Starting the Camino Frances in Roncesvalles means walking almost the entire route, skipping only the tough Pyrenean stage from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the hardest leg and the one that complicates getting there. Roncesvalles, in the Navarrese Pyrenees, is the first stop in Spain on the Camino: a Gothic collegiate church, an albergue with over 180 beds in the former pilgrims\u2019 hospital, and little else, surrounded by beech woods. It can be reached by bus from Pamplona in just over an hour, and Pamplona has a train station, a bus station and two airports within two hours (Bilbao and Biarritz).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Roncesvalles to Santiago there are about 755 kilometres split into 33 stages, which most pilgrims cover in five long weeks. The route crosses Navarre, La Rioja, the plateaus of Burgos and Palencia, the Montes de Le\u00f3n and the mountains of Galicia. You will need the pilgrim\u2019s credential, with one stamp a day as far as Sarria and two a day over the last 100 kilometres. If you also want to include the crossing of the Pyrenees, our guide to all 34 stages<\/a> covers the complete Camino Frances from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe 33 Stages from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela<\/h3>\n\n\n\n