There is no set Camino budget, the cost depends on you. You can walk the Camino de Santiago on less than 20 Euro a day or spend over 50 Euro per day. I’ve had days when I spent 16 Euro as well as 50-Euro days as well on the same Camino. It all depends on how much you can spend, how much comfort you need, etc. In this post, I’m discussing what you can get on 20, 30, and 40+ Euro per person per day on the Camino, give a detailed breakdown of my Camino budget, and give some money-saving tips.
It’s important to remember that the cost may vary depending on the chosen Camino some routes work out cheaper than the others. We’ve walked 7 different Camino de Santiago routes and we did notice the difference especially in accommodation prices. I’m going to compare these seven routes and explain why some of them were more expensive to walk.
Walking the Camino with 20, 30 and 40+ Euro per day
I’m giving an overview of what you can afford to walk the Camino on these budgets, it doesn’t mean you have to stick and stay only at public albergues if you have 20 Euro per day it just shows that most of the time it’ll be your best accommodation option. Accommodation and food are the main expenses on the Camino. Laundry and luggage delivery service are two other expenses many pilgrims have but both are optional. You can do hand-washing and carry your own backpack. Some days you might have some extra expenses such as museum entrance fees, etc.
If your budget is 20 Euro per person per day
- Accommodation – public albergues, between 6 and 8 Euro
- Food – grocery shopping – 8-12 Euro
If your budget is 30 Euro per person per day
- Accommodation – private albergues, 10-12 Euro.
- Food – Menu del Día – 10-12 Euro; breakfast – 2-3 Euro; grocery shopping – 5-8 Euro.
If you can spend 40+ Euro per person per day
- Accommodation – a private room in a hotel, from 15 Euro per person (if you’re two people sharing a double room), from 25 for a single room.
- Food – Menu del Día – 10-12 Euro; breakfast – 2-3 Euro; dinner – 12-15 Euro.
Extras
- Laundry – 2-3 Euro per load for washing, 2-3 Euro per load for drying.
- Luggage delivery service – 4-5 Euro per backpack per stage.
I’m going to elaborate on each topic below comparing different options.
The cost of accommodation on the Camino de Santiago
Your accommodation options on the Camino are quite diverse (especially on the popular Camino routes) from public and private albergues to hostels and hotels/guesthouses. Albergues are hostels for pilgrims.
Public (municipal) albergues
It is the cheapest accommodation option on the Camino. They’re run by municipalities and are exclusively for pilgrims walking or cycling the Camino. You need a Credential (a pilgrim’s passport) with stamps to be able to stay at public albergues. The average price is between 5 and 8 Euros per person per bed. Public albergues are usually quite big with one or two rooms with several bunk-beds and shared facilities (showers, toilets, a kitchen).
On more popular Camino routes like the Camino Francés or the Camino Portuguese from Porto, you can plan your itinerary the way that you stay almost every night at a public albergue and pay 5-7 Euro per bed. Less busy routes have fewer public albergues from time to time you’ll have no option but to stay at private albergues.
Private albergues
The second cheapest accommodation on the Camino. Private albergues belong to a person or a company anybody can stay there but most of the guests are usually pilgrims. They cost 10-12 Euro per bed. Private albergues usually have better facilities and are quite a bit smaller than public albergues. Some private albergues have private rooms as well.
Sometimes you can find albergues (usually private) for donation. How much to pay depends on you. We usually leave as much as we would pay for a public albergue or more if we really like the place. There are more private than public albergues on the Camino, you’ll be able to find one at the end of every day.
Hotels/guesthouses (pensions)
These are the most expensive and comfortable accommodation options on the Camino. Prices for a private room start at 25 Euro for a single room and 30 Euro for a double room. Staying at hotels every night especially on longer Camino routes might be quite tough on your budget but I’d definitely recommend having a private room every once in a while. It’s so nice to have a good rest and some privacy. We usually stay in private at least once a week or even more often if we can find a well-priced private room.
Comparing public and private albergues and hotels
| Features | Public albergues | Private albergues | Hotels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 5-8 Euro | 10-14 Euro | from 25 Euro |
| Only for pilgrims | yes | no | no |
| Need a Credential to stay | yes | no | no |
| Can be booked | no | yes | yes |
| Can stay more than 1 night | no | yes | yes |
| Allow luggage delivery | no | yes | yes |
| Accept credit cards | no | usually | usually |
The cost of food on the Camino
Grocery shopping and cooking
The cheapest way is to buy food at supermarkets/shops and cook for yourself. Most albergues have a communal kitchen that pilgrims can use. Some kitchens are well-equipped and have all you need for cooking, some are very basic. My advice always before you go shopping is to check out the kitchen.
Most of the places along the Camino routes have at least a small grocery store where you can get bread, pasta, cheese, yogurt, fruit, and vegetables. Bigger towns and cities have supermarkets where you can get pretty much anything including takeaway meals that are cheaper than eating at restaurants. We usually spend between 8 and 14 Euro for grocery shopping for two people. Depending on what you buy and for how many meals I’d recommend budgeting 6-10 Euro per person per day to buy enough food for 2 meals.
Breakfast
The Spanish are not very big on breakfast, most of them just drink a cup of coffee with a small pastry. Many cafes on the Camino offer breakfasts that usually include a cup of coffee, a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a sandwich or a pastry. A breakfast like that costs between 2 and 3 Euro. On very busy and touristy parts of some Caminos, you can find an English (eggs & bacon) or an American (sausages, eggs, cereal, etc.) breakfast as well one of these costs 8 to 10 Euro.
Menu del Día or a Pilgrim’s Menu
Menú del Día or a set meal that includes a starter, a main, a drink (wine, beer, water, soda), bread, and dessert or coffee is a very popular lunch option everywhere in Spain not only on the Camino. A typical menu costs between 10 and 12 Euro. The quality of the menu varies. I’ve had some amazing menus and some poor meals on the Camino. Usually, in cities and busy towns, menus have more options and are of better quality. The worst menus I had at albergues-restaurants in the middle of nowhere when after finishing your menu you are almost as hungry as before.
If you’re on a special diet e.g. vegetarian or vegan in small towns/villages it might be difficult to find a suitable menu. In cities and bigger towns, it’s not a problem many restaurants have vegetarian/vegan menu options.
Dinner
The most expensive meal on the Camino. We never go out for dinner on the Camino only in Santiago de Compostela after finishing the walk but we do go out to drink a glass of wine or beer and to eat a couple of tapas/pintxos. Dinner at a restaurant with a glass of wine will cost you between 14 and 18 Euro per person depending on the place and chosen menu.
For a beer or a glass of wine at the bar, you’ll pay an average of 2 Euro it may include a simple tapa. Many bars in Asturias and Galicia offer a free tapa with every drink you order. It might be a small portion of tortilla, peanuts, a small cheese or ham sandwich, etc. Make sure to try typical Galician dishes Pulpo a la Feira (cooked octopus) and Pimientos de Padrón (fried green peppers) both are great with beer. In Santiago de Compostela there are a couple of amazing tapas bars in Rúa de Franco and Rúa da Raiña streets.
In the Basque Country, Cantabria and Navarra, they serve pintxos, a more sophisticated version of tapas. Pintxos don’t come with your drink, you have to pay extra for them. A pintxo costs 2-3 Euro and it’s usually absolutely delicious stuff. If you happen to walk one of the routes through Northern Spain e.g. the French Camino or the Northern Way make sure to try pintxos in San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, Bilbao, or Pamplona.
If you’re planning to go out for a drink more or less regularly add 30-50 Euro (depending on how long you’re going to walk) to your entire Camino budget.
Extra expenses on the Camino
Luggage delivery service on the Camino
The service is available on all major Camino de Santiago routes. The more popular the route is the more companies offer backpack delivery service. An average price is 5 Euro per backpack per stage; it might vary depending on the distance, route popularity, etc. You can use the service for the entire Camino or only for selective stages e.g. the roughest ones that involve walking long-distances or many ascents and descents. You can decide whether you need it or not on the way. Try to walk with your backpack and if it’s too heavy or too difficult you can always start using the…