The Financial Analysis

I hadn't defined a budget for the three-week Camino journey, although if I had, I think I would have under-spent it.

After a hard morning's ride a little splurge (at 3 euro)

Executive summary:

Food	430
Accommodation	308
Travel	247
Other	87 (after all there has to be an 'other' category in any financial analysis)
Total Cost	1,072

(all figures in Euros)

Analysis

So what's this about "Travel" costs? Didn't I pedal myself all the way? Well, apart from the rental of the bike itself (which is not included in the above figures), the travel cost reflects the costs of getting to St. Jean Pied de Port from Paris, the bus back to Santiago from Finisterre, and flying back to Paris again from Santigao. Costs to get to Paris depend entirely on where you're coming from of course, so aren't included here. By the way, you could use other gateway cities like Madrid or Porto to get close to the start / end cities.

I caught the train to St. Jean Pied de Port and flew back from Santiago airport. I was lucky that the SNCF (French trains) and the airport were not on strike. That's not as facetious as it might sound: as I type, the SNCF workers have been on strike for a week, causing all sorts of havoc. Air traffic controllers have a habit of going on strike at short notice and preferably (from their perspective) at inconvenient times for travellers.

My average daily expenses (i.e. not including the transport costs) for the Spanish section of the journey came in at a little over 33 euros per day:

Food	20.90
Accommodation	10.50
Other	1.70
Total Daily Cost	33.10

(all figures in Euros)

The municipal albergue in Hontanas

Staying in albergues is a really cheap way to sleep as you can see in the above figures. Of course you sort of get what you pay for, but a bed is a bed, and I found all the places I stayed at perfectly acceptable in terms of facilities and cleanliness - some significantly better than expected. On various forums you read about bed bugs; I never had any problems with this or heard of anybody who had. That's not the case for the French walking paths, where I did hear of people picking up a little bonus here and there. I think that's because there is a good awareness of the potential for the problem and preventative measures are in place in Spain (and by implication, either a lack of awareness or a lack of preventative measures in France).

The French part of the journey in my case involved two nights in a B&B (luxury, at 60 euros /night) and two restaurant dinners (Pilgrim menus, but more than two - three times the Spanish price). Keeping to good accounting practice (cooking the books?) I haven't included these numbers in the above daily averages to avoid the daily average results being skewed. My two nights in a B&B in France accounted for almost 40% of my total accommodation costs for the entire three-week trip !

Sleeping

A private albergue in Villafranca

Albergues (hostels) cost anything from nothing (really - some are "donativo" which means you pay what you feel you can afford) upwards. Most municipal albergues cost 5 euro per night. Private albergues are (slightly) more expensive, and can vary widely. I paid between 8 euro (Lorca) to 17 euro (Santiago). The municipal albergues often fill up first, meaning you're left with no choice but to stay at a private albergue. Another factor is that the private albergue are often more interesting and have their own character, making them good places to stay. If you go for pensions or hotels, well, you can pay as much as you like. But that's not really the idea of the Camino - although many people opt for a night here and there in a hotel; "a room with a door" as May, the Irish lady, had put it. Mind you, a one night splurge in a simple hotel at, say, 60 euro, is the equivalent of 10 nights in an albergue, so you need to keep that in mind when you do your sums.

Eating

A home-cooked Pilgrim Menu
The whole bottle of wine is for me
(Dessert is not in this picture)

Food is cheap; at least it is in Spain. France is another matter. The Pilgrim menus are generally around 9 - 10 euro, and that includes three copious courses, bread, and pretty much as much wine as you can drink. Not a bad deal! In France the same thing will set you back at least twice that amount. Breakfasts cost around 3 euro, and lunch, if you eat it, can be another Pilgrim menu, or simply fruit or sandwiches (bocadillos, costing around 3 euro).

You can of course opt to do it yourself as many do. Buying ingredients and preparing your own meals is certainly cheaper than even a Pilgrim meal at a restaurant, and most albergues have at least basic cooking facilities. This approach probably works best if you're in a group and can share stuff. I brought some basic cutlery and plastic "crockery" with me, thinking I might picnic along the way. But I never used any of it.

Travel

Bus transport in Spain is pretty cheap. It costs 13 euro (actually 13.10, don't ask me why, but it must make life hell for the bus driver trying to deal with all that change) for the bus from Fisterre to Santiago (a three-hour trip). It costs 3 euro for the bus from Santiago to the airport (40 minutes). I never took a taxi, but some walkers do from time to time. I imagine that would blow the budget, but perhaps less so if you shared. I saw that the cost to ship luggage to the next albergue was 7 euro.

Other Stuff

Souvenirs, extra things you buy on the way, maybe toiletries you forgot or ran out of. I bought some gaiters and waterproof over-pants in Pamplona after my Pyrenees experience. Many walkers live on Compeed for the blisters and Ibuprofen for the inflammation - all that can add up of course (although pharmacy items appear to be pretty cheap in Spain).

Depending on your perspective of course, walking or riding the Camino isn't particularly expense - certainly not if you compare it with any other form of travel. Obviously a good part of that is the saving on travel costs, since you are providing your own personal transport. Accommodation is the other big saver, as long as you're happy with dormitory living. But, as I've said before, albergues are part of the whole Camino experience - Pilgrims are not meant to travel in the lap of luxury after all! Pilgrim menus mean even eating out all the time is affordable, although you can cut this cost (which is the largest component of the total cost) dramatically by preparing your own meals. Whether the financial aspects of the Camino are an important factor is of course open to discussion.