Camino Francés:
Group Tour 1 – Pamplona
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port ⇒ Nájera
We start this tour on the French side of the Pyrenees in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. It takes you up the magnificent mountain range to Burguete, where Ernest Hemingway once sat down to write parts of his novel The Sun Also Rises and to Pamplona, famous for its festival San Fermín and the run of the bulls. Through vineyards, we pilgrimage to Nájera, the last stage of this journey.
Tour Type: Group Tour
Date: September 06 – September 16, 2024 *
Duration: 11 Days Total / 10 Days Walking
Total Distance: 191 km. (119 mi.)
Difficulty: moderate
Average distance: 19.1 km. (11.9 mi.) / Day
Prices (per person):
Double Room: € 1.280
Single-Occupancy Room: € 1.610
“Half Double Room” Surcharge *: € 165
What’s Included:
Transfer from the airport to the starting point of the Camino and back*
10 nights in double/single rooms
Halfboard*
Experienced german and english-speaking tour guide*
Luggage transfer*
Assistance vehicle
Pilgrim folder, pilgrim passport and travel security insurance
Optional Add-ons:
Lodging for additional night(s) stays
What’s not Included:
Flights*
Lunch
Travel insurance*
* More information ⇒
This tour is an international tour and is designed to reflect the cultural diversity of the Camino Francés. It is accompanied by the tour guide in both German and English.
“Half Double Room“ Surcharge: For people who register alone and book a double room, we apply a surcharge (“half double room”). If there is no other person of the same gender for the second spot in the double room, the person gets a single room and we apply the above-mentioned surcharge. If a second person registers for the double room, this surcharge not longer applies.
Transfer airport – Camino: Transfer from Bilbao Airport at the starting date of your pilgrimage on the day of arrival and transfer from the Camino to Bilbao Airport on the day of departure. We specify an window of possible time of arrival (and departure time) at one of the main airports for the Camino. You travel independently until this time and we organize the transfer to the Camino (and/or back).
Half board: Meals generally start with dinner on the day of arrival and end with breakfast on the day of departure. Exceptions: Meals on rest days in Burgos (Tour 2), León (Tour 3), and Finisterre (Tour 5) are not included in the tour price and are self-organized. Meals on Tour 4 (Santiago) , Tour Sarria, Tour Inglés and Tour Portgués Coastal (Porto) end with dinner on the arrival day in Santiago. Our Tour Portugués Costal (Porto) begins with breakfast on the first walking day.
Tour guide: No assistance provided by the tour guide on rest days and free days. The tour guide does not walk with pilgrims on the Camino on walking days, but organizes luggage transfers and remains available with the assistance vehicle in case of emergencies.
Luggage transfer: 1 piece of luggage, max. weight 15 kg/30 lb. Dimensions: Max. height: 70 cm/28 in; max. width and depth: 85 cm/33 in
Flights: We do not book flights, nor organize any rail or commercial bus-line travel. However, if you need assistance in deciding how to get to and back from your Camino Tour, we will be happy to assist you with tips and ideas!
Travel insurance: We strongly recommend to all our travelers to get a Travel Insurance; however, we do not sell any such policies. For our international clients, it is best to get a policy in their country of residence, as some countries offer insurances only to their own residents.
Highlights
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, located on the French side of the Pyrenees, is the starting point of this pilgrimage tour. Many “modern” pilgrims start their pilgrimage in this beautifully decorated little town. The first day takes us into the magnificent mountain range that is the Pyrenees. After a steep but quite short ascent on the very first day, we spend the night in Huntto in a remote farmhouse, rebuilt and situated in the mountains. This stay facilitates the otherwise very strenuous crossing of the Pyrenees over the Lepoeder Pass
Read More about this tour ⇒
The next day, the Route Napoleon takes us further along the Way of Saint James towards Spain. Between mountain meadows, where semiwild sheep and horses inhabit, we continue ascending to almost reach the highest point where the Spanish border is crossed. The Spanish province Navarra welcomes us with lonely trails winding through mountainous forests and often seemingly disappearing into the mist of the clouds. Passing the ancient monastery of the Augustinian order in Roncesvalles, we reach Burguete, where we spend the night in the same hotel Ernest Hemingway once sat down to write parts of his novel The Sun Also Rises and immortalized himself on the house piano with an engraved “autograph.”
Through the now less steep Pyrenees, the Camino passes many small mountain villages in the following two days and descends to Pamplona. The capital of the province Navarra gained world fame for its festival San Fermín and the run of the bulls, a stop on our pilgrimage route. With our accommodation in the historic old town as a starting point, the city invites us to wander through the old and new Pamplona or enjoy the afternoon in a sidewalk cafe watching other pilgrims on their Camino through the city.
In the following days, the landscape becomes flatter and the villages and towns more medieval. Over the Pass of Forgiveness (Puerto del Perdón), we continue until we reach Puente la Reina, where the Navarrese Camino joins the Camino from Aragón. Since the Middle Ages, all the Caminos have joined together here to form the “one” Camino Francés (French Way).
After stopping in Estella, which already impressed pilgrims with its abundance of churches and monasteries five hundred years ago, we enter the province La Rioja. Through vineyards, which have made this region famous not only in Spain, we pilgrimage to Nájera, the last stage of this journey.
Approximately 191 kilometers/119 miles
Upon request, we can book a free overnight stay in Bilbao, so that you can explore the city on your own. On the next day (the actual start of the trip), please, return independently and on time to Bilbao Airport to meet your tour guide and group. When registering, inform us if you choose this option.
Impressions from the Camino
itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Bilbao – Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port – Huntto
Arrival at Bilbao Airport and transfer to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (approximately 200 kilometers/124 miles). Have pilgrim passports issued at the pilgrim’s office. Short welcome meeting before we lace up our boots for our first short hike to Huntto (5.2 kilometers/3.2 miles up the Pyrenees). Accommodation in a former farmhouse.
Day 1: Arrival in Bilbao – Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port – Huntto
Arrival at Bilbao Airport and transfer to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (approximately 200 kilometers/124 miles). Have pilgrim passports issued at the pilgrim’s office. Short welcome meeting before we lace up our boots for our first short hike to Huntto (5.2 kilometers/3.2 miles up the Pyrenees). Accommodation in a former farmhouse.
Day 2: Huntto - Burguete
Today, as on every pilgrimage day, we offer a spiritual start. This short introduction to the day is, of course, optional. We hike over the Pyrenean pass to Burguete (Route Napoleon). Accommodation in Burguete in the same hotel Hemingway once stayed and wrote parts of his book The Sun Also Rises.
(22.9 km/14.2 mi – Difficult)
Day 3: Burguete - Zubiri
The Camino takes us over the Erro-Pass into the beautiful scenery of Navarra. We pass the Rabies Bridge and continue to Zubiri.
(18.9 km/11.7 mi – Difficult at the end)
Day 4: Zubiri - Pamplona
Hike to Pamplona, the capital of Navarra. We leave the last foothills of the Pyrenees and things start to become more “urban.”
(20.2 km/12.6 mi – Easy)
Day 5: Pamplona - (Eunate) - Puente la Reina
Over the Hill of Forgiveness (Puerto del Perdón) and past the impressive pilgrim monument, we reach Puente La Reina. The sturdy and determined among us may choose the alternative route through Saint Mary of Eunate, walking an extra 3 kilometers/2 miles.
(22.5 km/25.5 km; 14 mi/15.8 mi – Moderate)
Day 6: Puente la Reina - Estella
Through pretty villages and hills on the Camino, we arrive in the little town of Estella.
(22.8 km/14.2 mi – Moderately difficult)
Day 7: Estella - Los Arcos
We pass the famous Fuente del Vino (fountain of wine) and carry on via Villamayor Monjadín towards Los Arcos, the city of arches.
(21.6 km/13.4 mi – A bit difficult at the beginning)
Day 8: Los Arcos - Viana
Pilgrimage on the Camino via Torres del Rio, with its noteworthy chapel Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro, to Viana. There is enough time to visit another charming town located on the Way.
(18.3 km/11.4 mi– Easy)
Day 9: Viana - Logroño - Navarrete
Hike through Logroño, capital of famous wine province La Rioja, we end this day in Navarrete.
(22 km/13.7 mi – Easy)
Day 10: Navarrete - Nájera
Short hike to Nájera, including the option to visit the picturesque village of Ventosa for a lunch break. (16.7 km/10.4 mi– Easy)
Day 11: Nájera - Bilbao – Return Flight
Transfer from Bilbao to the airport (approximately 180 kilometers/112 miles) and independent journey home. Alternatively, you can continue the Camino with Tour 2 – Burgos.
Program subject to change
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Tour Combination Options
Our Camino Francés: Group Tour 1 can be easily combined with:
Camino Francés:
Group Tour 2
Nájera ⇒ Calzadilla de la Cueza