This month I will cover the gear I found essential on my 100+ kilometer Camino de Santiago Francés route hike in May of 2025. First I will tell you about things to not forget, and then about forgettable gear items.
Don’t Forget
Your US (or other) passport is key – you literally can’t leave home without it! I also get an official “Passport Card” from the US Department of State when I apply for a new passport. This looks like a driver’s license but has the same information as a passport. I keep it separate from my passport, so if that is stolen or lost, my card makes it much easier to convince a skeptical US DoS consular official that I really am a US citizen, and get an emergency passport issued. You can use it for ground travel into Canada and Mexico.
A smart phone – this is invaluable for making calls and reservations and tracking your progress on map apps. I used the terrific Czech-made digital maps from Mapy.com that are so detailed that they resemble the great US Geological Survey 1:24,000 paper maps, showing every house and turn in the trail. I also used Buen Camino and Camino Ninja. I bought a local physical SIM card on arrival in Madrid, but e-SIMs are now available.
An appropriate backpack – one you have tried out and worn, to make sure it is comfortable. I made the mistake of buying a pack that was too large to fit in the plane’s overhead compartment. I then realized that a smaller, 22-inch-long, L.L. Bean Bigelow backpack, about 35 liters, that I already had in my basement (!), was what I actually needed. Get a pack with a built-in rain cover, a sturdy hip/waist band, and a chest strap. I also carried a Cotopaxi fanny pack to hold my passport, Camino credential and other important small items; and wore it in front, right below the waist band of my pack.
A hiking pole – many Pilgrims bring two and swear by this, but I found in training that I wanted one hand free. Be sure to get a pole that will telescope down to a size that will fit in your checked luggage; don’t put one in your carry-on (TSA thinks it’s a killer weapon!). And bring some rubber tips, so you don’t loudly clack your way across Spain.
A wide brimmed hat – Tilley is a terrific brand, with a chin and back-of-the-neck strap, and a hidden compartment in the crown for some cash and a copy of your passport, in a water-proof Ziplock bag. Bring a Buff too.
Rain pants and a lightweight poncho and umbrella – I suggest a Japanese Water Front Pokeflat, only available online. Bring several dry bags and zip lock plastic bags in different sizes.
Relevant pages from at least two guidebooks – I prefer John Brierley’s Pilgrim’s Guide and Wise Pilgrim: Camino Francés. Save weight by ripping out and carrying only the legend page and the pages that cover your route.
Reservations – If like me you made reservations in advance, have a copy of each res, either physically or on your phone.
Two quick-dry towels – one for drying items and a dry one to cover your pillow at night (who knows whose head was there last night?)!
A small first aid kit – focused on foot ailments. Put some earplugs and a sleep mask in it. Include your meds, shampoo and an extra pair of glasses if you wear them.
Plug adapters – I recommend Tessan adapters made for Spain and Portugal.
Permethrin – if you stay in alburgues with possible bedbugs, be sure to spray your clothes, backpack, fanny pack, and sleeping bag and liner.
Money – I found that I could pay for almost everything with a US credit card, but used some Euros. I brought a backup credit card, and neither one “tapped” reliably, but I could insert and sign all the time. Buying a ticket for a Spanish train did require me to know my credit card PIN number, but otherwise this was not needed.
Do Forget
The following items I discarded before going or found I didn’t really need during the trip:
Gaiters – these were rarely useful.
Heavy steel water bottles – I just put thin, light plastic full water bottles in the outside pockets of my pack. A water bladder was also too heavy and cumbersome, and needed cleaning.
A headlamp – I found that a tiny flashlight on my keychain was all I needed.
Laptop – although I use a laptop a lot at home, on Camino I found that my iPhone did everything necessary.
Sleeping bag and tent – you only need these if camping on the Camino Primitivo. In the winter or late fall you might need a sleeping bag in alburgues. Some hikers bring a thin sleeping bag liner. I used this some nights for warmth and to keep out bedbugs, but it added a pound or so, was bulky, and I often got twisted up in it. Next time I’ll skip it.
All of this is a follow-up to last month’s article on Camino de Santiago logistics, and my earlier general Camino articles. For these pieces see:
- https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-famous-camino-de-santiago-part-1-logistics/
- https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-camino-de-santiago-blisters-feet-and-training/
- https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-famous-camino-de-santiago-part-3/
- https://www.mymcmedia.org/blog-top-tips-for-tackling-el-camino-de-santiago-part-1/
- https://www.mymcmedia.org/blog-el-camino-de-santiago-part-2-regional-highlights/
Buen Camino!
- My backpack: this L. L. Bean pack is just over the legal Iberia Airlines limit of 22 inches long, but I got it aboard and into the overhead compartment. A 20-inch pack would have reduced my anxiety. Note the pilgrim shell patch, the small added-on pack strap bag (upper left), good for an umbrella or smart phone, and the waist/hip belt. Mesh bags on the lower right and left can hold 12 or 20 oz. plastic water bottles.
2. My fanny pack: made by Cotopaxi, this commodious bag held my passport, pilgrim credential, small flashlight and other items requiring easy access. I stapled a reflector on the front to ward off cars.
3. Plug adapter: be sure to get one designed for Spain and Portugal.
4. Small first aid kit: this contains bandages, earplugs, gauze, blister treatments, etc.
5. Mapy detail: this screen shot in Mapy.com software of A. Pena village in Galicia shows the official 100 kms. from Santiago marker on the Camino de Santiago (note the tiny pilgrim blue and yellow shell above the Km. 100 marker). The Camino Francés hiking trail is marked in blue, while the related Camino bike trail is marked with red dashes. (The bike trail often is quite different than the hiking trail.) Buildings are in light brown.
6. Hats: A wide-brimmed Tilley hat from Canada is great for sunny days, and a pilgrim baseball hat is useful for cloudy weather.
7. Passport card: the passport card at the bottom has the same information as the US passport on the upper left. The UN passport or “Laissez-Passer,” now expired, was issued to me while supporting the World Bank.
8. Permethrin: spray this on your clothing, pack and fanny pack before going on any trip where you may be subjected to bedbugs.
9. Me in a swamp: your author on a footbridge across a swamp on Camino. Who says Spain is brown, dry and dusty?
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