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Camino Souvenirs and gifts - what's popular?

JustJack

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
CF: May/June 2023
VDLP: April/May 2024
Are there lots of opportunities to buy small camino souvenirs to bring back as gifts? They would obviously need to be quite small and light.

Basically I'm wondering:

- are there lots of opportunities to pick up souvenirs along the way?
- what sort of souvenirs tend to be popular?
- can I wait until Santiago to buy camino-related souvenirs, or is it better to pick them up along the way?

Not a serious concern I realize, but there have been plenty of times in the past when I've been traveling around a country, and regretted not purchasing something because I assumed wrongly that I could easily find them anywhere. I do need to bring back a small something for a number of people at work who are covering for me while I'm away. And I'd like to find something a little nicer for my wife and daughter.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
NOOOO...don't buy things along the way as you will have to CARRY them! We try to send postcards to the Grandkids along the way, but that can also get pricey. Wait until you get to Santiago to buy souvenirs. I have a ceramic tile that I use as a trivet. Also have a set of Santiago crosses for Santiago cake stencils...
 
Yes carrying them is a concern, which is why I'm hoping anything I spot along the way will also be available in Santiago. Ceramic tiles are a great idea.
 
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All the regular souvenirs (fridge magnets, bumper stickers, key rings, etc. with complete Camino themes) and special food items that can travel are available galore in Santiago. There are also more expensive ones if you want. No need to carry anything of this sort.
 
I have no advice here: When walking, my mind is solely on my camino, not on souvenirs; it is about me and my mind. I may be a grumpy old man, but I like to walk my Caminos in peace and personal reflection, and not considering me as a tourist. My mind/soul, however small and insignificant for this humble mortal,, is too valuable for that.
 
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There are plenty of places to buy souvenirs along the routes. That said - I suggest not picking up souvenirs until you reach Santiago. Everything you buy has to be carried on your back. My daughter did buy a beautiful shell necklace - but she wore that.

In Santiago - there are a plethora of options. There is a Camino version of almost every type of souvinir that you would find in other cities (spoons, mugs, bumper stickers, key chains, jewelry etc)

For me - my souvenirs are my credential and Compostela and Distance Certificate. I also bought 2 t-shirts in Santiago. I also got a Fisterrana and Muxiana certificate and would have gotten a certificate in Sahagun - but it was during COVID and I didn't want to walk all the way to get it to find the building was closed due to COVID. And my photos. LOTS of photos.
 
You can absolutely wait until Santiago to pick up Camino-related souvenirs. In the old part of the town there are souvenir shops absolutely everywhere - you won’t go 50 metres without seeing one, such is the high volume of them. And they sell lots of different things - t-shirts, fridge magnets, miniature Camino markers, miniature botafumeiros, key rings, stickers, jewellery…and that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head.

When I finished my first Camino in 2014 what I really wanted was a Camino shell pendant, and I found a nice white gold one at Alrif Jewellery on Rua de Vilar. When I completed my second Camino last month I went back to the same shop and got a yellow gold Camino shell to add to it
 
Lucky for you I guess, but some of us do have people we are leaving at home while we walk, and I'm pretty confident that picking up a couple knick knacks at the end won't impact my peace or personal reflection. Not clear what the tourist reference is about.
 
Best lightweight Camino guides
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
If you are on the Frances, stop at the blacksmith shop at the bottom of the hill you climb to the wine fountain. He sells small black shells. You can get then with a leather lace or without. You can make a key chain if you don’t want to wear it. They don’t take up much space in a pack.
 
I picked up little penitente figurines in Leon for friends, they were quite light and took no space in my pack. There wasn't much that I saw along the way that wasn't available in Santiago. The gift shop at the Cathedral and Pilgrim's Office both have lovely things, everything seemed reasonably priced.

There are some very nice shops in Santiago with jewellery, art and ceramics - make sure you bring home a witch!
 
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The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
A really nice place to shop for souvenirs in Santiago is the gift shop in the Hospideria San Martin Pinaro. Locally made, good quality, including some consumable items for those who don’t want any more “stuff”.
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Taking gifts back from trips, to family and friends: I take home cloth shopping bags from grocery stores for me and others--they are in the language of the place, they can have interesting graphics and colours, they are unique for the person being given them, they are useful to the person receiving them, they are light to carry, AND they are inexpensive!
 
You can get anything you want in Santiago. I brought home mini tiles that were refrigerator magnets to give us gifts.

Someone had given one to me when she learned I wanted to do the pilgrimage and it helped keep my dream alive.

For me personally, my stamped passport is my most treasured souvenir from the trip. And I also purchased gold shell earrings.
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Yes! This place. The blacksmith is so friendly and has many lovely items that are light enough to carry.

 
My husband surprised me in Santiago with a small shell pendant, silver-toned with blue and turquoise for the shell striations. Not expensive, tiny, and a wonderful memento of the trip that I wear often.
 
I tend to get light things like key rings along the way as there’s a “sameness“ to them in Santiago…both for myself, and family and friends
The individual Camino magnets I get in Santiago
Last year I found some nice Camino bottle openers
Theres a lovely little shop in Arzua with some unusual bits like wall plaques, not too heavy but then they go into Charlies bag!
Ive always been a “magnet“ person ever since we started travelling as they can put a smile on my face remembering the nice places we’ve been
The front of the fridge is just as bad…time for a bigger fridge!
 

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Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
There are lots of opportunities, especially in the last 100 km on the Frances. In general, my practice has been to buy them in Santiago rather than picking them up along the way, to avoid carrying the extra weight along my Camino, but there have been a few times I've regretted it. There are a lot of souvenir shops in Santiago. There were on my first Camino in '89 and the number doesn't seem to have reduced since then.
 
If you are passing through Madrid, "La Violeta" in Plaza de Canalejas sell some very unique, violet-shaped and flavored hard sweets that come in containers of various sizes so they're easily transportable. I also picked up a box of Rabitos Royale Dark chocolates at El Corte Ingles that were well received by the recipient, not to mention incredibly tasty.
 
I bought this key chain on the Portugués from a gentleman on an uphill section far from anything. I was so happy to stop and browse so I could rest and breathe. On the next 2 Caminos I searched for the same thing to buy as gifts. No where to be found. They have canvas shoe key chains but no where are there leather boots. Some times just buy when you see it.
 

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fernweh said:
Yes! This place. The blacksmith is so friendly and has many lovely items that are light enough to carry.

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i'am definitely going to stop there to purchase something. I want to get something from someone who I seen actually made the item.
 
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