Hiking on the Camino de Santiago during RS Basque tour

I did this in May. We started at a high point near Pamplona and ended at a medieval church about 5.5 miles later. There were two refreshment stops along the way where we could relax and have a coffee or soft drink. The bus met us there so that those who didn't want to hike could meet up with the hiking party.

I do a lot of hiking in the Pacific Northwest so this was pretty easy for me, but some people had trouble on the first section, which is very rocky and a steep downhill stretch. If you have any doubts, skip the first section, ride the bus to the first stop, and hike the rest of the trail, which is very tame.

And don't let peer pressure change you mind if you don't want to do this. On our trip, one woman fell on the first section--just a few bruises on her legs, but it was uncomfortable.

Thanks for your response. Did you start at the Alta de Perdon (metal people) and end at the Eunate Church?

Hi, I took this tour in June. Yes, the first section started at Alta de Perdon and the 3rd/last section ended at Santa Maria de Eunate Church. I skipped the first segment for the reasons the previous poster described and walked the other two segments, much of which were paved paths or roads. That morning on the Camino was the highlight of a trip that was full of highlights.

thanks so much for this info. Is this the only part of the Camino the tour goes on?

It’s the only dedicated time to walk the Camino but...

• four energetic people in our group wanted to walk more of it than scheduled for that day, so with advance notice to our guide they set off on the Camino route out of Pamplona from our hotel at 6 am and we met up with them at the first rest stop midmorning.
• the travel day from Bayonne to Pamplona includes a stop in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port (SJPP), the starting point for the French route of the Camino. Beautiful spot.
• the whole tour route is more or less along the Camino so you see pilgrims frequently and if interested you can get your Camino passport (pick one up in SJPP) stamped at many churches along the tour.

Pretty much same experience as others. Alto del Perdon to Santa Maria Eunate church. First part is hardest due to fairly steep downhill over rocks. Poles might be helpful here. The rest of the walk to the church was wonderful, especially since we had a near perfect day.

In addition to stopping at St. Jean Pied de Port, our group stopped at Roncesvalles, before continuing on to Pamplona. If you were to do the Camino Francis starting in St. Jean PDP, Roncesvalles is the first stop after crossing the Pyrenees (day 1 or day 2).