How much it costs to do the Camino de Santiago

If you have an approximate idea of how much it costs to do the Camino de Santiago it will be easier to plan each day, controlling the expenses and adjusting them to your pocket.

Therefore, one of the first questions that you must solve before embarking on the pilgrimage, is the budget you will need.

The key to creating a good budget is to collect and include in it all the information of interest that will influence costs, because they can vary considerably depending on the decisions you make.

We tell you what the usual expenses are and how to adapt them to different types of budget.

How much it costs to do the Camino de Santiago. Factors that affect the budget

Photo of Katemangostar

There is no closed price to do the Camino de Santiago. However, understanding which variables will condition the total cost is important so as not to leave anything to chance.

• The route and duration: opting for a popular route better known as the Camino Frances, with more services and infrastructures than others less traveled, and allocating more or less days to the experience, will directly influence the expenses.
• The season: doing the Camino in high season or in low season, will also impact the prices of accommodations and restaurants.

The months of June to September, with the greatest influx of pilgrims, the highest prices are recorded. However, from November to February the prices drop and there is a greater availability of services.

• The accommodation: there are different alternatives to choose from. The traditional religious and public hostels would be the most economical (from 10 to 15 euros). Private hostels (from 15 to 25 euros), pensions and hostels (between 45 and 70 euros), those with intermediate expenses. Finally, rural houses and hotels would be the most expensive options, with amounts per night from 90 euros upwards.

On our website we have an updated list of hostels, organized by paths and stages, to which you can take a look

• Food: much of the budget will go to food. The gastronomic options are varied and more or less economic. From eating in renowned restaurants or eating the pilgrim's menu (15 to 20 euros), to cooking in the same hostels or buying food in supermarkets.
• Transport and logistics: many pilgrims decide to use a means of transport such as transfer to move to the starting location, and to return home at the end of the Camino. It is also common to use it to cover distances while already making a route.

The cost is very variable and can amount from 20 to 50 euros if buses or trains are used, and from 50 euros to 100 euros if private transport.

The option of hiring the luggage transport service between the accommodations every day, is also another extra to consider. For example, services such as the Pack backpack Correos, have an approximate price of 5 to 10 euros per day.

• Cultural activities, gastronomic experiences and shopping: if you are interested in seeing emblematic monuments (such as the guided visit to the Portico de la Gloria), enjoy gastronomy in a more special and elaborate way, enter museums, attend music festivals or buy souvenirs, you will logically see increased expenses in the total budget.
• Unexpected expenses: shoes that cause discomfort or break and have to be replaced, an injury that requires treatment, a discomfort that requires medication, a change of plans on the trip, etc. These are the usual unforeseen events to be considered with a small emergency fund within the budget.

Daily budget tailored to each pilgrim

Photo by jcomp

The preferences and personal situation of each pilgrim will determine the budget that can be assigned to the trip.

The alternatives may be economical, intermediate or more expensive. It’s all about planning the experience being realistic and choosing the type of budget that best suits your wishes and circumstances.

Low cost daily budget

Pilgrims who want an affordable option, minimizing expenses, should plan their Camino attending to the cheapest variables. This includes:

• Accommodation in religious or public hostels: simple, with basic services (bunk beds, shared bathroom and sometimes kitchen). A perfectly valid option to rest, in which to invest between 10 and 15 euros per night. Religious work with donations or with the will, but it is not recommended to pay less than 10 euros to contribute to its maintenance.

It is usually not possible to book, they are completed on a first-come, first-served basis, and it is only possible to stay one night. Pilgrims on foot usually have a preference over those who ride a bicycle.

In them the environment of community and brotherhood is greater.

• Cheap food: buying groceries in supermarkets for the day, cooking dinner in hostels with available kitchen or eating a tapa, a sandwich or having some coffee in a bar, can considerably reduce spending. That can amount to about 15 or 20 euros per day.
• Minimum transport: limiting the use of trains or buses to the maximum and walking almost all stages, would make the expenditure on transport almost zero.

With these low cost options, the daily budget to cover all basic needs without any whim, can be 35 or 40 euros per day.

Average daily budget

Perfect for those pilgrims who have a less adjusted budget, and have a greater margin to spend. It is the alternative that combines the control of spending and the enjoyment of more amenities.

• Accommodation in private hostels: more comfortable and quiet, with fewer beds per room and greater privacy than public hostels.

Privately run hostels usually have a cost ranging from 15 to 25 euros per night. They have the advantage that they do allow you to book in advance, and they usually offer services such as wifi, laundry, kitchen and, in some cases, even breakfast.

• Food : with a breakfast in the bar of about 5 euros, the pilgrim menu at noon, with prices from 15 to 20 euros, and a simple dinner that costs from 10 to 15 euros, the expenditure on food will be around 35 euros a day.
• Occasional transport: the sporadic use of trains or buses to reduce long distances walking, can have an added expense of 20 to 30 euros.
• Extras: the purchase of a whim, a drink in a bar or the backpack transport service, can cost about 10 euros more.

In this case, the daily budget would amount to 60-70 euros, allowing a more enriching and comfortable experience, without excesses.

Daily budget without limit

Tailored for pilgrims with total economic freedom to enjoy the greatest comfort and best services.

• Accommodation in a private room in a hostel, in pensions, hostels or hotels: in any of these options prevails the tranquility that gives having one’s own bedroom, personalized services and superior comfort.

The price range is wide, and can vary from 45 to 100 euros depending on the alternative and the season chosen.

• Food: Making full breakfasts, choosing elaborate menus or eating à la carte in featured restaurants, and dining in tapas, can have a bill of about 50 euros a day.
• Private transport and logistics: the use of private transport to carry luggage between two points and to cover sections of some stages, may have an expense of 50 to 80 euros per trip, depending on the distances.
• Extras: indulging in massages, not depriving yourself of tickets to museums, churches or shopping, will be an extra to consider in the total budget.

Pilgrims with no budget limit, can estimate a daily expense between 120 and 200 euros.

Remember, analyze in advance all the foreseeable expenses and thus, you can make better decisions. In this way, it will be much easier to organize as the journey of your life can be.

Don't leave for tomorrow what you can start planning today!