When Jamie and I decided to walk the Camino Inglés, one of several route options of Spain’s famous pilgrims’ way the Camino del Santiago, we made two choices that changed the way we plan to travel. First, we decided to carry our packs on the pilgrimage rather than have them transferred each day. And second, we chose to fly into Santiago de Compostela and continue to Ferrol, our starting point, by train.
Ryanair offered attractively priced round trip tickets from Valencia to Santiago – about €111 total for the 90 minute flights that took us clear across Spain and back again. And their luggage policy is geared toward micro-luggage and even tinier carry-on’s, so this was the perfect airline to make us pack light for the 5 days we’d be walking more than 120 km on the Camino Inglés.
The Ryanair baggage rules allow one personal carryon item and that can be a small backpack as long as it fits under the seat in front of you. So that’s what we aimed for.
Our First RyanAir Flight
This was our first experience with Ryanair and we’d heard stories of their gauntlet of fee add-ons and draconian strictness. Naturally, we were a little nervous about the size of our daypacks. So nervous we ended up packing even lighter than we ever thought possible. Our packs ended up weighing less than 5 kg (11 pounds) each. Essentially, we each carried a single change of clothing to cover the range of temperatures we expected 13C – 25C (55F – 78F)
Since I was a newbie, I worried. What if I needed to check my daypack? So I set up a stuff sack with all my personal items – those things I would ordinarily carry in my purse. Things like my wallet, phone, train tickets, etc. I certainly didn’t want these items winding up in the hold of the plane.
I'm ready to go. Five days on the Camino with only my lightweight day pack
The roving Ryanair gate attendant indicated that our bags were “small” and wouldn’t be a problem, but I was firmly instructed to put my stuff sack of personal items inside the daypack. When they allow you to carry on one personal item, they mean ONE personal item.
It turns out that we had Ryanair’s micro baggage policy to thank for the eight-hours every day that we spent walking with lightweight daypacks. A couple of the days we walked were so long (up to 34 km), I’m not sure I would have managed with a heavier pack. And having only one change of clothes was no problem on the Camino.
The couple additional days we spent in Santiago de Compostela after our walk had me wishing for some fresh clothing, but not enough to have hauled them more than 120 km on my back.
And when we saw the size of the backpacks carried by others and imagined how much they must have weighed, it just reinforced to us that going light on “The Way” is the best way.
So, thanks Ryanair, we’ll be traveling with micro baggage on most of our future journeys.
Jamie's Packing List
- 1 pr walking shorts
- 1 pr travel pants
- 2 wool long sleeve shirts
- 2 tee shirts, 1 long sleeve
- 2 pr underwear
- shortie pj's
- 4 pr socks
- cap
- fleece jacket
- rain jacket
Toiletries: insect repellant*, razor, toothbrushes & toothpaste, ibuprofen, microfiber towels*
Susan's Packing List
- 2 pr convertible pants
- 2 long sleeve shirts
- 2 tee shirt
- 2 pr underwear
- 2 pr socks
- 1 pr sandals
- sun visor
- puffy jacket
- rain jacket
Toiletries: sunscreen, face wash, moisturizer, lip balm, brush, small scissors, moleskin, reading glasses, shampoo*
Susan writes about the things that make life meaningful for her. This includes places we’ve been and what we’ve experienced as nomads these last several years. And now, includes finding a place to call home.
As we come closer to a “settled” life, Susan will begin to emphasize aging gracefully with a plant based diet, plenty of yoga, and physical activity. She is certified to teach Hatha, Vinyasa, and Yin yoga. Adaptive and Senior yoga certification is coming soon.
Comments
I know this was a while ago and I think Ryanair’s rules are even stricter now for carryon. But what did you do for sleeping bags at night? Or were you in places that had bedding? I don’t think carryon would work for me as I stay in municipal albergues. You guys did well!
Hi Lynda,
We didn’t stay at albergues and so did not need to carry sleeping bags. We thought it better to travel light. Along the way we met a young man who had his bag sent along to his next destination through the Spanish postal service. That might be an option for you.
Enjoy your walk.
Well done! I love the ideal of packing minimally, and am always trying to pare down what I think is a “must.” I’m curious about the actual day pack you used. Can you share details about that, please? Brand, model, weight and capacity?
Thanks!
Hi Elaine.
Packing light is hard work, isn’t it? We both have Osprey packs and I think they are great. Jamie’s is larger, a Manta 28 and mine is a Syncro 15. I have considerably less space than he does but my clothes are considerably smaller. We left the hydration packs at home to give us more clothes carrying space and carried water bottles in the side pockets since getting water on the Camino was not difficult. We didn’t end up needing it, but these packs have integrated rain covers. I’ve carried many daypacks and backpacks over the years and my Osprey pack is the first one I’ve had with the design that keeps the pack off your back for ventilation. I absolutely adore this feature. Happy Shopping.
What an accomplishment! You must be so very proud that you walked that much, and are still walking around. Love the “ultralight hiking”. There was an episode on Oregon Field Guide/OPB about ultralight backpacking. So glad you are not only experiencing adventures, but jumping in with both feet. You are an inspiration. Live a dream!
Thank you, Shirley. We’re having lots of fun. Walking that far wasn’t too hard because we walk a lot already. Our walks in Valencia are all on the level, however, so the hills were challenging. I am so glad you are finding these posts interesting. I have a couple more posts almost ready on the walk itself. Stay tuned.