train

In Spain, Renfe runs fast trains between the big cities and regional trains, for example to Sarria. In Portugal, CP runs the trains, including between Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto and the Algarve. The Celta train runs twice a day between Porto and Vigo: you buy tickets for it through Renfe, and you need to bring them with you printed out. A French regional train runs to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port from Bayonne; you book it with SNCF.

Getting home from Santiago

From Santiago you can fly directly to many European cities, or you can take the bus or the train to a larger airport, such as Porto, Madrid or A Coruña. When you book your return flight, allow an extra day: many pilgrims want to stay on in Santiago for a day after arriving.

Travel insurance

First check what you already have. If you come from an EU country, you have the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), and many people have an annual travel insurance policy. Check that walking and a journey home in case of illness are covered. If you don't have anything yet, you can take out travel insurance below.

Affiliate link. Read the terms carefully: are hiking and repatriation covered?