The footwear that you simply stroll the Camino de Santiago with are crucial equipment choice you’ll make for your Camino de Santiago Packing listing. Strolling within the fallacious footwear may end up in horrible blisters, drained toes, and different accidents that may even finish your Camino.

There are such a large amount of evaluations, everyone is other, and each and every path is other so sadly there’s no one simple resolution to which footwear are the most efficient for the Camino. Alya has walked 9 other Camino de Santiago routes and Campbell has walked 7. We’ve achieved many different treks everywhere the arena. On this put up, I will be able to provide you with my opinion on the most efficient footwear in response to our strolling revel in at the Camino de Santiago.
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Boots vs footwear for strolling the Camino de Santiago
The short resolution – our favourite shoes for the Camino de Santiago is climbing footwear.
This can be a highly regarded subject to speak about on Fb teams and in on-line boards and you’ll to find numerous discussions in the event you seek somewhat. Here’s a fast abstract of our revel in with other types of footwear.
If you wish to know execs and cons of strolling the Camino in several seasons learn our put up on the most efficient time to do the Camino de Santiago.

Path runners at the Camino
Path runners are a highly regarded choice for strolling the Camino de Santiago. Path footwear are very similar to street trainers, however they’re constructed extra rugged to give protection to the footwear and your toes from gadgets like rocks, and sticks, so they’re gentle and difficult. I’ve learn such a lot of discussions with pilgrims praising path runners, the common sense is they’re gentle, get dry briefly and supply sufficient enhance for the type of terrain that you’re going to revel in at the Camino.
Our revel in with path runners at the Camino was once no longer nice. We walked two shorter routes in path runners, the Camino de San Salvador (120 km/74 mi) and the Camino de Santiago de Gran Canaria (67 km/41,6 mi). We hiked in well-worn path footwear that we use for path operating. The footwear have been comfy at the path, however we each had issues of blisters strolling in path footwear.
Within the Protection of Path Runners
You do get many alternative manufacturers and fashions of path trainers, perhaps a unique path runner would paintings higher at the Camino. We have now on the other hand no longer had any issues operating with our Adidas or Asics path runners whilst operating. Since we purchased those footwear for operating they have been a comfy have compatibility, however no longer big enough to put on with our thick merino wool socks. We swear by means of merino wool socks, they’re incredible!
Fashionable Path runners for strolling

- Hoka Velocity Goat 4 (Velocity Goat 4 Girls) – You spot Hokas all over at the Camino at the present time. Those tremendous cushioned, path runners have transform very talked-about at the path. Maximum pilgrims stroll within the Hoka Speedgoat, with numerous cushioning; grippy outsole, and a top quality higher. The Velocity Goat 5 is the most recent unencumber.
- Altra’s Lone Height 6 (Lone Height 6 Girls) – a operating shoe that has since transform a thru-hiker favourite. Very talked-about at the Camino, identified for excessive convenience and thick padding. It appears, the radical design takes time to get used to, so you’ll want to stroll them in previously.
- Brooks Cascadia 16 (Cascadia 16 Girls)- very well-liked by thru hikers, looks like a comfy street shoe, with excellent underfoot coverage. Mild high quality constructed path runners.

Strolling the Camino in climbing footwear
Climbing footwear are designed for climbing. With a decrease reduce, they’re extra agile and light-weight than climbing boots. Many boots also are to be had as a lower-cut climbing footwear. For Alya and myself we discovered climbing footwear to paintings the most efficient and feature worn a number of other footwear within the 16 Camino de Santiago’s now we have walked between the 2 folks. We discovered footwear to be rather light-weight, comfy, keep moderately dry, and don’t take too lengthy to dry when getting rainy. Climbing footwear have a stiffer sole which we discovered to be nice on Camino the place you spend numerous time strolling on cobblestones such because the Camino Portuguese.
Fashionable climbing footwear for strolling


Dressed in climbing boots at the Camino de Santiago
The 2 greatest issues many of us have strolling the Camino de Santiago in boots are weight and breathability. The upper the reduce of the shoe the heavier it’s going to clearly be. Leather-based boots have a tendency to be heavier and not more versatile. Water-resistant subject matter does no longer most effective stay water out but additionally helps to keep water in. In case your toes sweat so much, leather-based or Gortex is much less breathable and your toes may also be rainy in any prerequisites.
The Camino de Santiago isn’t a unmarried path, however a community of pilgrimage routes finishing in Santiago de Compostela. The selected path and season indisputably affect what footwear might be appropriate. I will be able to no longer counsel dressed in heavy, water-resistant boots on a sizzling dry Camino in summertime (July/August). Strolling within the shoulder season (Would possibly, June, and September), may also be excellent, however rain is imaginable. We walked an overly rainy Camino Primitivo all through this time and water-resistant boots labored superbly. We walked the Camino del Norte in October and the Camino Finisterre in November after we were given numerous rain having water-resistant boots would save us numerous bother.

With boots there are lots of other alternatives, the peak of the boot and the fabric used for building make an enormous distinction. Previous-style, heavy, leather-based boots don’t paintings effectively for us. We each love our Salomon X Extremely 3 Mid GTX (LADIES) mid-length, Gortex boots. Trendy, gentle, and tremendous comfy now we have achieved a long way in prerequisites various from snow to sizzling dusty trails and feature most effective had an ideal revel in! Mild and athletic with a mid-length design. I to find them very comfy and wouldn’t have an issue with breathability. I put on them with thick merino wool socks.
Sandals for strolling the Camino de Santiago
Most of the people pack sandals to put on across the Albergues after an extended day at the street. I really like my Havaianas flip-flops and feature walked lengthy stretches in my flip-flops on sizzling days at the Camino. I’ve met other folks strolling the entire Camino in climbing sandals and announcing after switching from footwear to sandals they’ll by no means return! Packing sandals to trade together with your footwear isn’t a foul concept to stay your toes dry and blister-free. Strolling your Camino in sandals is principally an choice in the event you stroll within the dry season. Some well-liked sandals now we have noticed are made by means of KEEN and Teva; Willing Girls Whisper Sandals, Willing Males’s Clearwater CNX 2 Light-weight, Teva Storm Xlt2, and Teva Storm Xlt2 ladies.

Strolling in Working Sneakers
We walked our first Camino after coming to Europe following a climbing season in Nepal. It was once summer time and Campbell determined to stroll in his street trainers slightly than in his trekking boots. He has achieved numerous operating within the footwear (greater than 1000 km) blister-free. He walked in his operating shoes, skinny operating socks, and his Asics street trainers. Affter a few very lengthy days (over 30 km) he were given the worst blisters he has ever had and by means of the top of the Camino, the footwear have been totally destroyed. We all know some folks that run the Camino and so they accomplish that of their trainers however operating and strolling is other particularly strolling with a heavy backpack.
Excellent socks for the Camino
We’re company believers in Merino wool socks, this can be a sport changer. Climbing many hundreds of kilometers on a number of budgets now we have used almost certainly about each and every roughly sock you’ll be able to consider. Not anything comes with reference to merino wool socks. They’re merely incredible at protecting your toes dry and blister-free. They only take for much longer to start out smelling dangerous than even the fanciest artificial climbing socks. DARN TOUGH and MERIWOOL make superb high quality merino wool socks.
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The beautiful part of Stingy Nomads, accountable for all our land adventures (climbing, mountaineering, strolling the Camino) and following them write-ups. Alya loves strolling since she was once a kid, she prefers to stroll 1000 km with a backpack slightly than to do a ten 000 km street shuttle (in reality any street shuttle). Alya is a huge fan of Latin The united states, the Spanish language, and dancing. Each time we cross away she desperately misses our canine Chile.