I’ve been thinking a lot about this as I’ve walked toward Santiago over the past month. And I’ve come to the conclusion that you can do it quite comfortably and enjoyably for a budget of €35 per person per day. Maybe with an emergency fund of €100 or so… just in case! It’s really an inexpensive European trip, although once you multiply by 30-40 days to walk the entire 800 km, it does add up!

Lodging: Budget €10 per day

For €10 you’ll get a bed in a shared room with access to a shared bathroom, a hot shower, a place to do laundry, a common area, and probably a kitchen and wifi. Basically, this is everything a pilgrim needs after walking 20-35 km per day.

On a tighter budget?

Whatever your mileage goals for the day, there will always be a municipal (run by the city) or parochial (run by the church) albergue that charges €5 or €6 per night. They’ll provide all the same services, but might be bigger with a younger crowd, and therefore more crowded and maybe less clean. There are also donation-based albergues where you simply pay what you can afford.

Can splurge a bit more?

Sometimes it’s really worth it to splash out for a private room. You’ll have more space, your own bathroom, fewer snoring Croatians, maybe even perks like cotton towels, free breakfast, and a terrace to overlook the city. In our first 28 days on the Camino, we spent 7 days in private rooms, ranging from €35 to €45 per night for the two of us. But that includes our rest days in Burgos and León. Albergues won’t let you stay more than one night unless you’re injured or sick. So taking a rest day really requires private accommodations. Of course, you could also stay in a hotel, Casa Rural, or Bed and Breakfast and could choose to spend much more!

Dinner: Budget €10 per day

Either your albergue or one of the many nearby bars will offer a pilgrims’ menu – three course meal with bread and wine – for somewhere between €8 and €12. The pilgrims’menu has three things going for it:

1. It’s filling. Focusing more on quantity than quality, a cheap pilgrims’meal will probably include french fries, pork, eggs… or all three!
2. It’s served at a reasonable time. Since Spaniards eat dinner at 9:00 or later, the 7:00 pilgrims meal is a lifesaver for someone who’s walked 20 miles today, and who’s going to wake up before sunrise tomorrow to do it all over again!
3. It includes wine. They don’t call it the vino Camino for nothing. Plus… it helps you sleep.😉

(So the photo below is a regular people’s weekend menu, not a pilgrim menu, so it’s more expensive, but you can see how it works- and how difficult it can be to decide what to order if you don’t speak Spanish!)

On a tighter budget?

Instead of a three course meal, you could order a plato completo, which is basically your whole meal on one plate. You can find the usual eggs or pork and fries and salad for around €5.

Or, better yet, shop at the grocery store and cook for yourself. Most albergues have kitchens, and a hearty pasta meal hits the spot after a long walk. One night, we bought groceries in the tiniest shop in the tiniest town and the entire thing, including gluten free pasta, sauce, veggies, olives, a bottle of wine, and yogurt, eggs, and coffee for the next morning cost us €16.

Can you splurge a bit more?

The the food in Spain is really amazing! If your budget allows, you can always go out for a real dinner instead of the pilgrims’ menu and enjoy octopus, iberico ham, paella, roasted lamb, and much more. A restaurant meal would increase your dinner cost from €10pp to €30pp or more – PLUS wine. León has a fabulous tapas culture, so it’s fun to explore and hit the bars. You could treat yourself to a cocktail instead of the ubiquitous wine – that would raise the cost of your end of the day celebration from €1.50 per drink to around €6. You could certainly eat all three meals in bars, rather than carrying hiking snacks. The cost of food is entirely in your control!

Other expenses: Budget €15 per day

If you’ve budgeted €10 for lodging and €10 for dinner, that leaves €15 per day for everything else: breakfast, hiking snacks, coffee, wine, museum entry, donations at churches, refilling your soap and toothpaste. Plenty! Skip the overpriced albergue breakfast and get espresso and tortilla at a bar for €3. All the tourist sites offer discounted rates for pilgrims. There are plenty of supermercados and tiendas selling nuts and fruit and ham and cheese. And a cup of espresso or a glass of house wine costs between €1 and €1.50. that €15 will go far!

Optional expenses

Of course, you can always spend more money if you’ve got it.

Laundry

Some albergues have a washing machine and charge between €2 and €4 per load. Every three or four nights, it’s nice to wash all your hiking clothes with soap in a real machine. And if you combine with someone else, you’ll have a full load. 😁

Luggage transfer

There are a number of competing companies that will carry your pack from town to town for about €5 per day. You don’t even have to plan ahead or commit to the whole trip. If you’re having a rough day, or you’ve got bad blisters, or the next day’s route is particularly hilly, your albergue can arrange for luggage transfer tomorrow. Pilgrim Hack! If you’re traveling with a partner, combine your heavy great into one bag for transfer and carry the rest and you’ll only spend €5 for the two of you! (No, Mike and I haven’t tried this yet. Did I mention we do things the hard way?)

Use a travel agent

This is a very American way to do the Camino. You can go through an adventure outfitter and have them plan and schedule your trip, book your accommodations, arrange your meals, reserve your luggage transfer. And … add a big premium to the cost for this service! But as I’ve described, it’s not very difficult to arrange lodging, luggage transfer, and meals for yourself. Plus, if you are pre-booked into a tour, you don’t have the flexibility to stop early if you’re hurting or the weather’s bad (or there’s a fiesta!) Or to walk longer some days if you’re feeling good or you’ve just heard about an albergue that’s “the best on the Camino.”

Bottom line?

It’s not as expensive as you think to walk the Camino Frances! Between different types of accommodations, discount meals and entry costs for pilgrims, and honestly the small amount of “things” you actually need, you can make this a very affordable trip. But keep in mind that doing the whole trip from St Jean Pied-de-Port to Santiago will take 30-35 days. On the plus side, you’re not putting gas in the car at home, your water and electric bills will be lower back there, and you’re not going out to movies or concerts or shows. You may find it’s cheaper to do a pilgrimage across Spain than to stay home! And of course, the beautiful views, scenic visas, and ancient churches are the same no matter how much you pay for your trip!