{"id":31437,"date":"2018-12-17T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-16T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures?p=31437&preview=true&preview_id=31437"},"modified":"2025-03-26T02:14:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T15:14:50","slug":"cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about cycling Spain’s Camino de Santiago"},"content":{"rendered":"

People have been walking the Camino de Santiago trail<\/a> for over 1000 years. But for most of that 1000 years, the walking bit was necessary. Foot-sore pilgrims couldn\u2019t always afford a horse, so they\u2019d plod from their front door to the shrine of Saint James in Galicia (traditionally, the Camino pilgrimage was from wherever you lived all the way to Santiago de Compostela).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obviously we\u2019re not limited to hoofing it anymore, but the tradition stuck, and the vast majority of Camino \u2018pilgrims\u2019 now do the trek on foot. In 2016, over 250,000 people got their Compostela certificates, and 92% of them were walkers.<\/p>\n

But you know what the other 8% did? They cycled.<\/p>\n

Why it\u2019s better to cycle the Camino\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Two

Pedal power on the Camino. Photo by Tono Balaguer<\/p><\/div>\n

Walking the Camino might be special, but it\u2019s not exactly unique. Hundreds of thousands of people do it every year. Cycling the Camino? That\u2019s much rarer.<\/p>\n

Turns out there are also practical benefits to pedal power. Here\u2019s a few reasons you should cycle the Camino de Santiago<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n

1. You get more time<\/h3>\n
\"Roman

Photo by AdrianNunez<\/p><\/div>\n

The big one. Walking means you\u2019ll probably stumble into Palas de Rei, Samos and O Cebreiro towards evening (probably bone-tired and with some truly epic blisters). By cycling, you can speed things up, often arriving at your nightly destination with plenty of time to relax. Take a steamy shower (before the hostel hot water runs out) and have a snooze. Or even better, find yourself a caf\u00e9 in the main square, order a red wine and wait for the pilgrims to come walking in.<\/p>\n

EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF CYCLING ADVENTURES HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

2. It\u2019s easier on your legs<\/h3>\n

Depending on the size of your hamstrings, this one varies from person to person. Cycling the Camino is certainly easier on your joints (for a full fitness breakdown, check our tips below). Cycling uphill might be hard, but trekking 100 kilometres over undulating terrain is tough on knees and ankles. Leave the walking poles at home and let your wheels take the weight instead.<\/p>\n

3. You can explore off the trail<\/h3>\n
\"Houses

Houses along the Old City wall in Astorga. Photo by Marc Venema<\/p><\/div>\n

The Camino is beautiful, but it\u2019s quite linear. Most travellers hit the major towns (Pampolona, Burgos, Leon etc) and pretty much follow the same well-worn path. Because you can cover more ground by cycling, you can branch out, hitting smaller towns that most \u2018pilgrims\u2019 never get to see. Places like the ruined castle of Clavijo (18 kilometres south-west of Logro\u00f1o) or the Santo Domingo de Silos\u00a0monastery near Burgos. Reaching these detours on foot can add days to your trip. On a bike? Maybe a few hours.<\/p>\n

PREFER YOUR ADVENTURES A LITTLE LESS ACTIVE? CHECK OUT OUR SPAIN TOURS HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

4. Cycling helps with overtourism<\/h3>\n

This is an important one. The success of the Camino as a tourist destination is great for the towns along the route, but it\u2019s a little like building a freeway bypass: there are dozens of beautiful, historic towns just off<\/em> the Camino that never see a single tourist dollar. A few extra minutes riding each day lets you stay in unspoiled and uncrowded villages, where your money can really help locals.<\/p>\n

5. You\u2019ll see more Camino<\/h3>\n
\"Hiker

A lone hiker. Photo by Stanislava Karagyozova<\/p><\/div>\n

The ultimate reason to cycle the Camino? You literally get more Camino for your dollar. A walking \u2018pilgrim\u2019 needs to walk a minimum 100 kilometres to get their Compostela certificate, and most people won\u2019t walk much more than that (unless they\u2019re hardcore masochists). To get your cycling certificate, you have to ride a minimum of 200 kilometres. That means you start from further away, in Leon. It\u2019s a more rounded Camino experience, and it spreads the financial impact to where it\u2019s needed most. You still get the beautiful (and very<\/em> popular) towns at the end of the trail, but you\u2019ll also get to see the landscape change.<\/p>\n

SUBSCRIBE TO INTREPID\u2019S NEWSLETTER FOR TRAVEL TIPS, COMPETITIONS, GIVEAWAYS & MORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What you need to know before you cycle <\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. You need to be relatively fit<\/h3>\n
\"A

You might run into some kids along the way. Photo by Tono Balaguer<\/p><\/div>\n

Our Cycle The Camino tour has a physical rating of 4\/5, which means it requires a reasonable level of fitness. Partly this is down to sheer distance: you\u2019re riding 200 kilometres over the course of the journey (the longest day\u2019s ride is about 70 kilometres). You need to be comfortable with sitting in the saddle for between three and five hours every day. If you ride your bike to work, start taking a longer route. Or even better, a route with hills.<\/p>\n

RELATED: WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFORE MY FIRST CYCLING TRIP WITH INTREPID<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

2. Prepare for hills<\/h3>\n
\"Footpath

Photo by Gabor Kovacs Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

Which brings us to Point #2. The Camino is an undulating, hilly, sometimes mountainous trail. Our route starts on the plains outside Leon, which are mostly flat, but soon you\u2019ll be climbing and dipping towards O Cebreiro and the river valleys around Samos. It isn\u2019t a never-ending uphill ascent, but it\u2019s not flat either. The roads also vary between sealed tarmac and unsealed gravel.<\/p>\n

3. What\u2019s the food like?<\/h3>\n
\"A

A quick snack at the pub. Photo by Martina Strihova<\/p><\/div>\n

You\u2019re in northern Spain<\/a>! The food is delicious (we wouldn\u2019t run a dedicated food trip<\/a> up here if there was nothing to eat). You\u2019ll find most towns along the Camino do something called the \u2018Pilgrims Menu\u2019, which usually includes a small bowl of pasta or salad,\u00a0some chicken, fruit and yogurt. It\u2019s quick, easy and delicious (and cuts down on food wastage). Of course, if you\u2019d like to explore, eat garlic wild mushrooms, crush some tapas and drink a few glasses of Tempranillo, that can be arranged too. There\u2019s some good info here<\/a> if you\u2019re looking for specific food tips.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 10 NEW CYCLING TRIPS THAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR TRAVEL RADAR FOR 2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

4. How do I get my bike over there?<\/h3>\n

Like all Intrepid cycling tours, you can either fly your own bike, or just hire one on the ground. Our bikes are all proven brands, well maintained and specifically chosen for Camino conditions. Check out the FAQ on our Cycling Trips page<\/a> for more info.<\/p>\n

Interested in cycling Spain’s Camino de Santiago? Find out more about our 8-day cycling adventure along the famous trail here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feature photo\u00a0by Jeanne Emmel.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walking the Camino de Santiago is special, but it’s not exactly a unique experience. Cycling, on the other hand, gives you a completely different perspective. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15437,"featured_media":31445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[455,1313],"tags":[488,46,29],"class_list":["post-31437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-guides","tag-cycling","tag-europe","tag-spain","ipf_region-spain"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCycling the Camino: Everything You Need to Know | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Walking Spain's Camino de Santiago is special, but it\u2019s not exactly unique. Cycling the trail gives a different perspective. Here's why you should do it instead.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Everything you need to know about cycling Spain's Camino de Santiago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"People have been walking the Camino de Santiago trail for over 1000 years. But for most of that 1000 years, the walking bit was necessary.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Good Times by Intrepid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-16T21:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-25T15:14:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Shackell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Shackell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/\",\"name\":\"Cycling the Camino: Everything You Need to Know | Intrepid Travel Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-16T21:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-25T15:14:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/11d2ea2f248b0acdbd016b63ac622a84\"},\"description\":\"Walking Spain's Camino de Santiago is special, but it\u2019s not exactly unique. Cycling the trail gives a different perspective. Here's why you should do it instead.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"Photo by Jeanne Emmel\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Everything you need to know about cycling Spain’s Camino de Santiago\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/\",\"name\":\"The Good Times by Intrepid\",\"description\":\"adventure news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/11d2ea2f248b0acdbd016b63ac622a84\",\"name\":\"James Shackell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-IMG_1852-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-IMG_1852-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"James Shackell\"},\"description\":\"James Shackell is a freelance journalist with words in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Huff Post, Red Bull, Canadian Traveler and Smith Journal. One day, he\u2019ll be bumped to business class, and you\u2019ll never hear the end of it.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/author\/james-shackell\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cycling the Camino: Everything You Need to Know | Intrepid Travel Blog","description":"Walking Spain's Camino de Santiago is special, but it\u2019s not exactly unique. Cycling the trail gives a different perspective. Here's why you should do it instead.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Everything you need to know about cycling Spain's Camino de Santiago","og_description":"People have been walking the Camino de Santiago trail for over 1000 years. But for most of that 1000 years, the walking bit was necessary.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/","og_site_name":"The Good Times by Intrepid","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/","article_published_time":"2018-12-16T21:30:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-25T15:14:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James Shackell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Intrepid_Travel","twitter_site":"@Intrepid_Travel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Shackell","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/","name":"Cycling the Camino: Everything You Need to Know | Intrepid Travel Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-16T21:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-25T15:14:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/11d2ea2f248b0acdbd016b63ac622a84"},"description":"Walking Spain's Camino de Santiago is special, but it\u2019s not exactly unique. Cycling the trail gives a different perspective. Here's why you should do it instead.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg","width":800,"height":450,"caption":"Photo by Jeanne Emmel"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/cycling-the-camino-de-santiago-spain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Everything you need to know about cycling Spain’s Camino de Santiago"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/","name":"The Good Times by Intrepid","description":"adventure news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/11d2ea2f248b0acdbd016b63ac622a84","name":"James Shackell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-IMG_1852-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-IMG_1852-96x96.jpg","caption":"James Shackell"},"description":"James Shackell is a freelance journalist with words in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Huff Post, Red Bull, Canadian Traveler and Smith Journal. One day, he\u2019ll be bumped to business class, and you\u2019ll never hear the end of it.","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/author\/james-shackell\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_786298498-e1544745055235.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4OQMK-8b3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15437"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31437"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83813,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31437\/revisions\/83813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}