Exploring Galicia on Foot: The Magic of the Camino Inglés
Why the Camino Inglés?
While planning our Via Podiensis walk for fall 2023, we were contacted by our friend Elizabeth, whom we met on our first Camino, the Camino Frances. She mentioned that this trek is about 121 km long; this shorter hike is excellent for someone who wants to complete a Camino in a week and get a Compostela in Santiago. Santiago de Compostela (SdC) is one of our favorite European cities, so we didn’t need any excuse to experience a week in Galicia and a few days in SdC.
We started planning this hike by connecting it to the Via Podiensis we had just completed. After arriving at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, we walked to Irun, Spain, which has an airport serviced by Iberia Airlines. From Irun, Spain, it’s two easy flights into A Coruña. From A Coruña, you could start walking to SdC, but we decided to start in Ferrol, a quick bus ride from A Coruña.
If you are interested in off-the-beaten-path Camino routes, the best high-level trail network daydreaming map we’ve found is the Europa Pilgerwege map, which has reasonable shipping to the US. It’s great for piecing together a trail-sampling journey.
Our Thru-Hiking Style
We prefer a private room with an ensuite or adjacent bathroom for long hikes. We book our accommodations ourselves and in advance. We typically book a three-star hostel, inn, or gîte (Europe uses a 5-star rating system).
We eat meals with food provisioned from our accommodations, grocery stores, restaurants, and markets along the route. We like to eat out several times weekly, selecting small restaurants with food typical of a region. We also enjoy a glass of wine or a beer about once daily.
We carry our kits (15 - 18 lbs each, depending upon daily water needs) and don’t have them sent ahead with a luggage service. We limit our checked luggage to a robust box, which includes our hiking poles, pocket knife, and Leatherman knife.
We like to walk 22 to 28 km (13 to 17 miles) per day. We plan about one rest day a week.
We average €150 per day on this hike for a couple ($80 per person per day). In the fall of 2023, the exchange rate was $1.08 for €1.00. When we list prices for lodging, meals, tours, etc., it is the total for two people.
Including prices, our blog provides valuable information for readers, helping you budget and plan your trips more effectively. It adds transparency, aiding decision-making and allowing readers to assess the affordability of various destinations, accommodations, and activities.
For health insurance, we use expatriate health insurance year-round, which covers us globally and throughout the United States.
For mobile phone coverage and data, we use Google FI. Occasionally, we supplement Google FI with a local SIM card from a cell phone shop.
Our website is ad-free. We may use Amazon affiliate links for some recommendations. We make a small affiliate commission whenever you use these links - at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting our blog!
Resources Used for Planning the Camino Inglés
We used a guidebook by one of our favorite Camino guidebook authors and podcaster, Dave Whitson, as a resource for planning our thru-hike.
Camino Inglés and Ruta do Mar: To Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre from Ferrol, A Coruna or Ribadeo (Cicerone Travel Guides)
The author, Dave Whitson, is a high-school history teacher in Portland, Oregon, and has blogged on caminos and has written a few Camino books. He also has an excellent podcast that featured an episode on the Camino Inglés.
We liked using this guidebook as it features detailed maps (including water stops), alternative routes, lodging at various price points, contact information, and brief overviews of each village and history. The author also provides updates to the book on his website.
Irun, Spain to A Coruña, Spain
21 October 2023. We added this Camino trek to the end of the Via Podiensis. After completing the Via Podiensis in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, we walked to Irun, Spain, on the Voie Nive Bidassoa.
We chose this connector route as flights were easy from Irun to A Coruña, Spain.
We arrived in A Coruña in the early evening, expecting to take a bus downtown. The bus driver was on an unplanned break and said he would not drive the bus again for an hour. We were hungry and tired and opted for a cab ride downtown.
We had an easy check-in to our studio apartment, which was terrific. We washed up and started looking for a dinner place that was not full. The third attempt was the charm, and we had a good dinner at Taberna da Penela, which included 1/2 bottle of Albierino wine, salad, and two monkfish dishes with grilled veggies and potatoes.
Flights: EAS-MAD-LCG. Two economy tickets, including one checked bag each, were €166.28 for two adults. Thirty-minute taxi ride downtown €26.00.
Lodging: NORO Plaza. €90.00
Meals: €64.30
22 October 2023. Rest day in A Coruña while we waited for our friend Elizabeth to arrive. We found some baked items from a bakery down the street and washed and dried three days of clothes in the laundry in the basement of the apartment hotel.
Elizabeth had much better luck catching the bus, and we met her as she arrived downtown.
We celebrated her arrival at NaDo restaurant, which was mentioned in the Michelin guide. We sampled tapas, including empanadas, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts, carne asada, fish with egg, a chocolate tart, and a bottle of Albarino wine.
We walked around town for the afternoon. Elizabeth picked up some groceries for dinner and breakfast.
That evening, we had a “progressive dinner’ with us cooking the first course in our studio apartment and Elizabeth making the entrees in her studio directly below us.
Distance: 10 km
Lodging: NORO Plaza. €90.00. Meals: NaDo €138.00. Other: €6.00 Laundry
Camino Inglés street art, Ferrol, Spain
A Coruña, Spain to Ferrol, Spain
23 October 2023. After leaving our cozy apartment, we walked to the bus station and purchased tickets to Ferrol.
We arrived at midday and walked around Ferrol, exploring the unique street art and graffiti. We stopped by the Ferrol tourism office to get our first stamp on our Camino credential.
We stopped at the Parador for drinks and a light snack, then returned to our hotel for rest and dinner. Dinner at the hotel was a bottle of Rioja wine, grilled vegetables, turbot with salad and potatoes, and a Galician stew of roast beef and fries.
Distance: 15.5 km
Lodging: Gran Hotel de Ferrol €62.73. Meals: €107.90. Other: Two bus tickets. €9.20
Street art, Ferrol, Spain.
Ferrol, Spain to Neda, Spain
24 October 2023. Breakfast was an extensive Galician buffet, with the three of us in hiking gear and about 40 other people in business attire. We took our time as the weather forecast was gloomy, with light rain and a high of 55F.
After our 9:45 departure, we started our trek toward Neda. The people we did meet on our way were friendly, with several “Buen Camino” greetings.
We walked along a bay and then across a bridge on the bay. Some of the walking was adjacent to railroad tracks and under a bridge.
When we arrived at our hotel, it looked like an abandoned luxurious wedding venue with a Tesla charging station and boat docking out front. The building dates from the 17th century and was renovated in 1991 for weddings and corporate events.
Thankfully our hotel was not abandoned, we were simply the last guests for the season. Our hostess got us checked in early, just as the precipitation went from drizzle to a downpour. She called us a taxi, and we made it just in time to have a menu of the day. I ordered the bean and meat soup, and Darren had pork and fries.
After lunch, we spent the rest of the day reading in the hotel library as the rain kept coming.
The chef and his assistant arrived to cook dinner for the three of us. We had pork knuckles, octopus empanadas, shrimp and vegetable tempura, duck stuffed cannolis, and our choice of various ice creams.
Distance: 11.5 km
Lodging: Pazo da Merced €110.00. Meals: €99.00.
Interior hallway, Pazo da Merced, Neda, Spain.
Chapel in Neda, Spain.
Octopus empanada in Galicia.
Neda, Spain to Pontedeume, Spain
25 October 2023. After a generous breakfast of meats, cheeses, brownies, coffee, and fresh orange juice, we departed for Pontedeume on this pleasant Wednesday morning.
Most of the walking was by or near streets. There were no grocery stores or bars open between Neda and Pontedeume. Once we arrived in Pontedeume, we found no restaurants were open as most cater to the summer beach tourist crowd. We did locate a couple of good grocery stores and purchased salads, a melon, gazpacho, vegetables, hummus, and cheese for lunch and dinner.
It started to rain, so we spent the afternoon in our rooms and ate our dinners together outside our rooms as we could not locate any communal space in the building.
Distance: 21 km
Lodging: Albatros €78.00. Meals: €34.00
Camino-themed water station near Pontedeume, Spain.
Pontedeume, Spain to Betanzos, Spain
26 October 2023. The Albatros rooms are adjacent to a coffee shop, and we were pleasantly surprised that breakfast was included in the room price. We watched it rain while we drank our second and third coffees with carrot cake and toast with tomato topping.
The rain transitioned to a drizzle. Soon, we passed several estuaries and some scenic overviews. We stopped at a grocery store in Mino for some empanadas for lunch.
With the inclement weather, we did take a shortcut (the old route just past Mino), which involved a steep climb. It appears as if the route has shifted in the past few years, however we did see several yellow arrow markers on the steep shortcut, indicating that it was the route quite recently.
Unlike Pontedeume, Betanzos was a lively town with many bars and restaurants. After checking in at our hotel, we did laundry and headed out for drinks at Casa do Quiexo.
Dinner was at the restaurant adjacent to our hotel - Comer y Picar. We all ordered the menu and shared octopus, Padron peppers, garlic shrimp, tortillas, bread, veal cheeks, a skate wing, and sparkling water.
After dinner, the three of us went to have a nightcap at Versailles in the Plaza.
Distance: 24 km
Lodging: Portico Hotel €95.00. Meals: €94.25. Other: Laundry €3.00
Darren walking under an Albarino grape trellis in Galicia.
Skate wing at restaurant in Betanzos, Spain.
Betanzos, Spain to Bruma, Spain
27 October 2023. Breakfast was included in our room. We had a delicious Galician breakfast of coffee, fresh orange juice, toast with tomato sauce, and jambon at the Cafe Lonzos. The place was beautifully designed with GenX customers in mind, with a nice stage for live music. The owner and staff were fun and energetic.
By 8:15, we were back on the trail, walking in intermittent rain. We stopped at a bakery for a second breakfast of coffee and tortillas to dry off. As we continued on the trail, we saw many more stone corn cribs called hórreos. They are typically constructed of concrete or granite with wooden, metal, or stone roofs. Originally intended to store grain and keep rats away, many of these hórreos stand empty or are used like storage units on the owner’s property.
We saw eucalyptus harvested in the countryside and passed a few mink farms.
We had a snack inside the bus stop at Leiro. We saw several sheep and some horses in the pastures in the afternoon.
The day's highlight was our mid-afternoon stop at Casa Avelina - Bar Estanco in Herves. Here, the Camino spirit is alive and well. The bar is lively, the staff exudes hospitality, and the sandwiches are giant and delicious - you get to pick the size of your sandwich. If you are lucky, Maria is present and will hug you and help you settle into your table - our table service included footstools for resting our feet. We enjoyed an animated discussion with British expats with Galician ancestry.
After checking in to our Albergue, we had dinner at the only bar in Bruma, Casa Graña. We had a choice between a delicious Galician vegetarian stew, which included eggs on rice, a dish of stewed tomatoes, chicken, and potatoes, or pork with potatoes and rice. We selected all three and sampled them all. Dinner included a bottle of wine and a glass of beer.
Distance: 26 km
Lodging: Albergue San Lorenzo €40.00. Meals: €26.00. Other: Laundry €5.00
Giant sandwich at Casa Avelina on the Camino Inglés near Herves, Spain.
Bruma, Spain to Sigueiro, Spain
28 October 2023. Breakfast was at the bar in Bruma; it included coffee, toast with tomatoes, and jambon. Everyone arrived for breakfast when the bar opened, as the weather forecast was miserable. Galicia was getting hammered by a severe storm, which would last for another three days.
Off we went into the storm. The wind gusted between 20 and 40 miles per hour, and the rain was relentless. It rained all day. There was flooding, and roads were closed. By the end of the day, we were walking in gusts of 50 mph and flooded streets, as the trail was several inches underwater.
When we arrived at A Estreliña, we were soaked. The host provided us with many newspapers to dry our things and a hair dryer.
After our showers, we felt like new people. Darren and Elizabeth grabbed some soup and snacks for a late lunch, and I worked on placing our wet clothes all over the apartment to dry them out.
Dinner was at the bar down the street. We had a wonderful large plate of boiled octopus, homemade tortillas, beer, and wine.
Distance: 30 km
Lodging: A Estreliña €67.50. Meals: €46.88
Art display near Sigueiro, Spain.
Boiled Galician octopus.
Navigating the flooding in Sigueiro, Spain.
Sigueiro, Spain to Santiago de Compostela
29 October 2023. Our lodging included breakfast at the bar down the street. We enjoyed coffee, a large fruit cup, a croissant, toast with tomatoes, and jambon.
We were feeling pretty good in our dry clothes - for 30 minutes - but the pretty blue skies quickly shifted to grey, and the rain began again. Thankfully it lasted only an hour, and we saw a beautiful rainbow by 9:30. We’re glad we did not walk this section on Saturday, as the trail was littered with downed limbs from the storm. It appeared to have been more severe the closer we got to Santiago.
The last day’s walk into Santiago de Compostela on the Camino Ingles is more pleasant than the Camino Frances and Camino Portuguese approach. The only thing it was missing was an open coffee bar. It was Sunday morning, not any Sunday; there was a big marathon and half marathon, with many streets closed.
We arrived in Santiago around 14:00 and had lunch at a cafe. We met Elizabeth’s husband, Bob, who had flown into Santiago de Compostela the day before. We snapped a few photos in front of the Cathedral, but quickly departed due to the large crowds of marathon runners and loud running music.
We stopped by the pilgrim office with our credentials in the middle of the afternoon. Within ten minutes, we had our Compostela certificates.
Dinner was a bottle of Albarino, a Monkfish, croquettes, and cockles. Dessert was a crepe and blue cheese cheesecake.
Distance: 24 km
Lodging: Hotel Rua Villar €138.80. Meals: €109.00. Other: Laundry €11.00, book €16.50, cardboard tube for Compostela.
Rainbow near Santiago de Compostela.
Arriving at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
30 October 2023. Today we walked around Santiago and did some errands, including finding a large box at Zara to serve as our checked luggage. We’ve had great success finding sturdy used boxes from grocery stores or furniture stores to serve as impromptu checked luggage to place our hiking poles, pocket knives, and any last-minute purchases like books or specialty food items in our final destination.
We had a small pizza and salad lunch with our friend Andrea at an Italian restaurant near our hotel.
We spent the rest of the afternoon window shopping. We have a strict souvenir policy while traveling - if you can’t drink, eat, smoke, or read it, we don’t buy it. However, we tried on the new Exos Osprey backpack in a hiking store, and after further research on the bags, we purchased two back in the States for Christmas.
For dinner, we were joined by Elizabeth and Bob for a fantastic meal at ANACO. We chose the menu with wine pairing. The dishes included an amuse-bouche of shrimp on pastry, a croquette, and a portion of fish on a cracker. The menu included fried artichoke hearts, clams, sea bass ceviche, grilled snapper, octopus on kale, mushrooms, and truffle tempura, steak tartare on potato pillows, local chicken, creme brule and ice cream with almond crumble. The staff were enjoying themselves, and as it was a Monday, many guests in the restaurant were chefs or staff from other restaurants, which made the ambiance more lively and interactive.
Distance: 8 km
Lodging: Hotel Rua Villar €138.80. Meals: €168.05. Other: Books and a puzzle €65.45
31 October 2023. At breakfast, I ate some yogurt that seemed a little too warm. Within two hours, I was sick. Thankfully, I felt better by 15:00.
We walked around town, enjoyed the sunny day in Santiago, and stopped by a store featuring items made of chestnuts. The owner spoke to us for almost an hour about chestnut trees, food products, and the role of chestnuts in Galician cuisine.
After the chestnut shop, we stopped to pick up some homemade almond tartas made by cloistered nuns at Monasterio de San Pelyo to take home as unique foodie gifts for the coming holidays.
We picked up some salads and soup in our hotel room for dinner.
Distance: 8.5 km
Lodging: Hotel Rua Villar €138.80. Meals: €17.27. Other: Chesnut flour and almond tartas, €33.00.
Chestnuts in Santiago de Compostela.
Purchasing almond tartas at the Montastario de San Paylo
Santiago de Compostela, Spain to Madrid
1 November 2023. We took a taxi from our hotel to the airport and enjoyed coffee there.
We arrived at the hotel around noon and were able to check in right away. We usually book chain hotels near the airport on our travel days to reduce the hassle on travel day. We hung out in the hotel all day, relaxing and doing some administrative activities, and joined a Zoom call with a friend.
We had two menus for lunch at the hotel, which featured fresh fish. We had a couple of beers and hamburgers at the hotel bar in the evening. All the food we had at this hotel was creative and excellent, unlike our last experience at this hotel in 2021.
Lodging: Hilton Madrid Airport. €0.00 (40,000 Hilton points). Meals at the hotel: €139.50. Other: Taxi, €30.00. Flights: SCQ-MAD. Two economy tickets, including one checked bag each, €233.68 for two adults.
Madrid, Spain to Kansas City, Missouri
2 November 2023. The short shuttle ride from Hilton to the airport was seamless. The airport was not too busy on a Thursday morning. The only delay on the flight was the strong headwinds, which delayed us for two hours. However, we were unconcerned as we’d planned a three-hour layover in Atlanta. We made our connection to MCI just fine.
Lodging: Kansas City Marriott MCI. €0.00 (17,000 Marriott points). Meals: €40.88
Kansas City, Missouri to North Central Kansas
3 November 2023. We live part-time in North Central Kansas, three hours from the MCI airport. We’ve found a travel hack for getting from the airport to my sister’s farm, where we store our vehicle while traveling. In November, the shuttle service we used from MCI Airport to her farm (77 miles one way) was free. After visiting some family for lunch, we returned to our North Central Kansas base by early evening.
Sunset in North Central Kansas.
In Summary
The Camino Inglés is excellent for someone who wants to walk a Camino in under one week, wants a Compostela certificate, and intends to conclude a Camino in Santiago de Compostela. It’s also a great route to experience the rural life of Galicia, to meet the warm and friendly residents of this area of Spain, and to enjoy the excellent hospitality, food, and wine of the region. It’s a great route if you want to avoid the crowds that may be present on the Camino Frances between Sarria and Santiago de Compostela.
The only downside to walking in late October or early November is that the season can be rainy, with intense storms, downpours, and gusty wind. Also, 1 November is a holiday in Spain, so domestic flights and hotels can be a little more expensive than usual, especially if you are connecting in Madrid.
