Walking the Way with Kids: Camino de Santiago

Walking the Way with Kids: Camino de Santiago

If you’re thinking or dreaming about walking The Way with Kids – Camino de Santiago, you’ve got to do it!

Walking the Way with Kids – Camino de Santiago is not only a life changing experience, it tops my life list as one of the best hiking experiences I’ve ever done with my children.

Affiliate Links Disclosure: My posts sometimes contain affiliate links, which mean that if you click on them and make a purchase or sign up for an offering, I may earn a commission, at no added cost to you.  I received no compensation for writing this post, and it reflects my own experiences, research, and opinions. You can read my my privacy policy here.  Thank you so very much for reading my blog!

Our Pilgrimage Story

In 2012, my family hiked 121+ kilometers of “The Way” of Saint James in Spain.  Hiking the Camino de Santiago was one of the best experiences ever.  

At the time of our family adventure, my kids were 2, 5, 7 and 9.

Movie Inspiration

If you haven’t watched the movie, “The Way,” you really should watch it ASAP.

I watched the movie after “renting it” on DVD at a little country store. After watching it, I nearly immediately booked flights to Spain to walk this historical pilgrimage route with the kids.

When we walked the Way, we were among the first families from the USA to walk it. Since the movie came out, its popularity has brought incredible attention to the pilgrimage route and long distance hiking/walking Routes in Europe, and now more and more Americans (and families) are making their way to The Way.

Official Pilgrims!

When we reached the Pilgrim’s Office (Oficina del Peregrino) in Santiago, the crowd cheered for us. The stairway was lined with other pilgrims, applauding and cheering for us. 

It was hard to hold back tears.  At the time, it was apparently a rare sight to see an American Family with four young children make the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. After we were officially entered into the Pilgrim register and given our certificates, the office asked to take our family photo. It was such an honor.

It is true, The Way changes you.  Forever.

Every step of the Way was an honor.

Wondering if you can Walk the Way with Kids: The Camino de Santiago? Read The Way: Can You Walk the Camino de Santiago with Kids.

Get the Camino de Santiago Guidebook: This is the guidebook we used to Walk the Way:

Since Hiking the Camino de Santiago with Kids

Since hiking the Camino de Santiago, hiking (and hiking long routes) has become a key part of our family life. You can read about some of our epic hiking adventures on my blog, Wanderschool, including our adventure hiking the legendary Tour du Mont Blanc Hiking Route.

Want to Get Started Hiking?

If you want to get started hiking (with or without children), check out my Beginner’s Guide, How to Get Started Hiking.