Basque Country of Spain & France 9 day tour

The first leg of the camino walk (about 2 miles) was downhill with lots of loose rocks. The last two legs were easy on paved roads or dirt paths.

I had totally inappropriate shoes (leather shoes with smooth sole and sandals) for the first leg of thewalk. I bought a collapsible hiking pole in St Jean Pied de Port and was very happy that I did that. It allowed me to take that first leg in my closed toe city shoes at a slow pace. I then switched to sandals for the last two legs.

I think a pair of walking shoes with some tread and a hiking pole would suffice if you don't want to bring hiking shoes.

I just spent 3 weeks in Portugal.
I wore 1 pair of shoes: Mephisto Match.
Great for walking.
Acceptable for [higher-end] restaurants.

I travel light.
Return home lighter as I leave behind worn out clothes. For example: went with 7 golf shirts and came home with one on my body.

Thank you so much for responding. Were you on the tour?

cathjoll, I took the Basque region tour in May 2017. It is a great tour.

We started the camino walk at Alto del Perdon:
https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alto_del_Perdón

and ended at the Church of St Mary of Eunate:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_Mary_of_Eunate

Loved alto de perdon. First found out about it in the movie “The Way” as well as other places on the Camino. Based our last trip to Spain around the Camino and places along it. We drove, and only walked small sections of it.

Thanks for the replies, but can anyone tell me if bringing just regular comfortable flat shores will work for this part of the trail, or must I have running or lite hiking noots?

Thanks for the replies, but can anyone tell me if bringing just regular comfortable flat shores will work for this part of the trail, or must I have running or lite hiking noots?

I will try again. You will be walking downhill on loose rocks on the first leg. I did the first leg of the trip in comfortable, flat shoes with a hiking stick and walked very cautiously. I would have preferred shoes with some tread. These were the exact shoes that I wore and while they are extremely comfortable for city walking, they were not good for loose rocks.

https://www.thewalkingcompany.com/abeo-3540-black/20681#

A pair of athletic shoes with some support and tread would have worked for me.

I don't know what you mean by "regular comfortable flat shoes" but I'm a bit concerned that you may be planning to wear the same shoes on the tour that you use at home. Unless you go everywhere on foot at home, that's probably not a good idea for the tour in general--much less for the Camino walks. Most people aren't on their feet for many hours a day at home, and they don't walk more than a mile or two a day. And they never see a cobblestone. What is "comfortable" at home may be a disaster during a European tour.

Speaking only of the non-Camino days since I've never walked the Camino: You'll need shoes with good thick soles. Many of us find we need something supportive; for me that means a lace-up shoe of at least running-shoe quality (and I don't mean cheap running shoes). Some folks can get by with well-constructed, thick-soled sandals, but I'd probably have a sprained ankle within 24 hours.

Poorly chosen shoes can really spoil a European vacation. You can stop and buy a sweater or jacket if you're cold. You can buy cheap, lightweight pants if you've packed clothing that's too heavy. Finding a good pair of shoes that fits right in Europe will suck up time you don't want to spend on such an endeavor.

Thanks to everyone for responding, and now after seeing a picture of the shoes from the Walking Company not being ideal on loose rock, i'm definitely bringing some heavier duty running shoes with good thread on the soles, even if I will probably wear my regular walking shoes in most other situations. I just hate lugging around shoes that I'm not going to wear that often. But better safe than sorry. Thanks again, I really appreciate all your comments.

Question related to this tour. We are planning on going in September of 2018. I was thinking we would fly into Madrid and spend the day before meeting our group there. I would love to take a train to the start of the tour in Bayonne, France. Is that an option? Also, what are the "must do's" in Madrid if you only have 1.5 days?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Marie

Marie, it would be better for you to start your own thread. Otherwise, every time someone responds to your questions, an email will go the thread starter rather than to you.

I took a look at the rail possibilities between Madrid and Bayonne, and you don't want to do that when you're not planning stops along the way. It looks like about 15 hours.