In general, the different roads to Santiago are sufficiently signposted and any deficiencies can be overcome by using the maps included in all practical guides.

Thanks to the parish priest of O Cebreiro, Elías Valiña, who marked, along with his collaborators, an important part of the French Way of St. James with a yellow arrow, this sign has been extended to almost all of the different Ways of St. James during the last 20 years. There are also institutional plaques and other signs that vary from region to region, including white and red markers in Navarre and granite milestones in Galicia, which appear every 500 metres and indicate the distance to Compostela.

In some sections, the regional governments have built special lanes for pilgrims with mixed results: although in some areas these consist of natural paths that keep pilgrims away from the traffic, in others they are gravel tracks that punish the walkers’ feet, horses’ hooves and cyclists’ tyres.

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Signs along the Way of St. James