How Long Is the Camino de Santiago? Distance and Days on the Camino Francés
Published November 6, 2026
The Camino Francés, the classic route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago de Compostela, is 775 km (482 mi) long by the stages Eroski Consumer publishes. At the Xunta de Galicia’s average of about 20 km (12 mi) a day, that is about 39 walking days. Here are the distances, the time it takes at your own pace, the longest stages, and the shortest walk that earns a Compostela.
How long is the Camino de Santiago: 775 km (482 mi) on the Camino Francés
The Camino de Santiago is a network of routes that all end in Santiago de Compostela. This article measures the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the route of Bardy’s Camino de Santiago page. Eroski Consumer, which publishes a guide page for each stage, cuts it into 31 stages: by Bardy’s sum, they add up to 775.3 km (481.7 mi). Its last stage page says “after 755 km made” (469 mi), and the gap is not explained.
The stages run from 18.3 km (11.4 mi) to 37.1 km (23.1 mi), 25 km (15.5 mi) on average; 3 of them are 30 km (19 mi) or longer. The three longest: El Burgo Ranero → León, 37.1 km (23.1 mi), Burgos → Hontanas, 31.1 km (19.3 mi) and Terradillos de los Templarios → El Burgo Ranero, 30.6 km (19 mi). On the longest, Eroski itself advises splitting it: “The most common is to divide the journey into two comfortable stages: from El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de las Mules (19 km) and from Mansilla de las Mules to León (18.1 km).”
How long does it take to walk the Camino?
None of the official texts Bardy read sets a daily distance. The Xunta de Galicia, the regional government of Galicia, writes: “We can begin with walks of one hour and then progressively increase the time and distance until we surpass an average walk of about 20 kilometres (4-6 hours) , which is what a stage between hostel and hostel measures on an average day of our pilgrimage.” It adds: “On foot, the average speed is 4 or 5 kilometres per hour”, about 2.5 to 3 miles an hour.
| Pace | Camino Francés, 775 km (482 mi) |
|---|---|
| 15 km (9 mi) a day | ≈ 52 walking days |
| 20 km (12 mi) a day | ≈ 39 walking days |
| 25 km (16 mi) a day | ≈ 32 walking days |
Bardy’s calculation, without rest days. At 15 km (9 mi) a day you sleep between the ends of the published stages; the Camino de Santiago page lists lodging at the end of each stage, not in the villages between them.
The Camino Francés in as many days as you want
Bardy splits two of Eroski’s stages where Eroski names a stop (Hornillos del Camino and Mansilla de las Mulas): 33 stages. Change the number of days and the module groups them, never cutting one in two:
Camino Francés indays
Longest day: 24.3 mi · ≈ 1,444 ft of climbing per day on average
- Day 1Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port → RoncesvallesStage 1 · 16 miNight: Albergue de peregrinos de Roncesvalles
- Day 2Roncesvalles → ZubiriStage 2 · 13.4 miNight: Albergue de Peregrinos de Zubiri
- Day 3Zubiri → PamplonaStage 3 · 12.7 miNight: Albergue de Jesús y María
- Day 4Pamplona → Puente la ReinaStage 4 · 14.9 miNight: Albergue de los Padres Reparadores
- Day 5Puente la Reina → EstellaStage 5 · 13.7 miNight: Hospital de Peregrinos de Estella
- Day 6Estella → Torres del RíoStage 6 · 18 miNight: Albergue Casa Mariela
- Day 7Torres del Río → LogroñoStage 7 · 12.4 miNight: Albergue de Peregrinos de Logroño
- Day 8Logroño → NájeraStage 8 · 18.4 miNight: Albergue de Peregrinos de Nájera
- Day 9Nájera → Santo Domingo de la CalzadaStage 9 · 13 miNight: Casa de la Cofradía del Santo
- Day 10Santo Domingo de la Calzada → BeloradoStage 10 · 14.1 miNight: El Corro Municipal Hostel
- Day 11Belorado → AgésStage 11 · 17 miNight: Albergue Fagus
- Day 12Agés → BurgosStage 12 · 14.3 miNight: Albergue Municipal de Burgos
- Day 13Burgos → HontanasStages 13 to 14 · 19.3 miNight: Albergue de Hontanas
- Day 14Hontanas → Boadilla del CaminoStage 15 · 17.7 miNight: Albergue de Boadilla del Camino
- Day 15Boadilla del Camino → Carrión de los CondesStage 16 · 15.3 miNight: Monasterio de Santa Clara
- Day 16Carrión de los Condes → Terradillos de los TemplariosStage 17 · 16.5 miNight: Albergue de Terradillos de los Templarios (Jacques de Molay)
- Day 17Terradillos de los Templarios → El Burgo RaneroStage 18 · 19 miNight: Albergue del Burgo Ranero, Domenico Laffi
- Day 18El Burgo Ranero → LeónStages 19 to 20 · 23.1 miNight: Albergue del Monasterio de las Benedictinas (Carbajalas)
- Day 19León → San Martín del CaminoStage 21 · 16.1 miNight: Albergue de San Martín del Camino
- Day 20San Martín del Camino → AstorgaStage 22 · 15 miNight: Albergue de Peregrinos San Javier
- Day 21Astorga → FoncebadónStage 23 · 16.1 miNight: Albergue La Cruz de Fierro
- Day 22Foncebadón → PonferradaStage 24 · 17 miNight: Albergue de peregrinos San Nicolás de Flüe
- Day 23Ponferrada → Villafranca del BierzoStage 25 · 15 miNight: Albergue Municipal Villafranca del Bierzo
- Day 24Villafranca del Bierzo → O CebreiroStage 26 · 17.6 miNight: Albergue de O Cebreiro
- Day 25O Cebreiro → TriacastelaStage 27 · 13.1 miNight: Albergue de Triacastela
- Day 26Triacastela → SarriaStage 28 · 11.4 miNight: Albergue de Peregrinos de Sarria
- Day 27Sarria → PortomarínStage 29 · 13.9 miNight: Albergue de Portomarín
- Day 28Portomarín → Palas de ReiStage 30 · 15.5 miNight: Albergue de Palas de Rei
- Day 29Palas de Rei → ArzúaStage 31 · 17.9 miNight: Albergue de peregrinos de Arzúa
- Day 30Arzúa → Santiago de CompostelaStages 32 to 33 · 24.3 mi
Bardy’s calculation on the 33 published stages (Eroski Consumer, Camino Francés): the days group whole stages, 33 days at most, each night at a stage end. Balanced on distance: the times are not published for every stage. The elevation gain is the version’s, spread over your days: no stage publishes its own. Distances: Eroski Consumer, French Way of St. James (one page per stage) (stage 14: published sections added up). Distances from Eroski Consumer; Hornillos → Hontanas is the gap between its points “Km 20.6” and “Km 31.1”. Its stages add up to 775.3 km (481.7 mi) in all; its last page writes 755 km (469.1 mi). Eroski Consumer publishes 31 stages from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago; to fit 33 days, Bardy splits two of them at stage points it names: Burgos → Hontanas at Hornillos del Camino (“Hornillos del Camino, 20.6 kilometers from Burgos, is another good stage end”, then 10.5 km to Hontanas: a calculation, 31.1 − 20.6) and El Burgo Ranero → León at Mansilla de las Mulas (“The most common is to divide the journey into two comfortable stages: from El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de las Mules (19 km) and from Mansilla de las Mules to León (18.1 km).”).
| Days | Average a day | Longest day |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | 29.8 km (18.5 mi) | 46 km (28.6 mi) |
| 30 | 25.8 km (16.1 mi) | 39.1 km (24.3 mi) |
| 33 | 23.5 km (14.6 mi) | 30.6 km (19 mi) |
The shortest walk to a Compostela: 115 km (72 mi) from Sarria
The Compostela, the certificate of the pilgrimage, asks for “at least 100 km on foot or horseback, or 200 km on bicycle”, says the Xunta, and on the Camino Francés “the starting point is Sarria or Barbadelo for pilgrims on foot”. The credential must be stamped “at least two times a day over the final 100 km”. From Sarria, Eroski’s last 5 stages:
| Day | Stage | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarria → Portomarín | 22.4 km (13.9 mi) |
| 2 | Portomarín → Palas de Rei | 25 km (15.5 mi) |
| 3 | Palas de Rei → Arzúa | 28.8 km (17.9 mi) |
| 4 | Arzúa → O Pedrouzo | 19.1 km (11.9 mi) |
| 5 | O Pedrouzo → Santiago de Compostela | 20 km (12.4 mi) |
What to carry depends on the month: the Camino de Santiago packing list gives the pack month by month, and the Camino de Santiago page computes it for your own dates.
FAQ
How long is the Camino de Santiago in miles?
The Camino Francés, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela, adds up to 775 km (482 mi) over the 31 stages Eroski Consumer publishes (Bardy’s sum). Its last stage page says “after 755 km made”, a gap Eroski does not explain. The Camino de Santiago is a network of routes: other ways are shorter or longer.
How long does it take to walk the Camino de Santiago?
At the 20 km (12 mi) a day the Xunta de Galicia gives for an average stage, the Camino Francés takes about 39 walking days; at one Eroski stage a day, 31 days. Add rest days on top (Bardy’s calculation).
How many miles a day do you walk on the Camino?
None of the official texts Bardy read sets a distance. The Xunta de Galicia counts “about 20 kilometres (4-6 hours)” for an average stage from hostel to hostel, about 12 miles. Eroski’s stages on the Camino Francés average 25 km (15.5 mi).
What is the shortest Camino route to get the Compostela?
The Xunta asks for “at least 100 km on foot or horseback, or 200 km on bicycle”, and on the Camino Francés “the starting point is Sarria or Barbadelo for pilgrims on foot”. From Sarria, Eroski’s last 5 stages make 115.3 km (71.6 mi).
Read next
- Best Time to Walk the Camino de Santiago: The Camino Francés Month by Month
- How Much Does the Camino de Santiago Cost? Daily Budget, Beds and Gear
- Camino de Santiago Packing List by Month: Camino Francés