The Camino de Santiago from Sarria is a modern pilgrimage route to the tomb of the Apostle St.James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The route from Sarria is a good option for those who want to walk the Camino but don’t have enough time to complete a longer route. It’s a relatively easy trail with good infrastructure that can be walked in 5-7 days.
You can find more details on walking days in our post Camino Frances from Sarria – walking stages.
The PDFs of the walk from Sarria to Santiago
You can download our free PDF files with walking stages and places to stay on the Camino de Santiago from Sarria.
How long is the Camino de Santiago from Sarria?
The distance of the Camino de Santiago from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela is 116 km/72 mi. It takes 5-7 days on average to complete the route.
Do I need a guide?
No, you don’t need a guide. The majority of people walk the Camino from Sarria without one. You can arrange your accommodation and luggage transfer if needed yourself (cheaper) or book a self-guided tour.
How hard is the route from Sarria?
The Camino from Sarria is a challenging route for those who have never done multi-day walks before. Most people walking it are first-time pilgrims. It’s recommended to prepare for the Camino before attempting the walk.
The part from Sarria is the busiest and the most crowded on the Camino de Santiago. In the peak season (May, June, September) prepare to see hundreds of pilgrims. It’s better to book accommodation in advance especially if you’re planning to stay in private rooms.
Is the Camino well-marked?
Yes, the Camino from Sarria is well-marked you don’t need GPS navigation or maps to find the route. It is marked with yellow arrows painted on the walls, rocks, ground, etc. Every 500 m (sometimes even more often) you se small stone poles with the distance left to Santiago de Compostela.
How many pilgrims walk the Camino from Sarria every year?
The Camino Francés from Sarria is the most popular Camino de Santiago route. According to the Pilgrim’s Reception Office in 2024, 151 091 people or 32% of all pilgrims who arrived in Santiago walked this route. The Portuguese Camino from Tui is the second most popular route walked by 7,7% of pilgrims.
The last 100 km on the Sarria route vs on any other Camino
The French Way from Sarria is not the only option to walk the required minimum of 100 km/62 mi to Santiago to get the Compostela certificate. You can walk that distance on any other Camino route e.g. Camino Portugués, Vía de la Plata, Camino Inglés, Camino Primitivo, or Camino del Norte (the last two merge with the French Camino in Melide and Arzúa respectively).
The last 100 km on other Camino routes:
When is the best time for walking?
If you want good weather with little rain then the summer months June, July, and August is the best time for walking the Camino from Sarria. Though you can get rain in Galicia any time these months are the driest. Another advantage of walking in summer is long days, you get between 13 and 15 hours of daylight. You have plenty of time to walk.
May, August, and September are the busiest months for this route. Not the best time to walk if you don’t like crowds. Many organized school and student groups walk the route from Sarria in August it gets quite noisy.
The first half of October is the good time the weather is usually good and there are fewer pilgrims.
Walking the Camino Sarria in winter between November and April you’re likely to get rainy and cold weather.
The cost of the Camino de Santiago from Sarria
Accommodation
Municipal albergues are the cheapest accommodation option on the Camino from Sarria. A bed in one costs 10 Euros.
Private albergues are more expensive 13-17 Euros per bed. They’re smaller and more comfortable.
A single room costs 30-35 Euros, a double room – 45-55 Euros.
Food
Breakfast (coffee, juice, croissant/sandwich/toast) is around 5 Euros.
Menu del Día or Pilgrim’s Menu is the most popular meal option on the Camino. You can usually get it for lunch and sometimes dinner. It’s a set menu that includes a starter (usually soup, salad, or pasta), the main dish (meat, chicken, fish, vegetarian, egg and bacon, etc.), a bread basket, a drink (beer, house wine, cooldrink or water) and dessert or coffee. The average price is 12 Euros.
Dinner is more expensive, prepare to pay 20-25 Euros per person without drinks.
Food on the Camino de Santiago is a part of the experience. Don’t forget to try some of the Galician specialties such as Pimientos de Padron, Pulpo a la Feira, and Tarta de Santiago.
Shopping
It’s cheaper to buy food in a supermarket and cook, especially if you’re a couple of people making food together. Always make sure the place you’re going to stay has a kitchen. To buy food for lunch and dinner will cost 8-10 Euros per person on average.
Luggage transfer
6 Euros per backpack per stage on average. For 5 days it’ll be more or less 30 Euros per person.
Transport
Train Madrid to Santiago for 33 Euro one way. A one-way flight to Santiago from Madrid with Ryanair (if you buy it in advance) is about 15-20 Euro without check-in luggage. It’s more expensive and longer to get to Santiago from Barcelona, by train it takes about 10 hours, there are some flights for 20-30 Euro one way.
Laundry
4 Euros per load for washing, 4-5 Euros per load for drying. The machines are quite big you can share a load between two or three people which is cheaper and better for the environment. I usually wash socks, underwear, and hiking shirts by hand every day and every 4th or 5th day do machine laundry.
My detailed budget breakdown
For 5 days for 1 person
Accommodation (5 nights) – 84 Euro, 3 nights in dormitories, and 2 nights in private. If you stick to dormitories in Municipal albergues the cost can be as low as 50 Euros.
Eating out – 45 Euro, 1 Menu del Día, many sandwiches and tortillas
Food shopping – 47 Euro
Coffee, wine, beer – 10 Euro
Laundry – 3 Euro
Transport – 72 Euro; train Madrid-Santiago-Madrid – 66 Euro. Bus Santiago-Sarria – 6 Euro (online discount). Note! I took only the Santiago-Madrid train I arrived in Sarria walking as I started the Camino in St.Jean Pied du Port.
Total: 261 Euro or 52 Euro per person per day including transport, accommodation, food, etc. If you use luggage transfer add 6 Euros to your daily budget.
What is the accommodation like?
There are different types of accommodation on the Camino from Sarria. You can stay in shared dormitories (the cheapest option) or in private rooms in hotels or guest houses.
Special hostels for pilgrims on the Camino are called albergues. They can be municipal (subsidized by the municipality, the cheapest option) or private (a bit more expensive but usually with better facilities).
Municipal (public) albergues usually have one or two big rooms with several bunk beds, a shared bathroom, and a kitchen. Municipal albergues are exclusively for pilgrims. You have to present your Credential (pilgrim’s passport) with stamps to stay. All municipal albergues on the route from Sarria cost 10 euros.
Private albergues target the pilgrims but usually anybody can stay in them. They are usually smaller than the municipal ones and have better facilities. Sometimes more expensive private albergues have normal single beds instead of bunk beds. The average price is 13-17 euros.
Municipal albergues facilities
Hot shower
Electricity
Kitchen (usually)
Washing machine (sometimes)
Blankets (usually but not always)
Wi-fi (usually)
Private albergues facilities
Hot shower
Electricity
Kitchen (usually)
Washing machine (usually)
Blankets (usually)
Wi-fi
Restaurant (usually)
Accept luggage delivery
If you prefer staying in private rooms you can find many hotels and guest houses along the Sarria route. They’re more expensive but a lot more comfortable. When we walk the Camino we try to mix staying in albergues and hotels. We try to stay once or twice a week in a private room. When you walk a longer route that takes a month to complete you get pretty tired of staying in dormitories.
My advice is if you’re planning to walk the Camino in peak season from May to September book private accommodation at least a couple of days in advance. In my experience of walking in September, sometimes it was difficult to find a private single room on arrival because everything was fully booked.
What to pack for the pilgrimage?
A very important thing to remember is not to pack a lot of stuff if you’re planning to walk with your backpack. The lighter it is the easier the walk. Take only necessary things. If you’re planning to use a luggage transfer service you can pack heavier. Usually your limit is 20-25kg per bag. You can find more details on what to pack for the Camino in our Camino de Santiago packing guide.
Footwear is the most important item for the pilgrimage. Make sure you choose comfortable shoes for walking the Camino and a good Camino backpack.
Backpack delivery on the Camino
It’s possible to arrange luggage transfer from door to door for every day. There are a couple of companies that deliver luggage on the Camino from Sarria e.g. Correos, Xacotrans, Pilbeo. It’s very simple in the morning you put your backpack/suitcase at the reception. The courier comes to pick up the backpacks after check-out times. Usually, by the time you arrive at your hotel, your luggage is already there. The average price is 6 euros.
The best guidebook for the Sarria to Santiago walk
John Brierly’s books for the Camino de Santiago in my opinion are by far the best and the most helpful guidebooks. For the Camino from Sarria, I can recommend his Pilgrim’s guide to the Camino de Santiago; Camino Frances.
How to get to Sarria?
Which is the best way of getting to Sarria depends on where you come from. In my opinion, flying to Santiago de Compostela (if you can get a flight from your city) or to Madrid and from there getting to Sarria the two best option.
From Santiago de Compostela
Step 1. Fly to Santiago
There are direct flights to Santiago from Spain, Germany, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, and Belgium. You can fly to Santiago de Compostela with one connection from many European cities. Most of the flights are operated by Ryanair, EasyJet, and Vueling. The prices vary between 25 and 50 euros, one way (depending on where you fly from). The lowest fare doesn’t include check-in luggage.
Step 2. Take a bus from Santiago to Sarria
There is a direct bus from Santiago to Sarria. The journey takes 2 hours and costs 11 Euros. Sometimes they have special discounts if you buy online.
From Madrid
Step 1a. Take a direct train to Sarria
There is a direct train (some days more than 1 departure) from Madrid to Sarria. The journey takes 4 hours. The price is around 40 Euros one way. It can be booked online.
Step 1b. Fly to Santiago de Compostela
There are many daily direct flights from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela operated by Iberia, Vueling, and Ryanair. The price is between 20 and 30 euros (if you buy in advance).
Step 2b. Take a bus from Santiago to Sarria.
Take a 2-hour bus from Santiago de Compostela to Sarria.
Where to stay in Sarria?
If you’re going to walk the Camino in the peak season (May, August, and September) I recommend booking a place to stay. There are many albergues and hostels in the town. You’ll be able to find a dorm bed but if you want to stay in a private room booking in advance is recommended.
There is a municipal albergue in Sarria in Calle Maior, 57. The price is 10 Euros per person.
Albergues and hotels in Sarria
Where to get a Pilgrim’s Passport (Credential) in Sarria?
You can get a Credential in the Church of Santa Mariña de Sarria, Monastery La Magdalena, and some private albergues in Sarria.
Every pilgrim needs a Credential with stamps (two stamps per day for the last 100 km) from albergues, hotels, restaurants, or churches to get the Compostela certificate in Santiago. You’ll need it to stay in municipal albergues because they’re exclusively for pilgrims. Private albergues and hotels don’t require a Credential.
How to get the Compostela in Santiago?
To get your Compostela you have to go to the Pilgrim’s Reception Office located on Rúa das Carretas Street, 5-minutes walk from the cathedral. Depending on the season you might wait from 30min. to a couple of hours.
To get the certificate you need your Credential with stamps and passport or ID (for EU citizens). The Compostela is free. It contains your name and the date it was issued. If you want more personalized paper you can get the Certificate of Distance (both can be obtained at the same time). It has more details e.g. how far you walked, where you started etc. It costs 3 Euro.
For the last 100 km you need two stamps per day in your Credential, one stamp you get at the place you stay (it can be an albergue or a hotel), the second stamp you can get in a cafe, restaurant, bar or a church along the Camino. If you want, you can put more stamps in your Credential there are no limits.
Things to do in Santiago
There are many great things to do in Santiago de Compostela to keep you busy for a couple of days.
The number one, of course, is to celebrate the end of the Camino. If you want to go out to celebrate, Rua do Franco is one of the best streets in the city for it. There are several tapas bars with a huge variety of tapas and drinks. Petiscos do Cardeal and Taberna do Bispo are my favorite, they have some delicious tapas.
More things to do in Santiago after completing the Camino
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.
