Warning about Follow the Camino company

[PAA]

I recently finished the Portugese Coastal route. I booked with the company Follow the Camino and was very sorry that I did. While enjoyed my walk, I was sorely disappointed with Follow the Camino. I did not receive what I paid for. They booked me in two hotels that were far far away from the Camino trail. The others were not the quality I expected. Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish directions, plus maps taken from Brierley's commercially available, copy righted guidebooks. The maps made no reference to their source, nor whether they were used by permission (which apparently they were not). Each map page did contain Follow the Camino's copyright sign, indicating they were claimed as FTC's original maps. I have contacted the Camino Guides book company about this issue. I was thanked and told this was not the first time that they have had to deal with copyright infringement issues with Follow the Camino.

The walking note pages did not indicate the starting point or ending point for each day. They did not indicate these points in relation to the hotels that were booked. On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels. When I complained by email to FTC, the response was that I should have called them on the emergency number. To me an emergency is being hit by a car or falling and breaking a bone. If I had called every time I had a problem with their walking notes, I would have had no time to walk. Many times the walking notes contained out and out mistakes. I don't know if it was by carelessness or deliberate misinformation.

I could go on and on with my complaints about Follow the Camino. I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services. They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with. Thank you for your attention.

 

[Bimbo]

Our group of 6, first time in Portugal, hired Portugal Green Walks for two Caminos, 2015 Central and 2017 Coastal both from Porto. They did a great job and I would highly recommend PGW for the services they provided.
With much experience gained from PGW and now from the Camino Forum my wife and I will walk from Lisbon in May 2019 to Porto with much less on our backs. With the wise Pilgram guide and app to help on our journey

Cheers
Howard

 

[PAA]

Thanks Howard! I wish I had known about PGW before my trip.

 

[peregrina2000]

I think that there must be a fair number of unscrupulous companies that seek to take advantage of people nervous about starting out on their first camino. And then the companies wind up providing bad and frequently unnecessary services. One of this forum’s important functions is to show people how easy and freeing it is to just walk, follow the arrows, and maybe make a few advance reservations in crunch time. I know that for some a supported tour is the way to go and I am glad there are people who can point others towards the reputable places, but for many it’s just a lack of understanding about the infrastructure and the joy of just walking.

 

[Former member 42123]

I recently finished the Portugese Coastal route. I booked with the company Follow the Camino and was very sorry that I did. While enjoyed my walk, I was sorely disappointed with Follow the Camino. I did not receive what I paid for. They booked me in two hotels that were far far away from the Camino trail. The others were not the quality I expected. Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish directions, plus maps taken from Brierley's commercially available, copy righted guidebooks. The maps made no reference to their source, nor whether they were used by permission (which apparently they were not). Each map page did contain Follow the Camino's copyright sign, indicating they were claimed as FTC's original maps. I have contacted the Camino Guides book company about this issue. I was thanked and told this was not the first time that they have had to deal with copyright infringement issues with Follow the Camino.

The walking note pages did not indicate the starting point or ending point for each day. They did not indicate these points in relation to the hotels that were booked. On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels. When I complained by email to FTC, the response was that I should have called them on the emergency number. To me an emergency is being hit by a car or falling and breaking a bone. If I had called every time I had a problem with their walking notes, I would have had no time to walk. Many times the walking notes contained out and out mistakes. I don't know if it was by carelessness or deliberate misinformation.

I could go on and on with my complaints about Follow the Camino. I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services. They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with. Thank you for your attention.

Sorry to hear your story,but if considering another Camino and need aid,try MACS in Scotland as I have found them to be fantastic.Hope your experience has not put you off the Camino.

 

[cathn]

I recently finished the Portugese Coastal route. I booked with the company Follow the Camino and was very sorry that I did. While enjoyed my walk, I was sorely disappointed with Follow the Camino. I did not receive what I paid for. They booked me in two hotels that were far far away from the Camino trail. The others were not the quality I expected. Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish directions, plus maps taken from Brierley's commercially available, copy righted guidebooks. The maps made no reference to their source, nor whether they were used by permission (which apparently they were not). Each map page did contain Follow the Camino's copyright sign, indicating they were claimed as FTC's original maps. I have contacted the Camino Guides book company about this issue. I was thanked and told this was not the first time that they have had to deal with copyright infringement issues with Follow the Camino.

The walking note pages did not indicate the starting point or ending point for each day. They did not indicate these points in relation to the hotels that were booked. On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels. When I complained by email to FTC, the response was that I should have called them on the emergency number. To me an emergency is being hit by a car or falling and breaking a bone. If I had called every time I had a problem with their walking notes, I would have had no time to walk. Many times the walking notes contained out and out mistakes. I don't know if it was by carelessness or deliberate misinformation.

I could go on and on with my complaints about Follow the Camino. I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services. They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with. Thank you for your attention.

Sorry to hear of your sad experiences.
For new travellers, if you require firm to organise your trip then try Iberian Adventures. This firm is based in Spain and know the Camino very well especially the CF. All overnight stays are as close to the route as possible , if not actually on it.
I have used them quite a lot as I fealt too old to use the albergues.
Buen Camino to all who are travelling this year, just wish I could join you.

 

[John Sikora]

Another good company (out of Scotland) can be found at walkthecamino.com I've used them several times without incident. They will pre book and use luggage service as required. They provided detailed itineraries and directions for each stop along the way. They like the above mentioned Iberian Adventures specialize in setting up the overnight stays. All the 100 or so accommodations that they've put me up in over the years have been pretty good to down right excellent.

 

[Mary Doll]

Sorry to hear your story,but if considering another Camino and need aid,try MACS in Scotland as I have found them to be fantastic.Hope your experience has not put you off the Camino.

I’d second this. We used MacsAdventure last year for Sarria to Santiago and found them excellent. Our accommodation was all on the Camino and was of a good standard.

 

[musicman]

Booking,com for non Albergue accommodation and the Correos for luggage transfer - used many times and super reliable .

 

[alexwalker]

Booking,com for non Albergue accommodation and the Correos for luggage transfer - used many times and super reliable .

And incredibly cheaper...

But if one is more comfortable with an arranged tour, nothing's wrong with that.

 

[RJM]

A good guidebook like the Brierley or the Wise and a good pair of walking footwear are the best Camino tour companies out there.
The only other thing I would add to that is a phone or pad for when one wants to book private accommodation.

 

[Caminogoat]

I recently finished the Portugese Coastal route. I booked with the company Follow the Camino and was very sorry that I did. While enjoyed my walk, I was sorely disappointed with Follow the Camino. I did not receive what I paid for. They booked me in two hotels that were far far away from the Camino trail. The others were not the quality I expected. Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish directions, plus maps taken from Brierley's commercially available, copy righted guidebooks. The maps made no reference to their source, nor whether they were used by permission (which apparently they were not). Each map page did contain Follow the Camino's copyright sign, indicating they were claimed as FTC's original maps. I have contacted the Camino Guides book company about this issue. I was thanked and told this was not the first time that they have had to deal with copyright infringement issues with Follow the Camino.

The walking note pages did not indicate the starting point or ending point for each day. They did not indicate these points in relation to the hotels that were booked. On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels. When I complained by email to FTC, the response was that I should have called them on the emergency number. To me an emergency is being hit by a car or falling and breaking a bone. If I had called every time I had a problem with their walking notes, I would have had no time to walk. Many times the walking notes contained out and out mistakes. I don't know if it was by carelessness or deliberate misinformation.

I could go on and on with my complaints about Follow the Camino. I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services. They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you for letting us know.

 

[Juno]

A good guidebook like the Brierley or the Wise and a good pair of walking footwear are the best Camino tour companies out there.
The only other thing I would add to that is a phone or pad for when one wants to book private accommodation.

I recently finished the Portugese Coastal route. I booked with the company Follow the Camino and was very sorry that I did. While enjoyed my walk, I was sorely disappointed with Follow the Camino. I did not receive what I paid for. They booked me in two hotels that were far far away from the Camino trail. The others were not the quality I expected. Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish directions, plus maps taken from Brierley's commercially available, copy righted guidebooks. The maps made no reference to their source, nor whether they were used by permission (which apparently they were not). Each map page did contain Follow the Camino's copyright sign, indicating they were claimed as FTC's original maps. I have contacted the Camino Guides book company about this issue. I was thanked and told this was not the first time that they have had to deal with copyright infringement issues with Follow the Camino.

The walking note pages did not indicate the starting point or ending point for each day. They did not indicate these points in relation to the hotels that were booked. On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels. When I complained by email to FTC, the response was that I should have called them on the emergency number. To me an emergency is being hit by a car or falling and breaking a bone. If I had called every time I had a problem with their walking notes, I would have had no time to walk. Many times the walking notes contained out and out mistakes. I don't know if it was by carelessness or deliberate misinformation.

I could go on and on with my complaints about Follow the Camino. I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services. They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with. Thank you for your attention.

Hello, I have also used Follow the Camino and found them to be an excellent company. First of all I don’t agree with people criticising a company on a forum as this can ruin their reputation; it’s best to deal with them direct. As to being booked into inadequate accommodation, or away from the route, this depends on many variables such as the amount of accommodation on a particular route, time of year and how long you gave the company time to book your accommodation. You can ask for upgraded accommodation but I found most of the accommodation to be correct as this is a pilgrimage not a holiday so the places booked are in hostels, hotels and Casa Rurales. As to notes, you are usually sent a guidebook if you book the whole Camino and if only a stage they will copy part of the guide. I will be using them again as I feel very safe when travelling solo and they will change accommodation if I’m not happy with any of them, if I book early enough. I’m sorry you were not happy with your accommodation but you say you enjoyed your pilgrimage which is good to hear.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

The fact that you had a good experience with Follow the Camino does not alter anything of the experience of the OP. To me the story sounds convincing, for sure at least there was a lack of communication. If you want the assistance of any kind of touring organisation they should provide service not a nuisance.

 

[GillieB]

I recently finished the Portugese Coastal route. I booked with the company Follow the Camino and was very sorry that I did. While enjoyed my walk, I was sorely disappointed with Follow the Camino. I did not receive what I paid for. They booked me in two hotels that were far far away from the Camino trail. The others were not the quality I expected. Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish directions, plus maps taken from Brierley's commercially available, copy righted guidebooks. The maps made no reference to their source, nor whether they were used by permission (which apparently they were not). Each map page did contain Follow the Camino's copyright sign, indicating they were claimed as FTC's original maps. I have contacted the Camino Guides book company about this issue. I was thanked and told this was not the first time that they have had to deal with copyright infringement issues with Follow the Camino.

The walking note pages did not indicate the starting point or ending point for each day. They did not indicate these points in relation to the hotels that were booked. On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels. When I complained by email to FTC, the response was that I should have called them on the emergency number. To me an emergency is being hit by a car or falling and breaking a bone. If I had called every time I had a problem with their walking notes, I would have had no time to walk. Many times the walking notes contained out and out mistakes. I don't know if it was by carelessness or deliberate misinformation.

I could go on and on with my complaints about Follow the Camino. I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services. They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with. Thank you for your attention.

Thank goodness I didn’t book with them and chose Portugal Green walks instead ...already received my gpsviewer map with all hotel marked

 

[Yankeebelle]

I recently finished the Portugese Coastal route. I booked with the company Follow the Camino and was very sorry that I did. While enjoyed my walk, I was sorely disappointed with Follow the Camino. I did not receive what I paid for. They booked me in two hotels that were far far away from the Camino trail. The others were not the quality I expected. Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish directions, plus maps taken from Brierley's commercially available, copy righted guidebooks. The maps made no reference to their source, nor whether they were used by permission (which apparently they were not). Each map page did contain Follow the Camino's copyright sign, indicating they were claimed as FTC's original maps. I have contacted the Camino Guides book company about this issue. I was thanked and told this was not the first time that they have had to deal with copyright infringement issues with Follow the Camino.

The walking note pages did not indicate the starting point or ending point for each day. They did not indicate these points in relation to the hotels that were booked. On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels. When I complained by email to FTC, the response was that I should have called them on the emergency number. To me an emergency is being hit by a car or falling and breaking a bone. If I had called every time I had a problem with their walking notes, I would have had no time to walk. Many times the walking notes contained out and out mistakes. I don't know if it was by carelessness or deliberate misinformation.

I could go on and on with my complaints about Follow the Camino. I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services. They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with. Thank you for your attention.

We walked the Portuguese Central route last June, our first Camino, and used AndaSpain, an excellent company that is based just north of Santiago de Compostela. Their services are probably not for everyone on this forum as they are not inexpensive, but I felt more comfortable having someone who has actually walked the Camino help me plan my first experience, and I was glad I did.

As the most fluent Spanish-speaking (and a little Portuguese) person in our group of 6, I felt responsible to make sure everything went well. Plus I had the great responsibility of caring for two young adult females (a girlfriend and a fiance') who were not my own children, so when one had a medical emergency, my help was only a phone call away (24-hrs. a day assistance). Kate with AndaSpain was so helpful, telling me where there was a bar not far from us where we could call a taxi to take us into Tui, and then from there where to go the health clinic for treatment. She called back later to make sure everthing had gone well and that Emily had received the care she needed. Just knowing that if I had a question about ANYTHING that I could call her eased the stress on me tremendously, and I could walk each day without care, knowing that I had a bed to put my head on each night (I'm sorry, but getting up before dawn and walking-running to the next alburgue is not for me, nor is sleeping dorm-style, even with my own family!).

The planning was excellent, a packet containing a binder full of everything we could ever need to navigate ourselves which was waiting for us at the first hotel they planned for us (we started in Porto and had booked our own first night accommodations there through Booking.com). Plus maps, the Brierley guide book, a page for each day of our Camino mapped out with specific instructions on leaving our lodging and how to reach our next accommodations as well as their phone number, plus much more helpful info. For one very special place, we followed instructions on where to find taxis once we were in the city which would take us to our lodging for the night. This included paying for the short taxi ride, but then being reimbursed once we arrived. The packet also contained shells for our packs, credencials, and even a buff with their log on it.

It was because of this excellent experience that I feel confident enough to plan my next Camino myself. And when I do, I plan on being responsible for just myself....whew!

 

[Lise Z]

I used Follow the Camino when I walked the Primitivo last year. It was my first camino and being on my own I wanted the security of a backup in the background. I was very happy with them - every accomodation was good, the notes provided helped me a few times when I had to double check. Also no complaints about pre-trip communication. I would use them again for the convienance but it is expensive for a long trip - so next time it is up to me do the hard graft and do the bookings myself!

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Hoping you got some kind of refund, but I am thinking not.

 

[Islandgal]

I’d second this. We used MacsAdventure last year for Sarria to Santiago and found them excellent. Our accommodation was all on the Camino and was of a good standard.

We are doing our first Camino in September. Since I first researched companies, MacAdventures came through for us. Their advice has been excellent; all information has been clear; accommodations appear to be exactly what we will welcome at the end of the day. And the price was goood.

 

[Crcwalks]

Walking my fifth Camino (CF) now. One on the CP and the other four the CF. Also did two weeks on the VDLP earlier this year. This current one, the CF, is my husband’s ninth. We’ve used Brierley ‘s book as a guide. We’ve never signed on with any company. We walk and book as needed. Or, if feeling so inclined, walk in and find a bed. We always plan ahead to cover Easter and do check for local or regional holidays, as these can make unplanned stops a challenge. In the bigger cities, we usually plan ahead and book, particularly on a weekend.
One comment I’ve heard when booking with a company is that the distances are often too far, especially early on.
On one Camino,we met a couple who begged us to share a rental car (we declined) because they were so far behind they were driving to get to their booked location. Didn’t seem like they found much joy in their Camino.
So, sounds like there are good companies and not so good. Be confident and trust yourself. Buen Camino.

 

[Chase]

my wife and I have used Galician roots twice one CF & Portuguese...local company with good options ..

 

[Moorwalker]

Hello, I have also used Follow the Camino and found them to be an excellent company. First of all I don’t agree with people criticising a company on a forum as this can ruin their reputation; it’s best to deal with them direct.

I would rather things were aired openly. if you only ever see the positive posts you don't get any balance. That's why i would never trust reviews posted on a company's own site whether they are tour organisers, sellers of washing machines or whatever, you cannot rely on seeing the bad along with the good and may well be getting a false and biased picture. I appeciate that it can be tricky for moderators but I would rather see it than not. Maybe the OP's experience was unusual, maybe not, but her experience was valid nonetheless.

 

[PAA]

I think that there must be a fair number of unscrupulous companies that seek to take advantage of people nervous about starting out on their first camino. And then the companies wind up providing bad and frequently unnecessary services. One of this forum’s important functions is to show people how easy and freeing it is to just walk, follow the arrows, and maybe make a few advance reservations in crunch time. I know that for some a supported tour is the way to go and I am glad there are people who can point others towards the reputable places, but for many it’s just a lack of understanding about the infrastructure and the joy of just walking.

Knowing what I do know, I would not need to book Follow the Camino. I wish I had read a review of them before I made plans for my trip. I definitely feel they are an unscrupulous company and that I was taken advantage of. The trail is well marked and I could have booked my own hotels. Thank you for your comment.

 

[PAA]

Hello, I have also used Follow the Camino and found them to be an excellent company. First of all I don’t agree with people criticising a company on a forum as this can ruin their reputation; it’s best to deal with them direct. As to being booked into inadequate accommodation, or away from the route, this depends on many variables such as the amount of accommodation on a particular route, time of year and how long you gave the company time to book your accommodation. You can ask for upgraded accommodation but I found most of the accommodation to be correct as this is a pilgrimage not a holiday so the places booked are in hostels, hotels and Casa Rurales. As to notes, you are usually sent a guidebook if you book the whole Camino and if only a stage they will copy part of the guide. I will be using them again as I feel very safe when travelling solo and they will change accommodation if I’m not happy with any of them, if I book early enough. I’m sorry you were not happy with your accommodation but you say you enjoyed your pilgrimage which is good to hear.

That is your opinion and I am entitled to mine. If I had read a post like mine I would not have booked with FTC and would have had a much better experience. In the cases where I was book far away from the camino, there were hotels steps away from the camino and I walked in March, so it wasn't a case of there not being places available. I did not receive a guidebook. I received some scattered notes plus maps from Brierley's guide book that all contained FTC's copyright. These maps are copyrighted in the actual guidebook, they are not the copyrighted property of Follow the Camino. This is fraudulent and misleading to users. I would much rather have used the actual guidebook. If I knew then what I know now I would not have booked this cheating company. I did not do my research and coming from Japan, I did not know enough about the Camino before starting out. I trusted this company and it was a mistake. I want to make sure others do not make the same mistake.

 

[PAA]

Hoping you got some kind of refund, but I am thinking not.

I did not get any kind of refund or even the offer of anything. Each time I had a problem and I contacted them, they argued with me and were very rude. An example of this is the directions said there would be a hotel sign in a certain place showing the direction of the hotel. I sent them photos of the entire area showing no sign and they continued to say there was a sign. I walked an extra 10 km that day trying to find the hotel, then and extra 5 km the next morning with directions from the hotel staff to get back to the camino. They gave me a lot of excuses and arguments but no help and definitely no refund of any kind.

 

[PAA]

I would rather things were aired openly. if you only ever see the positive posts you don't get any balance. That's why i would never trust reviews posted on a company's own site whether they are tour organisers, sellers of washing machines or whatever, you cannot rely on seeing the bad along with the good and may well be getting a false and biased picture. I appeciate that it can be tricky for moderators but I would rather see it than not. Maybe the OP's experience was unusual, maybe not, but her experience was valid nonetheless.

Thank you. I wish I had seen a post like mine before I booked with Follow the Camino.

 

[twh]

I wrote this response earlier off line and had some of those little voices in my head delaying me from sending it…for multiple reasons. But I reached a tipping point with the recent comment from the OP who said, “I definitely feel they are an unscrupulous company and that I was taken advantage of”. I doubt that is true but please tell us why with facts, not feelings.

Written earlier today:
I’ve only walked one Camino and I did not use a tour company and I never will. I have no dog in this fight other than the general principal Juno (post #13) makes about the ease of damaging a company’s reputation online. However, unlike Juno I think negative reviews can be valuable and legitimate but ONLY if they explain factually and specifically the failures of the company to deliver what they promised and very few negative reviews on any service or product do this well. This is a pet peeve of mine so buckle up as I express my concerns about this specific review and in general my concerns about hurting a business with a negative review that is not factual. We are all good at reading headlines and then making judgments without looking deeper. I think the OP’s criticisms could be very valuable if the criticisms are substantiated with details and objectivity. I hope she follows up with that.

It’s obvious the OP is very unhappy with the company and I feel for her but the complaints are neither specific or detailed enough to be actionable by the tour company or for us to know if they are even legitimate. Antonius (post #14) makes an excellent point – “for sure at least there was a lack of communication”. In most cases, a company that has been operating for 12 years (from trip advisor screen shot below) has the “boiler plate” information in their marketing materials and schedules/itineraries/communications nailed down pretty tight…mostly accurate. It is the nature of their business however that hotels & restaurants go out of business and re-open, sell out with new owners, have employee turnover so the desk person doesn’t always know the policy arrangement with Tour Company A, B, C…X, Y & Z. The other side of the communication issue is the customer has a responsibility to both read and understand their contract and itinerary and if there are questions or concerns to contact the company ahead of time (or at the time of the problem) to work it out. Waiting until after the trip to complain about a service that you did not understand does not give the Tour Company a chance to make things right at the moment of your concern. Maybe the OP did this, maybe she did not…she did not give us the details so it is hard for us to make an informed judgment of her criticisms.

Subjective statements like “They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with” is both suspect and meaningless without the honest details and examples. Typically, someone who is upset about a company product or service is unable to give objective, factual criticism due to their emotional involvement. And generally speaking, if they did, it would not support their argument.

The OP says: “On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels”. A friend of mine is taking a Camino Tour using a different company this fall. She sent me a copy of her itinerary (see attachment below). On the bottom of the page is a note about accommodations….”it may be away from the route” but taxis/transfers will be taken care of and then a reference to another page is given to get more details about the process etc… This sounds like a standard practice for the tour companies and there are several reviews in Trip Advisor for this particular company the OP used that mention the use of this practice (see attachments below). Did the OP have this information in her paperwork?...did she read it? was it an option that she declined? If the info was there and she did not fulfill her responsibility to read it or to call the company when she had a problem is it then fair to criticize this company for her negligence? I do think it is appropriate for those exceptional conditions (hotel 2 hour walk off Camino path) to offer some kind of alert or explanation up front in large print bringing this to the customer’s attention. Maybe there was, I don’t know but ultimate responsibility is with the customer to be informed, review the itinerary, get questions answered ahead of time where the instructions and information are fuzzy.

“I did not receive what I paid for” – what hotels, restaurants, bag transfers, services, products, taxis to remote hotels did you not receive that you paid for and why were those services denied to you? Please tell us the specific details. This is useful information that is important to know when picking a tour company.

“They booked me in two hotels far away from the Camino & I had to walk for hours to them” – were they listed in the itinerary they sent you ahead of time? did they communicate if there was free or reimbursable taxi fare to get to the hotel from the trail and back to the trail the next morning? This appears to be the standard practice offered by this company for hotels off the Camino route.

“The hotels were not the quality I expected” – expected based on what? this complaint is subjective. If you looked up all of your hotels on the internet after receiving your itinerary to look at pictures and understand their amenities offered and they were then substantially different you would have a legitimate criticism. Is that what happened in your case? Which ones? What specifically was misrepresented by the old pictures and descriptions relative to the property as you experienced it?

“Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish” – this is the only criticism you offered that I found partially substantiated in reviews from Trip Advisor. You also made some specific complaints which are helpful. I used the Brierley guide for my Camino and thought it was great. I did not count but of the 20 reviews I read about your tour company where notes/maps were mentioned, maybe half offered some criticism and half said they were great. Sometimes the maps/notes are not so good and sometimes the notes/map readers are not so good.

“Used without permission copy righted Brierley guide material” – are you sure or is this a supposition? Juno (post #13) said his experience was the Guide Company purchased and then gave you the complete Brierley Guide when doing a “full” Brierley route. The Brierley Guide for the Portugese starts in Lisbon and lists 24 stages to Santiago. Eleven of those stages are the route you did, Porto to Santiago. Personally I think they should give you the complete guide instead of copied pages for Porto to Santiago. But you don’t know if this company has a specific arrangement with Brierley & Co. that allows them to use a certain number of copies for the Porto route and label them with their company name as long as they buy a certain number of Brierley guide books each year.

“Didn’t know I could use emergency number to solve my problems with the company at the time they occurred” – was the number described as a “Medical Emergency” number or just “Emergency” number? I guess I can understand how you might have some confusion here. “24 hour customer service number” might be a better label for your language and culture. I think if you travel internationally with the expectation that everything will be labeled to suit your language/culture and each experience will go as expected relative to all your past experiences you will inevitably be disappointed.

“They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with” - does this mean at the end of the trip I asked for a partial refund and they would not give it to me? Or, are there specific examples of their rudeness and was it just one way…unprovoked? You say “I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services” Well thanks for looking out for us but the details matter, the facts matter and not so much the emotion behind them so please let us know the facts and details.

The OP has the latest review on Trip Advisor for this company. The company replies to each review so eventually we will hear their reply.

I’m glad the OP had a good experience while walking the Camino. However, the disappointment of the accommodations must have taken a toll on her. I hope she goes back again and can experience it without those distractions.

 

[twh]

I wish I had read a review of them before I made plans for my trip.

There were over 400 reviews to read about this company on Trip Advisor and 95% are in the Good to Excellent range. Reading reviews was not your issue...a lack of general research about the camino was.

That is your opinion and I am entitled to mine

True. But you are not entitled to your own facts.

I did not do my research and ..., I did not know enough about the Camino before starting out.

Thank you. That should have been the title of the thread.

 

[PAA]

I wrote this response earlier off line and had some of those little voices in my head delaying me from sending it…for multiple reasons. But I reached a tipping point with the recent comment from the OP who said, “I definitely feel they are an unscrupulous company and that I was taken advantage of”. That may be true but please tell us why with facts, not feelings.

Written earlier today:
I’ve only walked one Camino and I did not use a tour company and I never will. I have no dog in this fight other than the general principal Juno (post #13) makes about the ease of damaging a company’s reputation online. However, unlike Juno I think negative reviews can be valuable and legitimate but ONLY if they explain factually and specifically the failures of the company to deliver what they promised and very few negative reviews on any service or product do this well. This is a pet peeve of mine so buckle up as I express my concerns about this specific review and in general my concerns about hurting a business with a negative review that is not factual. We are all good at reading headlines and then making judgments without looking deeper. I think the OP’s criticisms could be very valuable if the criticisms are substantiated with details and objectivity. I hope she follows up with that.

It’s obvious the OP is very unhappy with the company and I feel for her but the complaints are neither specific or detailed enough to be actionable by the tour company or for us to know if they are even legitimate. Antonius (post #14) makes an excellent point – “for sure at least there was a lack of communication”. In most cases, a company that has been operating for 12 years (from trip advisor screen shot below) has the “boiler plate” information in their marketing materials and schedules/itineraries/communications nailed down pretty tight…mostly accurate. It is the nature of their business however that hotels & restaurants go out of business and re-open, sell out with new owners, have employee turnover so the desk person doesn’t always know the policy arrangement with Tour Company A, B, C…X, Y & Z. The other side of the communication issue is the customer has a responsibility to both read and understand their contract and itinerary and if there are questions or concerns to contact the company ahead of time (or at the time of the problem) to work it out. Waiting until after the trip to complain about a service that you did not understand does not give the Tour Company a chance to make things right at the moment of your concern. Maybe the OP did this, maybe she did not…she did not give us the details so it is hard for us to make an informed judgment of her criticisms.

Subjective statements like “They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with” is both suspect and meaningless without the honest details and examples. Typically, someone who is upset about a company product or service is unable to give objective, factual criticism due to their emotional involvement. And generally speaking, if they did, it would not support their argument.

The OP says: “On two days I had to walk several hours from the camino trail to reach my hotels”. A friend of mine is taking a Camino Tour using a different company this fall. She sent me a copy of her itinerary (see attachment below). On the bottom of the page is a note about accommodations….”it may be away from the route” but taxis/transfers will be taken care of and then a reference to another page is given to get more details about the process etc… This sounds like a standard practice for the tour companies and there are several reviews in Trip Advisor for this particular company the OP used that mention the use of this practice (see attachments below). Did the OP have this information in her paperwork?...did she read it? was it an option that she declined? If the info was there and she did not fulfill her responsibility to read it or to call the company when she had a problem is it then fair to criticize this company for her negligence? I do think it is appropriate for those exceptional conditions (hotel 2 hour walk off Camino path) to offer some kind of alert or explanation up front in large print bringing this to the customer’s attention. Maybe there was, I don’t know but ultimate responsibility is with the customer to be informed, review the itinerary, get questions answered ahead of time where the instructions and information are fuzzy.

“I did not receive what I paid for” – what hotels, restaurants, bag transfers, services, products, taxis to remote hotels did you not receive that you paid for and why were those services denied to you? Please tell us the specific details. This is useful information that is important to know when picking a tour company.

“They booked me in two hotels far away from the Camino & I had to walk for hours to them” – were they listed in the itinerary they sent you ahead of time? did they communicate if there was free or reimbursable taxi fare to get to the hotel from the trail and back to the trail the next morning? This appears to be the standard practice offered by this company for hotels off the Camino route.

“The hotels were not the quality I expected” – expected based on what? this complaint is subjective. If you looked up all of your hotels on the internet after receiving your itinerary to look at pictures and understand their amenities offered and they were then substantially different you would have a legitimate criticism. Is that what happened in your case? Which ones? What specifically was misrepresented by the old pictures and descriptions relative to the property as you experienced it?

“Their so called "detailed walking notes" turned out to be rubbish” – this is the only criticism you offered that I found partially substantiated in reviews from Trip Advisor. You also made some specific complaints which are helpful. I used the Brierley guide for my Camino and thought it was great. I did not count but of the 20 reviews I read about your tour company where notes/maps were mentioned, maybe half offered some criticism and half said they were great. Sometimes the maps/notes are not so good and sometimes the notes/map readers are not so good.

“Used without permission copy righted Brierley guide material” – are you sure or is this a supposition? Juno (post #13) said his experience was the Guide Company purchased and then gave you the complete Brierley Guide when doing a “full” Brierley route. The Brierley Guide for the Portugese starts in Lisbon and lists 24 stages to Santiago. Eleven of those stages are the route you did, Porto to Santiago. Personally I think they should give you the complete guide instead of copied pages for Porto to Santiago. But you don’t know if this company has a specific arrangement with Brierley & Co. that allows them to use a certain number of copies for the Porto route and label them with their company name as long as they buy a certain number of Brierley guide books each year.

“Didn’t know I could use emergency number to solve my problems with the company at the time they occurred” – was the number described as a “Medical Emergency” number or just “Emergency” number? I guess I can understand how you might have some confusion here. “24 hour customer service number” might be a better label for your language and culture. I think if you travel internationally with the expectation that everything will be labeled to suit your language/culture and each experience will go as expected relative to all your past experiences you will inevitably be disappointed.

“They were very rude and a nightmare to deal with” - does this mean at the end of the trip I asked for a partial refund and they would not give it to me? Or, are there specific examples of their rudeness and was it just one way…unprovoked? You say “I write this to warn future potential clients. Save yourself a lot of time and hassel by not engaging their services” Well thanks for looking out for us but the details matter, the facts matter and not so much the emotion behind them so please let us know the facts and details.

The OP has the latest review on Trip Advisor for this company. The company replies to each review so eventually we will hear their reply.

I’m glad the OP had a good experience while walking the Camino. However, the disappointment of the accommodations must have taken a toll on her. I hope she goes back again and can experience it without those distractions.

I live in Japan and knew nothing about the Camino, so I thought I was hiring an expert to facilitate my trip. I should have looked into it more and done research into the planning. If I were doing it over again, I would not book Follow the Camino and would just handle it myself. Again, I should have done more research into the trip, but I thought I was hiring an expert to do what I didn't have time to do before the trip.

Yes, there was a lack of communication. They did not respond promptly when I had a complaint or questions. I did not wait until the end of the trip to make my concerns known. They knew all along the way about my issues and were not helpful to me.

They wrote to me that I had a custom itinerary, but my walking notes started from some unknown location and ended at some unknown location, not my hotels, which in my opinion would have been the reasonable place to start and end. I didn't pay that amount of money for fuzzy notes and maps taken from another source without the source itself.

I did not have the option for taxis and didn't expect to have to use taxis. I was WALKING the Camino. In addition, there were several hotels right on the way, so it was unreasonable to put me in far away, difficult to find hotels. In one case the hotel wasn't even on my maps application and the locals that I asked directions did not know where it was.

My information said I would be in three star hotels. I did not look up the booked hotels ahead of time and I should have. Again, my mistake for trusting the company I had paid a lot of money to, to actually do what I paid them to do.

They should have sent the Brierley guide to me. That would have been helpful and would have cost them very little (I saw it for $12 on amazon). The only part of the actual guide they sent were the town to town maps, not the written materials. The maps FTC sent me contained the copyright symbols of Follow the Camino. The maps came from the copyrighted guide books. I complained to the copyright holder and was told this is an ongoing issue with FTC. AFTER my complaints and my notifying the copyright holder, FTC is paying for the use. (Note, at the time I received the maps they had not paid for the use). Even now that they have the permission to use the maps, they still cannot use their own copyright on the materials. They must use the copyright holder's copyright symbol and write "used with permission". Using their own copyright on the materials is a violation. It is misleading to me and others who see the materials. It gives FTC credibility that is not deserving. This is not their material, it is the material of someone else.

My main complaint is the lack of customized itinerary and walking notes. The walking notes were confusing and frustrating. I was given the wrong numbers and the notes said their would be signs that were not there. (I even sent them photos of the entire area with no sign and they argued with me that the signs were there). The walking notes said there would be a river to cross and there was no water, no bridge. The notes said go past a playground and between two houses and there was no playground or houses. I could go on and on and on.

The phone number did not say 24 hour customer service, it said emergency. It was not an emergency. It was their poor information to me.

I did not ask for a refund and they did not offer any compensation for their failures. Their rudeness was arguing with me about what was provided or not provided, telling me I was wrong about there being a sign when I sent photos showing there wasn't, telling me they can't customize the notes for each person when my information says it is customized.

It was not just the disappointment of the accomodations, it was the totality of the trip. It was not what they told me I would receive and not what I paid for. And, to set the record straight, some of the hotels were very nice, but not all of them.

Your post is very long, but I have tried to respond to all of your points.

 

[PAA]

There were over 400 reviews to read about this company on Trip Advisor and 95% are in the Good to Excellent range. Reading reviews was not your issue...a lack of general research about the camino was.



True. But you are not entitled to your own facts.



Thank you. That should have been the title of the thread.

Just because others have had a good experience does not negate my bad experience. What is your affiliation with Follow the Camino? I am entitled to my opinion and entitled to tell others about my bad experience with this company.

 

[twh]

I'm sorry your experience with FTC was below your expectations.

I have no affiliation with them. I am passionate about negative online reviews that are high on emotion and low on facts.

It's not my saying but in my research I came across this piece of philosophy many times - The Camino gives you what you need, not what you want.

 

[PAA]

I'm sorry your experience with FTC was below your expectations.

I have no affiliation with them. I am passionate about negative online reviews that are high on emotion and low on facts.

It's not my saying but in my research I came across this piece of philosophy many times - The Camino gives you what you need, not what you want.

What other facts do you want? Have I not explained my experience? This is not a complaint about the Camino itself, it is about the company I paid to facilitate my Camino experience.

 

[peregrina2000]

I think we should close this thread. It is a good heads up, but it has gotten contentious. I hope that it serves as a warning to the many people who are contemplating their first Camino. The message seems to be: Beware companies that offer what you can easily get for yourself! Most people can easily do it by themselves! Doing it yourself is a liberating and empowering experience!

 

[peregrina2000]

I received a PM from the owner of Follow the Camino, asking for the right of rebuttal. In the interest of fairness and evenhandedness, we have agreed to let him post. The thread will remain closed, however. Ivar and the forum do not want to become embroiled in a dispute between a service provider and an unhappy customer.

The forum is not Tripadvisor. But the forum does allow pilgrims to post their reactions and to evaluate their experiences. It is a hard line to draw, so please think twice in the future before posting. If it seems more like a Tripadvisor review, it probably shouldn’t go up here.

Buen camino, Laurie
——————————————————————————————————————————

Dear PAA,

First and foremost, I would like to apologise again if we have not met your expectations with regards to your trip on the Camino. I would like to thank Ivar and [Peregrina2000] for allowing me to add my comment to this thread. I also thank [twh] for his response. I could not have put it better.
I will not go back to my answer to you on Trip Advisor however, I hope to answer the various points you have made.
PAA, out of your 13 days itinerary preparation (your emails to our consultant) for your trip and the actual services received which if I have read correctly, worked well for the most part (e.g. twh). You appear to have difficulty putting any value into what we organised for you. You intended to damage our reputation by posting the strongest message possible, wherever you could. Thus, trying to get as many people as possible not to use our services, you may have succeeded in doing that; to a point.
Follow The Camino has a team of 17 people who organise walking holidays every day and our company has been established for 12 years. We believe that we are experts in this domain. I could throw a few numbers (# trips, km, routes, cycled, walked etc) but that would defeat the purpose.
I believe that emotions are skin deep and while we all have them, in problem solving, they rarely fare very well. Don’t get me wrong, when I feel strongly about something, I am hard to move but I also know that all of what I believe being true is only subjective.

We have asked the hotel you stayed that night you walked extra km if the sign indicating their location and what we mention on the notes is still there and they did confirm to us, it was. Now did they really check? I will triple check.
Whatever information we give to you is in good faith. We have written these notes (I the first time, and has been checked / updated twice since). The Camino does change. I have seen it myself where year after year, the Camino has been diverted (by local counsel), by bars trying to get more traffic through their business etc. So our notes can be wrong sometimes and we crave the help of our clients to let us know where, so that we can update these.

An example of this is the distance from Padron to Santiago used to be 24km long (my first Camino in 2007). They have changed the trail in 2016 and it calculates approximately 28km distance. Again, when we give you data, we do so in good faith, taking 1 tool (gps software or guidebook).
You may or may not believe me and that is that. If we were that misleading as you wrote, our business would simply not survive. There is only so far ‘chancing’ would go. I believe what we do is mostly right. I hope other reviews do give us some credit and I promise they are not all my friends and cousins and so on J
Keeping communication channels open is very important. That is the only way we can help each other and sort things out.

To finish, I would like to share some of my experience which I hope you can use during your next walk (you have plenty of recommended options for the Camino above apart from us ;-) )

Be aware of yourself
Failing the plan is planning failure. Everybody is different and have their own level of comfort in terms of information, food, clothes, reliance on others etc. Our packages have various elements (notes, maps, and vouchers with accommodations maps relative to the Camino etc). It gets difficult to do more at this stage but we surely can do better and are working tirelessly at it. I recommend certain things, they are not mandatory. We give an “emergency” line number to our clients to sort things out on the spot and avoid things spiralling whether it is our fault or not. If you have no phone, that is 1 chance fewer we have to help you or fix the issue. We also give a kit list and still see our clients sometimes walking in jeans, with Cat shoes. Sometimes it works but when it does not … things usually worsen (chafing, blisters) and morale can very quickly go down. We can encourage people to prepare physically, mentally etc but we cannot do it on their behalf.


Too much information is counter-productive.
When I guide groups on the Camino, I give as little information as possible to my clients. I give them big landmarks such as guys, today is 25 km. Follow the signs and main track all along. There are 3 points to remember: at km 8 (+-2h), we follow the train track up to a small villages and cafes – We meet there. After km 14, the trail gets to a cemetery after forest. Stop at the bar after the cemetery etc etc (Pontevedra to Caldas de Rei if my memory works well). These are called “tick off features”. They are here to make your journey enjoyable. As long as you see them, you are fine (yellow arrows on the Camino). Do use the notes to give you a short view of the route (morning of the walk) so that you can visualise it. Having your nose in notes while you walk, creates tunnel vision and that is not the way to go.

Don’t ask yourself too many questions while you walk.
The vast majority of the time – especially on the Camino and the likes, you are aiming towards clearly defined towns and the walkways follow roads and somehow drift away and back to these roads so as to have a more enjoyable walk. There should be very little decision making, very few weird complex left/right/left. The vast majority of the time – especially on the Camino and the likes, you are aiming towards clearly defined towns and the walkways follow roads and somehow drift away and back to these roads so as to have a more enjoyable walk. There should be very little decision making, very few weird complex left/right/left

If you don’t know, ask.
I have gotten lost with a guidebook and 2 x gps (watch and handheld both on) devices. In fact, I get lost regularly. Usually because of tiredness and/or lack of attention (these deep conversations we all have along a walk in general). What happens then is that because you took the wrong track, you don’t want to walk back as your conscious is telling you “you must be on the right track since this is what you believe is the direction” while your subconscious tells you “Are your sure”? So you get farther and farther into the abyss! Let me confess that I have some clients who claim they have walked days 40-50km. I may have made a mistake at km 18 or so but I surely have not written their km 19 to 50.
The best way to address that is “No panic”! Usually you want to relocate that means to get to a last point where you are 100% sure of where you are. Then you can go back to the navigation material you have at hand (notes maps for the Camino, compass in wilder places). However I am a bit lazy (and like chatting people) so I usually prefer asking people if I am going the right direction. Locals know the area better and know if there has been a change in the past while. They are usually quite keen to chat and maybe if they are in their garden when you pass by, give you some grapes or other fruits that they grow. I see these moments every time I go there. Not everybody is that daring (some are too daring J ) but it works and is way quicker than getting your notes or guidebook out your backpack, getting to the right page, etc etc

Thank you again for your feedback. Despite the frustration and the disappointment (on both sides), we will keep working at it and find ways to avoid future clients to have a negative experience – whether on quality of service, material or communication/perception. Despite you hinting otherwise, I still believe we do serve a purpose and that we will continue doing so in the future.

I hope that this will not put you off going out walking on the Camino or elsewhere.

Kind regards,

Umberto
Owner @ Follow The Camino