How will you do the Camino – updated May 2025

How will you do the Camino?

Once you decide you want to go on the Camino, you need to start making other decisions.

The first one:

¿Cómo vas a hacer el Camino? (How are you going to do the Camino?)

Before we go on, let me remind you what I said in the intro post about travel vocabulary guides: I don’t like them because they don’t tell how to pronounce the words. And I don’t want to be like them, so keep reading till the end of this post if you want to learn how to pronounce the Camino vocabulary you’ll find in this article.

Going back to the question “how will you do the Camino?”, most people do it a pie (on foot, walking). But that’s not the only way that is allowed if you want to get a Compostela when you reach Santiago.

According to the pilgrim’s office website, you can also do it en bici (cycling), a caballo (on horseback) or you could even sail part of it and walk from the port where you disembark. 

What is a Compostela and how to get it

A Compostela is a certificate issued by the Santiago cathedral saying that you have completed the pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James on one of the recognized routes.

At the end of 2024, the cathedral announced changes to the requirements to get a Compostela. 

You’ll find all the info on their website, but here’s a summary:

(Get this episode’s transcript for free here)

According to the pilgrim’s office website, in order to obtain a Compostela, you must walk “at least 100 continuous kilometers on the same route to Santiago recognized by the International Pilgrim’s Reception Office system. The final stage must include at least, the last one leading into Santiago’s Cathedral”.

“If a pilgrim has already started a route on foot outside Spain along one of the routes recognized by the International Pilgrim’s Reception Office system, the required distance in Spain shall be no less than 70 kilometers”.

There has been some speculation about the meaning of the “last stage”, and whether that last stage must have a specific distance, but it doesn’t seem to be so.

So, you could walk 100 continuous km anywhere along the Camino Francés, or Portugués, or any other route, and  then take a train or bus to the outskirts of Santiago (the airport on the Camino Francés or Milladoiro on the Portugués, for instance) and walk those last couple of kilometres into Santiago.

Same distance applies if you’re horse riding, but if you decide to do the Camino on a bike, then you must cycle at least 200 km in order to qualify for a Compostela. For sailors, the required distance is 100 nautical miles.

The credencial

You’ll need proof that you’ve done all of that.

That’s what the credencial is for. A credencial is like a Camino passport, that’s why many people refer to it as the pilgrim’s passport.You’ll need to get sellos (stamps) on it along the way.

You can get stamps from many places such as bars and cafés, accommodations, churches, town halls or post offices.

You’ll also need a credencial if you’re planning to stay in pilgrim-only hostels, to show that you’re on the way to Santiago.

Have you decided already? ¿Cómo vas a hacer el Camino?

Write your answer, in Spanish, in the comments: Voy a hacer el Camino…

Basic Spanish Camino vocabulary

¡Buen Camino!