Walk shorter stages on the the Camino Frances
or Camino Ingles in Spain, the Via Francigena in the
Swiss and Italian Alps, or from Florence to Rome with our accompanied groups in 2023
People have been choosing amaWalkers Camino since 2010.
We are excited to offer our 2023 accompanied groups walks.
Many of us feel called to walk a pilgrimage but we don't have 5 or 6 weeks vacation to walk in Spain,
France or Italy. Some don't want to walk long stages, stay in crowded dormitories, or walk alone, and they also don't want to pay for expensive 5-star hotels, costly gourmet meals or an airconditioned back-up bus.
amaWalkers Camino was formed in 2010 by Sylvia Nilsen and Pam stern, two experienced pilgrims, to share their love of the Caminos and the Via Francigena with others. We have filled the gap between going solo, sleeping in dormitories, and the more upmarket luxury Camino guided tours.
Our experienced pilgrim group leaders allow you to do the pilgrimage with like-minded people in a relaxed way, walking shorter stages than those in popular guide books which might not suit adventure hikers wanting a more challenging experience with longer distances! We stay in private en-suite rooms in carefully chosen pensions, inns and rural houses with pilgrims from all around the world. Over the years many life-long friendships have been formed in our groups as we've shared the adventures, the wonder, challenges and beauty of the pilgrimage trails we offer - and many pilgrims have returned to walk with us on different trails.
If this is the kind of pilgrimage you would like to do please send us an email amawalkerscamino@mweb.co.za or complete the contact form at the end of this page.
We are excited to offer our 2023 accompanied groups walks.
Many of us feel called to walk a pilgrimage but we don't have 5 or 6 weeks vacation to walk in Spain,
France or Italy. Some don't want to walk long stages, stay in crowded dormitories, or walk alone, and they also don't want to pay for expensive 5-star hotels, costly gourmet meals or an airconditioned back-up bus.
amaWalkers Camino was formed in 2010 by Sylvia Nilsen and Pam stern, two experienced pilgrims, to share their love of the Caminos and the Via Francigena with others. We have filled the gap between going solo, sleeping in dormitories, and the more upmarket luxury Camino guided tours.
Our experienced pilgrim group leaders allow you to do the pilgrimage with like-minded people in a relaxed way, walking shorter stages than those in popular guide books which might not suit adventure hikers wanting a more challenging experience with longer distances! We stay in private en-suite rooms in carefully chosen pensions, inns and rural houses with pilgrims from all around the world. Over the years many life-long friendships have been formed in our groups as we've shared the adventures, the wonder, challenges and beauty of the pilgrimage trails we offer - and many pilgrims have returned to walk with us on different trails.
If this is the kind of pilgrimage you would like to do please send us an email amawalkerscamino@mweb.co.za or complete the contact form at the end of this page.
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Camino Frances
17-days St Jean to Santiago 28 MAY to 13 JUNE 2023 FULL From €1650 sharing REGISTRATION FORMS HERE 
Via Francigena in the Swiss and Italian Alps 10-days Lausanne to Pont St Martin
Group 1: 17 to 26 JUNE - Full Group 2: 19 to 28 June Full Group 3: 21 to 30 June - Full From €1261 sharing (single supplement ± €420) Registration Forms here
La Via Francigena to Rome
1 - 17 July 2023 17 days, 15 days walking from Florence to Rome (± 220 km) Cost: €1699 in shared rooms - + €476 single Registrations closed Registrations now open. Complete and return the 2023 Via Francigena registration form below. NB: Siena is booked out from 30/6 to 2/7 due to the Palio festival. We have changed the starting place to Florence 
Camino Ingles
9-days Ferrol to Santiago 5 to 14 September FULL From €895 sharing €295 single supplement
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SPRING IN SPAIN
In spring everything is green, the wildflowers are spectacular and the Europen Stork have babies in their huge nests on every tower and steeple! Many people would like to walk the full 775km from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago but don't have the time to do so. In order to enable you to start in St Jean and walk to Santiago, we chose three of the most scenic sections of the Camino Frances, 5 days in the beginning, spend a night in Burgos and Leon, then walk for 3 days in the Irago Mountains from Astorga to Ponferada. From there we hire a private coach and driver to transport our you to Samos and Sarria, visiting O Cebreiro on the way. Walking for 6 days on the last 100km qualifies you for a Compostela certificate SUNSHINE IN THE SWISS AND ITALIAN ALPS
Some of the most spectacular scenery on the historic Via Francigena is in the Swiss and Italian Alps, especially in Spring! On this 10-day walk we meet in the beautiful lakeside city of Lausanne. The following day we take a scenic journey on the St Bernard Express around Lake Geneva into the foothills of the Swiss Alps to La Douay. We'll walk for 8 days on sections of Roman Roads through stunning scenery, staying at the Great St Bernard Pass where you can visit the famous St Bernard rescue dogs. We then descend into the Aosta Valley with amazing landscapes of the surrounding mountains and valleys staying at small towns and villages steeped in history. Our Journey ends in Pont St Martin with easy access to Milan for your onward journey SUMMER IN ITALY
Tuscany is located in the heart of Italy and offers the most pleasant temperatures in the summer months of June, July and August with very little rain July offers warm days but cooler nights than other summer months. Tuscany has many hot water springs, known and used for curative purposes since Etruscan and Roman times. You will visit a few on your way to Rome including Bagni San Filippo and Il Bagnaccio - 6km north of Viterbo. (Bring an old swim suit (the smell of the sulphurous water is so strong that it remains even if you wash your swim suite a hundred times!). In Lazio you will stay at Bolsena, on the shores of the largest volcanic lake in Europe and can have dinner in a restaurant on stilts in the water. You'll will walk on ancient Roman Roads, through hazelnut orchards past pre-Roman Etruscan ruins. On the aproach to Rome, you will have a steady climb up one of the 'Seven Hills of Rome' to Mons Gaudi and as you crest the top we should see the Eternal City laid out before you with the huge dome of St Peter's dominating the picture. AUTUMN IN SPAIN
September is the start of autum with an abundance of fruit and cereal harvest festivals in Spain. The Camino Ingles, or English Way, was the route taken by British, Irish and Scotish pilgrims in the middle ages, arriving in Galicia by sea. Many landed at A Coruna or El Ferrol and walked from there to Santiago de Compostela. The walk from A Coruna is too short to qualify for a Compostela (unless you can prove you have walked at least 25km in your own country) but the 120km of the Ingles trail does qualify. The route is usually walked in 5 or 6 days but these include 3 days of between 28km and 31km. To walk a more leisurely pace we have reduced those stages to an average of 13km per day, the longest being 16.5km. | ||||||||||||||
Efficient, experienced leaders, excellent accommodation, walking with like minded people
amaWalkers Camino group leaders take care of all arrangements so that all you have to do is walk, meeting up with fellow group members in the evening if you want to. Our package includes:
We take singles, couples, groups of friends, religious groups, clubs, and those who want to walk with like-minded people. We’ll be happy to share our love of the Caminos and Via Francigena with you!
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."
Mark Twain
- Up-to-date Advice on Covid 19 travel requirements and protocols for each country
- What to pack
- Getting to the start and home again
- An experienced Walk Leader who makes all land arrangements including taxis to train and bus stations, to and from hotels, accommodation, private coaches when required and luggage transfers. She will accompany you for the duration of your trip
- Orientation get-together - your group leader will meet you at the hotel in the afternoon when you arrive in St Jean, Lausanne or Ferrol. She will welcome the group at an orientation get-together where you will receive a goodie bag containing a credencial (Pilgrim's passport) a Michelin map guide book (for Spain), walking notes with an itinerary, details of all your accommodation, luggage tags and a few other goodies. From time to time she will call for an evening get-together to confirm travel arrangements for the following day
- Luggage Transfers between overnight accommodation.
- Accommodation is provided in small hotels, inns, rural houses and apartments, including one or two nights at the start and at the end of your walk. We do not stay in pilgrim dormitories, nor do we stay in 5 star hotels. A few single rooms can be booked but if the group is large, we might have to split the group and book rooms in a different establishment. In Spain, Switzerland and Italy many places have en-suite bathrooms in double rooms while single rooms might share a bathroom, so if you want a single room with en-suite bathroom every night you will need to pay for single occupancy in a double room. In a couple of villages (mostly on the Via Francigena) we might stay in a rural home where bathrooms are shared by the group
- Meals - some accommodations include breakfast but they rarely include dinner. Your group leader will arrange for meals to be offered in remote locations
We take singles, couples, groups of friends, religious groups, clubs, and those who want to walk with like-minded people. We’ll be happy to share our love of the Caminos and Via Francigena with you!
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."
Mark Twain
In Spring everything is green, the wildflowers are spectacular and the
European stork have babies in their huge nests on towers and steeples.
It is harvest time in the fall and starting end of August and September there are many
harvest festivals with an abundance of fruit, wines, breads and other produce.
European stork have babies in their huge nests on towers and steeples.
It is harvest time in the fall and starting end of August and September there are many
harvest festivals with an abundance of fruit, wines, breads and other produce.
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Via Francigena Alps - 115km Alps. 10-days from Lausanne to Pont St Martin Via Francigena Florence to Rome - 216km in 17 Days This is a spectacular walk through unforgettable Alpine villages and stunning scenery - no mountaineering required. The Grand St Bernard Pass is where you cross from Switzerland into Italy. We have had 5 groups walking this section and each time the Pass only opened mid-June. To be on the safe side, we will meet in Lausanne on 17/19/21 June. We’ll take the scenic St Bernard Express around Lake Leman into the foothills of the Alps to La Douay on the 20th and will start walking as far as Pont St Martin in Italy the next day. On the Via Francigena for 17 days from Florence to Rome we meet in Florence, transfer to Bagni San Fillipo and walk for 15 days to Rome. We will walk through the stunning landscapes of Tuscany and Lazio, following the roads of the Popes to St Peter's in Rome. This walk qualifies for the Testimonium - certificate of completing the last 100km of the Via Francigena. NB: Siena is booked out from 30/6 to 2/7 due to the Palio festival. We have changed the starting place to Florence | ||||
COVID-19 - Explore your country's entry requirements for any destination with this live map.
www.skyscanner.net/travel-restrictions/
To ensure that we are all aware of the Covid rules and regulations of each country that we
travel to, please refer to your own government’s travel advice on Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy.
www.skyscanner.net/travel-restrictions/
To ensure that we are all aware of the Covid rules and regulations of each country that we
travel to, please refer to your own government’s travel advice on Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy.
NB: amaWalkers Camino (Pty) Ltd is not a travel agency. We do not make flight or transport reservations. We don't offer self-guided tours or luggage transfers for individuals or other groups. We only make accommodation bookings for our accompanied groups. PLEASE read all the pages on this website, including the Booking Conditions below, so that you have all the information about the walk, how to train, costs etc.
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A huge "Thank you" to you for all that you do to make these trips so seamless and well-organized. After we saw the standard of the accommodation in Spain (much nicer than was expected!) we realized that your profit margin from doing this has to be quite small, so thank you for doing this as a mission and a passion to support the Camino. I think you really have succeeded in what you set out to do- to create a way for folks to experience the Camino without having to deal with logistics, and with the support and encouragement of like-minded group members and our stellar group leaders. I think you picked the nicest sections to do and I appreciated not having to walk the Meseta or even many of the very urban approaches to the bigger towns. I was able to really enter in to the mental, spiritual and emotional part of the Camino in a much deeper and richer way than I had expected, and that was mostly because I wasn't expending energy looking for accommodations or struggling by myself whenever there was a difficulty or an issue.
I think what you are doing is fabulous! Thanks again, Mary-Sue USA - September Group We never imagined that we would be able to walk the stunningly beautiful Camino Aragones but with the excellent planning for shorter stages, slower walking, and transfers between longer stages, we were able to achieve a dream!
Thank you amaWalkers for the meticulous planning, the great support from the other walkers in the group - and the patient kindness of our Group Leader Jenny, we did it!! We can't wait to walk another Camino with you in future. "Camino Sisters" South Africa |
From the very beginning, my contact with Sylvia Nilsen and AmaWalkers was a very positive one; I knew I was in good hands as Sylvia answered my emails promptly and was very reassuring about my main concern: namely crossing the Pyrenees. I was impressed and signed up from the other side of the world, Sydney, Australia. The accommodation ranged from budget to standard to superior - all carefully chosen for their variety, location and hospitality of the hosts. In Arzúa, for example, we stayed on a farm, Casa Vaamonde, where we woke up to the gentle sounds of Ramón's dairy cows. Ramón, our host, pampered us with a home cooked meal as well as collecting us from Ribadiso after a 26+km walk in the warm Spanish sun. Such gracious hospitality and personalised service!! I especially enjoyed seeing the many medieval chapels and churches and was secretly connecting to my "inner Templar". I absolutely agree with a comment I read somewhere that walking the Camino is like walking through an outdoor medieval museum. Of course the scenery was spectacular too.
Our group leader, Jon, was very helpful - we were well supported with info about the terrain, weather, historical sights, food etc. I was then free to walk the 20+ km every day without any stress, knowing I had a clean bed and shower waiting for me. It's been said that we don't walk the Camino, the Camino walks us! So true! Those shells and yellow arrows were always there to guide us in the right direction. As in our daily life, we're given shells and yellow arrows to guide our next step... we just have to stay in the moment to see these signs. Mariyam, Sydney, Australia |
Hello Syl and Jenny,
Tom and I really had a wonderful walk with you and the rest of the group. I think about it all the time and with such great appreciation for all that you did to make it such a fantastic experience. Everything was so perfect and seamless. You and your team did an incredible job of booking the most amazing and unique accommodations. I loved them all. The luggage transfers were impeccable and the guiding superb even when the way markers were a bit sketchy. Thank you so much for all that you did and it was a lot!!! Most of all thank you for your positive attitude through the thick of having to lead a group of such diverse individuals. I really came to love and appreciate everyone of them and I miss them. They were such a wonderful part of the trip. You are my hero! The Via Francigena left a mark on me in a very positive way. It was challenging but so, so beautiful. I feel so privileged to have been able to do it and especially with you. I’ll remember it and you always with such great love and affection. Thank you so much for putting it all together and for making the journey such a memorable one. Words can’t express how much the whole walk meant to me and I know it was because of you. You’re the bomb! Lots of love always. T&N O Neil, USA VF Group |
amaWalkers Camino (Pty) Limited -2010 Registered in terms of Section 14 of the Companies Act 2008. Registered Company number 2012/073214/07 Reg Address: 35 Broadway Rd, Westville, South Africa. amawalkerscamino.com amawalkerscamino@mweb.co.za
