What to give someone who is walking the Camino de Santiago

Giving something to someone who is setting off on the Camino de Santiago comes with a catch: almost everything you think of, they either already have or it's extra weight. The pilgrim's golden rule is that the backpack shouldn't weigh more than 10% of their body weight, and every extra item is paid for in blisters.

This guide is written from O Porriño, a village the Portuguese Way crosses every morning. It's ordered by what really gets used.

Gifts used every day (€10-30)

Seamless hiking socks

Not glamorous, but hugely appreciated. Blisters ruin more Caminos than rain. Two good pairs are worth more than six ordinary ones.

A small microfibre towel

Takes up no space, dries in an hour, and albergues don't always provide one. One of those things beginners forget and veterans never do.

A folding walking pole

It takes the load off the knees on the descents, which is where it really hurts. Note: if they're flying, it must go in checked luggage.

Earplugs

An albergue with twenty bunks is a concert of snoring. This three-euro gift is remembered forever.

Symbolic gifts (€5-25)

The scallop shell, commemorative medals or a Camino bracelet. They're nice and cheap, and they have one problem: they don't do anything. They end up in a drawer back home.

If you go this way, choose something that can be worn for the whole journey. What's used during the Camino stays linked to the Camino; what's kept in a drawer gets forgotten.

Experience gifts (varies)

A night in a charming albergue, a massage on arrival in Santiago, or backpack transport between stages — the last one is a wonderful gift for someone who isn't in top shape.

And the gift almost nobody thinks of

Ask someone who walked the Camino two years ago what they remember. They'll say "it was amazing" and not much more.

It's not a lack of feeling: it's that memories get lost. Photos are buried among thousands in the phone's camera roll, with no order or context. Notes stay on a napkin from a bar in Arzúa. And the names of the villages blur together.

What almost nobody gives is a way to keep the Camino from fading.

That's the idea behind Waymino: a silicone band worn for the whole journey that, when you hold a phone near it, opens the journal of that Camino. Photos, videos and notes saved by stage, with no app to install. And on arrival in Santiago, a memory video is created with that pilgrim's own route and moments.

It's not an official document and doesn't replace any pilgrim formality. It's the memory, which is something else.

What NOT to give

• Technical clothing without knowing the size. Returning it from the Camino is impossible.
• New boots. They're broken in months before, never at the start. Giving boots for the Camino is giving blisters.
• Anything heavy. Books, big flasks, full toiletry bags. All of it ends up left in an albergue on day three.
• Santiago souvenirs before they leave. They'll buy those themselves when they arrive, and that purchase is part of the journey.

If the Camino is in 2027, there's a reason to get ahead

2027 is a Compostelan Holy Year: 25 July falls on a Sunday and the Holy Door opens. In the last Holy Year more than 400,000 pilgrims reached Santiago, and even more are expected in 2027.

That means full albergues and bookings months in advance. If you're giving something for a 2027 Camino, do it early: part of the gift is giving them time to get organised.