017: Choosing Your Camino Route, Part 3: When Should You Walk the Camino?

(Or simply go when your heart won’t stop thinking about it!)

Rebecca Weston

Jun 08, 2025

Hello Camino friends! Here’s what’s in this issue:

📚 Earlier posts in this 4-part series on choosing your Camino route.

☀️ “Choosing Your Camino Route, Part 3: When Should You Walk the Camino?”

📸Scenes from the Camino: In The Rain

❓What Camino questions do you want answered?

🥾How to get help planning your Camino.

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Let’s get started!

📚 This is the third in a 4-part series on choosing your Camino de Santiago route. As I’ve said before, if this is all too overwhelming for you, just pick a route and go. There is no perfect route. The Camino gives you exactly what you need.

Missed earlier posts?

Part 1: Ending Point, Daily Distance, and Trip Length

Part 2: Company, Terrain and Getting There

Coming up next Sunday:

Part 4: Language Tips and Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

If you don’t want to miss any of these, subscribe below and get these posts delivered every Sunday to your inbox.

☀️ Choosing Your Camino Route, Part 3: When Should You Walk the Camino?

7) Is there any kind of weather you’d rather not walk in?

Most of my clients have no interest in walking a Camino in the hottest months of the summer, which they think are July and August. Unfortunately, weather is one of the many things in life we can’t control. There have been heatwaves in May and June in Spain.

Bottom line: expect the best and plan for the worst.

*Adapted with the help of ChatGPT by TheCaminoCalls.Substack.com

*"Camino Santiago – Map of main routes"* by *Arz*, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

An experienced Camino pilgrim may look at the chart above and say, “I walked the Portugués in April and didn’t get a drop of rain!” or “I walked the Francés at the start of September and it was hot!” Any of us who have walked the Camino — whether once or a dozen times — only have a very narrow view of the weather in any given place at any given time.

So I’ll say it again: expect the best and plan for the worst.

8) What time of year do you want to walk?

If you only have one time of year to walk a Camino, then your choice is made. But if you’re in the 55+ club, you might have more flexibility to pick quieter times or avoid the hottest months, making the experience more comfortable and rewarding. A little advice:

Check the weather. I like using Weatherspark to get an idea of climate along a route in a given month. Just remember: weather is never guaranteed!
Watch for holidays — National holidays can be busier times on the Camino or simply mean shops are closed. Spain’s 17 autonomous regions also have their own local holidays. And many towns have their own holiday—often based on the feast day of their patron saint. (FYI: The Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, known for the “Running of the Bulls” is nine days long!)
Fiesta de Santa Maria de Nieva; Viana, Spain (Starts on the 1st Saturday after Sept. 8 and lasts for five days!).
May and September: These months are definitely not the off-season on the Camino Francés (CF) nor the Camino Portugués (CPo). Sure, you have a great chance of getting nice weather, but that’s what everyone else is thinking. Should you walk in May or September? Sure! Should you expect it to be quiet? Not on the CF or CPo.
Northern Coast Summer: The northern coast of Spain is often spared from the heat waves seen in the rest of this country so Spaniards flock here in the summer. On the Camino del Norte, you may be competing with local tourists for places to stay in cities like San Sebastián, Bilbao and Santander.

When are you thinking of walking the Camino de Santiago?

I can’t wait to hear about your plans!

With love,

Rebecca

Missed the earlier posts in this series? Here they are!

Click here for the final post in this series (Part 4).

📸Scenes from the Camino - In The Rain

There are two camps (or more?) when it comes to Camino de Santiago rain gear. I prefer a rain jacket and rain pants. I don’t cover my day pack as I keep the contents inside in plastic bags.

Others prefer a rain poncho (like my husband, at right). I find these ponchos 1) require assistance to get on 2) billow in the wind and 3) don’t cover everything I want them to cover—especially if they only snap closed.

Like everything on the Camino, to each their own. However. . . I was given a rain cape for free on one of my Caminos. I tried it once. Then gifted it to someone else.

❓What Camino Topics Would You Like to See Covered?

I'm here to help you plan a meaningful walk—especially if you're 45+ and dreaming about (or maybe a little nervous about) heading to Spain or Portugal for your Camino.

Whether you're wondering about what rain gear to bring, how to handle solo travel, or the emotional side of returning home—I'd love to hear what’s on your mind.

Drop your questions, curiosities, or Camino dreams in the comments below!
You just might inspire my next blog post (or help someone else who's wondering the same thing).

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

She helps people 45 and over plan their own walks on the Camino de Santiago through her business The Camino Calls.

She and her husband live in Spain in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte. She’s walked more than a dozen Caminos, spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if she’s not walking one now, she’s planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too.