Useful information for pilgrims

Recommendations for travelling the Camino de Santiago during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Consejo Jacobeo has compiled a list of all the recommendations which may be useful to pilgrims and officers along the Camino de Santiago during the pandemic in order to minimize transmission risks. Following all these recommendations will help to keep the Camino open during the pandemic.

Please note that, during the state of “new normality”, each autonomous community may issue its own standards concerning capacity restrictions, group activities, public transport, etc. You can find out more by checking the links in the right column.

If you are thinking about travelling the Camino, download these helpful tips for your pilgrimage.

• Castilian: print version in A3 and A4
• English: print version in A3 and A4

For your safety: Alertcops app

The National Police and the Civil Guard have created an app which will help you to have a safe pilgrimage. You can use it to report incidents, share your location with the security forces in the event of emergency, and get public safety alerts wherever you are.

• Download link

Staying in hostels

Reduced capacity at hostels

During the pandemic, the hostels along the Camino de Santiago may modify their capacity threshold in response to the new standards, change their opening dates or even remain closed. You can find the latest information about all of these questions in the National Geographic Institute’s mobile app “Camino de Santiago”.

• Play Store (Android) download link
• AppStore (iPhone) download link

Preventive measures in hostels

The Ministry of Tourism, in a joint undertaking with the Ministry of Health, has created a guide with essential recommendations for people using hostels on the Camino de Santiago, and any other tourist accommodation, in order to protect guests and workers from COVID-19.Salto de línea

The hostels used by the pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago have their own idiosyncrasies, which makes them different from regular tourist hostels.

One of the main features of these pilgrimage hostels is that pilgrims are only allowed to spend a single night in them. This daily turnover makes it mandatory to pay even more attention to cleaning and sanitizing rooms and toilets after pilgrims depart in the morning. A vital part of this process is the sanitizing of communal hygiene facilities: guidelines advise they must be cleaned at least six times a day, particularly when pilgrims are staying at the hostel.

The use of dormitories must follow the capacity recommendations detailed in the official guide, which recommends that sleeping groups include only families or pilgrimage groups.

It is common for hostel users to pay a donation in cash, but to avoid handling cash as much as possible, it may be possible to pay using electronic options in some hostels.

Pilgrims who travel the Camino by horse are advised to leave all of their equipment in the stable or a dedicated space for this.

If the pilgrim hostel has a laundry room, the measures in the guide to reduce COVID-19 transmission at camping sites and holiday accommodation may be in force there as well.