Camino Francés week 1: Getting used to it & beautiful encounters | Travel journal

I’m walking the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela. In this travel journal, I share my experiences from the first week.

In March 2025, I’m hiking the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela. Over the past few years, I’ve walked many sections of different Caminos (including a large section of the Camino del Norte in 2022), but this is my first time doing a full Camino. During the hike, I keep a daily journal. This is the travel diary of my first week.

Travel day: from Groningen to Bayonne

March 4, 2025, is the day I walk out my front door to begin my first full Camino. I leave home a bit earlier than planned. Just in case, because Dutch trains aren’t always the most reliable. But today, they’re kind to me. I have to change trains five times, but everything runs smoothly and on time, with plenty of time for each transfer.

In Paris, I even have time to spare, so I take a short walk. I walk past Saint-Sulpice, through the Jardin du Luxembourg, and onward to Montparnasse. It’s a beautiful day to be outside!

The last leg from Paris to Bayonne feels the longest. I’m pretty tired of all the trains. Just after eight in the evening, I finally arrive in Bayonne. I stay in a simple hotel right next to the train station, which is super convenient. I get myself a pizza and head straight to bed. Tomorrow the real adventure begins.

• Where did I stay: Hôtel Côte Basque in Bayonne. Beautifully furnished and right next to the train station.

Camino day 0: From Bayonne to Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port

Unfortunately, I sleep quite restlessly, so I don’t really wake up feeling rested. That’s not a big deal today, since it’s mostly a relaxed day with just a bit of traveling. In the morning, I wander around Bayonne. It’s a lovely town with a surprisingly beautiful historic center. I plop down on the terrace of a bakery for a café au lait and two mini croissants. At one point, the sun even peeks around the corner for a moment. This is pure joy this time of year!

Then it’s time to check out, and I sit in front of the station for another hour, reading a book in the sun. How lucky I am with the weather! It’s around 20 degrees, so I can even take off my jacket. Let’s hope the weather stays like this during the hike.

I take a very small train to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (SJPDP), it’s only a one-hour ride. The views along the way are stunning: picturesque villages, and the mountains gradually rise in the distance. Together with six other pilgrims, I get off the train. Hiking season doesn’t usually start until April, so it’s still pretty quiet.

I find my accommodation (the last private room I’ll have for a while) and enjoy a huge baguette with omelet on a terrace. I pay less than €5, France isn’t as expensive as I expected.

Then I look for the pilgrim office, where I get instructions about tomorrow’s route together with a girl from Korea (Su). I also purchase a credential and get my first stamp. Last but not least, I get to pick out a shell to hang on my backpack. Now it’s “real.”

I wander around town for a while. SJPDP is incredibly beautiful, and you see Camino references everywhere. Late in the afternoon, I pick up a few groceries at Lidl, and I spend the rest of the day relaxing in my room. I’m so curious about tomorrow. What will it be like?

• Overnight: Hotel La Villa Esponda. Nice location and even a small kitchenette.

Camino Day 1: Across the Pyrenees to Roncevalles

I wake up feeling rested. So nice. I do some yoga exercises, have breakfast, repack my bag and around 7:45 I step out the door. Buen Camino!

From Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port you can choose between two different routes: the Napoleon route, which goes up to an altitude of 1,400 meters, and the Valcarlos route, with a high point around 1,000 meters. Since the high route is closed until April 1, I have to take the other one.

Soon I am walking along narrow country roads, and for the first hour and a half I do not see anyone at all. Very interesting. Just before the border with Spain I meet James from England. Funny how we both have names that can be traced back to the Camino. Jacobsweg in Dutch and St James Way in English.

Strangely enough, there is no sign to mark the border. Just a large shopping center with Spanish stores. James and I stop there for a cup of coffee. My first café con leche of many. From then on, we hike together for the rest of the day. By now the trail is not so quiet anymore either. Every now and then we pass small groups of hikers.

The route unfortunately follows paved roads most of the time, and you really have to be careful when a car comes around the corner. Fortunately, there are a few detours here and there through picturesque villages. The last five kilometers are a steep climb. I had almost forgotten that we still had to cross the Pyrenees today. But this is it. During the climb we meet several other pilgrims, such as American Patrick, Canadian Evan, Dutch Albert, and Italian Ignacio.

The climb is much harder than I expected. Maybe it would have been wise to rest and eat a little longer in the village along the way. It is my first learning moment on the Camino. But in the end, it is doable, and around half past two in the afternoon I arrive at my first albergue of this Camino.

We spend the night at the monastery of Roncesvalles. It is not very crowded, I think between 25 and 30 pilgrims, although there is room for 200. The rest of the day I really need to recover. I can definitely feel the muscles in my legs. We finish the day with a three-course meal in the restaurant next door.

Overall, it was a great first day. They say this is also the toughest stage of the Camino Francés, so we have already ticked that one off!

• Kilometers today: 25
• Kilometers total: 25
• I stayed in: Albergue de Peregrinos de Roncesvalles – Basic, but great location (and the only hostel in this location).

Camino Day 2: Where are we going to sleep?

I wake up extremely early and get up around six. I am not the only one; more people are already rummaging around in the common room. Although it is still dark, I leave around a quarter to seven. I absolutely love the peace and quiet of the early morning, so I enjoy it to the fullest.

My plan is to go to Burguete, a village 3 kilometers away, for breakfast. A café should be open there. Unfortunately, I am out of luck, so I walk on. Nothing to be found in the two villages after that either. I just keep walking. Luckily, I have an apple, some crackers and granola bars with me, so I don’t starve.

The trail is much nicer than yesterday, with some gentle ups and downs and hardly any asphalt. It goes from forest paths to hills with beautiful views. I regularly see birds of prey flying overhead, searching for food. The scenery is absolutely stunning.

After 12 kilometers I reach a small town and can finally order a coffee and a tortilla. It tastes so good! This is also the places where I finally see several other pilgrims. Johannes from Austria soon joins me, as does Patrick from the US. And even James shows up. It’s really pleasant toe see each other again and we walk together to Zubiri. The road here includes a few steep ascents and descents, but we manage just fine.

Zubiri is actually the official end of the stage, but it is only one o’clock in the afternoon. After lunch at a café, Patrick, James and I decide to walk another five kilometers to Larrasoaña. There should also be a hostel open there. Unfortunately, the information we have is incorrect, it will not open for another three days. And we already have 29 kilometers in our legs. Now what?

Fortunately, we meet Olivier, the owner of the small supermarket in the village. He has walked the Camino 14 times and is truly an angel. He arranges for us to stay in a guest house in the village, together with Ben and Johannes, who also show up not much later. It is actually not yet open for the season, so we have the whole building to ourselves.

Dinner is another challenge, but here again Olivier is a saving grace. He somehow conjures up a three-course meal, which we eat at a table in the middle of his café.

You know the saying “The trail provides”? That is exactly what happened today on the Camino. I am very curious to see how this adventure continues.

• Kilometers today: 29
• Kilometers total: 54
• We stayed at: Casa Tau. Wasn’t open for the season yet, but they prepared a few rooms for us anyway.

Camino day 3: Pamplona, the first big city

For breakfast today we go to Olivier’s store again. I get a delicious warm croissant and a nice cup of green tea, a great start of the day. Around a quarter past eight, I start walking with James. A rather late start, but the distance is not that great today. Patrick joins us not much later.

The trail goes through the forest here and there and follows the N135, the road we have been walking along since the beginning. There are hardly any villages along the way, so no coffee break today.

After a few hours we see more and more buildings and busy roads. Pamplona is in sight! We cross a beautiful medieval bridge and walk into Villava, a suburb of the city. There we duck into the first café we see. Ben is already there and Johannes shows up a little later. The group is complete again.

An hour later we walk through the massive walls into the beautiful downtown of Pamplona. I was here three years ago too. Back then it was over 35 degrees and the streets were almost empty. Today the city is bustling. Every bar is full and there are long lines at the bakery.

I spend the night with Ben and James in the big pilgrim hotel in the city center, a former church. We are the first to arrive, so we can shower and do laundry in peace. It feels so nice to have clean clothes again. We take another look at the cathedral, which is very beautiful, and spend the rest of the day enjoying ourselves in various pinchos bars. The snacks and wine taste delicious. What a life on the Camino.

• Kilometers today: 16
• Kilometers total: 70
• We stayed in: Albergue Jesus y Maria. Basic, but in a great location right in the center.

Camino day 4: I love it here

I leave the hostel just before dawn. The streets of Pamplona are not completely empty. I pass both drunken nightlife and people walking their dogs.

Through the University of Navarre, I walk back into the green hills. Although I had a pretty good time in the city, this feels so much nicer. I have already finished an apple and a candy bar, but when I see a sign that says “padaria at 300 meters” a little after eight, I hesitate. Shall I go? I never really like detours, but a quick check in the app tells me there is nothing else for a while. So I take a lovely break with a café con leche, a tortilla and a croissant. I had a huge appetite, and it goes down very well.

Completely refreshed, I continue on the Camino and it is truly beautiful today, just like the weather. Green hills, gorgeous views, and because of that you also see dots here and there on the trail, other pilgrims with large backpacks.

Halfway up I unexpectedly run into James and we do the final climb together to Alto del Perdón. Johannes is there too, so we have a fun little photo shoot in front of the pilgrim monument.

From there the trail goes mostly downhill and we walk from one pretty village to the next. It is perfect hiking weather, not too hot, not too cold. I enjoy it to the fullest.

By 1:30 we arrive in Puente la Reina. We have a choice between two hostels: the very basic municipal one, or a more expensive private hostel. We choose the latter and are welcomed with open arms by Natalia, the Brazilian owner. A beautiful spacious room, great bathrooms and a large terrace to sit in the sun.

Once again I get to know all kinds of new people, and eventually about nine of us have dinner together in one of the restaurants in the old town. Another great day on the Camino. I still have no blisters and the aches and pains are not too bad. I am very tired all the time, but since I do not sleep very well, that is not surprising.

• Kilometers today: 26
• Kilometers total: 96
• We stayed in: Albergue Estrella Guía. Private hostel, a bit pricier than the other hostels, but absolutely worth it as far as I am concerned. Good atmosphere and nice decor.

Camino day 5: The break up

I do not wake up until 5:45 a.m., much later than usual. I am sleeping better and better, which is great. Together with James and Jacqui (from Australia), I leave town. I soon lose them, as they walk faster than I do and I stop a few times to take more pictures of the beautiful bridge.

It is pretty chilly this morning, but once you get moving, you warm up quickly. Especially when the trail climbs steeply. The villages I walk through today are even more beautiful than the days before. Cirauqui in particular is stunning, set on a hill between olive trees and vineyards. There I meet Evan from Canada, and we devour a croissant fresh out of the oven at the local bakery. So delicious.

More pilgrims arrive, and by now I know almost everyone. It is so funny how quickly you become a little community. I continue walking with James, and not much later we are joined by an older man named Fernando, a local. He talks non-stop in Spanish, and I understand about thirty to forty percent of what he says. Still, he shares plenty of tips about the Camino, since he has walked it twelve times.

In Lorca we say goodbye, and James continues as well. This is the first time we have different destinations. Lost in thought, I walk on alone through the beautiful landscape. The sun is shining brightly, which makes it even more enjoyable.

For the last five kilometers Evan joins me again, and we reach the albergue in Estella around a quarter to one. In the end, Patrick and Johannes also decide to stay the night in this village, while Ben and James continue walking another ten kilometers. It is kind of strange. We have spent so much time together since the start of the trek, but these kinds of breakups are part of the Camino.

In any case, I am very happy with a relaxed afternoon. Estella really is a very beautiful town. Tomorrow I hope to cover a bit more distance again. Who knows, maybe I will catch up with everyone.

• Kilometers today: 22
• Kilometers total: 118
• I stayed in: Albergue de peregrinos de Estella. Very basic, but also very cheap and in a good location on the Camino.

This was the first week already! The walking is going well for me, I have no blisters or aches (yet) and I am nicely on track to arrive in Santiago before my deadline on April 7. I am very curious about the next few weeks!

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