Looking for information on the Camino Ingles

[muddy-mama]

Hi I am planning my Camino Ingles for September 2024 I have looked at the previous threads and have found answers to some of my questions but not all,
This will be my fourth Camino and this time I will be walking with a friend. I will be 71 at the time of walking and my friend will be 78. Her first time walking.
1) Will we be able to buy a Credential in Ferrol and if so where?
2) Is there bag transfer all along this route? On other Routes I have done a mix of transporting and carrying my pack. Last year from Sienna to Rome I carried it all but two days I don't want to do this again.
3) Normally I book at night for the next night but reading the post here it seems that it is more common to book further in advance. Can you tell me your experience of this?
Thanks in Advance
Muddy-mama

 

[SabsP]

1. Yes.

OFICINAS DE TURISMO - TURISMO DE FERROL

This post is also available in: Inglés Gallego

visitferrol.com

2. Yes.
Did not use those facilities but saw Correos and other companies.

3. We were three end of August and beginning of September and was glad I prebooked.
Extremely busy compared with the two earlier times I walked the CI.
Especially Hospital de Bruma is tricky to find available beds.
If I was alone I would have taken the risk of not prebooking.

 

[muddy-mama]

Thank you so much SabsP

 

[SabsP]

Thank you so much SabsP

If you want you can take a look at the thread I posted after I finished.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/some-thoughts-about-our-camino-ingles.82835/

 

[Kirkie]

Hi I am planning my Camino Ingles for September 2024 I have looked at the previous threads and have found answers to some of my questions but not all,
This will be my fourth Camino and this time I will be walking with a friend. I will be 71 at the time of walking and my friend will be 78. Her first time walking.
1) Will we be able to buy a Credential in Ferrol and if so where?
2) Is there bag transfer all along this route? On other Routes I have done a mix of transporting and carrying my pack. Last year from Sienna to Rome I carried it all but two days I don't want to do this again.
3) Normally I book at night for the next night but reading the post here it seems that it is more common to book further in advance. Can you tell me your experience of this?
Thanks in Advance
Muddy-mama

@SabsP has answered many of your points. I walked in 2019, and chose to book ahead before setting out. Reason? Timing, as in fairly high season, and also very few low cost albergues so I guessed - correctly - I would be sleeping on the grass as I am so slow! Correos took one pack, max weight 20kg, which lightened the load for the two of us on a daily basis. It was a huge relief to know there would be a bed at the end of the day. As another forum member always says: hope this helps!

 

[trecile]

You can order your credentials from the Forum Store so that you already have them in hand.

Official Camino Passport (Credential)

The photo above is of a passport with stamps. This passport comes with no stamps, you collect them when you walk. Also have a look at the Pilgrim Passport Sleeve to protect your passport. The credential has place for 54 stamps. This is the Official Pilgrim Credencial (Pilgrims Passport) issued...

www.santiagodecompostela.me

You can also buy Camino Inglés guidebooks from the forum store, and each one comes with a free credential.

Camino Ingles

A collection of the guide books to the Camino Ingles

www.santiagodecompostela.me

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@muddy-mama , @SabsP has already answered 1 and 2, and I echo Sabs response to number 3. My personal and friends experience of 3 - all this year, so also recent and relevant - also matches.

Anytime even close to a public or school holiday was very busy. With Bruma being the pinch point. 5 separate occasions that I am personally aware of this year.
Friends told me the hotel nearby was really rather nice and was fully booked out with pilgrims. But naturally a little more expensive. There's also a small pension near the hotel.
Even with all of that many people had to either walk on a further ten kilometres or get a taxi.

As your friend is 78 and this is her first camino dare I presume you are considering shorter stages? In which case I would strongly suggest looking at staying off stage. The wonderful thing with the Inglès is that there are so many small villages along the way that have good infrastructure and often really rather pleasant. You could also consider staying two nights in various slightly larger towns and simply taxing too and fro. The taxi cost would be offset by the fact that you wouldn't need to forward your bags that day. There are several good threads here with suggestions for short stages on the Inglès.
It's a wonderful walk, enjoy!

 

[Bill's_Walking]

Just to add to the SabsP's and the other answers above..

1. The tourism office, which is on the harbor front and a few steps away from the start of the Camino marker. The lines can get long so just keep that in mind. I visited the afternoon I arrived in Ferrol, and got some recommendations on things to see in town before I started walking the next day. Also the Cathedral sells credentials, but you will need to make sure of the opening and closing times.
2. Yes I used Camino Facil. I had booked in a hotel in Pontedeume that was not on their web list ,nor Correos' and I contacted CaminoFacil and they made the drop off and pick up.
3. I walked the Inglese right after Spain reopened from the Covid-19 shutdown, and albergues had limited beds, and my wife insisted that I have private rooms, so I prebooked. Just be sure to do your research to find your lodging. I had used booking.com and and ended up making a change when I realized a location I booked in Pontedeume was not where I thought it would be, it was well up the hill on the way out of town.

 

[sprinto]

My wife and I walked the Inglès back in April this year , both the tourism office and cathedral were closed ( even though both stated they were open) so we walked up to the Domus Ecclesiae - Ferrol. Accommodation was no problem apart from de Bruma

 

[The Ghost]

Hi I am planning my Camino Ingles for September 2024 I have looked at the previous threads and have found answers to some of my questions but not all,
This will be my fourth Camino and this time I will be walking with a friend. I will be 71 at the time of walking and my friend will be 78. Her first time walking.
1) Will we be able to buy a Credential in Ferrol and if so where?
2) Is there bag transfer all along this route? On other Routes I have done a mix of transporting and carrying my pack. Last year from Sienna to Rome I carried it all but two days I don't want to do this again.
3) Normally I book at night for the next night but reading the post here it seems that it is more common to book further in advance. Can you tell me your experience of this?
Thanks in Advance
Muddy-mama

I just did the English Way at the end of September.

I'm not sure about where to get the credentials in Ferrol but I always get mine from the "American Pilgrims org" in the mail before I travel to a Camino and its free. (Free... they ask for contributions, not a requirement... trice before I didn't give any money but this time I did)

I carry my backpack but I always saw bags sitting at or being delivered to albergues. I though I heard someone say they had a plan where they paid 30 euros for the entire transfer period or you could pay 8 euros for a stage.

I normally only arranged the night prior for where I was staying and I didn't really have any issue. There might have been a time where I didn't get my first choice but there were always options. ( I walked the Del Mar, English Way and last 100 of the Primitivo so when I say I might not have gotten my first choice I think that had more to do with the Primitivo after it joined the CF.)

 

[cha200]

Hi I am planning my Camino Ingles for September 2024 I have looked at the previous threads and have found answers to some of my questions but not all,
This will be my fourth Camino and this time I will be walking with a friend. I will be 71 at the time of walking and my friend will be 78. Her first time walking.
1) Will we be able to buy a Credential in Ferrol and if so where?
2) Is there bag transfer all along this route? On other Routes I have done a mix of transporting and carrying my pack. Last year from Sienna to Rome I carried it all but two days I don't want to do this again.
3) Normally I book at night for the next night but reading the post here it seems that it is more common to book further in advance. Can you tell me your experience of this?
Thanks in Advance
Muddy-mama

I walked the Ingles in April of 2022. I took the overnight bus from Madrid and bought my credential at the visitor's center in the middle of town in Ferrol. They have 2 different offices that offer them, but I arrived early Sunday morning and had to wait for the main one to open at 9.

After overpacking for my 2016 CF, I worked very hard to lower my bag weight. So, I never felt the need for bag transfer, but I'm sure it's available.

I found the April weather perfect for walking and there were few steep inclines, so I walked long days and finished in 4 days from Ferrol to SDC. I didn't book anything in advance, and stayed in municipal albergues in Pontedeume, Betanzos and Hospital de Bruma. None were full, and there were other options as well. Bruma is a tiny farming village, but it even had a brand new albergue that had just opened in 2022, along with the older mom and pop one where I stayed. In Santiago, I used Booking.com for a nice private room (Pazo de Agra) around the corner from the cathedral (booked after I arrived).

Everyone's needs are different, but I don't look for luxury on the Camino. Simple, clean and quiet is sufficient for me. However, I did consider staying at the Parador in Ferrol before I started walking. It just didn't work out with my schedule.

 

[jimmyc]

I walked this camino in June this year. I am 83 and did not have any problem. The longest distance we walked on any day was about 20 klms. There were six of us in my group and we never booked ahead. We stayed in a mixture of private and albergues.
We purchased our credentials at the tourist office in Ferrol.

 

[gollygolly]

2) Is there bag transfer all along this route?
Thanks in Advance
Muddy-mama

Paq Mochila from Correos - Backpack transfers

Keep your Camino de Santiago experiences in your backpack, without having to carry it. Backpack transfers along the Camino de Santiago

www.correos.es

and

Transporte Camino ingles - Taxicaminoingl.es

Un servicio esencial para uno de los Caminos de Santiago, el Transporte en el Camino ingles esta para garantizar un servicio para los pregrinos

taxicaminoingl.es

Bon Camino !!

 

[muddy-mama]

Thank you all for your reply's they have all been very helpful. I hadn't thought about spending two nights in one place and getting a taxi back on day one and forward to where we left off on day two. I am now looking into this.

 

[Kirkie]

I am sorry if this is repetition, but Correos did a perfect job, transporting one bag daily, max weight 20kg if I recall, at a very reasonable cost.

 

[witsendwv]

Thank you all for your reply's they have all been very helpful. I hadn't thought about spending two nights in one place and getting a taxi back on day one and forward to where we left off on day two. I am now looking into this.

Last September we stayed two nights in Betanzos. We walked out to Meson-Museo Xente No Camino where the bartender called a taxi for us to return. The same gentleman picked us up at our hotel and returned us there to continue on the next day.

​

 

[ChristelMarcAntwerp22]

Thank you all for your reply's they have all been very helpful. I hadn't thought about spending two nights in one place and getting a taxi back on day one and forward to where we left off on day two. I am now looking into this.

Hi, if shorters stages needed find this website very usefull, lots of info on stages, accomodation, etc.

O Camiño Inglés SLOW - Camino Inglés

O Camiño Inglés SLOW Percorre o Camiño Inglés en etapas máis curtas. O importante é desfrutar de cada quilómetro do Camiño, ao teu ritmo. Scroll Propoñemos un xeito de percorrer o Camiño Inglés tranquilo, Slow, completando cada etapa do Camiño gozando máis do contorno e das vilas ao seu paso en...

www.caminoingles.gal