We are interested in walking the path of St. James in northern Spain this spring and will contract with a company to move luggage from day to day and book accommodations along the way. Has anyone a recommendation based on a positive experience--or a company to avoid?
Thanks in advance for any help--
For luggage, use Correos Public Post Service: http://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/
There are hostels and public accomodation along all the way well signposted. I reccomend looking at Bicigrino guide, although is for cyclists, it has a good selection of accomodations of all types.
do bear in mind that using a company to move luggage and booking accommodations in advance has drawbacks in that it prevents spontaneity, which is one of the great pluses of the camino
Where do you want to start and where do you want to end?
Most people just use Booking.com to reserve rooms and the luggage forwarding services available all along the Camino. There is no real reason to pay extra to have someone do this for you. You may find that you don't want to walk as far one day or that you want to walk farther.
Do you have a guidebook yet? The Wise Pilgrim ap is a good one to have for this walk too.
Have you been to any of the Camino websites and forums? They have tons of valuable information for you. If you are on FB, there are lots of Camino FB pages that are very helpful.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/
My husband and I walked in the fall of 2015. We booked one or two days ahead through bookings.com or sometimes the owner of the Casa Rural would recommend a place and call ahead for us. When you set up a firm itinerary with a company, you have to arrive at the next place no matter what.
We used Jacotrans for luggage transport. There are envelopes at all the accommodations, you fill out you information, put the name and address of your next place and put the money in the envelope. We shared a duffel bag and carried small day packs so we only paid for one bag. It was 5 Euros. Your hotel will call them, they come pick up your bag and deliver it to the next place.
The Camino is really easy to manage on your own. The Spanish people are very helpful.
There are many Facebook groups, one is called the American Pilgrims on the Camino, people are very happy to give advice.
Burn Camino!
We used caminoways.com this past October and they were terrific- took care of luggage, 3 or 4 star hotels, and breakfast and great dinners at all our stops. You tell them what you want to walk the time you have available, and they'll put the itinerary together.
Super video of the Camino. Make sure your speakers are on. Have watched it at least 6 times now. It gives you such an wonderful view into this walk in just a couple of minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/user/efrenglez1
In 2015, my buddy and I selected Garry Budin (www.spanishadventures.com) to assist in our Camino logistics. Garry’s a Brit living in Spain and spends much of his time guiding groups along the Camino. It appears that organizing customized, self-guided tours is a part-time gig for Garry, one that he handles very smoothly. He maintains terrific relationships with the inn & hotels owners; often we’d arrive to a greeting that felt like we were part of Garry’s family - “Oh, you are Garry’s clients, we have been expecting you - welcome”.
Last year, I took a self-guided walk of the TMB with Macs Adventures and would give them good marks.
Please let me know if you’d like more info.
Buen Camino,
Craig
