storing luggage at Santiago

[woodles]

I am planning to do the camino in April and upon completion am planning to holiday in Portugal and was wanting to have my luggage in Santiago when I complete my walk. I am planning to commence at SJPP. Can anyone advise whether this is doable? If so, how and where would be appreciated.

 

[LesR]

Entirely doable...

Simplest is to forward your baggage with Express Bourricot - you leave your bag (and 70 Euro) N° 31, Rue de la Citadelle, next to the Pilgrim’s Office, and it will be sent to Santiago inside a week. The bag will be stored at Hostal La Salle until you claim it - you will need the ticket from their SJPP office (or an image of it). Hostal La Salle will give you a 20% discount on a nights accommodation if you use their transport service. See https://www.expressbourricot.com/luggage-transport/.

Worked well for me Sept/Oct 2017 CF, and if I do CF 2018, will do it again. Had no issues with security of my bag - it was stored in a locked room at Hostal La Salle. 24 hour reception meant it could be claimed at any time. I had taken the precaution of putting a small padlock on my duffel bag and would do it again...

There is also the option for pasting your excess baggage to Ivar who will store it for a defined period for somewhat less the EB (see http://www.casaivar.com/luggage-storage-in-santiago-de-compostela/), but I have heard murmurings that the postal service across two countries can be problematic...

 

[woodles]

Thank you so much Les, I really appreciate the information that you have provided. It will certainly make the planning of my soujourn easier. Again many thanks.

 

[Saint Mike II]

I also used this service back in Apri/May 2017. The hotel in Santiago is also an albegue. If you intend to stay there and want a room to yourself I recommend an advanced booking as soon as you can work out your arrival date. Buen Camino!!

 

[trecile]

I also used the Express Bourricot service from SJPDP. It was so easy. Just go to their office when you arrive in St Jean, fill out their forms, and pay 70€. They will give you a receipt and a tag to put on your bag. When you start out on the Camino just leave your suitcase at the hostel where you spent the night and they will pick it up.

 

[t2andreo]

The €70 cost to use Express Bourricot (EB) from SJPdP may sound like a lot of money but do consider two points:

1. Within the overall cost of mounting your Camino effort, and investing a month or more on the Camino Frances, this is a relatively small amount of money. Seriously, it is about what some airlines would charge for a checked piece of luggage.

2. The EB service is so well run and has adequate security built in to protect your bag. The bags simply do not get mislaid or pilfered. The service uses their unmarked van to move the collected bags weekly from SJPdP to Santiago, an overnight road trip. The bags are always there when you arrive. This is a huge burden off your mind. You KNOW your stuff will be there as advertised. It is a good deal.

Security of your stuff is, like the credit card adverts say....priceless...

NOTE: I have absolutely NO COMMERCIAL INTEREST or personal relationship with anyone at Express Bourricot. I simply believe this is currently the best method for direct shipment and storage from SJPdP to Santiago.

The French post office at SJPdP will ship the luggage for you. However, the cost will be proximate to what you pay EB. Also, consider that although both France and Spain are in the EU, the postal systems are still run separately, as before the inception of the EU.

I have had issues with both the French and Portuguese postal systems mailing parcels into Spain. Inexplicable delays are relatively common, as the parcel or luggage must make its way through both countries international export and import mail pipelines.

I know it is not logical, but it IS what it is. One imagines that hundreds of thousands of good jobs across the entire EU are being protected by NOT harmonizing and blending all the various postal systems. Further, sending anything by national post system is NOT like using UPS, DHL, FedEx, or TNT, etc.

Like I said, it is not logical.

Also, using the private parcel delivery services is far more expensive than the subsidized postal systems. One gets what one pays for... and we are back to the recommendation to use Express Bourricot...

If you schlepped (lugged or carried) the baggage over the Pyrenees into Spain, you could bring it to the Correos in the first town that has one, likely Zubiri, if I recall correctly. The Correos is cheap, secure and fast. But they only hold your bag at the main post office on Rua Franco in Santiago for 15 calendar days for free. After that, I believe it is €1 or €2 per day. So, toting the costs up, shipping plus storage would be nearly as much as EB.

So, at the end of the day, this becomes a valid and necessary optional service if you want stuff to be at Santiago waiting for you. In the past, I sent ahead clothing, refills of my needed nutritional supplements and medications, and all the souvenirs I bought in France and at SJpDp in the two days I was there.

BTW: this is THE place to buy handmade men's and women's cotton espadrilles, made by Basque craftsmen. I usually take a shopping list for my entire family, in metric sizes. The colors and varied styles are all available and there are several family run shops. Making espadrilles is a local industry. You can also score real Basque berets and other well made Basque handicrafts here.

Of course, the problem with being a tourist and buying all this stuff, is HOW to get it to Santiago, where it will be waiting for you. Voila! We are back to why use EB...go figure...

As an aside, I have found the best method for sending parcels to Santiago to be held more than 15 days until I arrive from whatever Camino route I am on, is to ship them to Ivar. See the instructions here in the Forum or look at www.casaivar.com

I hope this helps.

 

[Blandine]

Hi , is it possible to the service from Sarria?

 

[woodles]

I also used this service back in Apri/May 2017. The hotel in Santiago is also an albegue. If you intend to stay there and want a room to yourself I recommend an advanced booking as soon as you can work out your arrival date. Buen Camino!!

Thank you, so good to hear another positive response.

 

[woodles]

I also used the Express Bourricot service from SJPDP. It was so easy. Just go to their office when you arrive in St Jean, fill out their forms, and pay 70€. They will give you a receipt and a tag to put on your bag. When you start out on the Camino just leave your suitcase at the hostel where you spent the night and they will pick it up.

Thank you, again it is so good to get another positive response re EB service

 

[woodles]

The €70 cost to use Express Bourricot (EB) from SJPdP may sound like a lot of money but do consider two points:

1. Within the overall cost of mounting your Camino effort, and investing a month or more on the Camino Frances, this is a relatively small amount of money. Seriously, it is about what some airlines would charge for a checked piece of luggage.

2. The EB service is so well run and has adequate security built in to protect your bag. The bags simply do not get mislaid or pilfered. The service uses their unmarked van to move the collected bags weekly from SJPdP to Santiago, an overnight road trip. The bags are always there when you arrive. This is a huge burden off your mind. You KNOW your stuff will be there as advertised. It is a good deal.

Security of your stuff is, like the credit card adverts say....priceless...

NOTE: I have absolutely NO COMMERCIAL INTEREST or personal relationship with anyone at Express Bourricot. I simply believe this is currently the best method for direct shipment and storage from SJPdP to Santiago.

The French post office at SJPdP will ship the luggage for you. However, the cost will be proximate to what you pay EB. Also, consider that although both France and Spain are in the EU, the postal systems are still run separately, as before the inception of the EU.

I have had issues with both the French and Portuguese postal systems mailing parcels into Spain. Inexplicable delays are relatively common, as the parcel or luggage must make its way through both countries international export and import mail pipelines.

I know it is not logical, but it IS what it is. One imagines that hundreds of thousands of good jobs across the entire EU are being protected by NOT harmonizing and blending all the various postal systems. Further, sending anything by national post system is NOT like using UPS, DHL, FedEx, or TNT, etc.

Like I said, it is not logical.

Also, using the private parcel delivery services is far more expensive than the subsidized postal systems. One gets what one pays for... and we are back to the recommendation to use Express Bourricot...

If you schlepped (lugged or carried) the baggage over the Pyrenees into Spain, you could bring it to the Correos in the first town that has one, likely Zubiri, if I recall correctly. The Correos is cheap, secure and fast. But they only hold your bag at the main post office on Rua Franco in Santiago for 15 calendar days for free. After that, I believe it is €1 or €2 per day. So, toting the costs up, shipping plus storage would be nearly as much as EB.

So, at the end of the day, this becomes a valid and necessary optional service if you want stuff to be at Santiago waiting for you. In the past, I sent ahead clothing, refills of my needed nutritional supplements and medications, and all the souvenirs I bought in France and at SJpDp in the two days I was there.

BTW: this is THE place to buy handmade men's and women's cotton espadrilles, made by Basque craftsmen. I usually take a shopping list for my entire family, in metric sizes. The colors and varied styles are all available and there are several family run shops. Making espadrilles is a local industry. You can also score real Basque berets and other well made Basque handicrafts here.

Of course, the problem with being a tourist and buying all this stuff, is HOW to get it to Santiago, where it will be waiting for you. Voila! We are back to why use EB...go figure...

As an aside, I have found the best method for sending parcels to Santiago to be held more than 15 days until I arrive from whatever Camino route I am on, it to ship them to Ivar. See the instructions here in the Forum or look at www.casaivar.com

I hope this helps.

Absolutely brilliant, thank you!

 

[t2andreo]

Hi , is it possible to the service from Sarria?

Yes, go to the Correos (post office) and mail your items to Ivar, as mentioned elsewhere in this post. See www.casaivar.com

Express Bourricot ONLY transports luggage from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela. I am unaware of any intervening stops.

Hope this helps.

 

[Blandine]

Ok, thanks , it' s very helpful. One of my friends has a bad back and she was wondering if it is possible to have her backpack transported from one place to the next when she is doing the Camino if she needs it.

 

[ivar]

Yes, go to the Correos (post office) and mail your items to Ivar, as mentioned elsewhere in this post. See www.casaivar.com

Express Bourricot ONLY transports luggage from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela. I am unaware of any intervening stops.

Hope this helps.

The post office themselves also offer storage (send it from the post office in Sarria, to the post office in Santiago)... I say this because their opening hours for pickup are a bit better than mine. (Except they are closed Sundays, I am open half an hour in the afternoon).

 

[LesR]

Ok, thanks , it' s very helpful. One of my friends has a bad back and she was wondering if it is possible to have her backpack transported from one place to the next when she is doing the Camino if she needs it.

Jacotrans will transport backpacks town to town for around 7 Euro per leg - pickup and drop off at albergues and other accommodations (see https://www.jacotrans.es/en/) Common to see pilgrims using this service all along the CF Sept/Oct 2017, so it must be reliable.


Once you are in Spain you can use the Correos/Post Office to transport you backpack. They pick up and deliver everywhere and their price is roughly 5 euros per bag. Every albergue on the way has their instruction tag/envelope. The first time that you want to use them ask the hospitalero for help. See more info at the bottom of this web. http://www.correos.es/ss/Satellite/...500-sala_prensa/detalle_noticia-sidioma=es_ES

 

[Blandine]

Thanks, very helpful!