Walk the Camino de Santiago

from Pamplona to Santo Domingo, Spain - October 2024

 

Join us for a guided journey:
September 26 to October 5, 2024

We are again offering this walk along the Camino starting in Pamplona in 2024. This is our favorite stretch in Spain and is especially good for those walking on the Camino for the first time.

For over 1,000 years pilgrims have walked the Camino from the French side of the Pyrenees across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, near Spain’s western coast. While the path was originally for the deeply religious, today there are as many different reasons to walk as there are pilgrims.

Each day, you’ll follow a guide who will offer more context about the history of the Camino, Spanish culture, and tips & tricks for long-distance walking. The reward for a long day on your feet is indulging in delicious tapas and drinking local wine. We’ll spend the night in both small towns and small cities at comfortable hotels with private rooms and bathrooms. While most pilgrims sleep in dormitories, we prefer to have a hot shower and soft bed waiting for us each night in private rooms with private bathrooms.

From Pamplona to Santo Domingo

This walking tour will introduce you to the Camino by guiding you westward for 10 days, starting in Pamplona near the Camino’s start. To enable you to focus on your walking and the lovely scenery along the way, we have organized your lodging and planned your meals – and we will transport your bags each day to ease your load.  Plus, we pick you up and drop you off at the airport to make your travels simple and easy.

The adventure starts in Pamplona a fascinating, small Spanish city. While no bulls will be running in the streets in April, Pamplona offers much to see. And we’ll plan a training hike around the city to ensure everyone is ready to begin on the Camino.

Over the following days, you can walk as much or as little as you would like. We can help you select the prettiest 5 mile section, or you can walk onward to the day’s endpoint which will normally be 10-15 miles. The decision is yours, and you can naturally decide along the way based on how you feel. Our van will be always available to coordinate snacks and lunch and we can pickup anyone, at any point, who has walked far enough for the day.

The entire Camino is nearly 500 miles and takes about 35 days. After your 10 days walking with us, you are free to continue further on your own, or you may wish to return in future years to tackle additional portions of the Camino.

Cicely walking from Pamplona to Santo Domingo
Absolutely fabulous trip. well-planned, from accommodations to meals and the walking itinerary. Cicely and Bob are a phenomenal duo, and I would travel with them again in a heartbeat!
— Ellen C.
Route markets for El Camino

The Route

We will meet you at the Pamplona airport and continue into Pamplona, a wonderful northern Spanish city with a great tapas scene for the evening.

Then we will set off on the path, covering approximately 10 miles a day (although you can do less or more, depending on your preferences).

Our experience has shown that 10 miles is a reasonable daily goal for most people. For anyone who decides they would like to do less, our van can easily pick you up and deliver you to the day’s endpoint. We will equip a number of walkers with mobile phones so you can always be in touch with the van. For those who would like to walk further, there are often side-routes and additional places to explore. Likewise, you can also cover more ground if you wish.

The route is mostly comprised of back roads, paths, and rarely through large urban areas. You’ll see local flora and fauna, be able to stop and take pictures, and consider life’s big questions through mindful reflection.

Our driver and van will setup a picnic lunch for you each day. And the van will transport your bags, so all you’ll need to carry is a simple day pack.

There are many places online to learn more about walking the Camino (and don’t forget to check out the YouTube videos and our Instagram page).  A more detailed itinerary will be available after you register. Our end point is Santo Domingo de la Calzada, just east of Burgos.

Your Guide

Your guide on this walking trip will be Betsy Bates of Dummerston, VT, who led this group for Travel Fever Tours in 2019. Betsy has long experience leading hiking and biking trips in Europe and the US and has previously walked the full length of the Camino in Spain.

Betsy led biking tours for Vermont Bicycle Tours for 20 years. She currently leads hiking tours to Iceland for Road Scholars. In addition, she has taught both downhill and cross-country skiing for many years and leads wine, cheese and snowshoe tours during the winter months.

Betsy will be assisted by Bob Lawson, co-founder of Travel Fever Tours, who has covered this section of the Camino five times. Bob is in charge of driving the van and finding the best spots for picnic lunches.

Betsy Bates Portrait

Trip Details

(Click + to expand)

  • September 26 to October 5, 2024 (9 nights - 10 Days)

  • Total cost of the tour: $3650

    Supplement for single occupancy: $450

    Deposit required to reserve a place on the tour: $350

    (Places in the tour are limited to 12 and are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We recommend that you reserve your place early, as the alps are a popular trip and so is expected to sell out.)

    Payment schedule

    $350 deposit. The deposit is refundable through June 1, 2024..

    $1650 initial payment (Due June 1, 2024)

    $1650 final payment (Due August 1, 2024)

    All payments are refundable if we need to cancel the trip due to government restrictions or unsafe travel conditions.

    ** Earn a $300 discount when you bring or refer a friend.

  • Pickup and drop-off at designated airport

    Guided walking along the Camino with experienced guide

    9 nights lodging

    9 dinners, lunches and breakfasts, with appropriate amounts of beer or local wine

    Local transportation by van and driver

    What’s not included:

    Airfare & Travel Insurance

    Admission to museums and local sites and other misc. costs.

  • Lodging will be at small hotels along the route. Unlike other tours that ferry you back and forth from central hotels, we stay directly on the route in a new and interesting town each night. Each room, either single or double, has its own bathroom.

  • Traditional Spanish breakfasts to be taken at your hotels each morning.

    Lunch will normally be a picnic along the route.

    Dinner will be at restaurants found in the towns where we stay each evening with the exception of Logrono where we will feast on tapas.

  • At the start or end of the trip, participants may opt to visit nearby locations, such as Bilbao, or travel on to Madrid or even Barcelona by train. A few days in Spain before the walk begins is definitely suggested. These trip extensions are up to trip participants to organize, but Travel Fever Tours can make recommendations where to go and how to arrive at your desired destination.

  • Your deposit is non-refundable after June 1, 2024, unless of course the trip is canceled for any reason by Travel Fever Tours. Natural disasters, political instability or low enrollment would form the basis for canceling a trip. You will be contacted once the trip reaches minimum enrollment so that you can proceed with purchase of your flights and make other travel arrangements. In all cases, review of enrollment numbers will not take place any later than the date of the First Installment payment.