Camino de Santiago Training Guide: How to Prepare for Your Walk

The Camino de Santiago is one of the most rewarding walking experiences in the world, and preparation makes all the difference. It is a route that welcomes people of all fitness levels and backgrounds, and with a sensible 8 to 12 week training plan and a bit of patience, it is well within reach for most people, including first-time pilgrims.

Walking Fitness and Why It Matters

What you are aiming for is walking fitness and conditioning. The best way to train for the Camino is to mimic its conditions as closely as possible: regular walking, building distance gradually, and getting your body used to consecutive days on your feet. No gym programme quite replicates that, which is why you should undertake a dedicated walking plan in the 8 to 12 weeks before you leave.

The issues that most commonly slow pilgrims down are not about overall fitness. They are about conditioning the body to sustain multiple consecutive days of walking, and making sure you have the right gear and equipment to support it, tested and broken in before you arrive. Conditioning takes time and cannot be rushed, but with a consistent training block behind you, you can arrive on the Camino with your body ready for what lies ahead.

Weeks 1 to 3: Build the Base

The first few weeks are not about pushing yourself. They are about establishing a consistent walking habit and getting your footwear sorted early.

Aim to walk three to four times per week. At this stage, think in terms of time on your feet rather than distance. Even 30 to 45 minutes per outing is a solid foundation. The goal is simply to be walking regularly rather than doing it once a week and calling it training.

Crucially, wear the exact shoes and socks you plan to bring on the Camino. This is not optional. Breaking in footwear is one of the single most effective things you can do to prevent blisters. Stiff or unfamiliar shoes on day one of the Camino are one of the most common causes of problems for pilgrims of all ages.

If you are buying new shoes for the trip, buy them now. Wear them to the supermarket, around the house, on short errands. Give them every opportunity to soften and shape to your feet before the serious walking begins.

Weeks 4 to 8: Increase Distance Gradually

By week four, your body has started adjusting to regular walking and it is time to start extending your outings. Aim for one longer walk each week, building up toward 10 to 15 kilometres. Keep your other sessions shorter and steady.

Try to walk on varied terrain when you can. The Camino involves everything from paved roads and gravel tracks to uneven stone paths and grassy hillsides. If you live somewhere relatively flat, seek out any hills, stairs, or uneven surfaces you can find. Parks, coastal paths, and trails through bushland all work well.

This is also a good time to start walking with a daypack if you plan to carry one. Load it with a water bottle and a few items to roughly simulate what you will carry on the trail. Your shoulders and back need time to adjust just as much as your legs do.

Pay attention to how your feet feel after longer walks. Small hotspots are worth addressing now, with better socks, a slightly different lacing pattern, or a visit to a podiatrist if needed. A blister that is caught early is far easier to manage than one that develops on day two of the Camino.

Weeks 7 to 11: Simulate Consecutive Days

This is the most important phase of your preparation, and the one most people skip. Walking 15 kilometres once a week is useful, but the Camino does not give you a week to recover. You will be walking again the next morning, and the one after that.

From week seven, try to schedule back-to-back walking days at least once, ideally twice. Walk on Saturday and again on Sunday. Walk on Friday and Saturday. It does not need to be huge distances. Even two consecutive days of 8 to 10 kilometres each will teach your body something no single long walk can.

Notice how your legs feel on the second morning. A little stiffness is completely normal and it eases as you warm up. That experience, of setting off on tired legs and feeling them loosen over the first kilometre or two, is something every Camino pilgrim knows well. Practicing it at home makes it far less daunting when it happens on the trail.

Your longest single outing during this phase should reach around 18 to 20 kilometres. You do not need to do this every week, once or twice in this phase is enough to prove to yourself that the distance is manageable.

Weeks 11 to 12: Taper and Fine-Tune

The final phase before you fly out is not the time to do your hardest training. It is the time to ease back, let your body consolidate what it has built, and arrive in good shape rather than exhausted.

Reduce the length of your walks in the last two weeks. Keep walking regularly, three or four times a week, but there is no need for big days. Your body knows what to do now.

Use this time to finalise your kit. Walk in your complete Camino outfit, boots, socks, pack, poles if you are bringing them, and make sure everything feels right. There should be no surprises on day one.

If you are bringing trekking poles, practice walking with them now rather than figuring them out on the trail. They are genuinely useful on descents and over longer distances, but they take a little getting used to.

A Note on Rest Days

Rest is part of training. Your muscles repair and strengthen during recovery, not during the effort itself. Building rest days into your training week is not laziness, it is smart preparation.

This logic applies on the Camino too. Many experienced pilgrims build in a rest day or two during longer routes, particularly if something feels sore or the pace is harder than expected. There is no shame in it. Walking the Camino is the goal, not walking every single kilometre without pause.

At Tierra Trekking Co., our guided Camino tours are designed with exactly this in mind.

Our itineraries include flexibility for rest where it is needed, so that you can focus on the experience rather than pushing through discomfort. If you would like to walk with a group and have the logistics taken care of, you are welcome to explore our tours.

Strength and Stretching: The Extras That Help

Walking is the core of your preparation, but two additional habits will support you well on the trail.

Light lower-body strengthening exercises, things like squats, lunges, step-ups, and calf raises, help stabilise your knees and ankles on uneven terrain. You do not need a gym membership for these. Two or three short sessions a week alongside your walking makes a noticeable difference.

Stretching after walks, when your muscles are warm, helps maintain flexibility and reduces stiffness the next morning. Focus on your calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, and lower back. Five to ten minutes is enough. Making it a consistent habit matters more than the duration.

What Good Preparation Actually Feels Like

By the end of your 8 to 12 weeks, you should be able to walk 15 kilometres on consecutive days and arrive at the end of each one tired but not broken. You should feel confident in your footwear. Your pack should feel familiar. And you should have experienced enough of the rhythm of daily walking to know that you can sustain it.

You will not arrive at the Camino perfectly prepared. Nobody does. There will be days that are harder than expected, and moments where the terrain surprises you. But a consistent training block gives you a foundation to draw on when those moments come, and they pass much faster than you might expect.

The Camino is walked by people of all ages and fitness levels. With the right preparation, it is within reach.

Tierra Trekking Co. is an Australian and New Zealand tour company running self-guided Camino experiences. Our routes include the Camino Francés, the Portuguese Coastal Camino, and the Camino del Norte. Get in touch to find the right route and timing for your Camino.

Hi, I’m Ben

I’m Ben, founder of Tierra Trekking Co.

I’ve personally walked Camino routes across Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy, and started Tierra Trekking Co. to help Australians and New Zealanders experience these trails with practical support, thoughtful planning, and honest advice from someone who genuinely knows them.

If you’re unsure which Camino route is right for you, feel free to get in touch.

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