Sarria > Ourense > Madrid travel options

[Lhollo]

Hello Camino friends!

I wondered what your thoughts might be as regards travel options for the end of my Camino for this year. We’re walking for three weeks on the Frances, from Belorado to Sarria. We’ll pick up in Sarria next time, so spending time there now isn’t crucial to us.

I know that the new fast train from Ourense to Madrid is now running, so getting to Madrid on the fast train from Ourense, will now take only a little over 2 hours.

My options seem limited though, because of connection times from Sarria…

Option One

Friday 10th June, arrive in Sarria and spend the night there. Then…

Saturday 11th June, take the first train from Sarria to Ourense at 09:15. Miss the morning fast trains and get a later one. Arrive in Madrid 16:06.

This is almost 7 hours of travelling and cuts out most of the Saturday. But we would have time on the Friday in Sarria.

Option Two

Friday 10th June, take the late afternoon or evening train from Sarria to Ourense (the timing is dependant on how we get on with the walk that day). Latest arrival into Ourense = 8:30pm. Then…

Saturday 11th June, take any of three fast trains from Ourense to Madrid, arriving in Madrid before 2pm at the latest.

This would probably give us time in Sarria on the Friday, plus a little time in Ourense that night and the following morning around and after breakfast. It’d be a much shorter trip to Madrid on the Saturday, and we’d more time in the capital too. Downsides… not having a place to shower at the end of the walk to Sarria… and walking our last day knowing we’ll have to get off the Camino and onto a train! And… something I can’t put my finger on, about Ourense being a bit rushed and nothing to do with our Camino. But maybe getting straight to Ourense would help with the come-down (we really struggled with that last year).

Other options

I’ve looked into buses, etc, and haven’t found much. Expensive taxis. Possible BlaBla car shares but that’s uncertain (none today, for example). Definitely nothing that looks ideal.

We fly home from Madrid in the evening of Sunday 11th, so we may have a little time to see Madrid on the Sunday too.

I currently have accommodation booked for the Friday night in both Sarria and Ourense so need to cancel one.
Everything points to Option Two being the most sensible.

Am I missing anything here, though?

 

[peregrina2000]

Well, for starters I think you’ve chosen the right city to pick up the AVE. And I think the only downside for option 2 is the “no shower before travel” issue. If this is important, I think it might be worth it to see if you can find an albergue that would let you shower for a small charge. I have seen a number of peregrinos do that in municipal or donativo albergues, so I bet you can find something. But finding it may be more hassle than it’s worth! Although you could conceivably contact private places via WhatsApp and set something up ahead of time so you wouldn’t have to walk all over in search of a shower.

I have never walked into my destination and gotten on a train or bus several hours later, but I have met lots of people who have. I think the end of a camino is abrupt and discordant no matter how you do it, so I don’t think option 1 is necessarily preferable in that regard. In both cases you will be continuing back to the world as we know it very soon after arrival. Not sure a night makes that much difference, but others may disagree.

And if you have time in Ourense, their thermal baths might be a tempting way to relax and decompress.

Outariz Thermal Station - Turismo de Ourense

A place of peace and relaxation through the hot springs.

www.turismodeourense.gal

There are a number of public thermal baths in Ourense, but you will have to do some research to see which are open — lots of covid closures. But I think the one I linked to above is open.

 

[Lhollo]

This has made me realise… well, that I like the look of the Ourense night… but also that perhaps I’ve overlooked my biggest question…:

is it really this difficult to get from Sarria to Ourense?

Maybe some services are actually more frequent but just not showing up? I’m aware that the RENFE site says there are works on part of the route right now, and there’s a replacement bus for some of it, so maybe this is having a knock on effect… or maybe it is simply a less regular rural service, and I have turned Sarria into a metropolis in my head?

 

[angelbrok]

I think that the second option of organizing a trip is the best. This way, you lose less time. I also like to plan trips. I look for interesting places to visit and book tickets. Travel is my weakness. I can spend large sums of money to get unforgettable emotions. So far, I can't travel because I have a money crisis. I will definitely go to the nearest undiscovered country at the first opportunity. I like to learn something new, get acquainted with other people's culture, and just enjoy the beautiful views. Speaking of money, I read some interesting information about budget travel. I am sure that it will come in handy for me due to my crisis.