How to prepare your Camino de Santiago for the 2027 Holy Year: a guide to start today

2027 is a Compostelan Holy Year — the Xacobeo —, something that only happens when 25 July, the feast of Saint James, falls on a Sunday. The Holy Door of the Cathedral opens, Santiago fills up like few times before, and hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world choose that year to walk. If you're thinking of being one of them, this article is your starting point: the Holy Year Camino isn't improvised — it's prepared months in advance.

Why the 2027 Holy Year will be special

The previous Holy Year (2021, extended to 2022) was marked by the pandemic. 2027 will be the first “normal” Xacobeo in more than a decade, and everything points to a record year for pilgrims. That means more atmosphere, more people from every country in the albergues… and more competition for beds. The Holy Year golden rule: whoever prepares earlier walks better.

When to start preparing your Camino

Most pilgrims decide on their Camino 6 to 12 months before walking. A sensible timeline if you want to walk in 2027:

Summer-autumn 2026: choose your route and dates, and plan your stages. If you're going in high season (May-September), book accommodation on the busiest stretches as soon as bookings open. Winter 2026-2027: start training — progressive walks with the backpack you'll carry, and break in your boots months before, never the week you leave. Spring 2027: final preparations, get the official pilgrim document for your stamps, and start walking.

Which route to choose

The French Way is the classic: the one from the films, with the most atmosphere and services — and also the busiest in a Holy Year. The Portuguese Way, from Porto or from Tui, is the second most walked and for many the best balance: friendly stages, villages with Galician and Portuguese charm, and somewhat fewer crowds. The Northern Way, along the Cantabrian coast, offers sea and green in exchange for more climbing. To get the Compostela you need to walk at least the last 100 kilometres — that's why Sarria (French Way) and Tui (Portuguese Way) are the most popular starting points.

What to pack (and what not to)

The perfect backpack weighs less than 10% of your body weight. The essentials: footwear already broken in, two sets of technical clothes, a rain jacket (you're going to Galicia), sunscreen, a small first-aid kit with the basics for blisters, and little else. The classic first-Camino mistake is packing too much: everything you put in, you'll carry for hundreds of kilometres.

The mistake nobody warns you about: not keeping the journey

Ask anyone who has walked the Camino and they'll tell you the same thing: “it was amazing”. Ask for the details — that sunrise leaving Tui, the conversation with the German pilgrim, the coffee in that village — and you'll see them slip away. Photos get buried in the camera roll, mixed with screenshots, and the journal many people start is abandoned on day three.

That's why Waymino was born: a band you wear for the whole Camino that keeps your photos, videos and notes from every stage just by holding your phone near it — nothing to install —, and that turns your journey into a memory video when you reach Santiago, ready to share and keep forever. The Founders Edition (200 numbered units) is the first series, made for those who will walk in 2027.

The official pilgrim document, your Compostela… and your keepsake

An important note: to get the Compostela you need the official pilgrim document, which is stamped stage by stage and presented at the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago. Waymino doesn't replace it and doesn't try to — the official document proves you arrived; your Waymino lets you relive it. They're different travel companions.

Start today

The 2027 Holy Year will be remembered for decades. Choose your route, set your dates, train little by little — and decide now how you're going to keep every moment, because the Camino ends, but it shouldn't be forgotten. Get your Founders Edition Waymino and let your 2027 begin the day it arrives at your door.