Walking the Camino de Santiago alone, is that a good idea? Are you safe as a woman on the camino? Yes! I’ve walked the Camino Frances several times and I’ve never felt unsafe. It’s one of the busiest caminos and you almost always have someone walking in front of or behind you.
There are also other, less busy pilgrimage routes. Statistics show that you are also safe as a woman travelling alone on these pilgrimage routes.
Yet lately I’ve been reading reports about women feeling unsafe while walking the Camino de Santiago. Whether it’s happening more often or these incidents are just appearing more in my timeline now. That it’s being talked about is good, of course, it’s the beginning of change, of awareness. Hopefully awareness among men… but also awareness in how you prepare your trip.
Are you safe as a woman on the Camino?
Read also how to be safe as a women solo hiking
This is how you can be better prepared to start your pilgrimage if you’re going to walk the Camino de Santiago alone.
The Camino de Santiago is a contemplative journey
A camino, a pilgrimage, is often walked alone. The camino has traditionally been a contemplative journey, an inward journey that offers you peace, space, and insights. You overcome obstacles by going alone, your self-confidence grows, and you especially realize that you’re capable of much more than you might have thought before.
But what if something you encounter on your path destroys your self-confidence in an instant? As a woman alone on the Camino de Santiago, you’re sometimes vulnerable since a pilgrimage also runs through remote areas.
The question is quickly asked when you share your plans with your surroundings: Is it safe for a woman to walk the Camino de Santiago alone? Should you really do that? How do you make sure you stay safe on the road?
Such questions make you think, of course. Can I, as a woman, walk the Camino de Santiago alone? It’s good to visualize what you would do in a certain situation.
How many pilgrims walked the Camino in 2024
The above graph shows that 236,380 pilgrims arrived in Santiago de Compostela in 2024. Almost half of all these pilgrims, 47.38%, completed the Camino Frances.
Of these more than 236,000 pilgrims, 6,353 were Dutch walking the camino. So you can say that you’ll also be immersing yourself in a universal community.
How many women walked the Camino de Santiago – 2024
And then you can also see how many of these pilgrims were women – you’ll see that you’re in the majority if you also walk the camino alone as a woman.
54.08% of all pilgrims on the camino were women.
Source of the above figures is Oficina del Peregrino
Police along the Camino de Santiago – Safety supervision
Since 2015, the Spanish police have deployed extra patrols on the camino, especially in the last province; Galicia. This section is naturally also the busiest because the last 100 km (from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela) is important for many Spanish people to complete. If you complete 100 km, you’re entitled to the compostela, and that’s what many Spanish people are after.
You can download the AlertCops app on your phone, which allows you to easily contact the police if necessary.
Unfortunately, there are various elements you can encounter during your Camino de Santiago that can make you feel unsafe.
Nevertheless, I must emphasise that I have not yet heard any first-hand accounts from women who felt unsafe while walking the pilgrimage route. Keep in mind that the most unpleasant stories that make an impression are more striking than the average story. You hear those stories more often, but ultimately they are only a few cases, and the remaining percentage of women remained safe and did not experience anything unpleasant.
Men with wrong intentions along the camino
You may encounter men with wrong intentions on your path. Fortunately, there aren’t many known incidents, but just as in any country and anywhere, there can be men with wrong intentions here too. How can you prepare for this?
Be familiar with your day’s stage
Read up on the route to walk the next day. Are there longer stretches between villages where you might walk alone? Are you walking in a busy time? Or are you walking in a quiet season? There are always fellow pilgrims you may have already walked with or who you also see leaving. Make sure you stay in their vicinity or walk together.
Order a St. James Way hiking guide for the journey
I’ve been sharing my location with my brother for years. This is just standard on in my phone, he could always see where I am. In principle, he never does, but should it happen that I’m offline a bit longer or unreachable, he can always see where I am or what my last location was. He can also see how full my battery still was at that moment, always handy. Such info can give you just a bit more picture of a situation.
Walking poles to increase your safety
I’ve given this tip before – the poles you have for walking can also be used very well for defense. You can push someone away with them, keep them at a distance, poke, or hit. Everything is possible and allowed to defend yourself if you can stop an attack this way.
And did you know that every good outdoor backpack has a whistle? The strap you close over your chest – there’s a whistle hidden in it. With this, you can scare someone off and simultaneously warn others.
Dogs along the Camino
I haven’t encountered them on the camino yet, dogs I was scared of. The camino is so busy that most dogs are already used to it. In Turkey I did encounter them, that was on a route that’s less busy. But suppose you do encounter dogs that come at you aggressively, then throw a stone. Something that often scares dogs is that you throw something at them.
Another option is of course to keep them at a distance with your trekking poles. That worked for me for a while on the Lycian Way in Turkey until two men on a scooter came to help me.
European emergency number 112
Did you know that 112 is also the emergency number in Spain? Throughout Europe, you can call 112 if you’re in distress. Your mobile phone transmits your GPS data so they can direct you to the right emergency center. (It very rarely happens that your call still ends up in the Netherlands) If you’re walking on another continent, it’s handy to know the relevant emergency number.
Ensure your phone is fully charged before you set off on a day’s walking. You’ll want to be able to make calls and share your location at any time, of course.
Know where you are on your pilgrimage route
It’s always good to know where you are, of course, but in the above case, that you have to call 112, they’ll ask. Of course, the GPS can be read, but it’s faster if you can say where you are. The car can be dispatched right away. But also for people at home and in your surroundings, it’s good to know where you are and where you should be the next day.
There’s an app for your phone from the Spanish police – Alert Cops. I have it on my phone but haven’t used it. It’s linked to my phone number and I share my location with the app.
With the app, you can share your location with local security services I see, simulate that a phone call is coming in. You can set in the settings what appears on screen then, e.g. dad or something. You can also make a loud sound, simultaneously your flashlight also turns on. There’s an SOS function, which you can set for your own contacts but also for emergency services if you’ve witnessed something or are part of a group that was a victim such as gender-based violence.
Walking along a busy road on the camino
Some sections of the Camino de Santiago run along a busy road. Usually there are walking paths alongside, but sometimes you do have to walk on or along the road. It’s best to walk against traffic. Then at least you see if cars are coming and whether the driver reacts to you by moving aside. I often see people walking with traffic and just blindly trusting that the driver is paying attention and will move aside for you. But what if they’re just looking at their phone and don’t move aside for you?
For this reason, it is safer to walk against the traffic so that you can see what is coming towards you and react in time.
Don’t walk at night on the Camino
When it’s very hot during the day, it’s nice to start walking very early. This is to beat the heat, of course. I did that during my first camino too. Well before sunrise I was already on the road. It’s nice then to have a lamp with you to light your path.
Know that with that lamp you can blind other people. Which in an emergency situation can increase your safety again because your ‘attacker’ is blinded and it takes a while before they see anything again in the dark.
Often after an overnight stay, you walk straight from a village into nature and it’s nice to walk into the dark together.
My conclusion about walking the Camino as a woman
Is walking the camino safe?
My judgment is that the camino is really safe for women! To support this, I often refer back to the statistics on domestic violence. A woman is most unsafe in her own home – domestic violence occurs far too often. Yet we often feel safest at home.
Did you know that every 8 days a woman is killed by femicide in the Netherlands? (Mostly domestic violence or honour killings)
The camino is safe to walk as a woman alone.
When you consider how many people pilgrim each year and how few incidents there are, you can safely say that it’s a very safe way of traveling. Even as a woman, you’re safe on the camino.
Will you make the Camino de Santiago safer for women?
If you’re going to walk the camino as a woman, make sure we keep it safe for each other. Look out for each other a bit, if you have the feeling or idea that something’s not right, ask. In my work at the police, I always told citizens who called for nothing that we’d rather come 10 times for nothing than once too late. And the same applies here.
So… If you have the idea that a woman isn’t waiting for the company she’s walking with or sitting with, ask. Be inventive about it because I also understand you don’t ask that question directly, but ask if you should come sit with them, for example. Together you’re stronger!
Would you rather walk the Camino organized?
Not walking the Camino de Santiago alone? Because many people are looking forward to a camino but don’t actually take the step, I’ve put together a trip. Walk the last 200 km on the Camino Frances in a small group with Zinvol Reizen. You can always choose to walk alone for days, but you have a safety net around you that you can fall back on during your pilgrimage.
How to prepare for a pilgrimage?
Good preparation is half the work, of course… Good shoes, a good backpack, and comfortable clothing is a must during your pilgrimage trip. In my packing list, I have quite a few tips. Which route are you going to walk? Do you want to encounter many pilgrims or not? And just walk a lot, put your body in the right mode, the walking mode.
Compostela for beginners
Read up well so you know what to expect, start walking of course… and slowly you’ll become a pilgrim. And also check out the packing list for pilgrims and the costs of the pilgrimage in your preparation. Also read my travel guide for staying overnight on the camino.