STAGES Camino Inglés in five pleasant days

Here is our suggestion on how to break up the Camino Inglés into five very pleasant day treks. Check them out and find out more on how to walk the Camino Inglés in seven short stages

1. Ferrol – Pontedeume 31 kms (can be divided into two stages midway)
2. Pontedeume – Betanzos 20 kms
3. Betanzos – Hospital de Bruma 30 kms (can be divided into two stages midway)
4. Hospital de Bruma – Sigüeiro 24 kms
5. Sigüeiro – Santiago 16 kms
Total distance 121 kms

Some guides suggest starting with the stages Ferrol – Neda – Miño. However, I am glad we did not do that, as you miss out on two interesting and beautiful towns to stay in – Pontedeume and Betanzos.

Ferrol – Pontedeume

First stage 31 kms

Be patient when leaving the outskirts of Ferrol – nature will come to you! About half way there is a café in Neda. To find it: Turn left when in Neda, the café is slightly off the camino. You are probably quite hungry by now, if you started out without food as we did!

Pontedeume has a small charming, old city center and a cozy harbour where the municipal albergue is placed. The town has all the services a pilgrim needs. If you want a shorter stage on this first day, Neda is the place to stop. There is an albergue in Neda.

Pontedeume – Betanzos

Second stage 20 kms

About half way you pass the town of Miño where you find a grocery store but not many other services. If you are in need of trekking gear of some kind, wait until you reach Betanzos – it has a great sports store.

The municipal albergue in Betanzos is really nice and placed in an old, renovated stone house. The city is charming and lively. Find the best restaurants and tapas places well hidden in the narrow streets behind the colonnade on the central plaza.

This is the way from the municipal albergue to the town’s central plaza.

Turn left into the colonnade to find the nice, local spots in the narrow streets:

The best place to enjoy tapas and raciones with the locals

Betanzos – Hospital de Bruma

Third stage 30 kms

It is easy to split this rather long, quiet and demanding stage in two, if you stop over in Presedo. Presedo has an albergue with 16 beds and the restaurant O Meson-Museo Xente no Caminos.

Otherwise this long and hilly stage ends in the tiny hamlet of Hospital de Bruma where the only possibility to eat or buy supplies is the local restaurant.

Enjoy a well-deserved footbath and pedicure after a long day’s walk to the Hospital de Bruma. The elevation profile of this stage equals 136 floors!

Hospital de Bruma – Sigüeiro

Fourth stage 24 kms

A not too demanding day in the woods – a lot walking on larger straight paths compared to the earlier stages. It’s an easy and flat stage with no climbs. In Sigüeiro we found a very charming Moroccan styled albergue – El Albergue de Delia. Unfortunately, the albergue is now closed but there are several other accommodation possibilities in the town.

A home abroad, a loving host and creative interior at El albergue de Delia:

Sigüeiro – Santiago de Compostela

Fifth stage 16 kms

This last stage is not this camino’s most beautiful path as you arrive to Santiago through the industrial areas. But you will get there! And with only 16 kms this last stage gives you the possibility to reach Santiago in time for the pilgrim’s mass at noon, if you leave early.

Countryside meets industrialization and modern living is the title of this last stage of Camino Inglés. Well arrived in Santiago de Compostela, enjoy this bubbly, lively city filled with joyous pilgrims and young students. Be sure to get lost and in love in Santiago’s narrow, old streets and colonnades in the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims before you!