Camino de Santiago: A Guide to Cycling the Camino Frances 2017. 09. 02.

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Camino de Santiago: A Guide to

Cycling the Camino Frances

The Camino de Santiago (Way of St James) is one of the most popular

routes for walking and cycling in Europe. It attracts pilgrims, those wishing
to challenge themselves, and people who just want to admire the fantastic
scenery that Spain has to offer.
There are many resources where you can find details about the Camino de
Santiago: the history of the different routes, the places of interest and
detailed route descriptions. In this section, therefore, we will not repeat all
of this information; rather, we will offer our personal recommendations
and opinion about the different routes.

Routes of the Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago has many different routes, some starting as far
away as Eastern Europe; however, here we are only looking at the sections

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in Spain. Within Spain there are five routes, of which three are by far the
most travelled. The most popular route, and the one that is believed to
have been travelled by St James, is the Camino Frances. This begins in
Spain at the small village of Roncesvalles and continues through
Pamplona, Burgos and Leon on the way to Santiago de Compostela.

The second most popular route is the Camino del Norte; this is much less
busy than the Camino Frances and is generally seen as a slightly harder
route, following the north coast. The third route, the Via de la Plata, is the
only one that is completely in Spain from start to finish. It begins in Seville
and heads north through the historic towns of Castilla y Leon before
reaching Santiago de Compostela.

All three routes have advantages and disadvantages; in a series of articles

we will look at the different routes, starting with the Camino France, and
help you to choose the most interesting for you.

Cycling the Camino Frances

Most people that you know who have done the Camino de Santiago will
have done the Camino Frances (French Way). Starting in the Pyrenees, the
most popular version of this route covers nearly 750km through Navarre,
La Rioja, Castilla y Leon and Galicia. Most cyclists, however, do not do the
whole route. Cyclists that have a week to spend on the route usually start in
Leon, which is the nearest large town that you can start from and still
obtain the pilgrim's accreditation. Fortunately for these cyclists, the most
spectacular scenery and the most diverse part of the Camino Frances is
between Leon and Santiago de Compostela.

From Leon, the route works its way to Astorga, before reaching O'Cebreiro
in a section containing the highest point on the Camino Frances. The route
becomes increasingly hilly as you leave the arable lands of Leon behind and

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move into the greener mountainous scenery further west. The A-6
motorway carries nearly all of the traffic in the region, so you will mostly be
sharing the road with a few cyclists and a lot of hikers.

The Camino Frances continues to be beautiful and isolated as it crosses

into Galicia - the green scenery becoming increasingly vibrant as you get
closer to the Atlantic coast. The roads continue to be undulating as the
Camino Frances passes through Sarria and Palas de Rei, before the
fantastic descent into Santiago de Compostela. It is here that pilgrims can
best imagine the journey of St James, whilst more secular travellers can
feel a sense of accmoplishment at reaching the end point of their tour.

Unless you are doing the Camino as part of a pilgrimmage, I would not
recommend cycling the section before Leon. There is some attractive,
rolling countryside for much of this part of the route, with some historic
villages and, in Burgos and Pamplona, a couple of interesting cities. The
vineyards of the La Rioja region are particularly attractive, especially if you
visit during the harvest in September and October. However, unlike the
walking route which frequently goes off-road through narrow tracks and
rocky trails, the cycling route sticks to the road and there is a slight lack of
variety in the landscape.

The section between Pamplona and Logrono is undulating without ever

really giving you fantastic views of the countryside infront of you. As you
get closer to Burgos, however, and from Burgos to Leon the route becomes
flatter and the greener scenery gives way to hundreds of kilometres of
arable land, with a few villages dotted along the way. While the countryside
here is not exactly boring, it certainly does not showcase the best that
northern Spain has to offer. Although I am sure that you would not be
disappointed if you did choose to do this route; if you are on a longish
cycling holiday there are other areas nearby that would be much better to
cycle through instead, before meeting up with the Camino Frances at Leon.

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If you wish to cycle the Camino Frances, but have longer than the week
that it takes from Leon, the best option is to follow a route north of the
Camino Frances, through the Basque Country and Cantabria, before
dropping south to join the Camino at Leon. Between May and October, the
north of Spain is one of the best regions of Spain for cycling. It does not
suffer from the repressive heat that is present even a hundred or so
kilometres south in Castilla y Leon and La Rioja, and has a unique culture,
distinct from much of Spain.

If you have several weeks to tour, the Basque Country is an ideal starting
point. Starting at San Sebastian, you can follow the coast around to Bilbao
(see the section on Lekeitio for full details). From here you could enter
Cantabria and, if you enjoy cycling in the mountains, you can base yourself
at the Picos de Europa National Park, which contains some of the highest
climbs in Europe (see section on Picos de Europa for details).

From the Picos de Europa, you can head west towards Oviedo, before
heading south to Leon to join up with the Camino Frances. If you still have
enough gas in the legs, you can try your hand at the legendary Angliru,
which is situated just off this stretch.

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Weather on the Camino de Santiago

The best time of year to do the Camino Frances is from mid-April until the
start of November. If you plan to cycle the route from Leon, then it is fine
to tour in July and August. Accommodation will be booked up quickly and
the route will be very busy at these times, but the heat is not such a big
factor as in much of Spain. The section between Pamplona and Leon,
however, usually gets very hot in the summer months, and I would that you
do this section in Spring and Autumn. The Camino del Norte is a better
choice if you wish to do a long distance Camino in July and August.

June and September are probably the most pleasant months to cycle the
Camino Frances. The route will be busy with cyclists and walkers, but not
as crowded as in the height of summer. The weather is warm, but be aware
that it does rain regularly in Galicia throughout the year.

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People often ask us at Cycle Fiesta if it is possible to do the Camino Frances

in winter. Although it may be possible at times, we would certainly not
recommend it between December and February. The roads between
Pamplona and Leon are usually fine for cycling through the winter;
however, the air temperature can be cold, and the scenery through La Rioja
and Burgos is much less attractive in winter than the rest of the year.

The section between Leon and Santiago de Compostela is much more

difficult to cross during the winter. At times, the roads in the mountains
(particularly around O'Cebreiro) are closed because of snow, so you may
well have to find an alternative route. For walkers it is less of a problem as
they can go through the snow with too much inconvenience; but, in Spain,
the mountains roads will close with even light snowfall, making it both
difficult and dangerous to complete on bike. It will also be very cold in the
mountains, with temperatures regularly below freezing. We do not run
tours in this region in winter and would strongly advise against you
organising your own at this time of year.

If you really want to cycle the Camino de Santiago, and winter is the only
season that you are available, the Via de la Plata route is the best option.
However, even on this route, there will be some unpleasantly cold days. A
much better option would be to follow the professionals and book a winter
cycling holiday in Mallorca, Tenerife or Valencia.

Getting to the Camino de Santiago

There are a couple of important factors that will determine how easy it is to
get to the starting point of the Camino Frances. The first is where exactly
you wish to start, and the second is whether or not you wish to bring your
own bike with you.

If your starting point is Leon then there are several options. Leon does

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have a domestic airport with regular flights from Barcelona and occasional
flights from several other Spanish cities. The nearest larger airports are in
Santiago de Compostela and Bilbao - both of which offer flights to a variety
of international destinations. The train from both of these takes around
five hours and, importantly, does not allow bikes on board. Therefore, if
you wish to take your bike with you, the best option is to fly into Madrid.
From here there are several trains that run; however, only the Intercity
trains (taking around four and a half hours) accept bikes on board.
Unfortunately, these only have space for three bikes each (although many
guards will allow more on) and you need to get a separate ticket for your
bike.

One final option is to fly into Asturias aiprort, which is around 150km from
Leon. However, this is only a small airport which serves a limited number
of destinations.

If you wish to start at the beginning of the Camino Frances in either

Roncesvalles or, just over the border in France, at Saint Jean Pied de Port,
then the trip will need a fair bit of planning. The nearest airports in Spain,
San Sebastian and Pamplona, offer flights to and from Madrid and
Barcelona. Biarritz airport, the closest in France, has a few direct flights to
Northern European cities. This is the best option if you can find a
convenient flight, as the train runs directly from nearby Bayonne into Saint
Jean Pied de Port. Trains, however, are not regular, so it pays to plan a bit
in advance. From San Sebastian you can also catch a train to Bayonne,
before changing on towards Saint Jean Pied de Port. Trains also run to
Bayonne through France, including a direct line from Paris, so if you prefer
(and can afford) going by rail rather than flying, then this is the better
option.

Other than from Biarritz, most people starting the Camino in this area,
make their way via Pamplona. Pamplona is three hours by train from

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Madrid and close to four hours from Barcelona. There is one train from
Barcelona (Intercity) that will allow you to take bicycles on board, but there
are none from Madrid. From Pamplona, there are trains, but there is a
regular bus to Roncesvalles. If you wish to reach the start by this route, you
will have to hire a bike as they will not be allowed on the buses. However, if
you want to bring your own bike, you could just begin the Camino Frances
from Pamplona instead.

If you wish to begin somewhere else between Pamplona and Leon then you
will have to use a combination of trains and buses. There are direct trains
from Barcelona that accept bikes to both Logrono and Burgos; while to
start from one of the smaller villages you will have to take a local bus from
the nearest city.

Departure at the end of the tour is much more straight forward. Santiago
de Compostela has a reasonably sized international airport, and the vast
majority of cyclists doing the Camino will fly out of here. If you have
brought your own bike then this is the only real option, as the trains out of
Santiago de Compostela do not carry bikes (some ALSA buses do carry
bikes, but it is a big gamble out of Santiago de Compostela as the driver will
often refuse or the luggage area will be full). If you hire a bike for the tour,
then it is possible to catch a train into Madrid, a city well worth visiting for
a few days if you have the time.

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Tour operators on the Camino de Santiago

The Camino Frances is one of the easiest cycling holidays to organise by

yourself. The route information and details of places of interest is readily
available in numerous books and on tens of websites (one thing to be
careful about is that the vast majority of the maps and guides are for the
walking route, which differs from the cycling route at times). There are,
however, a few reasons why it may be better for you to book with an
operator rather than going it alone.

The first reason is bike hire. As you can see from the 'Getting There'
section, you have a lot more options if you are not carrying your own bike
with you. Indeed, depending on which company you fly with and how
many connecting flights you need to take, it may well be cheaper to hire a
bike than bring your own.

Another advantage of booking with a tour operator is that they will carry
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your luggage. Some people enjoy carrying their stuff around on panniers;
however, the section from Leon in particular is quite hilly and it can be
more enjoyable to cycle with a lighter load.

Tour operators are also able to organise accommodation in busy periods.

They know the best hotels in the area and can often reserve them at
discounted rates. If you prefer to organise it yourself, then you may well be
interested in staying in the albergues along the route. This is a great budget
option and allows you to meet with other pilgrims doing the route. Be
aware, however, that the albergues (particularly the closer you get to
Santiago de Compostela) are often full between the end of May and the end
of September. Priority is given to hikers over cyclists if space is limited, so
it is best to ensure that you have a back-up plan.

At Cycle Fiesta we run a self-guided tour along the Camino Frances from
Leon to Santiago de Compostela. We also run bespoke tours from any
starting point along the way, please contact us for more details.

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