Carry-On Only for the Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago is one of the best-suited long journeys for carry-on only travel — because your carry-on bag becomes your hiking pack for the entire walk. Whatever you fly with is what you carry for hundreds of kilometres. Every unnecessary item costs you energy for weeks.

Getting There: Airlines and Routes

The main options for reaching the Camino Francés starting area in northern Spain:

Ryanair to Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) — useful if you are walking backwards from the end, or flying in after the walk
Ryanair or easyJet to Biarritz (BIQ) — closest airport to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the traditional start of the Camino Francés
Iberia or Vueling to Madrid (MAD) — then the overnight train to Pamplona or Burgos
Ryanair to Bilbao (BIO) — good for those joining the Northern Route (Camino del Norte)

Ryanair's carry-on rules are the binding constraint for most budget flights to northern Spain. With Priority boarding: one bag up to 55×40×20 cm, max 10 kg. This is tight but workable with the right pack.

Choosing the Right Pack

The Ryanair size gauge (55×40×20 cm) eliminates most traditional hiking rucksacks. The 20 cm depth is the key constraint. Packs that work:

Pack	Volume	Dimensions	Weight
Osprey Daylite Plus	20 L	48×30×18 cm	510 g
Deuter Speed Lite 20	20 L	47×27×22 cm	570 g
Gregory Nano 20	20 L	46×28×18 cm	498 g
Decathlon Aero 17	17 L	44×28×17 cm	360 g

A 17–20 litre pack is sufficient for the Camino. Anything larger is harder to keep under 10 kg once you add shoes, a liner, and clothing.

The Essential Pilgrim Kit

Sleeping

Sleeping bag liner — silk weighs 100 g, merino weighs 150 g; both pack to fist-size. Albergues provide mattresses; a liner is all you need in warmer months.
Ear plugs — essential in bunk-bed albergues with 20–60 pilgrims per room.
Eye mask — some albergues have lights on at 6 am.

Footwear

Trail runners — wear on the plane, do not pack. Salomon, Hoka, or Merrell trail shoes suit all Camino surfaces.
Recovery sandals — lightweight slides (250 g) for rest days and evenings in town.
Blister kit — Compeed second-skin plasters, needle, alcohol wipe. Small and essential.

Clothing (layer system)

2 × merino T-shirts (wear one, wash one)
1 × merino or synthetic long-sleeve layer
1 × lightweight wind or rain shell
2 × walking socks (merino dries faster than cotton)
1 × shorts or lightweight convertible trousers
1 × thin gloves and hat (spring/autumn on mountain stages)

Key extras

Microfibre travel towel — 200 g, not provided in most albergues
Trekking poles — not required, but allowed in cabin as mobility aids
Pilgrim credential / passport — free from any Camino albergue on arrival

Weight vs Comfort: The Core Trade-Off

The recommended Camino starting weight is under 10% of your body weight. For someone weighing 75 kg, that is 7.5 kg total — pack included. Ryanair's 10 kg Priority limit gives you a small buffer.

What most pilgrims discover by day three: everything over 8 kg is suffering compounded daily. Pharmacies at every village on the Camino Francés route sell blister plasters, pain relief, and most medications you forgot. Gear shops in Saint-Jean, Pamplona, Burgos, and León stock any equipment you lack.

If in doubt, leave it out. You can buy it on the Camino, or mail home anything you realize you don't need at any Spanish post office (Correos).

Frequently asked questions

What airline flies directly to the Camino Francés starting point?▾

Ryanair operates routes to Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) from several European cities, including London Stansted, Dublin, and other hubs. For the Camino Francés, the most common approach is to fly to Biarritz or Pamplona (for those starting in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) or to Bilbao or Burgos for those joining at later stages. Iberia and Vueling serve Madrid (MAD), from where a comfortable overnight train connects to the start points on the French Way or the Northern Route.

Can Ryanair's carry-on limit (10 kg, 55×40×20 cm) really work for a multi-week Camino?▾

Yes, and many experienced pilgrims walk with less. The recommended Camino pack weight is under 10% of your body weight — for most people, that means 7–9 kg including the bag itself. Ryanair's Priority boarding bag limit of 10 kg and 55×40×20 cm is workable if you choose a purpose-built pilgrimage pack (Osprey Daylite Plus, Deuter Speed Lite 20) rather than a standard hiking rucksack. The 20 cm depth is the constraint — most day hiking packs fit, but technical mountaineering packs do not.

Do you need a sleeping bag for the Camino?▾

Most pilgrims use a sleeping bag liner rather than a full sleeping bag. Albergues (pilgrim hostels) provide mattresses and often pillows, but not sheets or blankets. A silk or merino wool liner weighs around 100–150 g and packs to the size of a large orange. It provides enough warmth in combination with your clothing layers in summer and shoulder seasons. In winter, a lightweight 400 g sleeping bag gives more security, though the Camino is much quieter then and many albergues close.

Trail runners or hiking boots for the Camino — which pack smaller?▾

Trail runners pack significantly smaller and lighter than stiff leather hiking boots. Many experienced Camino pilgrims prefer trail runners anyway: they dry faster, require less breaking-in time, and suit the well-maintained paths of the Camino Francés and Camino Portugués. A pair of lightweight trail runners (Salomon Speedcross, Hoka Speedgoat) weighs 600–800 g per pair versus 1.2–1.6 kg for leather boots, and compresses into a carry-on more easily. Wear them on the plane — they do not need to go in your bag at all.

What do pilgrims consistently wish they had left at home?▾

The most common regrets among Camino pilgrims are: carrying more than 8 kg total (every extra kilogram becomes painful by week two), bringing multiple pairs of jeans or heavy cotton clothing, packing a full-size towel instead of a microfibre travel towel, and including items 'just in case' that are available cheaply at Camino towns. Pharmacies on the Camino route stock blister plasters, pain relief, and most medications. The gear shops in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Pamplona stock everything a pilgrim might have forgotten.