--- title: "Camino YouTube channels and Instagram accounts worth following" description: "Eleven creators, picked by counting who pilgrims recommend across 171,000 forum posts since 2023 and checking each one still publishes in 2026. What each is good for, which route it covers and in which language." url: https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/youtube-instagram locale: en --- # Camino YouTube channels and Instagram accounts worth following Camino de Santiago · Planning There are thousands of Camino videos, and most tell one person's trip, once. These are the channels and accounts pilgrims themselves recommend again and again, each checked in September 2026: which route they cover, in which language, and what they are good for. **Posts reviewed** 171,158 on r/CaminoDeSantiago, 2023 to August 2026 **Selection** 11 creators: 7 in English, 4 in Spanish **Requirement** Published something in the last six months ![Peregrina con gorra y una gran mochila de trekking roja, caminando sola por el Camino de Santiago](https://santiago.es/img/peregrina.jpg) [© Shirley Roots · CC BY 2.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woman_in_Camino_de_Santiago.jpg) By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author) When someone asks a pilgrim forum which videos to watch before leaving, the answers repeat with surprising regularity. On r/CaminoDeSantiago, the largest English-language Camino forum, we counted who names whom across the 171,158 posts and comments published between January 2023 and 25 August 2026, and the same five or six channels keep coming up. To those we added the Spanish-language creators with a genuine pilgrim audience, who barely register on an English forum, and dropped anyone who had not published in the last six months. Eleven remain. None of them paid or asked to be here, and the links go to their channels rather than single videos: videos age, channels carry on. ## The short answer If you only watch one, it depends on what you need. **For gear**, Days We Spend, the channel the most different people recommend when the question is what to pack. **To see a whole route before walking it**, Nadine Walks or Walk with Efrén, who put each stage in its own video. **For questions**, Caminotellers, who answer them live. **For what is happening in Santiago this week**, Ivar's channel. And **in Spanish**, Manel Peregrino for preparation and Álvaro Lazaga Busto for the routes almost nobody films. **All eleven at a glance (size and latest upload read on 28 Sep 2026)** | Channel or account | Language | Good for | Approximate size | Latest upload | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Days We Spend | English | Gear and preparation; many routes | 47,000 on YouTube | 25 Sep 2026 | | Caminotellers | English | Preparation, live Q&As | 37,000 on YouTube | 27 Sep 2026 | | Walk with Efrén | English | Whole routes, stage by stage | 29,000 on YouTube | 26 Sep 2026 | | Nadine Walks | English | Whole routes, stage by stage | 22,000 on YouTube | 27 Sep 2026 | | RobsCamino | English | First Camino, practical questions | 15,000 on YouTube | 26 Sep 2026 | | Ivar | English | Short news clips from Santiago | 7,300 on YouTube | 18 Sep 2026 | | Stingy Nomads | English | Camino Portugués | 7,200 on YouTube | 28 Jun 2026 | | Manel Peregrino | Spanish | Preparation and stages | 7,500 on YouTube | 23 Sep 2026 | | Álvaro Lazaga Busto | Spanish | Daily diary of little-walked routes | 6,900 on YouTube | 27 Sep 2026 | | Caminosantiagofamily | Spanish | Full stages, no gloss | 24,000 on Instagram | 27 Sep 2026 | | Peregrino y mochila | Spanish | Daily Instagram: routes, history, tips | 13,000 on Instagram | 28 Sep 2026 | ## In English These are the ones the forum recommends most, which makes sense: 57% of the pilgrims who reach Santiago come from abroad, and English is the Camino's common language. Nearly all of them film whole routes, in Spain and often in France or Portugal too. ### Days We Spend [youtube.com/@DaysWeSpend](https://www.youtube.com/@DaysWeSpend) · Instagram [@dayswespend](https://www.instagram.com/dayswespend/). A couple, Lainey and Shawn, who moved to Spain in 2023 and now live in Galicia. It is the channel the most different pilgrims recommend on the forum (29 people), nearly always for the same reason: **the packing lists**, with the detail of what they carry and why, and the idea of walking with a hip pack instead of a backpack, which more than one pilgrim says they copied. They have walked a lot of routes (their August 2026 video is called "16 Caminos Later") and have guides to Camino cities such as Oviedo and León. A good share of their recent videos are about living in Spain rather than the Camino: the latest pilgrim one was the Camino Inglés from A Coruña, on 4 September 2026. About 47,000 subscribers. ### Caminotellers [youtube.com/@caminotellers](https://www.youtube.com/@caminotellers) · Instagram [@caminotellers](https://www.instagram.com/caminotellers/). A channel about nothing but the Camino and long-distance walking, with the weight on **preparation**: what to pack by month, how to avoid blisters, which way to take over the Pyrenees. What sets it apart is **the live streams**, where they answer questions on the spot; in August 2026 they streamed five days in a row crossing the Pyrenees, and in September they published a Camino Inglés series. The channel links to resources of their own. About 37,000 subscribers. ### Walk with Efrén [youtube.com/@walk\_with\_efren](https://www.youtube.com/@walk_with_efren) · Instagram [@walk\_with\_efren](https://www.instagram.com/walk_with_efren/). Efrén González has walked fourteen Caminos de Santiago and films them **stage by stage, one video a day**, with plenty of drone footage. It is the go-to channel for seeing a whole route before you walk it: the Francés (in reverse as well), the Via Francigena and the Via Podiensis, and he shares his GPS tracks. Some on the forum think he is on screen too much; if you are there for the scenery, it does not get in the way. Over a thousand videos and about 29,000 subscribers. ### Nadine Walks [youtube.com/@nadinewalks](https://www.youtube.com/@nadinewalks) · Instagram [@nadine\_walks](https://www.instagram.com/nadine_walks/) · blog [nadinewalks.com](https://nadinewalks.com). Nadine walked the Francés in 2014 and has since walked routes in Spain, France, Portugal and England, which she tells **day by day** on video and in writing on her blog. Pilgrims recommend her for the less common routes, the Norte or the Aragonés, and for walking solo. In September 2026 she was publishing one video per stage of the Via Podiensis from Le Puy. About 22,000 subscribers. ### RobsCamino [youtube.com/@robscamino](https://www.youtube.com/@robscamino) · website [robscamino.com](https://robscamino.com). Rob has been filming the Camino since 2015 and the channel has a stated goal: making **your first Camino** go well. So most videos answer a specific question (do you need poles, which apps to carry, how to find a bed, which weather is best) rather than being travel diaries, though there are those too: in August 2026 he posted the Muxía to Santiago stretch day by day. His website has interviews with well-known Camino figures. The forum mentions him little, but he publishes every week. About 15,000 subscribers. ### Ivar [youtube.com/@Ivar](https://www.youtube.com/@Ivar). Ivar Rekve is the Norwegian who has lived in Santiago since 2003 and in 2004 founded the English-language forum **caminodesantiago.me**, the largest on the Camino; he also runs Casa Ivar, the city's luggage storage. His is by far the name that comes up most on r/CaminoDeSantiago (202 people), though almost always for the forum or the storage. The channel is something else: **short clips from Santiago** about whatever affects people arriving that week, such as how many Compostelas were issued the day before, changes to the Cathedral masses, queues or new flights. It keeps you current; it will not help you plan a route. About 7,300 subscribers. ### Stingy Nomads [youtube.com/@StingyNomads](https://www.youtube.com/@StingyNomads) · website [stingynomads.com](https://www.stingynomads.com). Campbell and Alya have lived in Portugal since 2021 and have walked eleven Camino routes, but their ground is **the Camino Portugués** in all its versions: Central, Coastal, Litoral. On the forum 73 people name them, mostly linking the written guides on their website, which are the best thing they do; the YouTube channel publishes less (the latest video, Finisterre to Muxía, is from June 2026) and their Instagram has been quiet since January 2025. About 7,200 subscribers. ## In Spanish On an English-language forum Spanish creators hardly show up, so here the count helps little and the test is different: a real pilgrim audience, real routes rather than just the Sarria stretch, and still publishing. All four were posting this very week. They are worth it even with basic Spanish: the images carry most of it. ### Manel Peregrino [youtube.com/@manelperegrino](https://www.youtube.com/@manelperegrino) · Instagram [@manelperegrino](https://www.instagram.com/manelperegrino/). The most complete Spanish-language channel **for preparing the trip**: which route, which shoes, how to train, where to sleep and what it costs, plus the stages of the routes he has walked (Primitivo, Francés, Portugués, Inglés, Vía de la Plata, Finisterre and the Camino from Barcelona). In September 2026 he was publishing the Camino de Invierno. An American pilgrim recommended him on the forum because he speaks so clearly that he doubled as Spanish practice. About 7,500 subscribers. ### Álvaro Lazaga Busto [youtube.com/@AlvaroLazagaBusto](https://www.youtube.com/@AlvaroLazagaBusto). He numbers his Caminos in the title of each series, and the September 2026 one is number 66, from Benidorm. He posts **a short diary every day**, with direct sound and humour, and his value is in **the routes almost nobody films**: the south-east, the Levante, the Invierno in July 2026. If you are walking somewhere nobody else has a video of, there is a good chance he does. Over 1,700 videos and about 6,900 subscribers. ### Caminosantiagofamily [@caminosantiagofamily](https://www.instagram.com/caminosantiagofamily/) on Instagram · [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@caminosantiagofamily). Eduardo Abad's account, which bills itself as "Camino de Santiago sin postureo", the Camino without posing: **full stages with their distances**, climbs, rain and tiredness included. It is bigger on Instagram (about 24,000 followers) than on YouTube (about 1,400), but the long videos are on YouTube: in September 2026, the Camino Sanabrés stage by stage. ### Peregrino y mochila [@peregrinoymochila](https://www.instagram.com/peregrinoymochila/) on Instagram. Gonzalo posts a gallery of his Caminos almost daily, sorted by theme in his highlights: legends, history, tips, the Cathedral, the Camino del Mar and the Inglés. He has walked the Vía de la Plata, the Sanabrés, the Norte and the Portuguese Coastal among others, and Gronze already singled him out in 2021 among the creators who tell the Camino from the inside. **It is not for planning** a particular stage but for understanding what you are looking at. About 13,000 followers. The most upvoted advice in the thread was to watch nothing In an r/CaminoDeSantiago thread asking for Francés vlogs, the top-voted reply recommended none: it said to stop, watch the bare minimum about what to carry, and let the Camino be new when you get there. It has a point. A gear video or one about a little-walked route saves you trouble; thirty hours of other people's Francés diaries set expectations that then are not your own. Use them to decide and to prepare, not to walk it before you arrive. ## Who is not here, and why They came up in the count but did not pass the filter. **Homemade Wanderlust** (Dixie) has a Francés documentary that the forum cites as a favourite, but her Camino videos are years old and the channel is now about US thru-hikes. **Lisa and Josh** filmed the Francés and the Portuguese Coastal and five people recommend them, but theirs is a general travel channel. **Jay Wanders Out** has not posted since September 2024. **Sara Dhooma**, cited for her videos of little-known routes, is now filming the Pacific Crest Trail. Nor are the agencies that sell Camino trips, however good their channels: only people telling their own Camino make the cut. What the forum names most, in fact, are not channels but tools: Gronze (432 different people since 2023) and the Camino Ninja app (327). What each one is for is in [how to book an albergue](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/booking-albergues). ## How we chose On the public r/CaminoDeSantiago archive, which runs to 25 August 2026, we counted across the 159,354 comments and 11,804 posts published since 1 January 2023 how many **different people** name each creator, which is what measures a recommendation; the number of messages sits alongside. We read the threads where someone asked for channels to see why they were recommended. Then we checked every channel and profile on 28 September 2026: size, what it covers and when it last published. Anyone silent for more than six months was out. Nobody pays or asked to be listed, and we did not know whether any of them would welcome it when we drew up the list. **Different people recommending each creator on r/CaminoDeSantiago, January 2023 to 25 August 2026** | Creator | People | Messages | Why they cite them | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Ivar (forum and channel) | 202 | 590 | Almost always for the caminodesantiago.me forum or Casa Ivar, not the channel | | Stingy Nomads | 73 | 169 | Mostly links to the guides on their website; the channel less so | | Days We Spend | 29 | 42 | Packing lists and the hip-pack setup | | Walk with Efrén | 23 | 31 | Daily vlogs of whole routes | | Caminotellers | 18 | 27 | Preparation and live Q&As | | Nadine Walks | 17 | 23 | Whole routes told day by day | | RobsCamino | 2 | 4 | First Camino | | Álvaro Lazaga Busto | 2 | 2 | Recommended in a thread asking for Spanish-language channels | | Manel Peregrino | 1 | 1 | Recommended by a pilgrim who used him to practise Spanish | | Caminosantiagofamily | 1 | 1 | Recommended in the same Spanish-language thread | Peregrino y mochila scores zero because the forum is in English; it gets in on the Spanish-language test. Sizes are rounded and change every week: read them as an order of magnitude. If you think someone who meets the same bar is missing, the "Suggest a correction" button at the foot of this page reaches us directly. ## After the videos Videos show you what a route looks like; decisions get made with numbers. If you are choosing a route, start with [which route to walk for the days you have](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/which-route-to-walk). For gear, the [packing list](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/packing) and the [pack-weight calculator](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/calculators). And if you want the last 100 km split into stages, the [planner](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/planner) does it for you. ## Frequently asked questions **Which Camino de Santiago YouTube channel do pilgrims recommend most?** On r/CaminoDeSantiago, between January 2023 and August 2026, the channel recommended by the most different people is Days We Spend (29), mainly for its packing lists. Next come Walk with Efrén (23), Caminotellers (18) and Nadine Walks (17). Ivar and Stingy Nomads are named more often, but almost always for their forum and website, not their channels. **Are there good Camino channels in Spanish?** Yes. Manel Peregrino is the most complete for preparing the trip (route, shoes, training, budget); Álvaro Lazaga Busto posts a daily diary of routes almost nobody films and is on his 66th Camino; Caminosantiagofamily shows full stages, and Peregrino y mochila covers history and tips on Instagram. All four were publishing in September 2026. **Which channel shows a whole route before I walk it?** Walk with Efrén and Nadine Walks, who post one video per stage. Efrén has the Francés, the Via Francigena and the Via Podiensis; Nadine has the Francés, the Norte, the Aragonés and routes in France and Portugal. In Spanish, Álvaro Lazaga Busto and Manel Peregrino do the same for quieter routes such as the Camino de Invierno. **Where can I get up-to-date news from Santiago and the Camino?** On Ivar's YouTube channel. He has lived in Santiago since 2003 and founded the caminodesantiago.me forum, and he posts short clips about whatever affects people arriving that week, such as the day's Compostela count, changes to the Cathedral masses or new flights. **Did these creators pay to be on the list?** No. Nobody paid or asked to be included. The list comes from counting what pilgrims recommend on the forum and checking each channel is still active; those silent for more than six months were left out even when they were cited. **Should I watch lots of videos before walking the Camino?** Just enough. Gear videos and those about little-known routes genuinely save trouble. But on the forums the top-voted advice to someone asking for Francés vlogs was not to watch too many, so you do not arrive with the Camino already seen and with expectations that are not your own. ## Related **[Camino blogs and websites that work](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/blogs)** — Websites — The 13 pilgrims recommend most, and who is behind each. — Read the guide **[Which route to walk for your days](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/which-route-to-walk)** — Before you choose — From holiday days to walking days, and from there to the route. — Read the guide **[What to pack for the Camino](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/packing)** — Gear — What to take, what to leave and how much it should weigh. — Read the guide **[How to book an albergue](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/booking-albergues)** — Accommodation — Which ones take bookings, through which channel and how far ahead. — Read the guide