Early October Porto - hire portage service vs. not

[DVT]

Planning to hike Porto this early October. Not sure which route yet. Both hikers are fit and could carry gear and make reservations at hotels/hostels as they go via booking.com. However, we are curious about the cost difference if we hired a service to pre book accommodations and also portaged a suitcase from destination to destination vs. carrying everything and booking on our own as we go.

If you’ve used a portage/pre-book service, does anyone have a recommendation? I did the English Way on my own in 2022 in October and never found myself competing for lodging. I suspect it’ll be the same for the Porto. So just interested in the possible convenience a portage/pre-booking service could offer - I am aware it isn’t necessary. Just curious.

 

[Grousedoctor]

As you have walked a Camino before, I don’t believe you’ll find many, if any, differences in the basics of walking the CP. IMHO no need to pay for a trip service when you can easily do it yourself. If you want advanced reservations, regardless of which route, it’s very easy to do along the Portuguese. Same with luggage transfer. We used TOP Santiago the last time we walked and simply contacted them using WhatsApp the afternoon or night before for our next morning pickup. Worked like a charm. I think you’d be far better off spending your money on the delicious food both Portugal and Spain offer rather than paying a company to arrange accommodations and luggage transfer. Bom Caminho!

 

[auburnfive]

You will pay at least 50% more for a company to pre-book your rooms. You can book your own and be able to choose where you stay ( reviews are helpful). Top Santiago or Caminofacil will move your luggage with a pre- planned itinerary or one day at a time, as long as you know where you will stay the next night

 

[trecile]

You will pay at least 50% more for a company to pre-book your rooms. You can book your own and be able to choose where you stay ( reviews are helpful).

And more importantly to me, you are in charge of the bookings, not a tour company. So if you decide that you want to take a day off or walk longer or shorter stages, you have the ability to change reservations. Or, you can just decide day to day where you will stop for the night.

 

[grdemedeiros]

We were wondering the same before our pilgrimage which we just completed. Started in Porto following the Coastal, Central and Spiritual Variant routes. 17 days walking (we're slow and steady).

We ended up planning and booking everything ourselves, which was pretty fun! And we did choose to rearrange our last few days because we'd misjudged timing (not sure if that kind of flexibility would have been possible if a company had done the bookings).

As for portage, we used Top Santiago on days which were longer than 17 K. Because of our pacing, this meant 50% walking with packs, 50% without. Top was incredibly easy to work with, entirely through WhatsApp, prompt responses, same-day reservations available up to 8 PM.

We used booking.com for many of our reservations, but several hosts told us it was better for them and us if we'd booked directly. Next time we'll do that, many of the hosts communicate in English.

 

[lt56ny]

The easiest and cheapest is just to walk and know that in October you will always find a place to stay on the coast. There are plenty of hotels and even better lots of wonderful municipal albergues to stay in that are cheap and clean and you will help the municipalities that bless us with albergues, financial support.

 

[Annetom]

The easiest and cheapest is just to walk and know that in October you will always find a place to stay on the coast. There are plenty of hotels and even better lots of wonderful municipal albergues to stay in that are cheap and clean and you will help the municipalities that bless us with albergues, financial support.

I walked from Porto a couple of years ago. I booked nothing in advance. My routine was to stop walking between noon and 13:00, find somewhere to stay and then explore the town/ village. Even in Santiago, I had nothing booked. However, when I saw the room, I went back to Reception and booked a second night! Bom/ buen Camino.

 

[Anamiri]

Planning to hike Porto this early October. Not sure which route yet. Both hikers are fit and could carry gear and make reservations at hotels/hostels as they go via booking.com. However, we are curious about the cost difference if we hired a service to pre book accommodations and also portaged a suitcase from destination to destination vs. carrying everything and booking on our own as we go.

If you’ve used a portage/pre-book service, does anyone have a recommendation? I did the English Way on my own in 2022 in October and never found myself competing for lodging. I suspect it’ll be the same for the Porto. So just interested in the possible convenience a portage/pre-booking service could offer - I am aware it isn’t necessary. Just curious.

I dont have knowledge of the route from Porto specifically, but when I walked the Frances in May/June this year, I was horrified at the markup booking agencies placed on pack transport. One of the ladies I met was paying 10 euros a day for Jacotrans service, when the going rate is 6 euros.
The agency had prebooked online with Jacotrans, and sent her the luggage tag, which is very simple to do yourself, and had made a few errors when they changed accommodation locations but not the bag transfer, which caused major issues trying to find the bag.
Then later in the walk, when she was injured and had to abandon walking the Camino altogether, she had prepaid the rest of the trip.
Whilst insurance would cover some of her costs for the unused days, it doesn't cover 100%.

It is so easy to organise pack transport yourself, Whatsapp seems to be universally used, very quick and simple. I dont like to be locked into a fixed schedule, as anything can happen.

 

[Vacajoe]

First, separate the two services you are interested in: pack transport and accommodation booking.

Using an agency to do either for you will add significantly to the cost and remove flexibility and choice for you. If you personally book ahead, you are likely to find places that suit you better than where an agency would place you. You will likely have the ability to cancel or change those bookings if your plans change, too. And you’ll pay less overall for a better experience.

For pack transport, you can pay daily for transport, giving you the flexibility of carrying your pack or not on a day by day basis. If your plans change, you won’t be stuck with a transport plan that no longer fits your itenerary. And you’ll pay less overall for a better experience.

All of this can be done online at your convenience, either beforehand or daily as you walk. Or you can pay extra for someone else to make your life harder. The answer seems obvious.