Camino Pilgrim

You started Camino Frances in the Pyrenees and have walked through all of the Meseta section from Burgos to Leon. You get kind of used to be alone with your thoughts. Suddenly you hear that every bigger location between Leon and Sarria will bring more and more short distance pilgrims on the trail.

They love to walk in huge groups of people. Their shoes are shiny and mouths are loud. They seem to want to talk to absolutely every pilgrims who is going their way. You often even see people who place a loudspeaker on the outside of their backpack to make sure pilgrims around are annoyed with their music.

Do not worry. There is are several ways to escape this madness.

Leon to Oviedo

From Leon you have the change of getting some more solitude and lots of mountains. There is a Camino trail leading north along the riverside called Camino San Salvador.

It takes only a handful of days to reach Oviedo. From there you can experience the oldest Camino trail called Camino Primitivo connecting back to Camino Frances a day or two before Santiago in Astorga.

An alternative option is to switch to Camino Norte from Oviedo and connect with Camino Frances even closer to Santiago. It is possible to push the connection point to as far as a highway crossing near Santiago airport.

Astorga to Santiago

If you still continued past Leon, but after walking a day of boring highways have finally decided for something new, then you can go south from Astorga. There is an option to connect with Camino Sanabres. You might see some pilgrims walking in reverse from your direction. That is because Via de la Plata connects to Camino Frances in Astorga. Many pilgrims from Via de la Plata actually take this Camino Sanabres route as an alternative route.

Ponferrada to Santiago

Your last alternative method of reaching Santiago from Camino Frances is to head south from Ponferrada. This is the very last moment to decide before meeting the Sarria pilgrims hordes. South from Ponferrada you will find Camino de Invierno.

Walk past and through Santiago

If reaching the cathedral square in Santiago was not all that you hoped for, then do not lose hope. You can still hike another 100km towards the ocean. Go to Finisterre and/or Muxia. Finishing you walk with nothing in front of you but the ocean is a powerful moment. The amount of pilgrims that continue past Santiago is very little. Only in Finisterre and Muxia itself you will need to book a bed ahead of time a day or two just to be safe. They are popular tourist destinations for more than just pilgrims.