Camino de Santiago | Gear & Packing
I obsessed over pack weight before my first Camino. I had a spreadsheet and weighed everything. It sounds extreme, but when your poncho weighs 600 grams and that’s nearly ten percent of your total load, you start to question if you really need it!
Packing for the Camino causes more anxiety than almost anything else. Most of us worry about taking too much or even not enough. Then there’s the cost. Hiking gear is not cheap, and if budgets are tight, buying specialist ultralight equipment can feel unrealistic.
In this section you’ll find practical gear guides, footwear advice, packing lists, and honest reflections from years of walking.
And you’d like a really close look at exactly what I carry, why I carry it, and where you can save money without compromising comfort, for $9 you can purchase my in-depth online gear workshop.
My Camino Packing List: After 10 Years of Walking (Workshop 6)
Feeling overwhelmed with planning your Camino?
Instead of searching endlessly, take a look at my Camino Planning Workshops. I turned over a decade of experience into a library of 20+ hours of practical, short, easy-to-follow videos, answering every question a pilgrim could have and plenty you’ve not thought to ask yet!
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Whenever you travel, you should have great travel and medical insurance. None of us expect anything bad to happen, but in the event of an incident, you want to be sure that your insurance will cover you.
I’ve ended up in hospital in Peru, Indonesia, Portugal, Japan and Ireland. Every time my insurance took care of everything. I would never leave home without full and comprehensive insurance.
MondialCare : Due to increasing limitations, mainly due to age, we have recently switched to MondialCare for our travel insurance. We have taken an annual policy at a very reasonable cost that includes medical and other travel cover. There are no trip length limits and the upper age for cover is 84. For Camino walkers and travel in Europe they have a low cost Schengen policy with no age limit.
TrueTraveller : We have used this policy and were very happy with the cover, especially considering our ages and pre-existing conditions.
Globelink: We have used and recommended Globelink for years and not heard of any issues. They are a great choice for European and UK Residents.
Genki : This is an EU based company offering long term policies for nomads and travellers. Their monthly rates are very competitive for longer trips too.
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Hey I’m Colleen. I’m married to Gerry, we’ve three fabulous kids and been living in France for almost two decades. I fell in love with Spain in the 1980s and I’ve walked 1000s of miles along the Camino de Santiago. Now we’re exploring and walking the world and I can’t wait to share what we’ve learned!