I received a message recently from someone who wanted to walk the Camino de Santiago with his 12-year-old son. He wanted to know if it was a crazy idea or if he should go ahead with the planning.
When I walked the Camino, in March and April, I didn't see any children on the way primarily because they would have all been at school. I don't know how many children walk the Camino in the summer months (which is when this father wanted to walk), but I think the problem here would be that the summer months get so busy, with huge crowds racing to get to the refuges before the other pilgrims. I have heard of people getting up at 5am to arrive first. This sounds like a horrible experience to me - I can't imagine how a 12-year-old would feel about it.
Have you walked the Camino? Did you walk with children or see any on your way? What did you think? Share your experience below!
See also: Camino de Santiago Guide
We walked the Camino last year from September through October. It was incredibly hot and to be truthful,very rugged and rather dangerous. Add to that people on mountain bikes who have made it some sort of endurance race. It appeared that any religious significance attached to the Camino has pretty much disappeared. Witness the scores of hikers lying around in front of the Cathedral in Santiago who would never consider venturing inside. We are adults and I would question the wisdom of taking any child on the Camino. There are other places to walk all over the world which are probably more scenic and less treacherous.
I have walked 3 caminos and would simply love to walk the last part 100 kms with my 12 year old grandson, but finances don’t permit. I would encourage anyone with children to include them in the experience. I cannot believe the jaded view shown in the previous comment. The Camino is one of the safest places to walk and pilgrims walk mainly on gravel paths. I have seen many families walking the Camino and most children seem to love the experience. I also worked as a hospitalera in October and many families stayed at our albergue. The youngest child one 8 years old from Canada and the oldest one was 15 years old from Korea. They all appeared to be having a wonderful time. Recently a family of 8 from New Zealand walked from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago with their children ranging from 6 to 11 years old, plus grandfather of 83.
I walked from Barcelona to Santiago then took a bus to the end of the world. This I did to celebrate my 60th birthday. It was a wonderful experience and I am proud of myself for finishing. It was hard at times easy at others over all great. I hope to start in France next time and finish in Barcelona so I can say I walked the entire way.
I walked from Barcelona to Santiago then took a bus to the end of the world. This I did to celebrate my 60th birthday. It was a wonderful experience and I am proud of myself for finishing. It was hard at times easy at others over all great. I hope to start in France next time and finish in Barcelona so I can say I walked the entire way. I am glad I went….