In June and July 2022, my husband and I cycled the Camino Frances with our then 7, 10 and 11 year old boys. We cycled a total of 890km in 28 days. Most people walk this route in 30-35 days. This blog post is broken into 2 parts – the first part is more of an essay whereas the second part is segmented into questions and answers. If you are planning on cycling the Camino with kids or without, I would recommend, reading it all because there is a lot of useful information in both parts which may save you some time and give you some re-assurance with certain decisions. If you have any questions, please use the comment form to get hold of me and I will try my best to direct you as best I can.
So grab a cup of tea and perhaps a little snack, because this post is long!
It sounded like a fun idea, “Let’s do the Camino on Bikes”. Without giving it too much thought other than wondering whether our 7, 10 and 11 year old boys would still like us after the trip, or want to ride a bicycle ever again in their life, my husband and I decided it was a GO!
But obviously you question yourself as a parent! Was it a random idea? Was it far-fetched? Was it actually achievable? Will it even be fun? I’m glad all the questions appeared because it gave us some time after the initial “Yes let’s do this” to really reflect and consider our decision. We could of course, still bail out of our own decision at this point. On reflecting, we knew that our boys had been riding bicycles for a long time and they were all skilled enough to do it. We knew they could ride multiple days in a row because we had done several multi-day adventures with them already. We felt in our hearts that no matter how great any adventure is, there will always be fun and there will always be times where you have to dig deep. We knew that if we followed the official walking distances of the Camino Frances, then we would be looking at 25 kilometers or so a day of riding and we were confident the boys could handle that.
We decided not to book accommodation beforehand to allow ourselves flexibility in case we needed more rest days than needed. Having thought these things through, we felt satisfied with the decision to go ahead and we were sure we would all benefit from an adventure of this magnitude. We always say to our boys, it is good to do hard things – it makes your mind, body and heart strong!
So what is the Camino? I am sure if you are reading this, it requires no introduction but let’s just re-cape for fun anyway! The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route starting in France and stretching west across Spain, the Camino holds a strong spiritual significance for many pilgrims as the journey ends at a cathedral said to be the burial site of St. James. Others like us, are drawn for a splash of adventure too!
Our planning started about 8 months before we were to depart for France. There was a lot involved in getting our adventure off the ground for example, we had to figure out what bikes to use, whether we should purchase or rent them, what panniers were best, where to get our bikes from and how to get to the start in St Jean Pied de Port with Bikes! We eventually figured it all out, or so we thought!
Departure eventually arrived and The Sanders Family were off! Hooray!! After a long journey from Durban to Dubai and then to Paris and lastly, Biarritz, we were exhausted! We spent the afternoon at the beach in Biarritz sampling ice-creams, swimming and suntanning before collecting our bicycles the next day from a Decathlon store in town ( We had pre-purchased our bikes online but had brought over our own panniers which were Ortliebs).
We originally thought after reading many online forums that we would be able to catch a train from Biarritz to Bayonne and then onto St Jean Pied de Port with our bikes but it turns out that these spaces are pre-booked and there is only space (if you are lucky) for 2 bicycles. So after having ridden our bicycles 5km from the decathlon store to the train station, we were stranded without anywhere to stay or any plan to get our bikes to SJPP.
We asked random people, truck drivers, car rental agencies, transfer companies etc. how we could get to SJPP with bicycles but we didn’t have any luck at all! It was late in the afternoon and I suggested we go stay at a hotel close by and ask the hotels reception staff to help organize us a lift to SJPP. They knew the people, the companies and the language to craft a plan for us. The plan worked and the next morning, we had a lift to SJPP along with our bikes in a trailer.
The first day of riding got off to an ominous start! We started in the pouring rain which may have accounted for the reason we missed a turn and inadvertently took the longer, steeper, non-bike friendly route over the Pyrenees. So we landed up doing around 14km instead of 8km but in hindsight, it was the best tough day we could have asked for! The sun eventually came out too!
We spent our first night at Orison Albergue which thankfully had accommodation for all 5 of us and not one person more! We experienced so many delights that afternoon, including christening our pilgrims passport with their first ever stamp, enjoying a communal dinner with fellow pilgrims and staying in a dorm with a group of fun (but loud) Italians! Exhausted from the day, we went to bed, happy to finally be on our family adventure!
As mentioned earlier, we had taken the decision beforehand not to pre-book any accommodation for the Camino and preferred the idea of flying by the seat of our pants, arriving in villages and finding a hostel that would accommodate all 5 of us and our bikes. When I look back now I think, yikes, that was perhaps a little ambitious and not such a great idea. It is perfectly fine to do that for 1 or perhaps 2 people travelling together but not such a great idea for a family of 5. It was fun and novel at first but then the temperatures started soaring and the combination of heatwaves and crowded hostels didn’t mix well. Add in a few snorers to the mix and you have the Sanders family tip-toeing their mattresses out the hostel at 1am in the morning to sleep in the courtyard under the stars and, the washing line. So from then on, we started booking suitable places 2-3 nights ahead of time.
One of the highlights of our trip came on the second day, when we stayed at the Monastery hostel in Roncesvalles. It was beautiful, clean and run by a group of Dutch volunteers. It also included a communal dinner which allowed us to meet some of the people that would become our “Camino family”. The Camino is made up of people from all walks of life, young, old, singles, couples, families, and from all over the world. One of the loveliest couples we met were French. We couldn’t speak French and they couldn’t speak English but yet every day we would somehow through a bit of sign language and pantomime, communicate with them and it was always special.
Our days were long, often on our bikes for 5-6 hours averaging 30-35km on some days but we stopped a lot, ate a lot and slept well every night. We did the exact same path as the walking pilgrims and only if there was a sign that said “no bicycles” would we take the alternate bicycle path. Every day was an opportunity to explore somewhere new. A river was a sign for a swim, a café an invitation for a cold Coke, a Food Truck a mandatory ice-cream or cake stop and a Church a prompt for a stamp in our Pilgrim’s Passport. It was a daily routine of ride, rest, ride, rest.
As a mother, the only thing I found stressful, was going through towns and cities and trying to be vigilant about the cars and trying to get the boys to be aware of cars too. We would ride in a line with myself in front and my husband at the back and the kids in between. You are constantly riding through little towns, some of which seem like ghost towns until a car zooms up a side road from out of nowhere. Through the cities and towns I would just constantly tell the boys to slow down, look for cars, be careful, stay in a line.
We didn’t see many children on the Camino but our boys made people smile and look up and marvel at their energy. One morning after a long and somewhat brutal climb, we had a group of 15 or so French walkers stop, cheer and clap for our boys at the top of the hill. We watched our boys perk up at the encouragement, it felt like a scene out of the Tour de France! The Camino opens your heart so many times and in so many ways.
Our longest day was 50km which was only possible because of the terrain. We were going through a section of the Camino called the Mesetas which is kilometers of long, flat, endless terrain. A lot of walking pilgrims hop on a bus and skip this section as there is not much in the way of shops, cafes or anything else really! On a bike however, the Mesetas offer you a chance to do a number of 40 kilometer days with relative ease.
In total we cycled for 28 days and indulged in 2 rest days. The arrival into Santiago de Compostela was not quite what we had envisaged… We changed our travel plans so that after the Camino we could take the boys to Euro Disney to celebrate (not our brightest idea and we didn’t actually land up at Disney, thank goodness) which meant we had to do a long day for our last day and still make it in time to get our Compostela certificates. We were doing well but 4km from the end, our 7 year old, bless his little heart, put down his bike and refused to cycle another kilometer. I could understand, he was done but we could literally see the cathedral. There were many tears but eventually, we had a group talk, found resolve and got to the end.
Bagpipes were playing as we cycled into the cathedral square – and even as I write this I can feel the emotion rising within me. It was momentous, we were so proud and I found myself holding back tears. You also somehow expect that people will be there clapping for you as you arrive and so the anti-climax of it is rather funny too, as you think, “Wow we are here now. Now what”?
Every adventure has a beginning, middle and end and it feels like such a joy to reflect on it even a few years later. The entire journey felt like one big metaphor for life, full of ups and downs, easy parts, hard parts, insightful and dull parts and even the parts where you question your own decisions. Ultimately though, it was an adventure where we could step back afterwards and say “Yes. that was worthwhile, adventurous and fortifying for the soul!” It was just such beautiful quality time together as family, day after day, just us. The boys were such great sports, they were all so little but they took each day as it came. They reveled in the routine, the freedom, the form of travel, and so did we.
Were there times where we inhaled deeply and asked ourselves “Why on earth are we doing this?” Absolutely! Every great adventure demands this question be asked!
So often, we don’t give children the opportunity to do hard things. We limit them with our own reference points of what we think is or isn’t possible for kids to do. And yet, they can do so much more than we can imagine, we have seen this time and time again. So if I can share just one take away from our journey with you, it is this: Don’t let your kids stop you from having a big adventure, but rather grant them the opportunity to do one with you!
Table of Contents
- What is the Camino?
- Why did you decide to do the Camino?
- Did you train for the Camino?
- Where did you start? How did you get there? What Bikes did you use
- Any Essential Items?
- What is the deal with bedding? Do we need a sleeping bag? What about Bed Bug Spray?
- What was your mileage per day?
- What stages were difficult and why?
- Where did you stay on the Camino?
- Did you use a Camino app?
- How do you know where to go on the Camino? Is it well marked?
- What did you eat? Did you cook or eat out?
- What did you do with your bicycles at the end?
- What section would you do if you had a limited time on the camino?
- What is the common Camino greeting?
- Was it altogether easy or hard?
- Popularity of the trail – Is it crowded?
What is the Camino?
The Camino de Santiago or in English “The Way of St. James” is an ancient network of pilgrims trails that lead to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. It is said that the remains of the apostle are buried here. Although there are dozens of routes that lead to Santiago, there are about 7 main routes, the most popular one being the Camino Frances, which traditionally starts in St, Jean Pied de Port in France. This is the Camino route that we did as a family.
Why did you decide to do the Camino?
We wanted a BIG adventure. That was the primary reason. The idea of an active holiday appealed to us and cycling from town to town discovering new things with our boys ticked that box. We were also open to the spiritual journey of the Camino.
Did you train for the Camino?
We didn’t train for the Camino specifically. Cycling, hiking, walking and paddling were already a big part of our lives and so every weekend we would be doing one of those things together as a family. Our boys could confidently cycle 25 kilometers before we started the Camino and then on the Camino itself, their fitness improved with each day of cycling. Obviously over 28 days there is also an accumulative fatigue and that’s why it’s important to offer a rest day here and there or even just a day with less distance.
Where did you start? How did you get there? What Bikes did you use
- We started our Camino in St. Jean Pied de Port in France but initially we arrived in Paris and then flew to Biarritz.
- We had pre-purchased bicycles on Decathlon and had specified for them to be delivered to the Biarritz store. Decathlon were great because they had already put the bike racks on our bikes so when we arrived to collect them, it wasn’t a long wait. We spent some time at the store attaching our pannier bags which we had brought over from South Africa as our luggage. We used the Ortlieb brand which we deemed them to be top of the bunch, based on reading many online reviews. Decathlon sold some great pannier bags so you could if you wanted, get those from Decathlon too.
- The boys had 2 small panniers on the back wheels whilst my husband and I had 4 each in total, 2 large ones on the back wheels and two small ones on the front wheels. Jeremy also had a front pack on the handlebars which was useful for storing snacks and I wished I had also had one of those for items you want to access quickly
- We then cycled around the parking lot a little bit just to get used to the bicycles and the extra weight of the bags – it was a little daunting but we got the hang of it pretty quickly.
- We had to then cycle to the train station which was 5km away. That was quite unnerving because we had our kids who were also just getting used to their bikes and we were alongside traffic so we had to keep our eyes peeled the whole time.
- We couldn’t get onto the train with our bicycles like we thought we could – I had researched this beforehand and was under the impression we could get our bikes onto the train but it turns out that there was only space for 2 bicycles on the whole train and the spaces were already occupied.
- We tried a few options like renting a truck or getting the bikes delivered but we had no luck so we found a hotel for the night and the reception staff were able to organize a guy who had a bike trailer to drop us off in St Jean Pied de Port. We stayed at the Radission Blu in Biarritz which I literally booked on booking.com 30 minutes or so before we arrived at the hotel – that is how wonderful booking.com is. So my recommendation is to pre-organize a road transfer with your bicycles to St Jean Pied de Port.
- We set off as soon as we arrived in St Jean and we got lost straight away. Why? Because we blindly followed someone. The Camino is very well marked but on the first day there are 2 ways you can go, either the Napoleon route or the Valcarlos route. Again we didn’t know there were 2 routes until afterwards, so we landed up doing the harder Napoleon route unknowingly. It was exquisite but was definitely baptism by fire and we pushed our bikes a lot! The Valcarlos route would have been easier on bikes. Nevertheless, we arrived in Orisson and were ready to call it a day. We hadn’t booked at Refuge Orisson which I would recommend you do as it is pretty much the only place to stay, but luckily they had enough beds for the 5 of us for the night. This was one of the highlights of our whole Camino so I would HIGHLY recommend you book and stay here. You will meet some of the people you will spend much of the Camino with. They do a communal dinner and breakfast and it’s just a lovely first stop on the first day of your Camino.
Any Essential Items?
- We highly recommend purchasing Bike Bells so that you can alert walkers that you are on the trail and they can move over to allow you to pass. You never want to startle anyone on the trail because walkers often land up getting knocked over. We also told our boys to ring their bells to give people warning that bikes were behind them and also to pass people slowly. A bike bell, to me, is absolutely essential!
- Make sure you have a Camino Passport – you can get this from the Pilgrim’s office in St Jean Pied de Port or from one of the confraternities of St James around the world.
What is the deal with bedding? Do we need a sleeping bag? What about Bed Bug Spray?
- In terms of bedding – we were warned about bed bugs in the hostels but we didn’t experience this once along the route. We did pre-treat our sleeping bags with a spray containing something called Permethrin which kills bed bugs. The Camino forums all recommended this. You can even spray your backpacks, and then allow them to dry in the sun.
- The hostels/albergues always gave us disposal mattress and pillow covers. All the hostels we stayed at supplied pillows but we took ours in case and didn’t land up using them. We also had our sleeping bags and sleeping bag inners. It was so hot, that we often just used the inner and not the sleeping bag itself. If you go in summer consider taking a lightweight summer sleeping bag.
What was your mileage per day?
- In the initial stages, we did the single stages that the walking pilgrims would do, so between 18-25km per day on average. But as we progressed to the area called the Mesetas where there is a lot of flat terrain, we ramped up our mileage to 40km a day sometimes. Our longest day was (unintentionally) 50km as we had to cycle a little out of town to our cottage.
- We cycled for a total of 28 days and covered 890km including cycling to our hostels/accommodations etc.
- We took 2 rest days – one in Logrono and one in Burgos. My hubby and I often found these days boring as it was spent wondering around cities but it was essential for morale for the boys and I guess our bodies appreciated the rest too.
What stages were difficult and why?
- The stage through the Pyrenees was tough, so that would be the first day if you are starting from St Jean Pied de Port. The few days thereafter are also tough, you’re in the mountains, you’re climbing, maybe even pushing your bike a bit. Fellow pilgrims are incredibly kind though, they would see our kids pushing their bikes and would just take the bike from them and push the bike to the top of a hill and leave it there or wait for my husband and hand over the bike. It happened all the time, it wasn’t just a once off kindness offered by one pilgrim. The generosity is so consistent so don’t be afraid of the hills and pushing especially if you are with your kids!
- MTB skills of the boys: our boys were very used to Mountain Bike Riding before we did the Camino, we did a lot of MTB races and riding on the weekends where they got to practice their skills. My younger two sons were doing jumps off ramps and lots of technical riding from age 5 so riding the Camino was something we felt confident to do with them.
- You can cycle the Camino really quickly on the road if you like but you do then land up missing a lot of what the Camino is about and won’t meet many people or experience the social side of the Camino which we found to be such a highlight.
- There are some technical sections of the track which are not easy to ride and sometimes impossible but you can always walk those sections with the bike. Don’t let this put you off though as these highly technical sections are few and far between.
Where did you stay on the Camino?
We stayed in albergues and hostels to begin with but then my hubby got tired of everyone snoring and we wanted air-con, so we started booking at small cottages, family rooms in hostels and bed and breakfasts, 2-3 days ahead of time. We mainly used booking.com and sometimes we used the Camino Ninja app for accommodation suggestions.
Did you use a Camino app?
Yes! We used Camino Ninja but other popular app choices are Buen Camino and Wise Pilgrim.
How do you know where to go on the Camino? Is it well marked?
- The Camino is very well marked. There are yellow arrows guiding you every hundred meters or so and often even less than that. If you can’t see one, look up, look down, look ahead of you. And if you really can’t find an arrow, a Camino Angel will appear – someone, usually a person from the village or a shopkeeper will point the way for you. Trust me, the way will be made known to you!
- Shells are also Camino markers and you will see there are many of these as well along the route.
- There are also a number of apps that you can use – we used Camino Ninja but mainly for accommodation purposes. We never felt lost enough to have to pull out a map.
What did you eat? Did you cook or eat out?
For breakfast, we usually found a coffee shop on the route and ate a pastry at our first stop. Other times, if we were staying at a cottage we would do a little grocery shop and buy ingredients to make a simple dinner and breakfast for the following morning. Most times, we ate out for dinner. We often ordered 2 Pilgrims meal which was enough to feed the 5 of us as it typically included a starter and main dish, bread and a cooldrink or wine. We always carried fruit and nuts so that we could snack on that if we were hungry.
What did you do with your bicycles at the end?
We took them back to Decathlon at the end of our Camino as someone had told us that they buy their own second hand bikes back. We took a chance and hooray, they took the bikes and gave us a voucher for approximately 40% of the purchased value (not cash).
What section would you do if you had a limited time on the camino?
I would absolutely do the first section through the Pyrenees, starting in St Jean Pied de Port and going through to Logrono. The only caveat is that you would not receive your “Compostela” which is the certificate confirming your pilgrimage. You need to do the last 100km into Santiago in order to receive this certificate. If you had at least 16 or 17 days or so, then you could do the first week from SJPP and then bus from Logrono to Sarria via Madrid (this takes about 8 hours) and then do the last 100km in 4-5 days with days remaining for travel back to your home country or town.
What is the common Camino greeting?
Buen Camino is the standard phrase you will hear other pilgrims greet you by
Was it altogether easy or hard?
- Some days were hard, sometimes there was a lot of pushing involved but when you think I can’t do it or we can’t do this, take a break, have a rest and then begin again.
- Look at the profile each day and know beforehand how much climbing you will do so you know what to expect.
- One day we did 50km, some days we did 40km but our average over the 28 days including the mileage to get to our accommodation each night, was on average 30km a day.
- There were no serious crashes, but the boys did have times when they fell off their bikes – it happens. Sometimes their feet would slip off the pedals or they hit a root or a rock. We had a basic first aid kit with us but we never, thankfully, had to use it.
- Other than a few punctures (we had 7 in total) we had zero bike troubles which is quite amazing seeing as though these were relatively basic bikes from Decathlon and we rode 890km in total.
- We did experience a heat wave on our second and third day in Spain. There were wild fires and many pilgrims who were one day behind us on the trail had to get evacuated from the town.
- One day we got stuck in a thunderstorm and had to find some shelter. We were 100 percent soaking wet and cold but it made the stop at a café all the more enjoyable and we savoured every sip of hot chocolate!
- Some days were long and boooooooring and we were just physically tired and had to stop a lot.
- Fun days were the ones with double ice-creams, lots of downhill, swimming in rivers, meeting new friends and staying at fun and quirky hostels/cottages.
- Each day was a new day, for every uphill, there would be a downhill. We would always tell the boys, the ups don’t last forever.
Popularity of the trail – Is it crowded?
- The trail is becoming more and more popular each year and so the route will be busy well before and after summer has ended. We cycled Mid-June to Mid-July and it was perfect. Although on paper there are a lot of pilgrims, it never felt overcrowded to me. The only time it felt busy was in the last 100km from Sarria where there are a lot of school groups joining the Camino and of course a lot of people just wanting to do the last 100km to get their certificates. So you feel the increase in numbers in this section and it probably wouldn’t feel that bad if we were walking but on bicycles, we had to get past a lot of crowds.
- As the numbers of pilgrims increase, it can be difficult to secure accommodation especially if there are a few of you in the group and so I would recommend booking at least your first 3 nights on the Camino if not the whole thing if you are doing a week or so. If you are doing the whole Camino from SJPP then book a few days ahead but not the entire trip because it doesn’t allow for the flexibility if needed. For example, you may need a rest day when you don’t expect it due to injury or fatigue or other circumstances so rather book only 2, 3 maybe 4 days in advance and keep your options open.
- You can see daily statistics here of Pilgrims arriving in Santiago https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/ and more detailed statistics here: https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/statistics-2/
Thank-you for reading! I hope you found the information useful!
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