Portuguese Central Camino luggage transfer

I used Top Santiago and thought they were great. Others give them good reviews too. Communicated by Whatsapp in English.
I don't know if you can reserve all your days at one time or not. Email and ask them.
Pick-up is usually anytime past 08:00 and no, you do not have to be there. Most people have been well on their way before 08:00, especially in the summer when it is hot. You get a tag to tie to your pack or bag with your name, destination, email and phone# on it.

Are you doing the central route all the way from Porto? Many people do the coast for 2 days and then switch to the central at Vila do Conde as the route is a lot more interesting and beautiful.

Just walked this route in April, and also in 2018, so let me know if you have any questions.

My best tip is to wear your back pack with its' hip belt to take the weight off of your shoulders and to send your stuff on ahead in some kind of bag. Once you put your water, rain gear, 1st aid, snacks, etc. in a bag, it will drag on your shoulders. Your pack won't.
2nd best tip - an Altus poncho. Covers everything so you don't need pack covers, dry bags, etc. Works really well in all kinds of rain.

We used Santiago Ways. They booked our hotels and transferred our luggage. Like Ms Jo wrote, we would bring it down around 7:30 and were on our way.
Try to carry as little as possible on your back. After our first day we realized a hip bag or fanny pack worked best. By the 3rd day I didn’t even want to wear my phone lanyard.
We walked from Sarria to Santiago and found places along the way to purchase water etc.
By the 4th day I was only carrying sunblock, my phone, my passport, very small wallet, and some tissues. Oh, and we just carried those $1.00 ponchos on the trail. We had better ones packed but if the weather was clear we left them behind. The $1 were good enough when we encountered a sun shower. We were lucky with the weather.
I only got one small blister. I believe it was because every morning I slathered my feet with vasoline before putting on my socks.
But, I did have a very bruised big toe on my right foot from going down the hills. It’s still healing from last September, ugh. I did not have hiking poles and wished I did. I believe they would have helped take the pressure off the front of my foot when walking downhill. We thought we could buy some on arrival but the ones they sold, at least what we could find, weren’t good at all, didn’t last one day.
Buen Camino

Barbara, if you were wearing your back pack with a hip belt, you would not have noticed any weight at all. Walking from Porto is a lot farther and very different from the walk from Sarria. You cannot always buy a bottle of water every time you are thirsty. There are longer stretches with no stores, bars or cafes. So, it is important to carry it. Plus some snacks. Water is heavy, thus, the back pack is important. I try and avoid buying cheap, disposable water bottles or one time use ponchos. We throw away enough plastic as it is. My metal water bottles keep the water cold and tasty.

A coincidence to see this post here!
Not fifteen minutes ago I was speaking with a quintet of guys who had arrived from Porto on bicycles. They did their Camino in two days and had hired a van to take their bikes, packs, and themselves, back to their home in Porto.... Just mentioning the coincidence but I am sorry I have no helpful info for you....although I may well see them and if so, will ask for the name of the company who they used...

I am quite surprised that, in more than 24 hours, I have heard English spoken only once...pilgrims from all over then world, but I've not encountered any from UK or from the US..save for one American couple seaed next to us at a restaurant last night who had arrived from Sarria.

Santiago is in party mode now that the weather is warm and the sun is out....I'm so happy to be back here!