A pilgrim passport (in Spanish Credencial del Peregrino) allows you to sleep in pilgrim hostels, that means places where only pilgrims can stay, on their way to Santiago de Compostela. And while you can get a pilgrim passport in typical starting places of the Camino (as we explain for many such towns on various ways to Santiago), and you can also order it online from various Camino associations, in certain situations a free printable PDF pilgrim credential comes handy. For example:
- When you arrive very early or very late to the start of your Camino, and do not want to wait for the pilgrim office/church to open to start walking. You just want to embark on your Camino right away, without spending an extra night in the place of your arrival, just to be able to get the official pilgrim passport.
- When you do just a short, few days Camino, or even repeat such a thing more times.
- When you start from an atypical point (for example from your home), where one cannot get a pilgrim passport, and want to have something before you reach one of the towns where you can get it.
- When you’re on budget and do not want to spend extra money on anything.
- Or you simply want to have a simple backup just in case, if something unexpected happens (you lose your pilgrim passport, you do not get it where you expect to get it, etc).
In all these situations, our simple, printable one page (either one sided or two sided) PDF pilgrim passports come super handy. And I can assure you they work, and people in pilgrim hostels accept them. Since I run an albergue on Camino del Norte, and also have become a family man recently, I do not have time to do long caminos anymore. But I often embark to walk for a few days, and I do so with one of these passports. I’ve never had any problems so far, and so won’t you :).
So here we go, with the passports (just click on the picture to download the PDF version of the one you like). Below the passports you will find some extra notes, explaining how to print them correctly, what various things on the Spanish version mean, etc. Make sure to read them as well!
 Design no. 1 |
 Design no. 1 |
 Design no. 2 |
 Design no. 2 |
 Design no. 3 |
 Design no. 3 |
Important additional notes to our pilgrim passports
Getting a certificate in Santiago
If you want to be 100% sure to get a certificate (the “Compostela”) in pilgrims’ office in Santiago, after completing your pilgrimage, it’s important that you (at least later) get one of the “official” pilgrim passports, in one of the towns where you can get it along the way.
Now, you may get that certificate even with our simple PDF passports, but some volunteers working in the pilgrim office may be picky and you know how it goes :). Having said that, for many pilgrims it doesn’t matter whether they get some certificate demonstrating how many kilometers they walked etc. If you belong to this group (just as I do), this potential problem won’t concern you much…
Is there enough space for all the stamps I will collect on my pilgrimage?
Each PDF has 2 pages. The front (different for each passport) and the back (same for each passport). In total there are 32 spaces for stamps. Which basically means that if your Camino takes a month, and you take stamps just in the places where you sleep (the pilgrim hostels, hotels, etc), you’ll be perfectly fine.
When you do a short camino (for a week for example), or shorter way like Camino Ingles or Camino Portuguese, even the front page with 12 spaces for stamps will suffice you… Of course, if you’re a stamp collector, it’s better getting one of the official pilgrim passports (or even more of them), because they have more spaces for stamps :).
Should I print the English one, or the Spanish one of my favorite design?
In general, both will be accepted. What matters for the people in pilgrim hostels is seeing that you are actually walking the Camino, have stamps from other places, and aren’t just a tourist trying to benefit from inexpensive accommodation infrastructure for pilgrims. Of course, many hospitaleros (people running pilgrim hostels) don’t speak English, but as I said it doesn’t really matter for them to be able to read all the information on your pilgrim passport. Just make sure to fill all information (your name, home address, starting point, etc) and you’ll be fine.
Can I make my very own pilgrim passport?
Of course you can! If you’re creative, walk for a very special reason that you want to demonstrate with your passport, or simply do not like either our designs or the designs of “official” pilgrim passports, you can always make your own. In any form, shape color.
Running a pilgrim hostel on Camino del Norte since 2023, I’ve seen quite a few interesting pilgrim passports :). Some were “homemade”, some from some obscure camino association/organization/church I didn’t even know existed, etc. And pilgrims were perfectly fine on the way with these passports…
Final word
Pilgrim passport (credential del peregrino) is not only an important document that allows you to sleep in pilgrim hostels along the way. It is also the best souvenir you can have from your pilgrimage, and an easy way to recall all the places where you slept along the way. And the small “booklet” that you can get in typical starting places of your pilgrimage is really nice, and recommended to get. In specific circumstances, however, you may want or need the “simple one page PDF print”, just as we offer it for free here on CaminoLovers.com. It’s not to compete with “official” camino associations or organizations who sold their own pilgrim passports… Thank you and buen camino!
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