Walks in Spain or Pilgrim.es????

[Sasha0703]

Looking to book Camino Frances end of March. Good reviews for Walks in Spain but Pilgrim.es has quoted cheaper but can’t find any reviews. Any advice please

 

[Flog]

Yes, but it might not be the advice you want..

With a little research on here and elsewhere, you can quite easily make your own plan. You would save a lot of money and not be tied to a schedule.

 

[Robo]

Looking to book Camino Frances end of March. Good reviews for Walks in Spain but Pilgrim.es has quoted cheaper but can’t find any reviews. Any advice please

Tend to agree with @Flog . I've never felt the need to use a travel company.
I think with all the commercial hype and marketing these days around the Camino, travel companies are trying to make out it's the norm.

But if you feel the need, hopefully someone will be along soon who knows these companies.

Thoughts.

I dug out this old post from 2017. It was after my first Camino from St Jean to Santiago, and a second with my wife of the last 200 kms or so of the Frances.............

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have done group tours on 'holidays' a couple of times. At the time they were a good choice for us. It allowed us to see a lot of places in a small amount of time without the need to be booking accommodation, transport, wondering where to go etc. And of course having a knowledgeable guide was a great benefit. No need to worry about language...All good stuff when doing the sights of Paris and so on.

I can understand how someone on their first Camino might think that going on some kind on group tour would offer similar benefits. Think again perhaps......

There is a huge difference between walking a Camino (particularly the Frances) and doing a traditional holiday tour......

You really can't get lost. You just follow the arrows and all the other Pilgrims.

You are part of a Group anyway, by default. Unless you walk in winter, you are part of a mobile community moving down the trail together. Why would you pay, just to be part of a fixed group, within that community, whose members you are stuck with even if you don't enjoy their company...

The locals have been dealing with and helping Pilgrims for a thousand years. For many we are their livelihood. They will guide you and support you... Language? Learn a couple of dozen basic words just as a courtesy......It's not essential though.

You will make new friends every day. It's kind of impossible not to! And you will stick with others whose company you enjoy. Everyone helps each other out.

You are not alone.............kind of ever! You have to try hard to get alone time sometimes........

Imagine doing a 4 week tour of Europe. The itinerary is already planned out. Eiffel Tower, followed by the Louvre, then on to Munich or wherever. You're going to see all the major sites. On day 1 you set out and find there are 300 other people following the same route. Exact same route. EXACT. Catching the same buses, trains, planes, in fact at every turn there are big signs saying 'this way'......

Everyone around you is going the same way. Exactly the same way! Following the signs. The only decision you need to make, is when to stop each day, and secure a bed in whatever town or village, you find yourself. And you'll look around for that bed, with others who have also decided to stop in the same place....

And where ever you decide to stay, there are more travelling companions staying there. In fact all the people staying there are all going the same way as you. So you can join them for dinner......you'll know some of the faces from seeing them that day anyway.

Getting the idea

To go on a group tour many consider a totally pointless exercise, a waste of money, and actually very limiting.....

Unless....... Due to some kind of physical limitation or maybe a total lack of self confidence, you need the security of a guide.... But even then..........go with a friend if you have to.

If you can manage to get yourself to a bus stop, and go across town to visit a new shopping mall......you are fully equipped to find your way along the Camino. Same degree of difficulty I reckon...... On reflection, the Camino is easier.
Except the walking bit.....and the sore feet ......

P.S. One of the greatest joys of walking a Camino is the sense of Freedom.
Allow yourself to experience that ........
To not do so IMHO is to miss a core part of the Camino experience.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've just met too many people very frustrated with being 'tied' to a tour group schedule.
I know many love the concept, and they will voice that here.
I just haven't met any yet on the Camino.

Good luck with what ever you choose

 

[Flog]

I think with all the commercial hype and marketing these days around the Camino, travel companies are trying to make out it's the norm

This is absolutely the case, the same goes with forwarding baggage etc. I'm not dismissing them out of hand, they have their place, but you have a couple of months to do your own research and make up your own mind.

 

[Kanga]

I’m with Flog and Robo. I don’t do any planning if walking the Camino Francés. Catch a bus or train to where i intend to start walking, and walk. No need to book anything, let alone a company organise it.

 

[Flog]

Ok, here's something and it's hard not to be judgemental, I dont want to be.. but this is as good a place as any to post it:

Arriving into Santiago Airport on the afternoon flight a few weeks ago. I stood waiting for nearly an hour in vain at the conveyor for my pack, which never showed (it caught up with me four days later, having been sent all around the houses).

But anyway, I noticed looking around.. of the hundred and fifty or so items that came off that conveyor, I counted just four backpacks.. four. All the rest were suitcases, some of them huge. This is all the more embarrassing for me to relate now, because these were mostly my own countrymen and women, and practically all on that flight were pilgrims, many of them on organised trips. I know this because I watched and listened to the excited chatter of groups and couples, both in the departure lounge in Dublin and in the arrivals hall in Santiago, mostly first timers off on their camino adventure. I'm not saying they should have all carried their own, but many of them looked to be youngish, fit and more than capable.

Because of all the faffing around at the airport, I missed my train to Ourense. But it all worked out, as it usually does. I caught a later bus to Ourense and finally found my hotel at 11 pm, not before getting soaked through from wandering around in the rain and with no gear apart from my small knapsack.

The next morning, I contemplated my lot. It was still raining at 9am.. Should I hang around, book another night and wait for my pack to show up? I decided, I wasn't going to put myself at the mercy of Aer Lingus. Google maps showed a Decathlon just a few hundred metres away. I sprang out of bed and grabbed some breakfast at a neary bar while I waited for them to open. I picked up a cheap set of underwear and socks, an even cheaper poncho. At the supermarket, I grabbed a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, some water and fruit and set off. The rain stopped, the sun even tried to come out as I crossed the Miño to start the slow, steady climb out of the city.

When my pack finally caught up with me four full days later in Ponte Ulla, I was almost disappointed. I walked the last day into Santiago looking like a 'proper' pilgrim. It isn't my first camino, but it could have been.....

 

[woody66]

Hi Sasha and Welcome to the forum!
You get comments for and against using a company to sort your Camino!
I agree with all the posts above; sorting your gear, planning the route, booking your stays and the little research you need is all part of your Camino experience!
I walked my first at 66 and it was wonderful!
Doing it yourself is easy and your not basically paying a company in excess of £500 to book your rooms.
This forum is great for info from experienced Pilgrims who have walked many.


For the French way; in fact all the Camino's i have done so far i have used these two resources: the first is in Spanish (but Google Chrome translates the pages straight to English) Gronze has all the types places to stay along the Frances with phone and web links to each property plus Booking.com!
Using booking gives you free cancelation on your stays last year i had 27 stays booked 4 days before my flight i had to cancel the only money i lost was a booked taxi from the airport!
Not sure if that will happen with a company.
You will also have a fixed itinerary with a company their in charge not you.

Camino Francés | Gronze.com

El Camino Francés es el Camino de Santiago en el que confluyen la mayoría de las vías medievales de peregrinación europeas, siendo por tanto el camino de mayor relevancia histórica y el más seguido por los peregrinos. Su punto de inicio, hoy en día, tanto puede considerarse Roncesvalles como...

www.gronze.com

The second is the WisePilgrim Frances App (Michael is a forum member) great offline maps and lots of info: what Albergue has free beds, Whatsapp contact, Web addresses etc. and more the paid version is the price of a coffee!
I carry my pack but there are bag transfer companies available for the whole route like

Rucksack transfer on the Camino de Santiago

Correos transfers your rucksack, suitcase or luggage along the Camino de Santiago stage by stage

www.elcaminoconcorreos.com

When your feet hit the ground you will have a blast!
Hard to get lost on the French Way you will be fine honest
Have a wonderful walk whatever you decide.
Buen Camino
Woody

 

[Sasha0703]

Yes, but it might not be the advice you want..

With a little research on here and elsewhere, you can quite easily make your own plan. You would save a lot of money and not be tied to a schedule.

I planned a 4 week rv trip in Canada in May without any help, i think your right! just wont be able to carry a lot on my back

Hi Sasha and Welcome to the forum!
You get comments for and against using a company to sort your Camino!
I agree with all the posts above; sorting your gear, planning the route, booking your stays and the little research you need is all part of your Camino experience!
I walked my first at 66 and it was wonderful!
Doing it yourself is easy and your not basically paying a company in excess of £500 to book your rooms.
This forum is great for info from experienced Pilgrims who have walked many.


For the French way; in fact all the Camino's i have done so far i have used these two resources: the first is in Spanish (but Google Chrome translates the pages straight to English) Gronze has all the types places to stay along the Frances with phone and web links to each property plus Booking.com!
Using booking gives you free cancelation on your stays last year i had 27 stays booked 4 days before my flight i had to cancel the only money i lost was a booked taxi from the airport!
Not sure if that will happen with a company.
You will also have a fixed itinerary with a company their in charge not you.

Camino Francés | Gronze.com

El Camino Francés es el Camino de Santiago en el que confluyen la mayoría de las vías medievales de peregrinación europeas, siendo por tanto el camino de mayor relevancia histórica y el más seguido por los peregrinos. Su punto de inicio, hoy en día, tanto puede considerarse Roncesvalles como...

www.gronze.com

The second is the WisePilgrim Frances App (Michael is a forum member) great offline maps and lots of info: what Albergue has free beds, Whatsapp contact, Web addresses etc. and more the paid version is the price of a coffee!
I carry my pack but there are bag transfer companies available for the whole route like

Rucksack transfer on the Camino de Santiago

Correos transfers your rucksack, suitcase or luggage along the Camino de Santiago stage by stage

www.elcaminoconcorreos.com

When your feet hit the ground you will have a blast!
Hard to get lost on the French Way you will be fine honest
Have a wonderful walk whatever you decide.
Buen Camino
Woody

 

[Sasha0703]

I planned a 4 week rv trip in Canada in May without any help, i think your right! just wont be able to carry a lot on my back

thank you

 

[Sasha0703]

Tend to agree with @Flog . I've never felt the need to use a travel company.
I think with all the commercial hype and marketing these days around the Camino, travel companies are trying to make out it's the norm.

But if you feel the need, hopefully someone will be along soon who knows these companies.

Thoughts.

I dug out this old post from 2017. It was after my first Camino from St Jean to Santiago, and a second with my wife of the last 200 kms or so of the Frances.............

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have done group tours on 'holidays' a couple of times. At the time they were a good choice for us. It allowed us to see a lot of places in a small amount of time without the need to be booking accommodation, transport, wondering where to go etc. And of course having a knowledgeable guide was a great benefit. No need to worry about language...All good stuff when doing the sights of Paris and so on.

I can understand how someone on their first Camino might think that going on some kind on group tour would offer similar benefits. Think again perhaps......

There is a huge difference between walking a Camino (particularly the Frances) and doing a traditional holiday tour......

You really can't get lost. You just follow the arrows and all the other Pilgrims.

You are part of a Group anyway, by default. Unless you walk in winter, you are part of a mobile community moving down the trail together. Why would you pay, just to be part of a fixed group, within that community, whose members you are stuck with even if you don't enjoy their company...

The locals have been dealing with and helping Pilgrims for a thousand years. For many we are their livelihood. They will guide you and support you... Language? Learn a couple of dozen basic words just as a courtesy......It's not essential though.

You will make new friends every day. It's kind of impossible not to! And you will stick with others whose company you enjoy. Everyone helps each other out.

You are not alone.............kind of ever! You have to try hard to get alone time sometimes........

Imagine doing a 4 week tour of Europe. The itinerary is already planned out. Eiffel Tower, followed by the Louvre, then on to Munich or wherever. You're going to see all the major sites. On day 1 you set out and find there are 300 other people following the same route. Exact same route. EXACT. Catching the same buses, trains, planes, in fact at every turn there are big signs saying 'this way'......

Everyone around you is going the same way. Exactly the same way! Following the signs. The only decision you need to make, is when to stop each day, and secure a bed in whatever town or village, you find yourself. And you'll look around for that bed, with others who have also decided to stop in the same place....

And where ever you decide to stay, there are more travelling companions staying there. In fact all the people staying there are all going the same way as you. So you can join them for dinner......you'll know some of the faces from seeing them that day anyway.

Getting the idea

To go on a group tour many consider a totally pointless exercise, a waste of money, and actually very limiting.....

Unless....... Due to some kind of physical limitation or maybe a total lack of self confidence, you need the security of a guide.... But even then..........go with a friend if you have to.

If you can manage to get yourself to a bus stop, and go across town to visit a new shopping mall......you are fully equipped to find your way along the Camino. Same degree of difficulty I reckon...... On reflection, the Camino is easier.
Except the walking bit.....and the sore feet ......

P.S. One of the greatest joys of walking a Camino is the sense of Freedom.
Allow yourself to experience that ........
To not do so IMHO is to miss a core part of the Camino experience.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've just met too many people very frustrated with being 'tied' to a tour group schedule.
I know many love the concept, and they will voice that here.
I just haven't met any yet on the Camino.

Good luck with what ever you choose

great advice! thank you. love the fact theres rucksack transfer too which would have been a problem for me as my back not great. thanks everyone

 

[J Willhaus]

Hi @Sasha0703,
Backpack transfer is only available on two parts of the Camino until after Easter. These are the last 100 km of the Camino Portuguese and the Camino Frances. It is a available more widely beginning in April through October on other routes at further from Santiago.

 

[trecile]

Looking to book Camino Frances end of March.

Where are you planning to start from?

 

[Sasha0703]

Where are you planning to start from?

Sarria. Flying from Uk to Santiago. Did think about Madrid and get train but looks too long

 

[trecile]

Sarria. Flying from Uk to Santiago. Did think about Madrid and get train but looks too long

There is luggage-transport year round between Sarria and Santiago, so that part is easy. Next you need to decide how far you want to walk each day and book your accommodations, which is very easy to do yourself. Many forum members will have suggestions for stages and lodging.

 

[CorinneH]

There is luggage-transport year round between Sarria and Santiago, so that part is easy. Next you need to decide how far you want to walk each day and book your accommodations, which is very easy to do yourself. Many forum members will have suggestions for stages and lodging.

…or don’t book anything until lunchtime each day, once you’ve decided how much further you want to walk. Of course, you would have to carry your backpack, in that case. You really only need a single change of clothes (you just have to wash each day), toiletries, rain gear, etc, so you can certainly manage with 6-7kg or less. It’s not a lot, so don’t discount that possibility without trying to walk with a light, well fitted backpack. You can book your accommodation the night before and still transport your backpack, as a happy medium. You really don’t have to make detailed plans and bookings. Everyone is different, but most people that I know who have walked in Spain have found that one of the best things about it was the freedom and adventure of travelling with no plans. However you choose to walk your Camino, have a great time!

 

[J Willhaus]

One thing to consider. There is one direct bus per day from the airport. A lot of people take a cheap flight to Santiago a d then need to spend the night in Santiago or take an expensive cab. I have attached the schedule. Try to get a flight in before the bus leaves to save yourself some time and money.

 

[Thomas1962]

There is no possibility "to book" a camino. You need to walk it.

 

[Sasha0703]

One thing to consider. There is one direct bus per day from the airport. A lot of people take a cheap flight to Santiago a d then need to spend the night in Santiago or take an expensive cab. I have attached the schedule. Try to get a flight in before the bus leaves to save yourself some time and money.

Amazing! Sounds like the adventure is coming together with all this advice

 

[David Tallan]

I planned a 4 week rv trip in Canada in May without any help, i think your right! just wont be able to carry a lot on my back

Most of us try not to carry a lot on our back. For those who carry their belongings rather than have them shipped, this often provides on of the major lessons on the Camino - how little you really need not only to survive but to thrive. Many start decluttering their homes and lives after their first Camino without a luggage transfer service. (Myself, I'm a slow learner. The Camino has just given me another type of thing to collect.)

But if you really want your luggage transfered, that is something that is really easy to organize yourself, as well.