STARTING OFF

Learn some basic Spanish before you leave and dont be afraid to use it when you get there - you are not in touristy areas and while sign language is a great translater there will be some situations where not speaking even a few words of the language will be really tricky. Check out the coffee break spanish podcasts on Itunes - I downloaded loads before I left and listened to them on my Ipod along the way

Buy your Pilgrim Passport when you arrive, its alot cheaper (2 euro) and in St Jean the office gives you weather updates, hostel lists for the whole Camino (very handy) and a map for the first day

OTHER THINGS FOR YOUR BAG

Some form of plastic container ( I picked mine up in the left behing box of a hostel) and travel cutlery - Cooking your own food whenever you can is a realy good way to save money and leftovers make lunch

Always keep either a bit of dark chocolate, biscuits or energy bars in your bag - sometimes youll go for hours without passing through a town or when you do its mid afternoon and every shop is closed

Handsoap for hand washing your clothes - you can buy it in a tube in most of the local shops

Earplugs. People snore; loudly

Safety pins - use them as clothes pegs for washing, to burst blisters (dont forget to disinfect them before hand)

Little plastic jars - to decant bigger items into. For example olive oil, if you do alot of cooking

WHAT TO BRING

Low Alpine Bags from Great Outdoors air zone centro ND 33L + 10 you do not need anything bigger than this

Shoes
Socks x 2
Underwear 2 of everything is fine you can always buy more
Leggings x 2 - invest in good ones (mine were Dunnes Stores and were in tatters literally by the end) shock absorber do good ones
Tshirts x 2
Fleece
Thermal top (M&S mens section - cheaper than sports shops)
Flipflops
Something to sleep in
Shorts
Poncho - yes it is very un sexy but its easy to put over everything and keeps you drier than a jacket

Water Bottle/camal bag - I bought a bottle but would highly recommend a CAMAL BAG
First Aid kit
Suncream
Toilitries(bought shampoo etc when arrived)
Sunglasses
Travel Towel
Sleepingbag (if you feel the cold make it a warm one)
Sunhat

Book
Phrasebook Way of St James Guidebook very very very good and small

Camera
Phone
Ipod (not an essential - I didnt use mine walking that much - but nice to have)
Adapter
Chargers for the above

GETTING THERE

Ryan Air fly Lon and Dub to Biarritz. Hand luggage only - about 8kg each.

Arrive Btz mid morning 2 options

#1 go straight to train station from airport bus no 6 direction gare bayonne bus stop just outside airport door)

#2 No 6 (different direction) to city centre 1.20 flat fare

We stayed in Hotel Oceania (booked online for half price) 47euro inc VAT - Room for 2 pple (as cheap as hostels)

We got off at Le Palais bus stop and 2 min walk to hotel

City centre to Train Station (the webpage for SNCF is a bit complicated handy if you know bus stop names or line no.)

Ligne 1 direction De Navarre
Bus stop Continental on Avenue de la Marne dep 10.50 arr 11.18 (pretty regular service)

Train station
un billet simple a St jean pied de port sil vous plait about 8 euro
dep 11.58 arr 13.11
dep 15.06 arr 16.19
dep 18.12 arr 19.35

FEET

Personally in the normal course of events I find feet disgusting but on the Camino they're pretty much THE most important thing. Every conversation will either start with or have a feet related element to it. So when it comes down to what you need to buy before you leave SHOES and SOCKS should be first on your list, even before you flights. One, you'll need to break your shoes in, and your socks too for that matter. Two, if youre having problems before you leave you'll need to CHANGE them.

SHOES
I went to a North Face outlet store and got a pair of their shoes. Id best describe them as a cross between walking boots and runners. All in all I was very pleased with them though a few tips

It rains in Spain (yes you also need youre factor 50) so make sure theyre WATERPROOF

Its also really hot in Spain so (in my opinion) you dont want anything too heavy

They will get more wear and tear than anything you've ever worn before so make sure they're DURABLE

Shoes are very much personal preference, I didnt want walking boots but others would swear by them so go somewhere where they know what theyre talking about, don't rush into a purchase just because the salesguys cute or insists they're the best on the market, basically; shop around.

SOCKS

I wore 1000 mile socks. Now while I've nothing to compare them to, having failed to follow my own advice and shop around, I wouldn't say they do exactly what they say on the tin. They make a very sweeping statement guaranteeing NO blisters and it doesn't hold up. I was very lucky with my feet - I only suffered from a few blisters, but my friend who also wore the same socks had HUGE problems with blisters. If you're in any way susceptible to them you will have issues at some point during the Camino, so be prepared. Find the best socks for your feet, bring medical supplies (more on that later), above all find what works for you. While some people swear by Compeed others wrap their feet in "electrical tape" before the blisters start.

Also DONT get ankle socks theres nothing worse than your shoes rubbing on the backs of your ankles.

TRAINING

I dont think that you need to be overly fit to do the Camino, but DONT set off without preparing your body for the nearly 800km that you are about to undertake.

About 9 weeks before D day I tried to do a WALK at least 5 times a week. Some days I had time for only an hour but even if its only 40 mins before or after work, the important thing is to get your feet used to walking on a DAILY basis.

About 6 weeks before D day I joined a local GYM and upped the pace to a gym session at least every 2nd to 3rd day while still trying to walk every day, but on "gym days" making it a small one. I do think its important not to burn yourself out so I would have one day a week of doing nothing.

At the gym I got a work out schedule tailored to what I was undertaking which was perfect, because I'll freely admit that I am one of those people intimidated by all those gym bunnies. So having someone explain all the machines to me and put me on a regime that was managable was just what I needed.

While the Camino is NOT mountain climbing, it is not a flat walk so before you leave do some hill walking. Also, we averaged about 25km a day on the C some days only doing 21 or 22 while on others doing in the mid 30's, so do some big walking days before you leave. One of the hardest aspects of the walk is not getting up and walking 25k its getting up the next day and the day after that and doing it again. Im not saying this to scare you just know its not a walk in the park, but it is without a doubt worth it.