camino.now

You can get Camino Now in more than one flavor:

• Camino Now for iOS (stable)
• Camino Now for iOS (beta)
• Camino Now for Android is currently in closed testing. You can sign up by messaging Medic (WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage, SMS: +491706662061) your Google Play email address and he'll add you.

Beta versions have new features and bug fixes that are not yet available in the stable versions. We take every care to not ship broken code, and you should be safe using them. Beta versions also get the watch companion app before 2.0.

App Screenshots

× ‹ ›

A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles. Tim Cahill - Outside Magazine

On this Page

• What makes us different?
• History
• Support us on Ko-Fi
• Privacy Policy

What makes us different?

If you open the App Store or Google Play Store, you'll find almost 100 apps that somehow want to be your Camino Companion. What they all have in common is that they are either commercial, meaning they have to make money somehow, or they are simple AI-generated walking instructions, that are not really useful.

Camino Now is different. It is a community project, built by pilgrims for pilgrims. It is not commercial, it does not have ads, and it does not track you. It is 100% free and open source, and it is built to help you find your way and the things you need on the Camino: water, food, accommodation, and cool things to see.

Almost all other apps have another thing in common: they freely downloaded data from OpenStreetMap (OSM and Overpass), but won't contribute back. We keep it in the Camino Spirit to always give back as much, if not more, than we take. So by using the app, you help us contribute to OSM, rather than take from it. All that data can then be used by anyone, on Camino Now, but also by other apps. It's open, it's free, and we do not jealously hold on to our data as some others do.

Our Fountain Finder not only allows pilgrims to find the nearest water source, but also allows them to update the status of that fountain. Is it potable? Is it dry? Is it broken? You can update that information, and it will be shared with all other pilgrims using the app and elsewhere. Any of the 1000+ community projects, Camino Apps, and Maps apps that show fountain data benefit.

Affiliate booking links are a common way for apps to make money. They're REALLY big business. Why do you think the App landscape is so cut-throat, litigious, and schemes to harm each other? But those links also harm the Camino. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for albergues. If they use those services, they pay up to 30% in commission, which means they have to increase their prices. Which again means you'll pay more. If they don't use the services, they lose a lot of business. We do not use affiliate links, because we believe that the Camino should be affordable for everyone. Instead, we link directly to the accommodation's website, WhatsApp, or phone number, so you can book directly with them.

More to come - with our first version going on the App and Play store now, we're just starting off. Over this summer, we'll add more and more community features, always 100% anonymous, 100% free, and 100% non-commercial. We want to to contribute to the community of pilgrims that helps each other, shares information, and makes the Camino a better place for everyone.

History

In 2022, a rag tag group of friends met at Bar Elvis to toast the passing of one of their own. They shared stories, laughter, and a few tears. As the night wore on, cerveza flowed and the music grew heavier, Camino Now was born.

Only problem: two were physicians, one an artist, one a biologist, and one a professional Camino Bum. None were programmers. But over the winter of 2022-2023, Medic dug himself into the world of haversine calculations, GPS coordinates, and the intricacies of the Apple App Store. The result is a simple, yet powerful app that puts pilgrims, community, and the Camino first.

Camino Now is a community project. We're not out for your money (though there is a donation link all the way at the bottom), and that'll remain. We also do not use affiliate booking links, because we believe, that those links harm the Camino more than they help us (affiliate payments come from the accommodation, meaning they make less money on a bed, which means they have to increase bed prices, which means you pay more).

Support us on Ko-Fi

This is not needed and never expected, but if you want to donate to the ongoing development and unlock some fun stuff in the future, you can do so at Ko-Fi. We're operating two servers and we're spending Spring to Fall on the Caminos de Santiago, and a coffee on a cold March morning might just be what we need to keep going :).

Privacy Policy