Camino de Santiago Spain

Buen Camino !

 Join us as we enjoy a 5 day pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain.

We start in Sarria on Monday and finish in Santiago de Compostela on Friday.

You will need to arrive in Sarria no later than Sunday evening, July 15. Plan on departure from Santiago no earlier than Saturday morning, July 21.

Logistics:

We will walk the trail westward each day (getting our passport stamps on the way) and enjoy a group dinner each evening in the new city.

The hiking is free but you will need to cover ALL your costs.  All costs are paid by each hiker on their own.  The AOC and trip leader are not paying any costs. This is not an AOC paid event.

The cost for lodging per night will mostly range from $25 per person for a bed at an Albergue (pilgrim hostel) to $100 per room at a hotel.  Lodging can  be booked online in advance using websites like booking.com, hotels.com, hostelworld.com, priceline, etc. Lodging reservations are recommended in advance for each night.  Please be aware of any cancellation/nonrefundable policies when hotel or airline reservations are made.

There is a reasonably priced luggage service available that can take your non-camino luggage directly to your hotel in Santiago from Sarria.  This allows you to take additional luggage if you have travel plans before or after the Camino.  It will be held in hotel storage in Santiago until you arrive.

The cost for dinner is rarely over $20 and the cost for lunch is rarely over $15.

We will gather in the town center each morning to begin the days walk. The camino pilgrimage is as much about the comradery with the other pilgrims as it is about the walk itself. There may be hundreds of other pilgrims on the trail with us each day, spread out over the route. Part of the fun is meeting other pilgrims from all over the world.

We will have multiple pre-trip meetings to discuss the trip and answer any questions.

Options for getting to Sarria:

A) Fly to Madrid in the am, take a bus to the Madrid-Chamartin train station, take the 1 pm non-stop renfe train to Sarria arriving at 7 pm, walk or take a taxi to your hotel.

B) Fly to Santiago de Compostela in the am, take a bus/train combo to Sarria in about 4 hours, walk or take a taxi to your hotel.

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

Sunday July 15 - Sarria arriva

Arrive in Sarria and check into your hotel or alburgue (pilgrims hostel).

Purchase your compostela pilgrims passport.

We will have a group pilgrims welcome dinner in the evening to meet and discuss the pilgrimage.   

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

Monday July 16 - Sarria to Portomarin (6 hours, 14 miles)

In the morning we will take our extra luggage to the shipping company to be shipped to our hotels in Santiago for use on Friday.

We will meet in the Praza Conde Fenosa in the evening and choose a restaurant for dinner.

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

Tuesday July 17 - Portomarin to Palas de rei (6.5 hours 15 miles)

We will meet in the evening and choose a restaurant for dinner.

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

Wednesday July 18 - Palas de Rei to Arzua (8 hours  18 miles)

We will meet in the evening and choose a restaurant for dinner.

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

Thursday July 19 - Arzua to O Pedrouzo

(5 hours 11 miles)

We will meet in the evening and choose a restaurant for dinner.

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

Friday  July 20 - O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela (5.5 hours 12 miles)

We will choose a restaurant near the church square for our pilgrims celebration dinner.

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

Saturday July 21 - Explore Santiago another day on your own or check out of your hotel, ending your Camino trip.

A bus can be taken to the Santiago airport from downtown Santiago.

One option - If you still want to hike more on the Camino you could continue your pilgrimage on the Camino Finisterre to the end of the world.

 Options for getting to Sarria:

A) Fly to Madrid in the am, take a bus to the Madrid-Chamartin train station, take the 1 pm non-stop renfe train to Sarria arriving at 7 pm, walk or take a taxi to your hotel. If you are already in Madrid you have a choice of a morning train.

B) Fly to Santiago de Compostela in the am, take a bus/train combo to Sarria in about 4 hours, walk or take a taxi to your hotel.

The hiking is free but you will need to cover ALL your costs.  All costs are paid by each hiker on their own.  The AOC and trip leader are not paying any costs. This is not an AOC paid event.

This includes, but is not limited to, transportation to/from Sarria/Santiago, lodging, meals, food, beverages, shopping, and transportation including airport transfers, buses, trains. All local prices in Spain are in euros.  International ATM's are available in Sarria, Santiago, and on the route in larger cities.

FITNESS LEVEL: 

This is a D3 hike. You should be in good physical shape.  The distance is about 73 miles over 5 days. The Camino trail is mostly on asphalt roads with some gravel or dirt roads and trails.  You  should be comfortable hiking on asphalt in the July heat for 5 straight days.  It is relatively flat with rolling hills, with up to 600 vertical feet of climbing per day.

You should be a person with a positive attitude who gets along easily with others in a group setting and goes with the flow.  You should be able to easily adapt to and overcome bad weather, bad hotel room, bad food, bad service and plan changes due to weather, trail closings, injury, emergencies, etc. 

The Camino is a highly social group hike in cities and villages, not a wilderness hike.  

More on the Camino:

 Books:

 1) Sarria to Santiago: A Guide to Walking the last 100 km of the Camino Frances (2017 Edition) by Mark McCarthy - an excellent guide to our route.

Movies:

1) The Way (2010) - While fiction, it shows what it is like to walk the Camino.