Creating a budget for your trip is an essential part of planning your Camino. With some routes taking five to eight weeks to complete, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got enough cash to last you until Santiago.
With plenty of accommodation options on the popular routes (particularly the Camino Francés), it’s possible to plan a trip that will suit even a modest budget.
Typical Camino de Santiago Costs
As an example, for a 35-day trip on the Camino Francés I would usually allow:
Budget: €1000-€1500 (€25-€35 per day)
Comfort: €1750-€2800+ (€50-€80 per day)
These estimates include cheap flights from the UK (or another European city) and local transport costs.
They do not include visa costs, travel insurance, or extras like hotel stays, excursions, or entry fees to museums and galleries.
If travelling from further afield the cost of flights could increase your overall costs considerably, for example, someone travelling from the US would be looking at a budget trip cost of around €2,000 upwards.
The above are rough estimates and the cost of your overall trip will be influenced by several factors including your travel style.
What’s Your Travel Style?
Before you can put together a budget, you will need to decide on your travel style.
Be honest with yourself here – do you enjoy the social atmosphere of a busy hostel? Or prefer the peace and solitude of a private room? Are you happy to picnic on route? Or do you prefer a good breakfast before you set off?
On my first Camino I loved the atmosphere of a packed albergue. However, a decade on, the comfort of a private room can be very appealing!
There is no ‘right’ way to do the Camino, it’s a very personal journey, so think about what you want from your Camino experience and your individual needs. This will help you decide if your priorities lean more towards budget, comfort or a mix.
Budget Pilgrim:
By choosing to stay at dedicated pilgrims hostels, eating off a set-menu, and shopping in supermarkets, you could manage on around €25-€35 per day (€8-€15 for a hostel bed, and the rest for food/drinks/laundry).
Many restaurants, bars and albergues on the Camino offer a Pilgrims Menu. This is a simple set-menu for pilgrims at a reasonable price. It typically consists of three courses, with bread, water, and (occasionally) wine included in the price.
A Pilgrim’s Menu usually costs between €10-€15 per person and can be found frequently on the Camino Francés. They usually offer simple dishes with generous portion sizes and are a great way of keeping down the cost of eating out. Where a Pilgrim’s Menu is not available most establishments will usually offer a reasonably priced set-menu.
Comfort Pilgrim:
Staying in hotels or guesthouses and dining in restaurants every evening will provide you with more comfort and flexibility but will also raise your daily costs. If choosing to stay mostly in hotels and guest houses your daily expenses could increase to between €50-€80 per day.
Mixed Budget:
If your budget allows, a good strategy (that has worked for me in the past) is to break up hostel stays with the occasional night in a private room or hotel. This ensures you get some solitude and good night’s sleep at least once a week without breaking the budget.
Travel Expenses
As well as your daily expenses, you’ll want to consider how much it’s going to cost you to get to your chosen route, plus additional expenses like visas and travel insurance. Some of the things you may need to work into your budget are:
- Travel Insurance
- Flights
- Airport transfers
- Visas
- Passport renewal
Online tools like Skyscanner and Rome2Rio are great for exploring your journey options and current prices. Depending on where you are travelling from you may require a visa/visa waiver to enter the Schengen area.
Baggage Transfer
If you don’t plan to carry all your kit, you’ll need to factor the cost of baggage transfer into your budget. Most companies charge between €6-€10 per stage. You can either book as and when you need it, or for the entire route. You can often get discounts if you book your whole trip in advance. Check out Correos or Jacotrans for current prices and routes covered.
Additional Costs
You’ll also want to consider any experiences or excursions you want to include as part of your trip. You may want to budget for:
- Entry tickets to museums or galleries
- A stay in a luxury hotel, or one of Spain’s famous Paradores
- A trip to the lighthouse at Finisterre, or the port of Muxia
- Celebratory meals/drinks in Santiago
Kit Costs
Depending on what you already own, you may need to factor in the cost of purchasing additional walking clothes or hiking kit.
A good quality pair of boots and a comfortable backpack are essential and are likely to be your most expensive purchases.
Prices vary by country but in the UK around £110-€160 should get you a decent mid-range backpack.
For a good mid-range pair of boots/hiking shoes expect to pay around £100-€160.
For everything else, you are usually better off shopping around for cheaper deals or second-hand items – it’s easy for bits of kit to get ruined or left behind on the Camino.
Expensive items that are difficult to launder like down sleeping bags or jackets are probably best left at home. Bedbugs can sometimes be a problem on the Camino, so you’ll want to make sure that everything you bring can take being a machine-washed or tumble dried at a high temperature.
Unexpected costs and Emergency fund
Access to a small emergency fund, separate from the money allocated for your trip, will give you peace of mind.
You’ll need to ensure you can easily access these funds for unexpected expenses. It doesn’t necessarily need to be an emergency – it could simply be taking a taxi because of nasty blisters or replacing an item of damaged kit.
These unexpected costs can easily tip you over budget, but having some money set aside will help relieve some of the stress. I find €200-€500 is a good buffer. If you don’t need it?… more money to celebrate with when you reach Santiago!
I’ve had my fair share of Camino blunders over the years, which have tipped me over my budget. So I always have an emergency fund available for all my adventures these days.
The Camino de Santiago can be surprisingly affordable for such a long trip. Deciding on the type Camino experience you want, and creating a budget in advance, will help alleviate financial worries and allow you to focus on what’s most important… the journey.
Like all good Camino planning, structure allows for spontaneity!
Whatever your travel style, it’s time to start creating a budget so you can make that Camino dream a reality.
Want more Camino inspiration and ideas? Head to the Resources page where you can download some FREE PDF’s and find links to other useful planning tools.