Walking Meditation on the Camino de Santiago
12-day walk in the Basque Country of
France and Spain
October 3-14, 2027
Group size limited to 12 pilgrims
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela has been a potent pilgrimage route since prehistoric times.
The Camino is a living, breathing pathway. It makes demands of your soul, your psyche and your body. That is an authentic and extraordinary Camino.
Think of this walk as a 12-day vision quest.
Each step will gently transform you, as your body and soul balance with nature, your own pace and your psyche has the time and balancing rhythm of your footsteps to profoundly unwind what is ready to transform.
Our walks are an uncommon and authentic pilgrimage. We stay in small boutique hotels, gorgeous family-run bed and breakfasts, and 4-star hotels.
We give the support so you can savor and enjoy each step.
The Camino invites you to unweave and reweave deep parts of yourself through the joy (and challenge) of walking.
You may experience a range of emotions from grief to catharsis to unbridled joy and some soul shaking laughter. Some moments will find you physically outside your comfort zone—it’s in those moments that you will discover resilience, strength and more than a few miracles.
"Walking the Camino with Red Monkey was a beautiful, fun, profound and life-changing experience. The pilgrimage trail tested me on every level: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. But it changed my life. You WILL gain a sense of deep appreciation and deeper love for yourself, which will bring more ease, joy, and self-esteem to your life. You just need to show up, walk, and be ready for a life-changing experience."
—C.P., Business Consultant, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $6207 (Double Occupancy)
Scholarships and work exchange opportunities available Contact us with inquiries
Your 12-Day Trip Includes:
Accommodations in gorgeous, family-run bed and breakfasts, restored farmhouses, and 3 nights at 4 star hotels. (Double Occupancy—private rooms are available at some locations and must be arranged in advance)
Ground transportation
3 exquisite meals a day*
Luggage porter services—you need only carry a small backpack for your lunch and other essentials while walking.
Carbon Offset Credit to mitigate the environmental impacts of your flight.
Group Calls before and after your walk to help you get ready and integrate after.
Packing lists, reading selections, history and a lot more!
*This excludes 2 dinners and 4 lunches when you’ll have time to feast on tapas and Michelin-starred cuisine in the beautiful towns of Pamplona and St. Jean, and grab a sandwich at one of the many trailside cafes you’ll pass in Spain.
Have questions? Read our FAQ.
Common questions
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We cover one of the most beautiful sections of the Camino in Southern France & Northern Spain. After meeting in Bilbao, Spain you will begin your Camino in the Aquitaine region of Southern France. Taking a gentle pass over the majestic Pyrenees, we continue down into the Basque Country of Spain. You'll take a well earned rest day in Pamplona, and then walk on Spain's wine country. On the last night we'll arrive in a very special medieval city to celebrate the completion of this section of the Camino.
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You’ll walk 10–15 miles a day with plenty of breaks to soak in the scenery. Each pilgrim walks at their own pace, there’s no pressure to “keep up” with anyone else on the Camino de Santiago trail. It sounds like a lot, but the pace is gentle and totally doable, even for first-timers.
Walking through the countryside is much less strenuous than hiking rugged terrain. Most days, you’ll find charming Camino cafes with excellent coffee and treats to keep your energy up. And if needed, daily taxi support is available to help you skip a section and rest. -
Pilgrims vary in ages from preteens to elders in their 80s. Walking the Camino is suitable for everyone in reasonably good shape. It helps to love up your body with exercise before you arrive, but everyone is sore the first few days.
Blisters, sore muscles and other symptoms of long walks are common. After your body adjusts, the problem becomes never wanting to stop walking! -
Walking quietly in nature naturally brings out a meditative quality in pilgrims. On our guided Camino de Santiago tours, we offer simple meditation instructions, but we let Nature do most of the teaching. You’ll walk silently at your own pace for long stretches, creating space for reflection and insight.
As a group, we laugh a lot during meals and breaks. Like any good retreat, your experience may include both serious moments and lighthearted ones. Red Monkey guides meet you wherever you’re at, and the group naturally bonds to support one another.
A day on the Camino de Santiago without some kind of insight is rare — this ancient trail has a serendipitous way of offering the exact guidance pilgrims need.
Meet your guides
Rachael Sanborn
Rachael has been deeply engaged in hiking and pilgrimage as a spiritual practice for over 20 years. She has been cultivating a meditation practice for the same duration. Her passion for cultures has led her to live all over the world, but she regards Spain as a second home. Rachael was raised Tibetan Buddhist and "rebelled" by dropping out of college to meditate in India for a year. Since then, a great part of her life has been dedicated to balancing Eastern and Western meditation practices. Walking the Camino helps her do just that. Learn more.
Joy Reichart
Joy is a coach, facilitator, writer and martial artist with deep and varied experience holding groups through transformative processes. The current expression of this is through her company Beginnerdom, where she offers workshops and coaching to help folks birth their truest expression into the world. Her first trek in Basque Country with Red Monkey was the start of many Camino adventures, with each step answering questions—and surfacing new ones. Learn more.
"YESSSSS, I absolutely 1,000 times recommend this trip. It was the most authentic and beautiful way to get to know the walk and the history, food, people, culture, etc. There is nothing else like it. Learning to literally put one foot in front of the other and enjoying the process taught me a lot about the kind of resilience one can gain from challenging not only the physical body, but the mental as well. It's powerful to be with your thoughts and I know a lot of people are afraid to go to that place with themselves, but it’s so important. All the while, having the support of the group made it so much more valuable."
- K.B., Project Manager, Denver, CO
Hear from past pilgrims…
"My favorite part of the walk? Oh my - where to start? My encounters with ME! The release from years of built up emotions I’ve held in my body for so long. The forgiveness, of self and others. And the fun of being on the journey-the feeling of accomplishing the hills and celebrating at the top with my new close friends. The new feeling of being ageless- a nice feeling for a senior lady. The timelessness of walking without concerns for much of anything (thanks to Rachael’s planning), with just the sounds of nature and the rhythm of my boots taking one step after another."
- S.M., Atlanta, GA
