Books About the Camino: What to Read Before You Walk

Looking for books about the Camino? Reading about the world-famous pilgrim network before you go is one of the best ways to prepare, and honestly one of the best ways to get properly excited. Some books answer practical questions about stages and albergues, others put you in the right frame of mind for what a month of walking actually does to you.

Here is my reading list, from practical guidebooks to memoirs and classics. A few of the titles are Danish, since that is where my own Camino reading started, but the guidebooks and classics below are available in English.

Guidebooks and planning

These are the books that answer the practical questions: where to start, how long the stages are, and what to expect along the way.

Camino de Santiago: Camino Frances Guide and map book, with the Finisterre finish (2nd ed. Jan. 20) by Sandy Brown

A dedicated guide and map book for the Camino Francés, including the extension out to Finisterre on the Atlantic coast. If you want stage maps in your pack rather than just on your phone, this is the format to bring.

Turen går til Camino de Santiago & Nordspanien by Gitte Holtze

A Danish travel guide covering the Camino de Santiago and northern Spain. Useful if you want the walk placed in the context of the wider region, including routes like the Camino del Norte along the coast.

Camino de Santiago, for første gang by René Villadsen

A Danish book aimed squarely at first-time pilgrims. It covers the questions every first-timer has before setting off, the same ground I try to cover in my guides.

Caminoen i Frankrig by Hanne Hjardemaal

The Camino does not begin at the Spanish border. This Danish book covers the pilgrim routes through France that feed into the Spanish caminos, for anyone tempted to start their walk further back in Europe.

Memoirs and personal accounts

Guidebooks prepare your feet. These prepare your head.

Kvartlivskrise på Caminoen by Simone Jespersen

A Danish account of walking the Camino in the middle of a quarter-life crisis. If you are heading out with big questions rather than a detailed itinerary, this one will feel familiar.

To uger på Caminoen by Dortea Uggerhøj

Two weeks on the Camino, told in Danish. A good reminder that you do not need a free month to have a real Camino experience. Shorter walks, like the Camino Inglés, are complete pilgrimages in their own right.

Classics and fiction

Pilgrimsrejsen by Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho’s classic account of his own pilgrimage along the Camino, published in English as The Pilgrimage. This is the book that sent countless readers to Spain with a backpack, and it remains the obvious starting point if you want the mythology of the Camino rather than the logistics. It also exists as a gift edition, Pilgrimsrejsen (Gaveudgave), if you know a future pilgrim who needs a nudge.

I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

Despite the name, this is a thriller rather than a Camino book, and it tends to show up in every pilgrim’s search results anyway. I include it here for honesty’s sake, and because it is a gripping read for the long evenings in the albergue once your feet are up.

Beyond the Camino

The pilgrim road to Trondheim : Oslo to Nidaros Cathedral by Alison Raju

Pilgrimage walking does not end in Santiago. Alison Raju’s guide covers the pilgrim road from Oslo to Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, the great northern pilgrimage. If the Camino leaves you wanting more, and it usually does, this is a natural next chapter.

How to choose

If you only read one book before your first Camino, make it a practical guidebook for your chosen route. If you have room for two, add a memoir or Coelho’s classic, because the mental preparation matters just as much as the packing list. And if you are still choosing which route to walk in the first place, start with the route pages here on the site or read a bit about my own first Camino in 2016.

Happy reading, and Buen Camino!