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Oct 21, 2026 : CrayonThe Trek
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How is the Camino Primitivo compared to other trails we have done?
We found it to be more communal than the TMB (Tour Du Mont Blanc) but not as much as the AT which is very communal. On the AT, everyone is hiking their own hike but everyone is facing struggles some of which are the same. We have to carry our own food, deal with hills, sleep outside, ect. Everyone hikes their own hike in their own way on any hike, yes, but there’s less backwoods hiking and more town walking. On the AT we would go 3-5 days of food carries and no town. On the Camino, even the Primitivo, we could go 5-10km (3-6 miles) before the next cafe. There were multiple cafes on the Camino Primitivo and always had access to food and drink.
The Camino Primitivo isn’t hard as reviews made it sound. Perhaps those who find the Camino Primitivo hard, have not done a day on the AT. Any day on the AT or even the AZT made the Camino Primitivo a breeze. It’s different as we used it as a vacation. A 15 mile day on the Camino, starting at 8 and being done by 3, was a breeze whereas a 15 mile day on the AT would take all day (maybe 7am-6pm) which was a hard day. There was a shocking amount of cafes, tourists, tourist Camino shops, trash, graffiti had multiplied when we reached Melide and especially Santiago.
While the AZT had plenty of flat sections, it wasn’t a ton of road walking. I would say that the AT probably has more road walking than the AZT
But not nearly as much as the Camino Primitivo. 80% of the trail was road walking and of that 80%, probably 50% was paved road walking which wasn’t the most fun. I didn’t mind the cobblestone and such, of course I loved the dirt paths, the paved roads were a bit of a let down since it made our feet tired faster.
How did you like the Camino Primitivo?
We enjoyed everything but the paved road walks
We enjoyed everything but the paved road walks but even those had amazing, wonderful, beautiful views. The rolling hills and foggy mornings were truly beautiful. Day 2-9 were probably some of the best on trail, especially the Hospitalous route.
Are you satisfied?
Overall, yes. Would’ve preferred a more challenging and longer hike but it fit perfectly into the time we had available. It wasn’t like we were doing 14ers in Colorado, struggling for air, snow shoe hiking, or going of puds everyday. The hills didn’t feel hard, except for the one going up to A f.
It felt like a walk in the park. Preston loved the hills but felt that there wasn’t enough. It was nice to have coffee, drinks, and food every few miles/kilometers. The reviews that the trail was “hard” felt inaccurate. Each day felt more like a session at our local park and getting pizza afterwards. Preston said it felt like a gym session with pizza and beer afterwards.
Would you do another Camino Primitivo to Santiago?
We aren’t quiet sure at the moment which one of course but it would be nice to eventually do another Camino de Santiago. We would love to do one that felt similar to the Camino Primitivo leading up to Lugo. The Camino de Santiago feels too commercial. We enjoy being out and away from things and towns. We enjoyed perfect smaller towns and refugees similar to the TMB. Lugo was really big and it felt really big. Santiago wasn’t as bad there were still a lot of tourist shops but it was still a really cool town.
It also reminded me of home
It also reminded me of home and of the AT with the views. It felt like I was walking around the woods behind my great grandmother’s house. I would want to do another because I do enjoy the feeling of checking a box and I also just enjoy hiking. Even in the rain and getting to meet people. We would like to find a Camino that is longer, has less people, and not as popular. It would also be fun to see different parts of Spain.
What’s next?
We would like to see other parts of Europe first. We would love to travel around more and explore other places. We will have to wait some, before going over seas again, after we get out house and get settled. We want to do the West Highland Way (96 miles), explore Italy, do the Coast to Coast trail (200 miles), the Iceland trail, the Japanese Camino, dolomite altavia routes, and so many more.
We’re going to spend more travel time in the Eastern part of the United States. Do some local trips, visit Virginia, see the Florida trail, and see even more of North Carolina.
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