Camino Packing

Packing for the Camino de Santiago

There are many secrets to making your Camino de Santiago as pain free as possible, but the two most important are your shoes and your pack.

Read this Walking Shoe Guide from About.com's Guide to Walking, or stay on this page for Camino de Santiago packing tips.

See also: Camino de Santiago Guide

A lot of Camino guides tell you to carry no more than 8kg (including the pack itself), which seems like a pretty arbitrary figure to me. A better indicator is '10% of your body weight'. But every pilgrim has their own needs. There is a simpler way to decide how much to pack:

• Only Carry as Much as You Need!

Forget about weight suggestions from know-it-all former pilgrims. No matter how heavy or light your pack is, if something is unnecessary, it should be left out, even if you've got your pack weight down to an impressive 6kg. The less you carry, the more enjoyable your walking will be.

But what do you need to carry? Only you know the answer. Everyone has their personal needs and desires. Try telling a photographer that they can't take their bulky SLR camera with them.

Having said that, there are common mistakes that pilgrims make when they're packing for the Camino de Santiago. Read these pages to make sure you don't make the same mistakes:

• Packing on the Camino: Things You Need

• Packing on the Camino: Things You Don't Need

• Packing on the Camino: How to Pack