---
title: "Camino Inglés: Ferrol to Santiago in 5 stages"
description: "111.5 km from Ferrol to Santiago: how many days it takes, what it costs, how to reach Ferrol, and why starting in A Coruña does not earn you the Compostela."
url: https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/english-way
locale: en
---

# Camino Inglés: Ferrol to Santiago in 5 stages

The route that arrived by sea

111.5 kilometres between shipyards, Galician rivers and small hamlets: the route followed by the English and Irish pilgrims who arrived by sea. What it is, how many days it takes, what it costs and what each stage is like.

[By Cesar Rodriguez · local guide](https://santiago.es/en/author)

The Camino Inglés owes its name to the people who invented it: pilgrims from England and Ireland who, in the Middle Ages, avoided the walk across France and Spain and took a ship to the Galician coast instead. They landed in Ferrol or A Coruña and walked from there to the Apostle's tomb. Today it is [the fourth most walked route](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/routes)into Santiago, with around 30,200 pilgrims in 2025 — roughly 5.7-6% of the total, according to the press figures citing the Pilgrim's Office, and a record for this route. It is still, by a wide margin, a quiet path: nothing like the 100,000-plus a year on the central Portugués. The figures for every route, year by year, are in [the pilgrim statistics](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/pilgrim-statistics).

## Ferrol or A Coruña: why the start matters

The classic route, and the one this guide covers, starts in **Ferrol**, with stages adding up to **111.5 km**: that is what the five days in the table below give, and exactly the total gronze.com publishes. If you want to see that same split worked out day by day, with the hostels on record at each stop, it is in [the five-stage plan from Ferrol](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/planner/from-ferrol-in-5-stages). You will see it rounded to 112 km in many places, and 118 km too — which is what our own [Camino map](https://santiago.es/en/camino-map) said until August 2026, with no source behind it that we could check; now corrected. That distance clears the 100 km the Compostela requires with room to spare, so leaving from Ferrol poses no problem at all.

The A Coruña question

Many pilgrims prefer to start in **A Coruña** because flights and trains are easier, but it is worth knowing before you book: from A Coruña there are only about **74-75 km** to Santiago, below the 100 km that [the Compostela](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/compostela-certificate) requires. Starting from A Coruña alone does **not** earn you the Compostela.

There is a way to make up the difference, the so-called **"Camiño Celta"**, promoted by the route's official portal: walk at least 25 certified kilometres on a recognised Jacobean route in Ireland or the UK, with your credential stamped there, and add those kilometres to the A Coruña–Santiago leg to reach the 100 km minimum. We have not been able to find direct confirmation of this mechanism from the Pilgrim's Office itself, so if you are counting on it for your Compostela, check with them first. Nor is there any local Galician shortcut or exception: if you set out from A Coruña without that top-up, you are short on kilometres.

## How to get to Ferrol

The most practical option is the **direct Monbus coach** from Santiago, 1h20 to 1h30, guide prices of 8-9 € and up to 10 services a day: that is what we recommend. The train, by contrast, requires a change in A Coruña and takes over 2h20, so it is impractical if you are short on time. If you are moving between A Coruña and Ferrol, the direct train between the two takes around 1h10 and costs 5-7 €. All these figures are indicative and worth confirming at **monbus.es** or **renfe.com** before travelling. The other starting points — and the common traps of that last leg — are in [getting to the start of the Camino](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/getting-to-the-start).

## The five stages at a glance

**Summary of the five Ferrol–Santiago stages**

| Stage | Distance | Approx. time | Elevation | Difficulty |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ferrol → Pontedeume | 27.7 km | ~7 h | +392 / −379 m | 3/5 |
| Pontedeume → Betanzos | 19.7 km | ~5 h | +523 / −509 m | 2/5 |
| Betanzos → Hospital de Bruma | 24.0 km | ~6 h | +630 / −273 m | 3/5 |
| Hospital de Bruma → Sigüeiro | 24.4 km | ~6 h | +213 / −374 m | 2/5 |
| Sigüeiro → Santiago | 15.7 km | ~4 h | +255 / −227 m | 1/5 |
| Total | 111.5 km | 5 days | — | — |

## How many days the Camino Inglés takes

Five is the standard split, and the one this guide follows. But it is not compulsory: the route stretches or compresses according to what your legs will take and the days you have.

- **In 6 or 7 days**, which is what we recommend if you do not walk often. The natural break is at **Neda** (14.6-15 km from Ferrol, with a Xunta hostel), which splits the first stage, the longest of the five, in two. Miño, on the second, has every service and does the same job.
- **In 5 days**, the classic split: days of 15 to 28 km, with two consecutive 24 km stages in the middle of the route.
- **In 4 days** only if you are trained and have margin: it forces days of around 28 km back to back, exactly on the stretches with the fewest bars and hostels. This is not the place to try long distances for the first time.

## What the Camino Inglés costs

Five stages mean **four nights on the route** — Pontedeume, Betanzos, Hospital de Bruma and Sigüeiro — plus the night before in Ferrol if you arrive the day ahead, which is normal. With a public hostel (10 €) and simple food, the budget we use for the whole Camino in Galicia is **25-35 € a day**; moving up to private accommodation or a guesthouse and eating à la carte, it goes to 55-90 €. For five days that is around **125-175 €** in the frugal version, plus the 8-9 € coach to Ferrol. Guide prices for 2026.

The night that does not cost 10 €

Count on **at least one of the four nights being in private accommodation**: Sigüeiro, at the end of the fourth stage, has no public hostel. It is the expense that most often blows up a budget built entirely on Xunta hostel rates.

## When to go

May to June and September is when the sums work best: [Galician weather](https://santiago.es/en/weather)gives you fewer surprises than in winter and the route stays quiet. July and August concentrate most of the year's pilgrims, which on a route with a hostel network as tight as this one shows more than on the Francés. In winter the problem is not the rain — it rains all year in Galicia — but the services: there are guesthouses and roadside bars that close out of season, so it is worth phoning ahead before counting on a particular stop. The month-by-month calendar is in [when the Camino opens and closes](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/season).

## Where to sleep: the Xunta's public network

As on the other Galician routes, the Xunta's public hostel network charges a standard **10 €/night**, takes no bookings and works on a first-come basis. They open at 13:00 and close at 22:00. The difference from the Francés or the Portugués is that the network here is tighter: on some stretches the only public hostel is halfway through the stage, and if it fills you can end up [without a bed](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/beds), with no plan B on the route.

The route with the least margin on this site

Of the five routes this guide covers, the Camino Inglés has the tightest network of services: bars, shops and fountains are further apart than on the Francés or the Portugués, above all on stages 3 and 4. Always carry water and some food when you set out in the morning, and do not assume you will find a bar open halfway.

Xacobeo 2027 — the next Holy Year, with the Holy Door open from 31 December 2026 — will be felt here too: if you plan to walk that year, expect more people than usual and book the private hostels on the stages with fewest public beds. The full calendar is in [the Xacobeo 2027 guide](https://santiago.es/en/xacobeo-2027).

## Frequently asked questions

**How long is the Camino Inglés?**

From Ferrol, 111.5 km adding up the five stages, which is also the total gronze.com publishes. It is often rounded to 112 km; the 118 km figure circulating out there is not supported by any source we have been able to check. It is the shortest of the routes that give comfortable access to the Compostela without cutting the 100 km fine.

**How many days does the Camino Inglés take?**

Five is the standard split, with stages of 15 to 28 km. If you do not walk often, better in six or seven days by breaking the first stage at Neda, which has a Xunta hostel. Four days is possible, but it forces back-to-back days of around 28 km exactly on the stretches with fewest services.

**What does the Camino Inglés cost?**

With a public hostel and simple food, between 25 and 35 € a day, so around 125-175 € for the five days, plus 8-9 € for the coach to Ferrol. With private accommodation or a guesthouse and eating à la carte it rises to 55-90 € a day. Count on at least one private night: Sigüeiro has no public hostel. Guide prices for 2026.

**Can I start in A Coruña and get the Compostela?**

Not on its own: from A Coruña there are about 74-75 km, below the 100 km minimum. There is a formula, the 'Camiño Celta', promoted by the route's official portal, to add kilometres walked in Ireland or the UK, but it is worth confirming with the Pilgrim's Office before relying on it.

**How do I get to Ferrol?**

The most practical way is the direct Monbus coach from Santiago, 1h20-1h30 and around 8-9 €, with up to 10 services a day. The train requires a change in A Coruña and is impractical, taking over 2h20.

**Which is the hardest stage?**

The third, Betanzos–Hospital de Bruma: it has the route's biggest cumulative climb and an opening stretch of around 11 km without a single bar. The first stage, Ferrol–Pontedeume, is the longest in kilometres but with less climbing.

**Is the Camino Inglés crowded?**

No, it is one of the quietest routes: around 30,000 pilgrims a year against the 100,000-plus on the central Camino Portugués. That said, it has less infrastructure, so the quiet comes with less margin if a hostel fills up.

The five stages

**[Ferrol → Pontedeume](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/english-way/ferrol-pontedeume)** — Stage 1 — 27.7 km, the longest of the five, with an industrial start and the Andrade tower house at the end. — Leer la guía

**[Pontedeume → Betanzos](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/english-way/pontedeume-betanzos)** — Stage 2 — 19.7 km with the route's hardest climb out of town and the capital of Galician Gothic as the destination. — Leer la guía

**[Betanzos → Hospital de Bruma](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/english-way/betanzos-hospital-de-bruma)** — Stage 3 — 24 km over the route's biggest cumulative climb, with almost 11 km without a single bar at the start. — Leer la guía

**[Hospital de Bruma → Sigüeiro](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/english-way/hospital-de-bruma-sigueiro)** — Stage 4 — 24.4 km short on services and with no public hostel at the end: you have to plan where to sleep. — Leer la guía

**[Sigüeiro → Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/english-way/sigueiro-santiago)** — Stage 5 — 15.7 km, the gentlest stage, with a final urban stretch that is not remotely bucolic. — Leer la guía