After having completed the third (and final) stage of riding the Camino de Santiago (Chemin de Compostelle) by bike, I'll present here the updated analyses of my rides in Europe to date. The results are remarkably consistent and they are a useful tool for future trip planning.
My most recent trip, the third and final part of the Chemin de Compostelle, was the most expensive. This is not really a surprise, because it was also the longest. Looking at the daily figures, which are rather more relevant, it's also not a surprise that this trip was the second-cheapest. This is mostly driven by the accommodation, and is because I tried to stay as much as possible in pilgrim hostels and refuges. The figure would have been considerably lower had it not been for a few nights spent in hotels or B&Bs (Chambres d'hôtes). The latter is a bit misleading in France, since the price can be - and usually is - quite a bit higher than a simple hotel, and they are often rather more than a simple room in someone's house. My most expensive night was, no surprise, in the rather touristy town of St. Emillion in a Chambre d'Hôtes which cost Eur121. On the other extreme, my cheapest night was nil (zero), the very next night in Cadillac where the pilgrim refuge is in an original pilgrim "cell" in a building which today is part of the psychiatric hospital. Most municipal pilgrim refuges were around eur8 which is, of course, amazingly cheap accommodation and is in line with the prices in Spain. For the Loire à Vélo trip there was obviously no pilgrim accommodation involved and this is reflected in the daily accommodation cost, mostly staying at basic Airbnb places (in effect, more the "traditional" B&B concept of a room in someone's house.) I never camped, but that would, of course, be a way to dramatically reduce your accommodation costs, particularly if you don't stay at formal campsites.
The food was comparable with my previous two trips, which again is not a complete surprise because my style of eating was about the same: a basic breakfast, some fruit and snacks along the way but no formal lunch as such, and a decent dinner, generally in a local restaurant (although sometimes self-catered when staying in hostels). I tended to treat myself to a reasonably decent meal for dinner, with prices generally around eur25 with some notable exceptions.
Again, these numbers are pretty consistent, and probably reflect the fact that my riding style hasn't really changed much. Four hours a day on the bike is a pretty reasonable number if you want to be comfortable, see some stuff along the way, but also cover a bit of distance. The 5.4 hours I spent on average each day for the second Camino reflects the fact that this trip was a bit time-limited, forcing me to cover a minimum distance / time each day. It wasn't an unreasonable load, but if you're not time-driven, it's better to keep the on-bike time to a more realistic figure. You'll enjoy the ride a lot more! The average speed is again pretty similar to the other rides. The differences are essentially driven by terrain, with hills obviously reducing your averages. It's no surprise that the Loire à Vélo ride, which is essentially flat terrain the whole way, has the highest average speed. The differences in averages might not seem much, but in practice they are significant.
So there you have it; some rough planning numbers would therefore be:
Distance/day: 60 km
Hours ridden/day: 4 hours
Cost/day: eur55 - eur75 depending on your accommodation.
 |
| Little extras you won't find in a pilgrim hostel |
The Financial Summary:
Camino part 3 (2018)
|
Loire à Vélo
(2016)
|
Camino part 2
(2015)
|
Camino part 1
(2014)
|
|
Food
|
666 (29/day)
|
234
(33/day)
|
320
(29/day)
|
430
(21/day)
|
Accommodation
|
552
(24/day)
|
287
(41/day)
|
317
(29/day)
|
308
(10.50/day)
|
Travel
|
6
|
0
|
31
|
247
|
Other
|
6
|
0
|
21
|
87
|
Total Cost
|
1,230
|
521
|
689
|
1,072
|
Daily Average
|
53
|
74
|
58
|
33
|
(all figures in Euros, daily averages
exclude special days)
My most recent trip, the third and final part of the Chemin de Compostelle, was the most expensive. This is not really a surprise, because it was also the longest. Looking at the daily figures, which are rather more relevant, it's also not a surprise that this trip was the second-cheapest. This is mostly driven by the accommodation, and is because I tried to stay as much as possible in pilgrim hostels and refuges. The figure would have been considerably lower had it not been for a few nights spent in hotels or B&Bs (Chambres d'hôtes). The latter is a bit misleading in France, since the price can be - and usually is - quite a bit higher than a simple hotel, and they are often rather more than a simple room in someone's house. My most expensive night was, no surprise, in the rather touristy town of St. Emillion in a Chambre d'Hôtes which cost Eur121. On the other extreme, my cheapest night was nil (zero), the very next night in Cadillac where the pilgrim refuge is in an original pilgrim "cell" in a building which today is part of the psychiatric hospital. Most municipal pilgrim refuges were around eur8 which is, of course, amazingly cheap accommodation and is in line with the prices in Spain. For the Loire à Vélo trip there was obviously no pilgrim accommodation involved and this is reflected in the daily accommodation cost, mostly staying at basic Airbnb places (in effect, more the "traditional" B&B concept of a room in someone's house.) I never camped, but that would, of course, be a way to dramatically reduce your accommodation costs, particularly if you don't stay at formal campsites.
 |
| Sleeping in a "cell" won't break the bank |
The food was comparable with my previous two trips, which again is not a complete surprise because my style of eating was about the same: a basic breakfast, some fruit and snacks along the way but no formal lunch as such, and a decent dinner, generally in a local restaurant (although sometimes self-catered when staying in hostels). I tended to treat myself to a reasonably decent meal for dinner, with prices generally around eur25 with some notable exceptions.
The Engineering Summary:
Camino part 3
|
Loire à Vélo
|
Camino part 2
|
Camino part 1
|
|
Total
number of days
|
23
|
8
|
14
|
18 *
|
Total
distance ridden (km)
|
1,514
|
572
|
1,110
|
1,031
|
Total
time on the bike (hrs)
|
95
|
34.2
|
75.8
|
66.8
|
Average
speed for the trip (km/h)
|
15.9
|
16.7
|
14.7
|
15.4
|
Average
hours ridden / day
|
4.1
|
4.3
|
5.4
|
3.9
|
Average
distance ridden / day
|
65.8
|
71.5
|
79.3
|
60.6
|
Longest
distance ridden in one day (km)
|
86.1
|
85.3
|
105.7
|
84.5
|
Shortest
distance ridden in one day (km)
|
38.0
|
63.2
|
49.7
|
34.0
|
Most
hours ridden in one day (hrs)
|
5.4
|
5.0
|
7.1
|
6.2
|
Least
hours ridden in one day (hrs)
|
3.0
|
3.8
|
3.5
|
2.1
|
Highest
daily average speed (km/h)
|
17.9
|
17.8
|
15.0
|
19.1
|
Lowest daily
average speed (km/h)
|
12.5
|
15.6
|
13.5
|
12.4
|
* Includes one rest
day
Again, these numbers are pretty consistent, and probably reflect the fact that my riding style hasn't really changed much. Four hours a day on the bike is a pretty reasonable number if you want to be comfortable, see some stuff along the way, but also cover a bit of distance. The 5.4 hours I spent on average each day for the second Camino reflects the fact that this trip was a bit time-limited, forcing me to cover a minimum distance / time each day. It wasn't an unreasonable load, but if you're not time-driven, it's better to keep the on-bike time to a more realistic figure. You'll enjoy the ride a lot more! The average speed is again pretty similar to the other rides. The differences are essentially driven by terrain, with hills obviously reducing your averages. It's no surprise that the Loire à Vélo ride, which is essentially flat terrain the whole way, has the highest average speed. The differences in averages might not seem much, but in practice they are significant.
So there you have it; some rough planning numbers would therefore be:
Distance/day: 60 km
Hours ridden/day: 4 hours
Cost/day: eur55 - eur75 depending on your accommodation.
 |
| Some tracks are easier to ride than others |
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