Introduction

The entire process is fairly quick. In most cases, a walking plan will be generated in a few seconds. If you're prepared to camp by the roadside, then the process will take a few seconds more, as there are many more possible options to sift through. The planner can develop a plan from any start point to any end point, as long as you are travelling onwards, towards Santiago de Compostella in most cases but whatever the end-point is for other walks. This means that, if your plans change mid-pilgrimage - perhaps you want to walk a little faster or find that you're not quite up to very long stages - you can re-generate a plan, based on where you currently are.

Preferences

Preferences describe how much effort and discomfort a pilgrim is willing to bear. The De Calixtinus planner then attempts to build a staged plan for the pilgrim, trying to minimise the number of long and miserable or short and frustrating days the pilgrim has to walk.

The table below is a brief description of the various preferences. Most fields contain detailed help, marked by a Click on the question mark for more information.

Preference Ranges

Preferences for things like distance and time come in the form of ranges, with five components:

An example preference range for distance walked is 12.0 - 16.0 - 20.0 - 24.0 - 28.0 This means that the target is 20km, with an acceptable range of 16-24km. The absolute minimum is 12km and the absolute maximum is 28km.

When calculating penance anything between the lower and upper bound is acceptable. Between the lower and minimum bounds, similarly for between the upper and maximum bounds, an additional penance is applied. Outside the minimum and maximum values will result in a rejection.

Penance

"Penance" is a catch-all term for how hard walking a stage of the Camino is going to be. The Camino Planner attempts to divide the entire trip into day-stages that minimise the total amount of penance accumulated during the journey.

In addition, penance can result in a flat-out "no fun, not doing this" rejection. This is indicted by the ◆ symbol.

How Penance is Calculated

Penance is calculated by using the user's preferences to score a day's walk. The basic procedure is as follows:

1. Each leg of the walk contains a distance and an ascent and descent. The raw time taken to walk this leg is calculated by either:
   • Naismith's rule, which estimates walking time based on a mixture of distance and ascent. Naismith was a surveyor who spent most of his time walking and had a very consistent stride. It assumes that someone fit enough to not slow up when descending a slope. This rule is used for very fit and super-fit walkers.
   • Tobler's hiking function, which combines distance, ascent and descent. Unlike Naismith's rule, Tobler's function takes steep descents into account. This is the default rule for walkers.
   • A cycling rule that is similar to Naismith's rule, but takes more account of fitness.
2. The time taken for each leg is added together and then Tranter's corrections are applied. These corrections adjust for the fitness of the person walking and the effects of fatigue as the day wears on.
3. The resulting time is converted into a perceived distance, essentially the distance an untiring person of normal fitness, walking on flat ground, would walk in the same time. Cycling distances are also converted into a perceived walking distance. The perceived distance forms the basis of the penance score.
4. A user can express preferences in terms of a distance range and time range. A small amount of additional penance is added for being away from the target distance. Once the distance or time is outside the normal lower and upper bounds of the range, more penance is calculated to indicate either a heartbreakingly long day or an embarrassingly short walk. There are also hard maximum and minimum limits, which will cause the day to be rejected as a possible stage.
5. A stop penance is added. This represents the business of settling down for the night, paying for accommodation, food costs and the like. The stop penance encourages the planner not to divide the walk into many short stages. This penance is set by the chosen comfort level, with higher levels of comfort having a bias towards shorter legs.
6. The user can express preferences for services available in the stop location, in terms of added penance if the services are not present.
7. The user can express preferences for services available throughout the day, again in terms of added penance if the services are not present somewhere along the route, including the start and end locations.

8. Location penance works by seeing if there is a more attractive location nearby.

   The user can express preferences for certain types of location. The current location is then compared with nearby locations. If there is a nearby location that is a potentially better option then the distance-adjusted difference between the two preferences is added to the penance.

   For example, this location is an intersection (1.0km preference) but 2.3km away there is a town (5.0km preference) then the location penance is (5.0 - 1.0) - 2.3 = 1.7km, essentially suggesting that it might be worth breaking your journey early or keeping on going for a bit.

   In most cases, the local option is the best option and the accommodation penance is 0km.

9. Accommodation penance also works by seeing if there is a better option nearby.

   The user can express preferences for certain types of accommodation and the most preferred accommodation in that location is chosen. In addition, accommodation can sometimes be chosen to fill out missing services from the surrounding location. For example, a hotel with a restaurant may be chosen if one is desired but not present at the stop.

   The preferred accommodation in that location is then compared with accommodation options in nearby locations. If there is a nearby location with a potentially better option then the distance-adjusted difference between the two preferences is added to the accommodation penance.

   For example, if the best option in this location is a hotel (1.5km preference) but 2.4km away there is an albergue (5.0km preference) then the accommodation penance is (5.0 - 1.5) - 2.4 = 1.1km, essentially suggesting that it might be worth breaking your journey early or keeping on going for a bit.

   In most cases, the local option is the best option and the accommodation penance is 0km.

10. The final penance is the combined penance of the perceived walking distance, distance and time penalties, stop, location, accommodation and missing services.

Further Information

• Naismith's rule The rule used for very fit walkers.
• Tobler's hiking function The rule used for the more common levels of fitness.
• Tranter's corrections Used to account for fatigue and fitness.
• VAM Used to estimate the effects of climbing for cyclists.

Plan

Once you have entered your preferences, the De Calixtinus planner will generate a plan that minimises the total penance for the entire trip. The resulting plan contains a number of tabs:

• Map - A map of the route.
• Plan - A plan for the Camino, showing each day's activity
• Locations - Detailed information about each location
• Preferences - A summary of the preferences that you specified
• About - Information about the camino data
• Key - A key for the various symbols and markers

Map

The map shows a scrollable, zoomable route map. Waypoints along the route are shown as yellow icons based on the location type. Stops are shown as white icons. Unused waypoints are shown as grey icons. Points of interest are shown as blue icons.

The level of detail shown depends on the zoom level. Zoomed out, only the routes are shown. As you zoom in, location icons appear. As you zoom in further, points of interest are displayed.

If you mouse over one of the location icons, you will see a summary of the location. An example summary is

The first line is a summary of the location. The first element is the name of the town. Following the name is a list of the types of accommodation available - a municipal pilgrim's albergue and one or more hotels. The accommodation is followed by the services that are reasonably accessible in that location - restaurants or cafés, pharmacies, banks, groceries or supermarkets, medical assistance, a train station and bus stations.

Below the first line are links to the next waypoint. The first line says that the next leg of the route is to Padrón, 3.1 kilometers away with a total ascent of 5 metres and a total descent of 30 metres. The second line shows an unused leg to Herbón; the planner has chosen to prefer the Padrón over Herbón.

If you click on the location, you will be scrolled to a more detailed location description on the Location tab. If you click on a blue point of interest, you will be scrolled to the description in the location tab.

Plan

The top line shows the start and end points for the day and the total distance travelled. Clicking on either of the locations will take you to a more detailed description of the location in the locations tab.

Below the top line is a line giving the distance and time travelled for the day. A line below shows the penance score for the day, broken down into components. Different components will appear in this line, as needed.

The following lines give the waypoints for the day. Each waypoint summarises the location in terms of the accommodation and services available. The amount of travel needed to get to that waypoint is given after the location summary.

In the above example, it takes 7.3 kilometres, with 5 metres ascent and descent to reach Estación de Carregado from Vila Franca de Xira. It then takes 4.7 kilometres, again with 5 metres ascent and descent to reach Vila Nova de Rainha from Estación de Carregado

Locations

The first element on the header is an icon showing the type of location, followed by the name. The location type is a very rough indicator of the type of location. The exact line between what is a village, a town or a city is not well-defined, monasteries are often attached to villages and a point of interest could be almost anything. If this location is a stop point at the end of a day's walk, a bed icon is shown after the location name.

The next element shows the services that the location offers. These are services that are publicly available, generally shop, cafés and the like and within relatively easy reach of a pilgrim.

The next element shows the types of accommodation that the location offers. There is usually a more detailed list of accommodation options available if you open the location.

The larger region this location is in is shown on the right. Regions are used as a guide to which holidays are observed at the location, important if something is likely to be shut when you arrive. Detailed information about regions and holidays can be found on the About tab.

Finally, clicking on the globe will show the location on the map. If there is a link then clicking on the link will take you to a web page with more information.

Another example location is

This location has a transport link to another location. Using the transport link (a ferry taking about 18 minutes) will take you to Circular Quay, which has additional services and accommodation options. The items available to the location via the transport link are greyed, to indicate that they are not directly usable. (See the note about the Compostella Certificate before using transport links.)

Location Detail

If you open the location by clicking on the name line, you will get more detail on the location.

The routes list gives what travel legs lead in to the location and then out of the location and on to the next location. Clicking on the location name will take you to the previous/next location. There is usually only one leg available, unless the path forks into alternative routes or large scale variants.

If there are any points of interest or special events, there will be a list of points of interest and events. These may contain more information about what is on offer, how to get there, opening hours etc.

Services

Services represent the sort of things you might need on your travels: food, supplies, washing facilities, WiFi, etc. Services are broad categories. For example, the restaurant symbol can mean anything from a bar that also sells sandwiches to a formal restaurant. The complete list of service types is available on the Key tab.

Services are provided either by the towns and villages that you walk through or the accommodation that you use when you stop. Services in locations are usually for general use (if they are open). Services in accommodation are usually only for the use of the guests.

Accommodation

You will need somewhere to sleep. The accommodation options show the broad categories of accommodation available. For example, is a hotel, which could be anything from a one-star traveller's hotel to a five-star resort. The complete list of accommodation types is available on the Key tab.

Accommodation possibilities show the services available from the accommodation and the possible sleeping arrangements, ranging from shared bunks to a quadruple bedroom with an ensuite The complete list of sleeping arrangements is available on the Key tab.

If there is a mark beside the accommodation, then this is the accommodation option for this location that the planner has chosen as the best match for your preferences, although it may not have used it for a stop. The planner does not choose on accommodation type alone. If the accommodation option has services that look appealing, it may choose it over another option of a more preferred type. If there is a figure beside the symbol, e.g. +0.4 km Then that indicates that there is a better option nearby, with the number giving a sense of the combination of how much better and how far away that other option is. (See above for more information.)

Points of Interest

Points of interest are things that might be of interest to the pilgrim during their travels. They are things like museums, historical sites, religious buildings, art works, warnings about dangerous or difficult stretches, alternative routes and so on.

Points of interest are marked on the map with a blue colour, for example Points of interest are associated with nearby locations and details appear as part of the location information. Clicking on a point of interest on the map will take you to the relevant location.

An example point of interest is

This shows the type and name of the point of interest at the top, followed by a link to more information and a globe that will show the point of interest on the map. Underneath the headline is a brief description and the museum's opening hours.

Opening hours are marked with a symbol. Places that do not open every day have the days or months open marked with a symbol.

There may also be additional notes attached, with indicating additional information, a warning of some sort or directions.

Events

Some points or interest or locations have events associated with them. An example of a church that has a special pilgrims' mass every Sunday at 1830 (6:30 pm) is

Travel

A travel leg shows how far the previous/next location is and, roughly, how much effort is involved. A typical travel leg looks like:

This means that the next destination is A Guarda, which is 3.1km away. There is a total ascent (climb upwards) of 50m and a total descent (climb downwards) of 5m. The ascent and descent are totals and may represent several climbs and descents. The totals are fed into the penance calculations to give a more accurate estimate of the effort expended which travelling. Ascent and descent are not shown if they are negligible.

In some cases, there are additional elements. In the following example, there is an additional penance attached to choosing this route, probably because, as the notes say, it passes through an industrial area and there is another option.

Non-walking routes may be presented a little differently, since the distance travelled is not really a good measure of effort. In the following example, a ferry transfer, the time taken is given, rather than the distance, along with an explicit penance measure.

Almost all legs on the trip are roads or paths that will allow either walking or cycling. An icon beside the distance indicates that the leg will either allow only one of a particular type of travel or is something special, like a ferry connection.

Glossary

Accommodation

A place to stay, recover and sleep at then end of a day. Accommodation can be anything from a tent on the wayside to a 5-star hotel. More

Day

A day's walking, sometimes also called a stage. A day will start from the last day's end, pass through a number locations and stop at a final location.

Event

An occasion associated with a particular location or point of interest, such as a special mass for pilgrims. More

Location

A waypoint on the Camino. A location is usually a village, town or city but it may be some other landmark, such as a bridge. Locations usually have services and accommodation available. More

Perceived Distance

How long a chunk of walking feels like. Climbing up or down steep hills is harder than walking on flat ground. As you continue walking, you will fatigue, and the later stages feel longer and harder. Perceived distance is how long something would feel like if you were walking on flat ground and never tired.

Penance

The scoring system used by the Camino Planner. Every preference in terms of how far you walk, what sort of accommodation you would like to stay in, what sort of services you would like to use throughout the day and so on is converted into a "penance" measured in terms of kilometres walked. More

Point of Interest

A location that isn't part of the location waypoints, which are usually towns and villages, but which might be of interest to a pilgrim. More

Preferences

Your preferences as a walker in terms of how far and how long you would like to walk each day, what sort of services you will need along the way, what sort of accommodation you would prefer to stay in at the end of the day, and so on. More

Route

A variant route on a larger Camino. For example, the coastal route on the Camino Portuguese diverts from the main route and follows the Atlantic coast.

Service

Something that you might need to use, such as an ATM for getting cash, a restaurant for eating or a washing machine. Locations and accommodation provide services.

Stop

The final point of a day's walking, where you would expect to find accommodation, washing facilities, etc.