Airfare
From the United States, airfare will be your single biggest expense. So, if containing your costs is a priority, hunting for the best fares will be worth your time.
Costs will be highest in summer. A quick search for Detroit to Madrid summer flights showed many fares around $1,200. In spring, I saw fares closer to $900. Of course, these will vary on many factors. Keep checking back, and you may luck out and find something even less.
Some Caminos start in hard-to-reach places (e.g., Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port). To contain your costs, fly into large airports like Paris or Madrid, then take trains and buses to your start location.
Lodging
Albergues (dormitory style) will cost $15-$30 per night. Private rooms in basic accomodations will be $40-$60 in smaller towns. Costs heavily touristed towns like Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Pont, Paris and Madrid will be more.
Prices in Spain tend to be the best with costs in Switzerland being the highest and France and Italy somewhere in between.
Food
Food along Spanish Caminos is not expensive. You can find a “pilgrim’s meal” for about $15. That would include dinner with wine and a desert.
Add in breakfast, lunch and some snacks, and a daily budget of $35-40 is doable.
Miscellaneous
There aren’t very many other expenses that you’ll have other than daily costs you might see at home (e.g., medicine, toiletries).
The biggest exception might be trains/cabs if you choose to use those over the course of your walk. Those will vary on your location, so it’s hard to provide an estimate here.
Overall Cost
| Category | $ |
| Airfare | $1,100 |
| Lodging (35 nights @ $20 or $50) | Dorm: $800 Private Room: $1800 |
| Food (35 days @ $35) | 1225 |
| Miscellaneous | $300 |
| Total | $3,425 or $4,425 |
For a month in Spain, that’s pretty reasonable. Of course, figure more if you’re going on Camino in more expensive countries like Switzerland and Italy.
Should you carry cash?
You’ll be able to pay for most of your hotels, meals, groceries and other needs with credit cards.
Some lodgings only accept cash (mainly the small family run places that can’t afford the credit card fees). For this reason, I like to carry 200-300€ or so with all the time. I also like to use Euros to pay for very small bills like drinks or snacks on the trail. The lions share of my expenses though, are paid by credit card.
FYI… It’s easy to find ATM’s in the larger towns, so restocking your cash supply usually isn’t a problem.
One hint when using a credit card… you’ll be asked by the waiter/clerk if you want to pay in Euros or Dollars. Essentially, they are asking if you want to use their exchange rate for dollars or that of your credit card company. Your credit card company will almost always be cheaper, so choose to pay in Euros, then your credit card company will apply their rate on your bill.
Bill on the Camino 