Camino de Santiago 2027: the Holy Year and why to book now
2027 is a Compostelan Holy Year. What changes on the Camino, why lodging sells out sooner, and why it pays to book now.
In this article
Some will tell you the Camino de Santiago will be packed in 2027, and that you should wait it out. It is the wrong advice, and anyone who lives in Santiago knows it.
2027 is a Compostelan Holy Year, the Xacobeo. It happens when 25 July, the feast of Saint James, falls on a Sunday: not every year, and walkers feel the difference. It is not only the crowd. It is the charge in the air in Plaza do Obradoiro when you arrive, the Holy Door standing open, and the fact that for twelve months the whole world turns toward the same cathedral.
Our base is in Santiago de Compostela. We lived the last Holy Year, the Xacobeo 2021, from the inside: we were guests at the opening of the Holy Door, inside the Cathedral.
Here is everything you need to know to walk to Santiago in 2027, and why the people who mean to do it are already making their move.
What the Compostelan Holy Year is
The Holy Year, or Compostelan Jubilee Year, is the year in which the Church grants the jubilee to pilgrims who reach the tomb of the apostle James in Santiago de Compostela. The tradition goes back to the twelfth century and was confirmed by the bull of Pope Alexander III in 1179.
In a Holy Year the Cathedral opens the Holy Door, the entrance that stays walled up the rest of the time, and those who arrive as pilgrims can obtain the plenary indulgence. Even for those who do not set out for faith, walking to Santiago in a jubilee year carries a different weight: you feel it in the air of the city, in the languages you hear along the stages, in the crowd that fills the square at every hour.
Why 2027 is a Holy Year
The rule is simple: the Holy Year of the Camino de Santiago falls when 25 July is a Sunday. It follows no regular rhythm, because the calendar shifts the day of the week from one year to the next. So Holy Years recur at intervals of 6, 5 and 11 years, in a sequence that repeats every 28 years.
Here are the most recent and upcoming Compostelan Holy Years:
| Holy Year | Interval from the previous |
|---|---|
| 2004 | - |
| 2010 | 6 years |
| 2021 | 11 years |
| 2027 | 6 years |
| 2032 | 5 years |
| 2038 | 6 years |
| 2049 | 11 years |
After 2027 you will have to wait until 2032. Anyone with the Camino in mind who wants to live it in a jubilee year is looking at a window that will not come round again soon.
The Holy Door: what it is and when it opens
The Holy Door, or Door of Forgiveness, faces the Praza da Quintana, on the eastern side of the Cathedral. It stays closed and walled up through every ordinary year. It opens with a solemn ceremony at the end of the year before the jubilee, so at the end of 2026, and remains open throughout 2027. Passing through it is the symbolic gesture of the jubilee pilgrimage: you enter the Cathedral there, reach the embrace of the apostle behind the high altar, and go down to the crypt with the tomb of Saint James.
What really changes about walking in 2027
The first thing is the emotion. Arriving in Plaza do Obradoiro in a Holy Year, with the Holy Door open and pilgrims from every continent, is not like arriving in any ordinary year. Those who were there in 2021 still talk about it.
The second thing is practical, and it is worth saying plainly: there will be far more people. To give you a sense of scale, in 2025 over 530,000 pilgrims reached Santiago in an ordinary year. In a Holy Year the numbers climb higher still. And more pilgrims means one thing for anyone organising the trip: the good lodging along the stages sells out well in advance. On the most sought-after dates, between spring and summer, those who move late find places full or end up sleeping far from the route.
This is why you book now, not in 2027
The advice to wait is wrong for exactly this reason. In a Holy Year it is not the availability of beds that decides whether you walk well: it is when you lock them in.
We are already booking the lodging for the first dates of 2027, stage by stage, for those who have told us when they want to set out. You do not have to decide everything today. Just give us your rough dates, and we take it from there: route, lodging chosen one by one, luggage transfer between stages, support throughout. You walk in peace while others chase beds.
How to earn the Compostela in the Holy Year
The Compostela is the certificate the Oficina de Acogida al Peregrino issues to those who arrive in Santiago having walked at least the last 100 km, or cycled 200 km. It counts in any year, but in a Holy Year it takes on an added meaning.
Two things are needed: the credencial, the little booklet on which you collect stamps along the route, and at least two stamps a day over the last 100 km. Bars, churches, hostels and town halls stamp it without fuss. Once in Santiago, you show the credencial at the pilgrim office and collect your Compostela. In our itineraries the credencial is included and we explain how to use it.
The plenary indulgence of the Holy Year: how to obtain it
In a Holy Year, those who arrive as pilgrims in Santiago can obtain the plenary indulgence, that is the full remission of the punishment for sins already forgiven. It is the spiritual heart of the Compostelan jubilee, and obtaining it does not depend on the kilometres walked: what counts is the pilgrimage and the disposition with which you arrive.
The Church sets out a few conditions, to be carried out in the days close to the visit:
- Visit the Cathedral of Santiago, where the tomb of the apostle James lies, ideally passing through the Holy Door, and pause in prayer, reciting for example the Creed and the Our Father according to the intentions of the Holy Father.
- Approach sacramental confession. Confessors in several languages are available in the Cathedral.
- Receive Eucharistic communion, taking part in the Pilgrim's Mass or another celebration.
To these is added the interior condition of being detached from sin. The indulgence can be applied to oneself or offered for a person who has died, and it is valid on any day of 2027.
A detail many do not know: for the indulgence you are not required to arrive on foot. The walk remains the way most pilgrims live this moment, and for many it is precisely the week on the road that gives meaning to the arrival.
Which Camino to choose for the Holy Year
For the Holy Year the usual rule holds: the right route depends on you, not on the calendar. If you have a week, the five itineraries of the last 100 km to Santiago are the right measure:
| Start | Camino | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Sarria | French | The classic, the busiest |
| Tui | Portuguese | The gentlest, among vines and eucalyptus |
| Vigo | Portuguese Coastal | Ocean and Galician rías |
| Ferrol | English | The quietest |
| Lugo | Primitivo | The oldest |
If you have more time or want to weigh all the options, read which Camino de Santiago to choose. A word from someone who lives here: if you can, avoid July and August 2027, when the Holy Year will bring the absolute peak of arrivals. May, June and September offer the same Holy Year with the Holy Door open, but with better temperatures and a little less crowd.
Arriving in Santiago in a Holy Year
The last kilometres are the same as ever, but in 2027 they will have a different taste. From Monte do Gozo you see the spires of the Cathedral for the first time. You descend toward the old town and enter Plaza do Obradoiro, where pilgrims stop to take in the facade. In a Holy Year you enter the Cathedral through the Holy Door, attend the Pilgrim's Mass and, on the days it is set swinging, watch the Botafumeiro, the great censer that sweeps across the nave. These are the gestures that close the walk, and in the jubilee they count double.
Frequently asked questions about the 2027 Holy Year
When is the next Compostelan Holy Year?
The next Holy Year of the Camino de Santiago is 2027, because 25 July falls on a Sunday. After that, the following one will be 2032.
How often does the Holy Year of the Camino de Santiago fall?
It falls when 25 July, the feast of Saint James, is a Sunday. It is not regular: it recurs at intervals of 6, 5 and 11 years. The last were 2010 and 2021, the next is 2027, then 2032.
What changes about walking in the Holy Year?
The Cathedral opens the Holy Door, you can obtain the plenary indulgence, and more pilgrims arrive from all over the world. The atmosphere in Santiago is unique. On the practical side, lodging along the stages sells out much sooner than usual.
Is the Camino de Santiago worth doing in the 2027 Holy Year?
Yes, if you move in good time. The Holy Year gives a more intense experience, but it rewards those who book ahead. Those who wait risk finding the best places already full on the dates they want.
When does the Holy Door open for 2027?
The Holy Door opens with a ceremony at the end of 2026 and stays open throughout the 2027 jubilee year, before being walled up again at the end of the year.
How many kilometres are needed for the Compostela in 2027?
At least the last 100 km on foot, or 200 km by bicycle, with the credencial and two stamps a day. The rule holds in the Holy Year too.
Do you need to book ahead for 2027?
Yes, far more than usual. On sought-after dates it pays to lock in lodging months in advance. Your rough dates are enough to start holding places.
Where to start the Camino in the Holy Year?
For a week of walking with the right to the Compostela, you start from one of the five points 100 km from Santiago: Sarria, Tui, Vigo, Ferrol or Lugo. The choice depends on the landscape and the pace you are after.
How do you obtain the plenary indulgence in the Holy Year?
By visiting the Cathedral of Santiago during 2027, saying a prayer according to the intentions of the Pope, going to confession and receiving communion in the days close to the visit, with a heart detached from sin.
Do you have to walk the Camino to obtain the indulgence?
No. The plenary indulgence of the Holy Year is obtained through the visit to the Cathedral and the spiritual conditions, not through the kilometres. The last 100 km on foot are needed instead for the Compostela, the certificate of the pilgrimage.
What is the Holy Door?
It is the door of the Cathedral of Santiago facing the Praza da Quintana, walled up in ordinary years and open only in Holy Years. Passing through it is the symbolic gesture of the jubilee pilgrimage.
Apiediperilmondo is a brand of Wayure Travel SL, a licensed travel agency (licence XG-803) based in Santiago de Compostela. We are certified and authorised by the Xunta de Galicia and the Oficina de Turismo de Santiago: we organise your Camino properly, from the first stage to the last.
If 2027 is the year you want to walk to Santiago, tell us when you would like to go: we will reply with a proposal built around your dates, no obligation. You can also call us on +39 391 75 13 937.
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Co-fondatore A Piedi Per Il Mondo | Esperto Cammino di Santiago
I have walked the Camino de Santiago more than 100 times: in every season, every month of the year, alone and leading private groups and corporate teams. I know every variant, every stage, every property. Since 2016 I have been building bespoke walking experiences for those who want to travel free and return changed.
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