The English Way (Camino Ingles) is one of the shorter routes of the Camino de Santiago network on mainland Europe. This route is growing in popularity, every year more and more pilgrims choose this Camino, but it’s still far from being as busy and crowded as the Camino Frances.
For us, the English Way was our 6th Camino de Santiago that we completed in a year and probably the easiest one due to its short distance and easy terrain.
Table of Contents
English Way free downloadable PDFsGPX files for the English Route of St.JamesThe route overviewTravel insurance for the CaminoThe English Way – walking stages (a 5-day itinerary)Stage 1. Ferrol – Neda, 14 km/8,6 miDay 2. Neda – Miño, 26 km/16 miDay 3. Miño – Presedo, 23 km/14,2 miDay 4. Presedo – Sigüeiro, 37 km/23 miDay 5. Sigüeiro – Santiago de Compostela, 16,5 km/10,2 miSantiago de Compostela, the end of the CaminoHow to get the Compostela certificate in Santiago?English Way route planning resourcesQuestions or Comments?
English Way free downloadable PDFs
We created free downloadable PDF files that contain walking stages and places to stay along the route. These files will help you to plan your English Camino pilgrimage.
GPX files for the English Route of St.James
You can download our GPX file for navigating the Camino Ingles. The files are our property. They are for personal use only.
The route overview
Distance – 116 km/72 mi
Time – 4-6 days
Starting point – Ferrol
Finishing point – Santiago de Compostela
Total ascent (over 5 days) – 2520 m
Total descent (over 5 days) – 2230 m
Walking surface – 82 km out of 116 km on asphalt
Route marking distance poles, yellow arrows, and shells
Average cost – 30€ per person per day
Accommodation – public and private albergues, hotels
Travel insurance for the Camino
Walking like any other outdoor activity involves a risk of getting an injury or losing some of your gear. The English Camino is not a very demanding hike through remote areas but walking daily with a backpack is still challenging. Small injuries such as blisters, knee problems, or shin splints are common on the Camino.
Read more about travel insurance for the Camino or get a personalized insurance quote right here!
World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world.
The English Way – walking stages (a 5-day itinerary)
The English route starts in the town of Ferrol on the coast of Northern Spain. Like any other Camino route on the mainland it finishes at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Places to stay in Ferrol
There is a public albergue in Ferrol. It’s a new albergue situated near the port, 600 m from the starting point of the English Way. Its capacity is 60 people. I’m quite sure you’ll always be able to find a place there.
If you prefer staying in private room you can stay at one of the local hotels.
| Hotel Almendra | Hotel Alda El Suizo | Gran Hotel de Ferrol |
Stage 1. Ferrol – Neda, 14 km/8,6 mi
Distance – 14 km/8,6 mi
Time – 2h45min.
Ascent – 178 m
Descent – 160 m
Walking on asphalt – 10 km/6,2 mi, basically most of the day though here and there you walk on the gravel road or boardwalk.
Walking on the road – 0 km
Difficulty level – 1 out of 5, very short and easy day
The English Camino starts at the port of Ferrol, there is a route marking pole next to Sarga Tapas and Raciones restaurant (you can search in Google maps “Inicio del Camino Inglés a Santiago de Compostela” the spot is marked). We didn’t use any GPS or map to find the starting point; we just asked locals where the port (Puerto) was and found the sign quite easily once we got there. From there on the route was marked well.
We started walking quite late and for this reason, we decided to stop in Neda if you start early morning it might be better to continue walking but the next public albergue is 15 km/9,3 mi away from Neda which means your first walking day will be 29 km/18 mi.
Highlights
The port and the historical center of Ferrol
Challenges
Nothing specific just a lot of walking on a hard surface
Neda
Neda is a nice small town on the river.
Places to stay in Neda
Day 2. Neda – Miño, 26 km/16 mi
Distance – 26 km/16 mi
Time – 5h50min.
Ascent – 648 m
Descent – 641 m
Walking on asphalt – 19 km
Walking on the road – 700 m
Difficulty level – 4 out of 5, a relatively long walking day with a couple of very steep ascents and descents
It was a long and pretty challenging day but there were many places to stop on the way for coffee, lunch, and rest. We stopped 3 times, and it made the walk nicer and easier. The first half of the route is through suburban areas with not much to see. After that, the route became more scenic. We got to walk through the beautiful forest from time to time.
Pontedeume is about halfway through the day, and a great place to stop for coffee or lunch. If you have time you can walk around a bit and do some sightseeing. Another option is to stop here and continue walking the next day.
Note! In Pontedeume the route is marked with metal shells on the ground, don’t miss them.
Walking through the forest we saw several stands with shells (a traditional symbol of the Camino) that you could purchase for donation and two or three spots with cooler boxes with cool drinks, juices, and water – for donation as well, we haven’t seen it before on any other Camino route.
After Pontedeume the scenery became less urbanized, with more walking through the forest and fields.
Highlights
The historical center of Pontedeume; Torreón de los Andrade, Puente de Piedra, Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago and a couple of other churches in the historical center of the town.
Beautiful lush green forest
Playa Grande de Miño, close to the albergue
Challenges
A couple of steep ascents in the second half of the day starting from Pontedeume.
A lot of walking on asphalt makes your feet quite tired compared to walking on a footpath or gravel road.
Miño
Don’t miss the albergue sign in Miño, it’s on the opposite side of the Tourism information sign, pointing in the same direction as the information office, after there are signs on the righthand side of the road pointing to the albergue.
Places to stay in Miño
Day 3. Miño – Presedo, 23 km/14,2 mi
Distance – 23 km/14,2 mi
Time – 4h53min.
Ascent – 700 m
Descent – 556 m
Walking on asphalt – 21 km/13 mi the whole day
Walking on the road – 4 km/2,4 mi, the last 3 km/1,8 mi to Presedo are on the road
Difficulty level – 4 out of 5
The first half of the walk to Betanzos went quickly, we stopped in the town for about 1-1,5 hours to drink coffee and to do some sightseeing, there are many interesting places to see luckily most of them are on the route or not far away from it.
After Betanzos the English Camino continued climbing up and down almost non-stop which was fine till the last 3 km we had to walk on the road. It wasn’t a busy road but some trucks and buses were driving by.
During the whole day, we saw only four pilgrims but when we arrived in Presedo there were 6 other people in the albergue.
Highlights
The beautiful forest outside of Miño
The historical center of Betanzos; the Plaza of Irmáns García Naveira, Plaza de la Constitución, several churches, and historical buildings.
Challenges
Walking on tar road/asphalt all day
Many steep ascents and descents
Walking on the road for the last 3 km/1,8 mi
Presedo
Presedo is not a town there is only an albergue and a restaurant, your food options are to eat in the restaurant (about 500 m away from the albergue) or to bring food from Betanzos and cook your own meal (the albergue has a kitchen). There are two or three big supermarkets in Betanzos (Lidl, Eroski, Gadis, etc.), about 100 m away from the Camino, at the exit from the city; at the roundabout turn right and go two or three blocks down the street.
Places to stay in Presedo
High-end | Rectoral de Cines (away from the Camino but according to the pilgrim’s reviews they offer free pick up and drop off) |
Day 4. Presedo – Sigüeiro, 37 km/23 mi
Distance – 37 km/23 mi
Time – 7h40min.
Ascent – 673 m
Descent – 581 m
Walking on the asphalt – 22 km/13,6 mi most of the day
Walking on the road – 4 km/2,4 mi
Difficulty level – 5 out of 5
Note! We wanted to have one long walking day on the English Way, and for this reason, we decided to walk two stages in one day if you’re not up for this it’s better to split this day into two stages; Presedo – Hospital de Bruma, 13 km/8 mi and Hospital de Bruma – Sigüeiro, 24 km/15 mi. A good thing about walking a short stage to Hospital de Bruma is that you’ll arrive there before the majority of pilgrims (who come from Betanzos) which can guarantee you a spot.
The first 30 km/18,6 mi went quickly. The main ascent for the day was right in the beginning in the first 2 hours or so. As usual, we stopped for coffee several times, it was a nice day, and part of the walk was through the forest with nice and quiet scenery. The last 6-7 km were not that pleasant we started getting tired the route got very monotonous (walking next to the highway) and it was quite hot. We were very happy when we finally reached Sigüeiro.
Highlights
Beautiful Galician forest
At 16 km in front of the bar, there are several metal and stone sculptures of people and animals, the most impressive is a giant dinosaur.
Challenges
Walking on asphalt for most of the day
Very long distance
Steep ascents in the first half of the day
The last 4-5 km to Sigüeiro next to the highway and then 1 km on the road (not very busy) past the industrial area of the town.
Sigüeiro
This town is a great stop before Santiago there are a couple of private albergues and several hotels though no public albergue here.
Places to stay in Sigüeiro
Day 5. Sigüeiro – Santiago de Compostela, 16,5 km/10,2 mi
Distance – 16,5 mi/10,2 mi
Time – 3h23min.
Ascent – 321 m
Descent – 292 m
Walking on asphalt – 10 km/6,2 mi in the beginning and at the end of the day
Walking on the road – 0 km, no road walking today!
Difficulty level – 2 out of 5
If you want to arrive in time for the pilgrims’ mass that takes place at 12 pm every day it’s better to leave early, at 8 am at the latest, to have enough time to store your backpack and get a spot in the cathedral. Note! You’re not allowed to enter the cathedral with a backpack you can leave it in your hotel in Santiago if it’s not far or you can store it at the storage (2 Euro for up to 24 hours) for the time of the mass and pick it up later. The storage is about 200 m from Plaza Obradoiro in front of the Pilgrims’ Reception Office.
Time went very fast we didn’t even notice how we got to the outskirts of Santiago, from there it’s about 5 km/3,1 mi more to walk through the city to the cathedral. There is a church Parroquia de San Caetano on the way where you can get the last stamp before the cathedral. Out of all the Camino routes we’ve done the city part of the English route is probably the best and the shortest.
Highlights
Beautiful forest Bosque Encantado (Enchanted forest) in the middle of the day
Arriving in Santiago de Compostella – the highlight of the route, always a magical feeling of seeing hundreds of pilgrims coming from different directions to Plaza de Obradoiro.
Challenges
Several short ascents and descents
A part of the last 5 km/3,1 mi to the cathedral the route goes through the industrial outskirts of Santiago de Compostela.
Santiago de Compostela, the end of the Camino
If after finishing the English Way you feel like walking for a couple of more days the Camino Finisterre-Muxía is a great option. It starts from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela and takes you through the Galician forest to the sea, to the Finisterre Cape. If you don’t have enough time to complete the route or don’t feel like walking anymore there are many amazing things to do in Santiago de Compostela to keep you busy including a day tour to Finisterre.
Tours and activities in Santiago
Where to stay in Santiago?
I’d like to mention one special place that has been accommodating pilgrims for a couple of centuries – Hospedaria San Martín Pinario or Seminario Mayor. It’s one of our favorite places to stay in Santiago de Compostela. Nowadays it’s a hotel but they still have special rooms for pilgrims. Rooms can be booked over the e-mail at reservas@sanmartinpinario.eu or the phone (+34) 981 56 02 82.
A double room with an attached bathroom is 40€, a single room is 25€. The rooms are small and quite basic but the location and the history of the place are truly amazing. I’d strongly recommend booking it beforehand, especially in the peak season. We were there in June and it was booked two weeks ahead. They have renovated rooms (a bit more expensive but more comfortable) that can be booked online.
More accommodation options
How to get the Compostela certificate in Santiago?
The Pilgrim’s Reception Office is open from 10 am to 6 pm if there are many people inside they might close the gate earlier.
In the peak season when there are many pilgrims there is a number system that determines your position in the queue. Every pilgrim who comes to the office gets a number that he/she can track through a website or an app (you can get the URL address of the site at the office) to see when it’s time to get back to the office. It’s a very easy and convenient system you don’t have to sit there for hours waiting for your turn. You can go back to your hotel, or walk around the city keeping an eye on the queue online.
To get your Compostela you’ll need a Credential with stamps and a passport or an ID document (sometimes they ask to show it if they are not sure about your name spelling in the Credential). The Compostela is free, you don’t pay anything for that. You can get the Certificate of Distance as well, it is similar to the Compostela but has more details on the route you walked like the starting point, total distance, etc., and it costs 3€. To keep your Compostela safe you can buy a special tube card box tube for 5€. We had our Compostelas in there in our check-in luggage and they were like new without any damage after the flight.
As I already mentioned before, you need two stamps per day for the last 100 km for any Camino route which means two stamps for every day of the English Way.
English Way route planning resources
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The pretty half of Stingy Nomads, responsible for all our land adventures (hiking, climbing, walking the Camino) and following them write-ups. Alya loves walking since she was a child, she prefers to walk 1000 km with a backpack rather than to do a 10 000 km road trip (actually any road trip). Alya is a big fan of Latin America, the Spanish language, and dancing. Every time we go away she desperately misses our dog Chile.
