The Via de la Plata – a 2026 guide

The Via de la Plata or the Silver Route is one of the toughest and longest Camino de Santiago routes in Spain. The distance of the route, over 1000 km/621 mi is the main challenge. Long walking stages with few places in between, and extreme heat in the summer months are two other factors that make it even more difficult. The route crosses four Spanish regions; Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla y Leon, and Galicia. The route is a great combination of beautiful countryside scenery, impressive Roman ruins, and spectacular medieval towns.

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Via de la Plata PDFs

To make your planning easier we’ve created two PDFs. The first one contains walking stages on the Via de la Plata and the second one lists places to stay along the route. We’ve completed only the first part of the Via de la Plata from Seville to Merida. The PDFs contain information only for that part. We’re planning to walk the rest of the route and update the post.

• Walking stages of the Via de la Plata (from Seville to Merida)
• Places to stay on the Via de la Plata (from Seville to Merida)

What is the Via de la Plata?

The Via de la Plata is one of the longest Camino de Santiago routes in Spain. It starts in Seville, Andalusia, crosses Spain from south to north, and finishes in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. In Roman times, the route was used to transfer goods from the south to the north of Spain. Nowadays it’s one of the toughest and least walked pilgrimage routes to Santiago. In 2025 only 1,6% (8833 people) of all the pilgrims who arrived in Santiago de Compostela walked the Via de la Plata.

Like on any other Camino route, you’ll need a Credential (a pilgrim’s passport) to be able to stay in public albergues and to get the Compostela certificate in Santiago de Compostela for completing the route.

Travel insurance for the Camino

A long-distance walk like any other outdoor activity involves a risk of getting an injury or sickness. The Via de la Plata is a very long and challenging route often through remote areas with no towns or villages for 20km. Small injuries and traumas such as blisters, shin splints, and sprains are quite common. Get more information about travel insurance for the Camino in our dedicated post or get an instant quote right here.

World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world.

How long is the route?

The total distance of the Via de la Plata is 1000 km/621 mi. It takes between 40 and 50 days to complete the route depending on your daily distances and number of rest days in between.

How difficult is the Silver Route?

We’ve walked 11 Camino de Santiago routes and I can say that the Via de la Plata is more challenging than the Camino Frances or the Portuguese route. First of all because it’s a very long route. Second, the towns on this Camino are far apart which means you have to carry a lot of water and some snacks with you. We had days when we walked for 20-25 km/12-15 mi through nothing. Not even a place to refill your water!

There are no mountains on the Via de la Plata like on the Camino Primitivo but long daily distances combined with little infrastructure and high temperatures make it a very challenging route.

If you want to walk the Via de la Plata and have never done a long-distance trail before you can start in Seville and see how far you get. Once you don’t feel like walking anymore, you can stop and continue sometime later.

Vía de la Plata route options

The Vía de la Plata has several routes and connecting trails with other Caminos.

1. It’s possible to start in Granada or Almería, walk to Mérida following the Camino Mozárabe, and from there continue on the Vía de la Plata to Santiago. This route is very long, over 1200 km/745 mi.
2. Another option is to start in Valencia, walk to Zamora following the Camino de Levante, and from Zamora continue to Santiago de Compostela on the Vía de la Plata. This route is even longer, 1300 km/807 mi.
3. The Vía de la Plata splits after Zamora; one route goes north to Astorga where it merges with the Camino Frances; another route goes north-west through Ourense following the Camino Sanabrés. If you decide to walk through Astorga, be ready to see many pilgrims, the French Camino is the most popular route, especially the last 100 km/62 mi to Santiago de Compostela.

If you decide to walk the Camino Mozárabe or the Levante it’s important to remember that these routes have very few pilgrims. As a result, there is less infrastructure. Finding accommodation might be challenging in some parts. You’ll need some basic Spanish to be able to explain simple things. Both routes go through non-touristy parts of Spain where very few people understand English.

Best months for walking

Summer is the worst time to walk the Via de la Plata. It gets extremely hot. July, August, and September are the worst months. The temperature is between 40°C and 45°C, with no shade to hide, not a drop of rain, clear skies, and nowhere to get water along the route (sometimes you walk 20-25 km through nothing).

June is hot and sunny most of the time but not as scorching hot as in July, August, and September.

Our favorite time for Via de la Plate is spring. April and May are the best months to walk the Camino. It’s warm but not too hot, not much rain, the fields are covered in flowers, the area is very green, the air is fresh. October has the similar weather but different scenery; mostly dry fields not much green vegetation or flowers.

As for walking the Via de la Plata offseason between November and March, it rains quite a lot in January, February, March. You might feel lonely – very likely there will be no pilgrims on the route.

The cost of walking the Via de la Plata

Accommodation

Public albergues on this route are more expensive than on the other Camino routes. You usually pay 10-12€ per bed in a public albergue. On the Via de la Plata the standard price is 14€. Private albergues/hostels cost around 20-25€.

Food

A good thing about this route is that every town has a least a shop so you can buy food and cook. Prices in supermarkets are similar to the rest of Spain if you buy food for two meals it’ll cost you between 8€ and 10€ per person depending on what you buy.

In Spain supermarkets are closed on Sundays, public holidays, and often for lunch, between 2 pm and 5 pm. Plan your shopping accordingly.

Eating out

Traditional Menu del Día (a set menu with first, main, drink, bread, and coffee/dessert) for 12-15€ is quite popular. A cup of coffee and a sandwich with Jamón or cheese and tomato (Tostada) cost about 5€. The coffee is good and cheap, Americano costs 1€, Cafe con Leche (Cappuccino) about 2-3€. A beer or a glass of wine (cheap wine) in a bar is about 2-3€, it usually comes with chips, olives, or peanuts.

Transport

To get to Seville, the starting point of the Via de la Plata you can take a bus or a train from Madrid or other Spanish cities. A bus from Madrid to Seville costs 25€, the journey takes 6h30min. A speed train is from 45€, it takes 2h50min.

Our Via de la Plata budget breakdown (9 days, 2 people)

We stayed in dormitories in public and private albergues, only one night in a private room in a hotel, bought food in supermarkets (most of the time), usually stopped for breakfast and coffee (one to two times a day), a couple of times went out for a beer or wine.

• Accommodation – 300€
• Eating out (food, coffee, etc.) – 150€
• Shopping (food) – 110€
• Transport (bus Madrid – Seville) – 50€
• Laundry – 10€

Total: 620€ or 34€ per person per day.

What to pack for the Camino?

It’s important to remember not to overload your pack. It’s a very long route, you’re going to walk for more than one month with your backpack. Depending on what time of the year you decide to walk the Via de la Plata you’ll need different essentials. If you walk the route in fall/winter when it rains quite a lot in Andalusia and Extremadura you’ll need a rain poncho and a pair of good waterproof hiking boots.

For the spring/summer season good sun protection is important, make sure to pack a cap or better a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and two water bottles so that you have at least 2l of water per person.

We have a detailed Camino de Santiago packing guide where you can find the essential packing list for men and women for different seasons.

Via de la Plata guidebooks

It’s not always easy to find good guidebooks in English. Here are some of the best Via de la Plata guidebooks:

• Walking La Via de la Plata and Camino Sanabres: The Camino de Santiago from Seville to Santiago de Compostela and Astorga (Cicerone Walking), 2024. Paperback & Kindle. 
• A CAMINO FOR ALL: A Pilgrim’s Diary on the Camino de Santiago: The Via de la Plata and the Camino Sanabrés by Luisa Sousa. Paperback & Kindle. 
• Tortoises on the Via de la Plata: Walking the Camino to Santiago by Jaqueline Buchanan. Kindle. 

On such a long Camino route like this one, it’s great to have a nice book. If you like reading having a Kindle might be a good idea. If you read a lot it might be worth joining the Amazon Kindle Unlimited program that gives you free access to thousands of e-books and audiobooks.

Luggage transfer on the route

It’s possible to arrange luggage transfer on the Via de la Plata. Your backpack or suitcase will be delivered from place to place. You can use it for the entire route (which will increase the cost of the walk quite a bit) or only for longer stages more challenging stages.

It works easy; a truck picks your luggage up at the reception in the morning and drives it to your next accommodation place. By the time you arrive, your backpack is already there.

Several companies offer luggage delivery; Correos, Mundicamino, Pilbeo (from Ourense). The price is between 7 and 8 Euros per backpack per stage.

What is the accommodation like?

Like on any other Camino route the main accommodation for pilgrims on the Via de la Plata is albergues. Albergues can be private and public. Public albergues are run by municipalities and usually are the cheapest places to stay on the Camino. These albergues are exclusively for pilgrims who walk or cycle the Camino.

Private albergues belong to a person or a company, they are a bit more expensive than public ones and usually have better facilities. Private albergues are more like hostels anybody can stay there but most of the guests are usually pilgrims. There are hotels and guest houses along the route as well in case you prefer staying in private rooms.

Comparing public and private albergues

Features	Public albergues	Private albergues
Exclusively for pilgrims	yes	no
Need a Credential	yes	no
Can be booked	no	yes
Accept cards	no	sometimes
Allow luggage delivery	no	yes
Price	12-14 Euro	20-25 Euro

How to get to the Via de la Plata?

There is an international airport in Seville. You can find direct flights from many European countries (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, etc.) as well as from several Spanish cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, etc.). If you buy tickets in advance you can fly for as little as 30-40 Euro. Ryanair, EasyJet, Iberia Express, and Vueling are the main airlines with direct flights to Seville.

Getting to Seville from Madrid

If you come from overseas, Madrid is probably the best city to fly. From Madrid, you can catch a direct flight, a train, or a bus to Seville. Flying is the fastest way of getting there. There are regular buses and trains as well.

Madrid to Seville – transport options

Madrid to Seville	Flight	Train	Bus
Daily departures	5	8	3+
Station	Barajas airport	Puerta de Atocha	Barajas T1 Estacion Sur
Time to get	1h10min.	2h40min.	6h20min.
Ticket price	from 30 Euro	from 40 Euro	34 Euro
Company	Iberia, Iberia Express	RENFE	Socibus

Getting to Seville from Barcelona

If you land in Barcelona I recommend flying to Seville. A direct flight from Barcelona takes 1h45min. Prices start at 31 Euro. Ryanair and Vueling are two airlines that offer direct flights.

A direct fast train (5h30min.) from Barcelona to Seville costs 120 Euro. You definitely will be able to find cheaper flights. There is a cheaper train, 65 Euro but it takes 11h30min. There are no direct buses from Barcelona to Seville, you’ll have to go via Albacete, the journey takes more than 15 hours.

Vía de la Plata planning resources

• Via de la Plata walking stages | Get a detailed itinerary of the first part of the route |
• Learn more about the Camino de Santiago | A comprehensive guide to the Camino de Santiago |
• How much does it cost to walk the Camino? | The cost of walking the Camino de Santiago |
• How to plan the Camino walk? | The best tips for the Camino de Santiago |

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