Travel

Santiago Airport Closed

April 23rd to May 27th 2026

If you plan to walk the Camino de Santiago in 2026, please note that Santiago de Compostela Airport will be closed from April 23rd to May 27th, 2026 for runway renovations and upgrades. During that period, no flights will arrive or depart.

Alternative Airports to Santiago for Pilgrims.

Porto Airport is the most convenient option, with direct flights from Dublin and good train and Bus connections. The journey takes around 2.5 hours by car or approximately 4.5 hours by public transport.

Porto, Portugal – is roughly 230 km south of Santiago de Compostela.

Madrid also offers direct flights from Ireland and is 600km from Santiago. Trains from Madrid to Santiago take about 4 hours(book in advance and early for the cheapest price), the bus trip can take between 8 and 10 hours.

The two closest options are A Coruña and Vigo Airports, unfortunately it's not currently possible to fly to either directly from Ireland. Both are conveniently connected to Santiago de Compostela—around 2 hours away by bus or about 1 hour by taxi.

For all travel options check Rome2Rio and for train tickets check Trainline or Renfe.

NB: This is information and not advice.

Guided or Self-Guided Walks

Everyone is entitled to do their Camino their way. Perhaps you prefer not to rough it and walk alone for weeks carrying everything on your back. You might choose to book all your accommodation ahead of time and have your backpack transferred each day. If you are unable to carry a heavy backpack--or are unable to walk very long distances over difficult terrain--you can still do the Camino by having your pack (and yourself) transported by taxi or transport services on most of the Camino routes. In order to do this, you must have pre-booked accommodation along the way. This means that you will not be allowed to stay in any of the traditional pilgrim albergues that do not allow pre-booking or vehicle back-up. However, many private albergues do allow pilgrims to stay who have backpacks transported along the route.

Making your own travel arrangements

This is the most popular option but not mandatory by any means. This usually means you book your own ﬂight and stay in hostels (albergues) or small hotels. You can carry your own rucksack or you can get it transferred to your next stop for a small fee.

Traveling with a Charity

Charity organizations will, usually, make all your accommodation and/or you travel arrangements. Some available are:

MS Ireland Camino
Peter McVerry Trust Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind

Some Travel Companies

Camino Groups www.caminogroups.ie
Into the West Adventures www.intothewestadventures
UWalk - Navan www.uwalk.ie

Getting There

From April to early October you should be able to get direct ﬂights from Dublin to Biarritz (St-Jean-Pied-de-Port or Irun), Bilbao & Santander (Camino del Norte & Primitivo), Santiago de Compostela (Sarria, Tui or Ferrol), Vigo, Porto or Lisbon (for Camino Portugués), Lyon, France (Le Puy), or Seville (Via de la Plata). You can also fly to Madrid and take the bus or train from there. There are many ways to get to your starting point, and more than likely, the last leg will mean getting a train, bus or taxi.

For getting from Biarritz Airport to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, two possible taxi services are Express Bourricot and Biarritz Airport Transfers. It’s cheaper to share the taxi if you can find other pilgrims, there should be some other pilgrims on your ﬂight. You can also get a Bus from Biarritz to Bayonne and from there a train to St Jean.

To get to Sarria from Santiago airport, get a bus to Lugo (about 2
hours) and another bus from Lugo to Sarria (30 minutes).

Check here MONBUS here for from Santiago to Sarria & beyond

How Long Does It Take?

As long as you want to spend! Some people set off from their own front door, including pilgrims starting in Ireland, taking the ferry from Cork or Rosslare and walking down through France. Others choose a route and walk it in sections during occasional holidays. The routes have differing lengths; the Camino Francés can take 5 weeks, where the Camino Inglés can take 5 days. You can start your pilgrimage in any country, from any place, on any route. You might only have a few days to walk or a few months. Some pilgrims walk different sections of the Caminos every year.

Travel Within Spain

Spain’s network of train and bus services is one of the best in Europe and there aren’t many places that can’t be reached using one or the other. By European standards, prices are relatively cheap. Spain is crisscrossed with a comprehensive network of rail lines on RENFE, the national rail line. The RENFE website is convenient and easy to use.

Almost every bus schedule in Spain is available on the Movelia website. Here are some of the main bus companies in Spain, all with nationwide services, and English-language version websites:

Alsa (alsa.es)
Monbus (monbus.es)
Avanzabus (avanzabus.com)

Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance is always advisable and make sure you bring your European Health Insurance Card, EHIC, (formerly the E111), it gives you access to reduced cost medical treatment.

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