Is the Camino de Santiago overcrowded?

Yes and no. The crowding is real, but it is concentrated in a very specific place: 115 kilometres out of the 1,500-plus in the network. The rest is still fairly empty.

The numbers

By 3 August 2026, 317,337 people had collected the Compostela, 5 % more than at the same point in 2025. That averages more than 1,400 pilgrims a day.

But the average misleads twice over. First, arrivals are not spread evenly across the months. Second, and more importantly, they are not spread evenly across the routes.

Pilgrims by route, January to July 2026

Figure checked Pilgrim Office, January–July 2026.

Where the crowding actually is

Here is the figure that explains everything: in 2025, 162,040 pilgrims started in Sarria. Almost a third of everyone who reached Santiago that year, on any route, began in the same town.

Those 162,040 people are spread across 115 km. And because nearly all of them walk in the same direction, leave at the same hour and stop in the same places, the sense of a crowd multiplies.

The three places you feel it most:

Leaving Sarria, between seven and nine on the first morning.
The climb into Portomarín, where the bridge staircase bottlenecks.
Melide at lunchtime, where the Primitivo also joins.

From O Pedrouzo onwards everyone converges: Francés, Portuguese, English Way and Primitivo. The last twenty kilometres are the busiest walking in Europe.

Which sections are still empty

Route or section	Pilgrims 2026	What it feels like
Camino del Norte	11,000	Hours can pass without meeting anyone
Camino Primitivo	13,800	Quiet until Melide, where it joins the Francés
English Way	17,000	The quietest route that gives the Compostela in 5 days
The meseta Burgos to Astorga	—	The section most people skip on the Francés
Francés before Sarria	—	Empty compared with what comes after

The meseta deserves a mention. It has the worst reputation on the Francés, many people skip it by bus, and that makes it one of the few places where you can still walk a full day almost alone in high summer.

How to dodge it without giving up the Camino

Change route, not month. It is the only thing that fixes the problem at source. The English Way from Ferrol and the Primitivo from Lugo give the same 100 km and the same Compostela with a fraction of the people.
Start before Sarria. Setting off from Ponferrada means several quiet days before you enter the busy zone.
Set off later. The pack leaves between six and eight. Leaving at nine changes the feel of the whole stage, at the cost of more heat.
Sleep in the villages in between rather than the classic stage ends. Less competition for beds and fewer people around.

Common questions

Is the Camino de Santiago overcrowded?

The last 115 km of the Camino Francés, from Sarria, yes: they concentrate nearly a third of all pilgrims. The rest of the network, no.

How many pilgrims are there per day?

More than 1,400 on average in 2026, but very unevenly spread across months and routes.

Which route has the fewest people?

The Camino del Norte and the Primitivo. Among routes giving the Compostela in five days, the English Way from Ferrol.

Is it still worth walking with so many people?

It depends what you are after. Many people value the atmosphere and company. If you want solitude, there are routes where you can find it without giving up the Compostela.