The last 114 km of the French Way of St James, from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela in the Xunta de Galicia's six official stages, through oak woods, hamlets and pilgrim villages, with the public albergues and the Compostela rules.
Best season: All year; rain much of the year in Galicia. The Xunta says Galicia is humid, with rain much of the year; the hottest days, in July and August, reach 25 to 30 °C, and inland minimums can fall to 0 to 5 °C. It advises never walking at night, before dawn or after sunset: the Way is marked for walking in daylight. Before you go
Loading your plan…
Plan your days
Your dates
Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Six official stages, each ending in a town with a public albergue, and nine more public albergues between them for other days. Suggested day counts keep each day under 6 hours of walking, about the longest official stage. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
6-day plan
Loading topographic map…
Flat (<5%)
Each day in its own colour, numbered where it starts; the rest of the Camino Francés: Sarria to Santiago in grey. Select a day for its elevation and 3D flyover.
Make your own plan
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 6 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Choose your nights (5 nights)
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Stage 1: Sarria to Portomarín: 22 km, 4 h 35, medium to high difficulty, the Xunta says. Out of Sarria past Santa Mariña, the Salvador and the convent of A Madalena, then a steep descent to the Ponte Áspera, about 1 km beside the railway and the hardest climb of the stage, up to Barbadelo and its Romanesque church. Oak woods and meadows by Ferreiros to the descent to the Miño, and over the bridge into Portomarín, rebuilt above the Belesar reservoir in the 1960s. The line ends at the bridge; the village, its public albergue and most beds are a few hundred metres up the hill.
PortomarínTown or village
The village rebuilt above the Belesar reservoir in the 1960s, its church of San Nicolao moved stone by stone. The Xunta’s public albergue (88 places) is on Rúa Condes de Fenosa, with many private albergues.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 29 places to stay within about 900 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Stage 2: Portomarín to Palas de Rei: 25.1 km, 5 h 55, the longest stage. It leaves over the reservoir by a footbridge, then climbs steadily beside the road to Gonzar (8.2 km), and goes on by Castromaior, Vendas de Narón and Ligonde. The Romanesque church of Vilar de Donas lies off the Way.
Palas de ReiTown or village
A town with two public albergues, Palas de Rei on Avenida de Compostela (66 places) and Os Chacotes at the way in (100 places), and private albergues and rooms.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 19 places to stay within about 900 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Stage 3: Palas de Rei to Melide: 14.6 km, 3 h 40. Out by the Campo dos Romeiros, across the main road to San Xiao do Camiño, into the province of A Coruña by O Leboreiro and over the medieval bridge at Furelos. The castle of Pambre is a short detour. At Melide the Camino Primitivo joins.
MelideTown or village
The town where the Camino Primitivo joins, with the Xunta’s public albergue on Rúa San Antón (138 places) and private albergues.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 16 places to stay within about 900 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Stage 4: Melide to Arzúa: 14.5 km, 3 h 40, low difficulty: earth and stone paths and small roads, gentle ups and downs, by Boente and A Castañeda, then over the medieval bridge on the Iso at Ribadiso, whose albergue was the old pilgrims' hospital. At Arzúa the Camino del Norte joins.
ArzúaTown or village
A cheese town where the Camino del Norte joins, with the Xunta’s public albergue at Cima do Lugar (54 places) and many private albergues.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 29 places to stay within about 900 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Stage 5: Arzúa to O Pedrouzo (Arca, O Pino): 18.4 km, 4 h 35, low difficulty. Out by the rúa do Carme; woods and meadows alternate with stretches on the asphalt of the N-547, which the Way crosses several times: take care with the traffic. Bars and fountains all along, the Xunta's guide says. The Way passes O Pedrouzo on its edge, and this stage ends there, 0.8 km on from where the Xunta measures it (so 19.2 km here, and 19.2 km for the last stage against its 20.2); the public albergue of Arca is about 400 m off, on the N-547.
O PedrouzoTown or village
O Pedrouzo, the main village of Arca (O Pino), on the N-547: the Xunta’s public albergue of Arca (124 places) and many private albergues and rooms.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 20 places to stay within about 900 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Stage 6: O Pedrouzo to Santiago: 20.2 km, 5 h 05. Through eucalyptus woods by Santo Antón and O Amenal, past Santiago airport to A Lavacolla, and up to Monte do Gozo (380 m), where pilgrims first saw the cathedral; then down into the city by San Lázaro, the Rúa dos Concheiros, San Pedro and the Porta do Camiño, to the cathedral by the Praza da Acibechería (in a Holy Year, the Holy Door in A Quintana).
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are the Xunta de Galicia's published times where it gives one, with our estimate beside it; a day that walks part of a stage gets a share of the stage's time by distance and climb. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Weather this week
Loading the forecast for low point (248 m) and high point (726 m)…
Weather by month
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (248 m) and the highest point (726 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
Weather
Mixed
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Mixed
Mixed
Good
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Stages rated good on typical weather
1/6
6/6
6/6
6/6
6/6
6/6
3/6
2/6
6/6
0/6
0/6
0/6
High point, day / night
9°/2°
11°/2°
14°/4°
15°/5°
18°/7°
22°/10°
24°/12°
25°/12°
22°/10°
18°/8°
12°/5°
10°/3°
Low point, day / night
12°/6°
13°/5°
16°/7°
17°/8°
20°/10°
23°/12°
24°/14°
25°/14°
23°/13°
19°/11°
14°/8°
13°/6°
Rain, mm
230
166
157
139
116
68
35
61
100
219
246
248
Snow at high point
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Daylight
9 h 21
10 h 31
11 h 51
13 h 21
14 h 36
15 h 19
15 h 04
13 h 59
12 h 34
11 h 08
9 h 47
9 h 03
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Prepare for the Camino Francés from Sarria
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Public albergues are first come, first served
By the rules in the Xunta's albergue leaflet (Albergues/Hostels), its public albergues take no bookings, except for pilgrims with a disability. Beds go in this order: pilgrims with a disability, on foot, on horseback, by bicycle, with a support vehicle, and last those who start the Way at that albergue, so on a first night in Sarria you come last at its public albergue. You stay one night at most, for €10 in 2026; they open 13:00 to 22:00, you leave before 08:00, and you show your credential to get in. Private albergues, guest houses and hotels are booked directly.
The credential and the Compostela
The Pilgrim's Office in Santiago gives the Compostela to those who walk at least the last 100 km on one recognised route, ending at the cathedral, made in a Christian spirit, even if only as a search, its pages say; on the Camino Francés it counts from Sarria or Barbadelo. Others can ask for its certificate of distance. The Xunta asks for two stamps a day in the credential over that stretch. Credentials come from the Pilgrim's Office or from bodies the Cathedral authorises, such as parishes, albergues and pilgrims' associations; bring one with you, as the public albergues ask for it.
Rúa Carretas 33, closed on 25 December and 1 January; you take a QR ticket to queue. Its FAQ gives 08:00 to 20:00 from Easter Monday to 31 October and 10:00 to 19:00 in winter, its reception page 9:00 to 19:00, and it may close up to an hour early when busy: check before you arrive.
Between Arzúa and O Pedrouzo the Way runs on the N-547 in places and crosses it several times: watch the traffic. Do not walk at night or before dawn, carry a small first-aid kit and no more than 10 kg, the Xunta advises. The public albergues must be left by 08:00, and from October the sun rises later than that: wait for the light, and wear something bright or reflective on the roads. In an emergency call 112.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
To Sarria by train
Sarria has a station on the long-distance line from Madrid by Ourense to Lugo and A Coruña or Ferrol, the Xunta says; check Renfe for the current trains.
The Xunta lists Monbus from Lugo bus station to Sarria bus station: 13 buses on weekdays and 7 on Saturdays and Sundays, about 30 minutes, €3.70 (read 1 October 2026).
Prepare each stage while you have a connection, and test it offline before you set out.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Open this trail in the app.Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
About this map
The Xunta gives 114.8 km in six stages from Sarria to Santiago. For the Compostela, the Pilgrim's Office counts the Camino Francés on foot from Sarria or Barbadelo. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relations 2163565 and 2163559 of the Camiño Francés, planet of 28 September 2026), 114.3 km from the Xunta's albergue on Rúa Maior in Sarria to the cathedral, cut at the stage ends; it runs within about 170 m of the Xunta's own route file throughout. Leaving Sarria the Xunta also marks a way straight to Ferreiros that skips Barbadelo; the line takes the way by Barbadelo.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 1 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.