After Santiago?

[Dave Morgan]

I will be leaving London by bicycle in mid April, riding slowly, to Paris, then following one of the old French pilgrim routes to the Francés route and on to Santiago. There is a possibility of continuing to Porto, or along some other Camino. Is it allowed to stay in albergues when travelling away from Santiago or only when travelling towards it?

 

[diverdavey]

That's a really interesting question. I'd say you won't be eligible for municipal albergues, but private albergues will certainly welcome your custom. And it seems to me that private albergues are definitely coming to the fore now. More & more pilgrims are discussing booking & staying in private albergues.

 

[dougfitz]

If you are going from Santiago to Porto, you would be travelling on well established routes to Fatima. The question that I would ask is whether you are still on a pilgrimage, or have made the transition to being a bike tourist. Why is this important? Because much of the infrastructure is provided for pilgrims, and relies on the willingness of volunteers who do so to support and help pilgrims. It is an ethical matter that only you can resolve. But if you aren't doing this as a pilgrim, my view is the municipal and confraternity albergues and any other places that rely on volunteer staff are not for tourists.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi Dave
In my experience/view plenty of pilgrims stay in places like municipals when they are not walking towards Santiago. FWIW all the albergues between Santiago and Finisterre would go out of business if you were only allowed to stay in them when walking towards Santiago.
I've met very many pilgrims walking backwards along different caminos, and being allowed to stay at Municipals without any difficulty - @JabbaPapa has recent experience and might wish to comment on this.
Just in terms of going to Porto, as Doug says above, the route to Fatima from Santiago is known as as pilgrim route anyway so should be no problem at all.
I believe it's highly likely that many other places (including municiplas/parroquials) on different routes (not just to Fatima) will accept you, as long as you are able to explain the pilgimage (route) you are making (and possibly why), and the stamps already in your credencial back up your explanation.
I'm sure there are lots of others who have had useful experiences on this to share.
Cheers, tom

 

[Jean françois]

i actually walked back from Santiago to Porto, using central after going North on Da Costa, the only place that I had issues was in Tui, because there was a much bigger Albergue in Valença on the Portuguese side of the border, and they would get lots of late arrival from north bound pilgrims in Tui and they wanted to keep as many bed as possible.

 

[hughb]

I will be leaving London by bicycle in mid April, riding slowly, to Paris, then following one of the old French pilgrim routes to the Francés route and on to Santiago. There is a possibility of continuing to Porto, or along some other Camino. Is it allowed to stay in albergues when travelling away from Santiago or only when travelling towards it?

You will be following the caminho route to Fatima. Signed with blue arrows all the way from Santiago to Fatima via Porto. So albergues will be no problem.

 

[dick bird]

I will be leaving London by bicycle in mid April, riding slowly, to Paris, then following one of the old French pilgrim routes to the Francés route and on to Santiago. There is a possibility of continuing to Porto, or along some other Camino. Is it allowed to stay in albergues when travelling away from Santiago or only when travelling towards it?

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/reverse-camino.78876/#post-1108506

You're not the only one. There is no reason why a pilgrim who is walking home should be refused entry to an albergue. The same with a pilgrim who has reached Santiago and is on their way to another recognised pilgrimage site. I haven't done it but I have met a lot of pilgrims who were doing exactly that, and they were staying in pilgrim albergues with no problems.

Remember also that 'albergue' doesn't always mean 'pilgrim albergue', it is the word they use in Spain for hostels e.g. youth hostels, backpackers' or walkers' hostels. Private albergues may describe themselves as pilgrim albergues but can and will accept anyone who pays for their night's lodging.

You'll be fine. Buen Camino.

 

[wisepilgrim]

@dick bird makes a good point that you are still a pilgrim, and nobody will know what your ultimate destination is.

I don't believe you will be discriminated against in any way, regardless of whether it is a private albergue or municipal, for your direction of travel. Being on a bike might affect the calculation, as some municipal albergues give precedent to walkers (a dying practice and one I don't recall seeing in Portugal).

I like to think that by the time you get to Santiago you and your bicycle will look the part.

 

[Dave Morgan]

Hi Dave
In my experience/view plenty of pilgrims stay in places like municipals when they are not walking towards Santiago. FWIW all the albergues between Santiago and Finisterre would go out of business if you were only allowed to stay in them when walking towards Santiago.
I've met very many pilgrims walking backwards along different caminos, and being allowed to stay at Municipals without any difficulty - @JabbaPapa has recent experience and might wish to comment on this.
Just in terms of going to Porto, as Doug says above, the route to Fatima from Santiago is known as as pilgrim route anyway so should be no problem at all.
I believe it's highly likely that many other places (including municiplas/parroquials) on different routes (not just to Fatima) will accept you, as long as you are able to explain the pilgimage (route) you are making (and possibly why), and the stamps already in your credencial back up your explanation.
I'm sure there are lots of others who have had useful experiences on this to share.
Cheers, tom

This raises another question for me. After arrival in Santiago, do I need a new credencial to continue to Portugal? Presumably, that is easier to source at the beginning of the normal direction than in Santiago?

 

[Dave Morgan]

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/reverse-camino.78876/#post-1108506

You're not the only one. There is no reason why a pilgrim who is walking home should be refused entry to an albergue. The same with a pilgrim who has reached Santiago and is on their way to another recognised pilgrimage site. I haven't done it but I have met a lot of pilgrims who were doing exactly that, and they were staying in pilgrim albergues with no problems.

Remember also that 'albergue' doesn't always mean 'pilgrim albergue', it is the word they use in Spain for hostels e.g. youth hostels, backpackers' or walkers' hostels. Private albergues may describe themselves as pilgrim albergues but can and will accept anyone who pays for their night's lodging.

You'll be fine. Buen Camino.

Thank you! Should I have a separate credencial for the onward "reverse" trip? Would such a credencial be available in Santiago or only towards the start of the normal direction?

 

[trecile]

This raises another question for me. After arrival in Santiago, do I need a new credencial to continue to Portugal? Presumably, that is easier to source at the beginning of the normal direction than in Santiago?

Very easy to obtain in Santiago. They are available at the Pilgrim's Office where you get your Compostela.

 

[dick bird]

Thank you! Should I have a separate credencial for the onward "reverse" trip? Would such a credencial be available in Santiago or only towards the start of the normal direction?

No, better to keep to one credencial to prove you are returning or going on from Santiago and not starting there.

 

[peregrino_tom]

No, better to keep to one credencial to prove you are returning or going on from Santiago and not starting there.

Dave, ultimately it doesn't make much difference if you have a new one or not, as long as you have the previous one with you to validate your whole journey. But I agree with Dick that it's better/nicer to record the whole journey on one card if you can. The CSJ pilgrim passport has (in theory) space for 56 stamps (you learn to keep a beady eye on hospitaleros and try and stop some of them plonking a stamp across several of the available boxes..). You can order one from CSJ or, as you are starting in London, pick one up from the London office (I think that's still possible?).
If you do run out of spaces it shouldn't be a problem as most albergues hold passports and I'd expect all of the Galician Xuntas to have a supply. So you can wait until you get to the last page before asking for another. Or, if you just have a few days to go, just turn it over and start getting stamps on the map side. This is actually quite normal practice, as the standard credential often runs out a few days before Santiago. I did this last year and no-one even raised an eyebrow.

 

[chinacat]

Thank you! Should I have a separate credencial for the onward "reverse" trip? Would such a credencial be available in Santiago or only towards the start of the normal direction?

I’d imagine you’ll have need of at least one other credencial if you are travelling ‘overland’ from the UK!
You can also get a new one from Ivar, and support the forum at the same time
Buen camino!