Packing for the Camino de Santiago is  a critical aspect of the enjoyment and experience of the Camino. The journey is long and you will want to carry as little extra weight as possible but still have all the items you need. We have packed with that in mind. We are not staying anywhere that requires a sleeping bag or sleeping liner. 

Below is our packing list which we believe is the essentials for us. That is not to say that someone else would pack differently.

Ray´s pack is an Osprey Farpoint 55 litre. This pack is a little bigger than needed but he has had this pack for many years. It has been very reliable and functional over the years. The pack comes with a smaller day pack that can be removed from the main pack.

The packing was separated into three packing cubes, which makes it easy to unload and load your pack. You also know where an item is quickly without going through all your stuff. 

The largest packing cube contains the following items

• 1 -pair hiking pants with zip off legs
• 2 -quick dry T-Shirts
• 1-Long sleeve quick dry shirt

Smaller packing cube contains

• 1 -quick dry towel
• 2 -pair underwear
• 2 -pair of hiking socks (Smartwool heavy duty socks)
• small garbage bag (for dirty clothes)

The other packing cube contains 3 ziplock bags with the following:

1-ziplock bag – Toiletries, toothpaste toothbrush deoderant, some toilet paper and tissues,  phone charger and 4 clothes pins. 

2- ziplock bag – bug spray, suntan lotion and soap packet  for cleaning laundry in the sink.

3-ziplockbag – pain pills, small first aid kit with bandaids and anti blister pack,  nail clippers

Additional items include two pair of footwear. One pair of hiking shoes and a pair of sandals for the evening. This will give my feet a break from wearing the same shoes all the time.

In addition, there are 2 walking sticks, a lightweight brimmed hat, sunglasses and personal Identification ,money, credit card etc.

The total weight of the pack is 14.2 lbs or 6.44 kilos.

We also have our Camino credentials (Camino passport) and the shell which almost everyone on the camino carries. It is a symbol and identifies you as a pilgrim on the camino.  

It is a small paper book with your name and the route you plan on taking etc. In the camino passport you will collect your stamps from the different locations you go to over your camino. Once you reach Santiago de Compostela you can present your camino passport and get your Compostela. 

Shelley´s pack is a Deuter 34 Ltr Futura Pro woman´s backpack. 

Her packing list is fundamentally the same as Ray´s except for a few minor differences. She also used packing cubes to help keep items separated and easy to pack or find.

Packing list includes:

• 1- Yoga pants
• 1- long pants
• 2- pair of hiking shorts
• 2- Qucik dry T-Shirts
• 2- pair underwear
• 2- pair of hiking socks
• 1- long sleeve shirt
• 1- windbreaker jacket
• 1- Quick dry towel and quick dry face cloth
• 1- pair of sandals
• 1- Rain poncho
• 2- walking sticks
• 1- Small nylon day pack
• light weight brimmed hat
• Sunglasses, 
• Assorted toiletries items   
• ID, Money and camino credentials

Her pack total weight is 14 lbs or 6.35 kilos.

In regards to water, we do not use a water bladder or a metal water container. Water is safe in Spain and we simply buy a bottle of water at our starting point and use that throughout the camino refilling it as needed.

Buen Camino.