Camino Francés Packing List: What Worked for Us and What We’d Change

If you’re planning to walk the Camino Francés, what you pack will shape your experience more than you might expect.On our first Camino, we overpacked and we felt it every single day. In this post, I’ll walk you through what worked, what we’d change, and our full Camino Francés packing list.

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Our Camino Francés Packing List Philosophy

If you’re wondering how to pack for the Camino de Santiago without overpacking, this is the mindset that made the biggest difference for us:

• Carry everything ourselves (no luggage transfer)
• Skip “just in case” items
• Choose gear that serves multiple purposes
• Prioritize comfort over variety

Somewhere along the way, packing stopped being about what we brought and became about what we didn’t.

We tried hard to avoid “packing our fears” – bringing extra items just because we worried about running out of socks, getting cold, or not having the perfect thing for every situation. On the Camino, almost anything you truly need can be bought along the way, and carrying less made the walking experience much more enjoyable.

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Camino Backpack and Organization: What We Used

Your backpack choice matters, but how you organize it matters just as much.

I used the Gregory Jade 33, which shaved about half a pound off my previous setup while still giving me plenty of pockets and structure to work with. Bob carried the REI Flash Air 50, a lighter, more minimalist pack with fewer organizational features and more of an ultralight feel. Over 500 miles, that tradeoff is real: you feel every extra ounce, but you also feel it when you’re digging around for something you can’t find.

How I Organized My Pack

The biggest improvement from our first Camino wasn’t what I packed it was how I packed it.

This system meant no digging around on the side of the trail and that alone made a huge difference. It also help keep our room tidy at night.

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Camino Tech Gear: Keep It Simple

This category had the potential of adding a lot of weight to our packs. In the end, we decided to film our entire Camino using just our phones:

• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

We considered bringing a dedicated camera (like an Insta360) and even a drone, but I’m glad we didn’t. With the phone, I could quickly grab it, film for a few seconds, and put it away. It didn’t take away from the walking experience.

We brought a small tripod that doubled as a selfie stick, it was perfect for quick clips without slowing us down.

I used two small travel adapters: a simple US‑to‑European plug adapter plus a compact adapter with both USB‑C and USB‑A ports. Together, they handled all of my gear so I could easily charge everything.

We skipped physical guidebooks and used the Moon Camino de Santiago guidebook on my phone instead. I liked having it for the historical and religious context without carrying the extra weight. The Wise Pilgrim app also has some of this information.

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Clothing: A System That Worked

This was the biggest mindset shift. We mostly followed one simple rule:

One to wear. One to wash.

My setup:

• 2 pairs of pants (I skipped the shorts, the pants provided needed sun protection)
• 2 long-sleeve merino sun hoodies (daily wear)
• 1 short-sleeve T-shirt (worked as a backup, extra layer if needed, or an evening shirt)
• Leggings for evenings (or extra layer if needed)
• A small rotation of essentials (socks, underwear, and bras)

Merino wool worked incredibly well:

• Dries quickly
• Resists odor
• Can be worn multiple days

We did laundry whenever we had access even if we’d just done it. Because of that, we only needed a laundromat twice on the entire Camino.

We also skipped “evening outfits.” Most nights were casual, and what we already had was more than enough.

Layers are the kind of thing you don’t appreciate until the weather turns. I hardly ever needed my fleece or rain jacket, but on the days I did, they made all the difference in comfort and safety. For me, they absolutely earned their place in the pack.

I carried a very lightweight rain jacket, and for the amount of rain we had, it was exactly what I needed. I loved it because it packed down small and didn’t add much weight to my bag. My backpack came with a built‑in rain cover, and between that and keeping everything packed inside dry bags, all of my gear stayed dry even on wet days. For me, that combination—a light rain shell, a pack cover, and internal dry bags—was more than enough protection without feeling overprepared.

Bob took a different approach and carried a small travel umbrella instead of a rain jacket, which worked well for him. I prefer having my hands free for recording video and taking photos, so a jacket made more sense for me. Some pilgrims also like a rain poncho that covers both them and their pack, which can be great in heavier or more frequent rain; if you expect a very wet Camino, that option is worth considering too.

Footwear for the Camino Francés

For this Camino, we kept footwear simple and it worked really well.

We each walked in one pair of trail runners (we like Topos but this is a personal choice) and used lightweight sandals in town at the end of the day. Trail runners are a popular choice on the Camino because they’re lighter, more breathable, and still provide enough support for long days on mixed terrain.

On our first Camino, we brought sandals sturdy enough to walk in just in case but we never actually needed them. This time, we chose lighter sandals since they were only for evenings and around town, and we were much happier with that tradeoff. Many pilgrims do like having a pair of walking-capable sandals as backup, but for us they just became extra weight. I am very happy with my Teva sandals for hiking, just not on this Camino.

Because we stayed in private rooms the entire way, we didn’t bring separate shower shoes. If you’re planning to stay in dorm-style albergues with shared bathrooms, it’s worth packing a very lightweight pair of flip-flops or shower sandals for comfort and hygiene.

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What We Kept in Our Waist Packs

Our waist packs were essential. We kept our passports, pilgrim credentials, wallets, phones, and a spare battery in them, so the things we needed most were always right at hand. It was a tight fit in my Patagonia waist pack, so don’t be afraid to size up a bit.

To protect against rain or spills, keep your passport and pilgrim credential sealed in a simple ziplock bag. Having everything easily accessible without taking off our backpacks made a big difference day after day.

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What We Used Every Day (But Didn’t Carry in our packs)

Some of the most important items never lived in our packs:

• Trekking poles (a must for us)
• Sun hats
• Buffs (worn daily)

We brought our trekking poles from home in checked luggage (we were concerned about having them in our carry-on) and then shipped that luggage ahead to Santiago from Pamplona using Casa Ivar’s service.
We chose Pamplona as our stop because it fit our route from Madrid to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and since we hadn’t started the Camino yet, we prioritized convenience and stayed at a hotel near the train station.
Casa Ivar made the luggage transfer process incredibly simple by arranging pickup directly from our hotel in Pamplona and storing our bag in Santiago until we arrived.

Sun protection ended up being one of the small things that made a big difference for us.

We both wore Tilley sun hats, and they were great for long, exposed stretches of the Camino – comfortable, breathable, and with enough brim to really shade our faces and necks. Many Tilley styles are rated UPF 50+, so they’re designed specifically for all-day sun.

I also wore a buff every day. I actually waited to buy mine in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and picked up a Camino-themed buff there, which felt fun and a little bit special. There are several designs to choose from in town (and in other shops along the route), so if you don’t already own one, you might consider waiting and choosing one on the Camino itself.

A Couple of Sentimental Items

I wore a St. James medal from the Vatican and carried a my mom’s small rosary – just a couple of personal items that felt meaningful along the way.

And we carried small rocks from home for Cruz de Ferro, much smaller this time after learning our lesson on our first Camino.

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Water

We kept our water system as simple as possible.

We bought a regular bottle of water at a market, refilled it for a few days, and replaced it when it started to wear out. We didn’t use hydration bladders or anything fancy, just a basic bottle that was easy to refill at along the way.

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Toiletries and First Aid on the Camino

We kept our toiletries and small essentials minimal and simply picked up extras along the way as we needed them.

Because we stayed in private rooms, we skipped a few common items: no sleep liner and no dedicated shower shoes. Most places provided shampoo, so we didn’t carry our own and just brought a small all‑in‑one soap as a backup for hair, body, and the occasional sink laundry. Our one “luxury” was bringing electric toothbrushes, and for us they were totally worth the weight. A small, basic first aid kit was enough to get us to the next pharmacy whenever something came up.

We also carried a few small items that turned out to be surprisingly useful: tissues and a small amount of toilet paper, safety pins for hanging clothes to dry when clothespins weren’t available, and a few ziplock bags for organizing and protecting small things.

The one thing I wish I had brought was lambswool for blister prevention, it would have been a smart addition to our Camino Francés packing list.

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Camino Francés Packing List: Downloadable Checklist

You can download and customize this list in Google Sheets here: Get my Camino Francés packing list (Google Sheet) – after opening, go to File → Make a copy to save your own editable version.

Clothing

• 2 pair long pants (Eddie Bauer)
• 1 pair merino wool leggings (Wool&)
• 1 merino wool T‑shirt (Wool&)
• 2 long‑sleeve merino wool sun hoodies (ibex and Ridge)
• 2 merino wool bras (Branwyn)
• 4 pair merino wool underwear (Branwyn)
• 4 pair merino wool socks (Darn Tough)
• Rain jacket (Janji)
• Fleece pullover (Patagonia)
• Sun hat (Tilley)
• Buff (Buff)
• Running gloves

Shoes

• Trail runners (Topo Athletic)
• Sandals (Crocs)

Toiletries

• Lens cleaning cloth
• All‑in‑one soap
• Face lotion
• Hair brush
• Toothpaste
• Dental floss
• Toothbrush (Sonicare + charging stand)
• Comb
• Tweezers
• Nail clippers
• Razor
• Foot scraper
• Foot cream with urea
• Tissues
• Partial toilet paper roll
• Sunscreen
• Bug spray
• Personal hygiene products (panty liners)

Tech

• Phone
• Tripod (SmallRig)
• AirPods
• Power bank
• European USB‑A / USB‑C travel plug adapter
• US to Europe plug adapter
• Phone cable
• Watch cable

First Aid

• Band‑aids
• Blister care (Compeed)
• Alcohol wipes
• Antibiotic ointment (individual packets)
• Hydrocortisone cream (individual packets)
• Lambswool
• Travel pill organizer with:
  • Ibuprofen
  • Benadryl
  • Pepto
  • Imodium
  • Claritin

Miscellaneous Gear

• Lynn’s backpack (Gregory Jade 33) / Bob’s backpack (REI Flash Air 50)
• Waterproof dry bags 6L and 12L (Osprey)
• Hillsound PackStack Pro storage cube
• Additional packing cubes for organizing socks and underwear inside the dry bags
• Waist pack (Patagonia)
• Hiking poles (Black Diamond)
• Wallet (Chums)
• Passport
• Pilgrim credential (from Saint‑Jean‑Pied‑de‑Port pilgrim office)
• Pen
• Moon Camino guidebook (on my phone’s Kindle app)
• Safety pins
• Clothesline

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Final Thoughts

Packing well isn’t about bringing less.
It’s about bringing what matters.

Every item you carry across Spain should earn its place by making your Camino more comfortable, more practical, or more meaningful. I hope this packing list helps you decide what deserves to come with you and what you can confidently leave at home.