Two American long-distance hikers who cut their teeth on the Appalachian Trail and Arizona Trail have finished the Camino Primitivo, and their wrap-up is refreshingly blunt: Spain's oldest pilgrim route is far easier than the hype suggests, and a lot more paved than they expected.

Walking from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela, they found the trail's social scene sits somewhere between the Tour du Mont Blanc and the heavily communal Appalachian Trail. The biggest difference from US long trails is logistics: instead of 3-5 day food carries in the backcountry, a cafe was never more than 5-10km away. A typical 15-mile day started at 8am and wrapped by 3pm — a pace they compared to a gym session followed by pizza and beer, not an epic suffer-fest. Only one climb, up to the Hospital area near A Fonsagrada country, really tested them, and days two through nine, especially the Hospitales route with its foggy mornings and rolling green hills, were trip highlights. One hiker even said the views felt like walking the woods behind a great-grandmother's house back home.

The caveats matter if you're plotting your own pilgrimage. They estimate roughly 80% of the route is road walking, and about half of that is paved — hard on the feet, even when the scenery delivers. They also noticed the route getting noticeably busier and more commercialised after Melide and into Santiago, with tourist shops, graffiti and litter multiplying near the finish. Lugo felt too big for their taste; Santiago itself, despite the crowds, still charmed them.

Their overall verdict is a satisfied one. The Primitivo fit neatly into the time they had, and the easy rhythm — regular coffee stops, small villages, steady company — is exactly what makes it appealing as a walking holiday rather than an expedition. If you want solitude and slog, look elsewhere; if you want a sociable, well-fed week-plus of walking with genuine mountain views, this route earns its reputation.

As for what's next, the pair are eyeing the West Highland Way in Scotland, Italy's Alta Via routes in the Dolomites, England's Coast to Coast, an Iceland trek, and a Japanese Camino — plus domestic trips to the Florida Trail and North Carolina. Their advice for fellow pilgrims: the Primitivo suits hikers with some trail fitness who want a vacation-style Camino, and if it leaves you hungry for something wilder and quieter, there are less popular Camino routes across Spain waiting to be explored.