8 Weeks on the Iberian Peninsula

We walked the Camino with day packs, and relied on Caminofacil to move our suitcases each day. We learned the first day that the company wants/needs the bags at the front desk (or other appointed spot) not later than 8:00 a.m. We were checking out about 8:30 from Maison Ebernet, and we asked the owner where we should put the bags. She panicked a bit -- and then ran up the street to arrange for Caminofacil to pick up our tardy bags. Disaster of a sort averted.

Walking the Camino meant generally a stop every night at a different place after walking between about 12 and 18 miles. The first day -- over the Pyrnees to Roncesvalles, a climb over more than 4500 feet and more than 18 miles -- was one of the most memorable days of our lives. The weather was stunningly clear and cool. I kept waiting for Maria Von Trapp and the brood to come over the hill singing. The walk took us through herds of horses and cattle -- with the bells around the necks of the lead cows and horses chiming.

That said, we learned later from people a day behind us, if the weather is inclement, the walk can be miserable. It was for those behind us. Lucky us.

Keep in mind that there are loads of ways to Walk the Way... You can stay in pensions and hostels - sharing meals, bunk beds and bathrooms with people from all over the world. And the costs are very modest - often less than 50 euros per night, including dinner and breakfast. You can pack everything and tent camp, and you'll save even more. You can peddle a bike, ride an electric bike, or a horse. We chose to stay in hotels, which meant our own loo and only my snoring. It also meant having a company move our bags from place to place. That all cost us more. But most of the hotels along the walk are reasonably priced, clean, and provide breakfast, which helps when you're getting rolling in the morning...

The walk was long, but we'd prepped well for it with daily hikes of 8 to 10 miles a day for a couple of months prior. We had good shoes. We both wore trail "sneakers" not hiking boots. Whether it's walks in Scotland, Rome, or the Camino Santiago, I see lots of shoe discussions on this forum. Everyone needs a different shoe. Forget looking cute. Get a shoe style that fits comfortably WHEN YOU'RE TRYING THEM ON THE FIRST TIME. And then break them in before you go. We saw people along the way who hadn't prepped or who hadn't broken in their shoes. They paid the price with blisters and taped knees, shins, and more. But if you're an active, healthy person the walk isn't challenging -- just long.

There were a couple of times during the entire walk when boots would have been better, but not often enough to warrant the extra weight they have. Also, because we don't check bags, we couldn't bring walking sticks. We didn't need them either, but they could have been useful -- again, occasionally but not enough to warrant messing with them when we didn't need them.

If we did anything different (if we went again, and we probably won't) we would have shorter walks each day... We'd keep to 8-10 miles per day. Not because it was hard but because it would have been nice to be even slower paced along the route.

We really enjoyed Hotel Akerreta. They shot part of the Martin Sheen movie, "The Way," there. It is a rehabbed building that was built 300 years ago. We both wish we would have stayed there an additional day or two. If you're a birder it's evidently in one of the best places in Spain to be. We loved the song birds along the walk there.

Another enjoyable stop for us was at Hostal La Rua in Estella. It was a lovely place right along the river. And the town was sweet. we could have stayed there longer, too.

We drove a rental car from Logrono to Bourgos, taking the backroads - and sort of were on The Way, so you know, we were there - but not. Then we hired Caminofacil for the ride from Bourgos to Sarria since there wasn't public transportation that met our needs. That wasn't cheap, but I couldn't find options that otherwise met our schedule.

We weren't interested in walking all 500 miles. We weren't even that interested in getting the compostela, the certificate of pilgrimage. To get the certificate as a pilgrim, one has to walk from Sarria -- about 65 miles - to Santiago de Compostela. There were more pilgrims on that part of the walk.

We stayed at Hotel Alfonso IX in Sarria. I don't know who gets t number the stars on a hotel. This one claimed to be four stars. I think the owner's mom gave the owner four stars. The rooms were spartan, at best. The pool was algae filled. The grounds were generally unkempt. And the manager at check-in was perhaps the unfriendliest person we encountered during our two months of travel. The hotel was WAY understaffed in the restaurants -- and if there was a food and beverage manager on the premises, we never saw the person. It was a poorly run place - despite the online ratings.

The best accommodation along the walk from Sarria was 1930 Boutique Hotel in Arzua. GREAT SERVICE! Awesome rooms. And the owner's brother owns Casa Nene, a terrific place to eat. If you can plot that stop, do it.

When we got to Santiago de Compostela, we stayed in Parador Hospidale right on the plaza with the cathedral. We stayed in a couple of other paradores (historic buildings that they've turned into hotels) on our trip. If you're of retirement age, you get a break on rates. https://paradores.es/es We typically stay in apartments, but these are very much worth considering.

A couple of final thoughts about walking the Camino Santiago.
- I went to bed every night happy that we were walking some of it. And during the day, I was just as happy that we weren't walking all of it.
- We met scads of people who had walked it two, three, four or more times. It's a thing. And it's a United Nations of folks. We saw a group of women from Mexico all wearing the same outfits and all bearing the flag of Mexico. We met people from Bulgaria, Ireland, the UK, Northern Europe, the Philippines, Japan. and more. That was cool.
- We met a group of Irish women who were walking from Sarria. One of them was 85. She'd take a cab at the start of the day, but she'd still walk about five miles each day! Some of the women rode with her. Others walked.
- You can do this on a budget or you can do it the way we did it. However you do it, it's still a long, long walk.
- Prep for the walk. We saw people who were paying a steep price for not doing it. You cannot over prepare. Walk hills if you can. The first day we climbed more than 4500 feet. Get good socks, too. We tried a handful of them via Amazon.

For the next portion of the trip - through Portugal and the White Hills, we picked up a rental car in Santiago de Compostela.

We wanted to see the length of Portgual, and pubic transportation would have required us to go to Madrid, then to Lisbon, then up to Porto, and then -- well, we'd be retracing a lot of steps. So a rental was our choice. It wasn't cheap as trains, especially with the tolls and the gas. But it was right for us.

We had a nice drive to Porto. As we often do, we got off the main highway, and found ourselves along the coast. I can't tell you where, but it afforded us a lovely seaside lunch. And bonus points: as we left town, remnants of a Roman aqueduct... Yay! Europe!

In Porto we stayed in a one-bedroom VRBO (Vila Nova de Gaia) right on the river and very close to the eateries and other activity along the river. But we were far enough away that we could sleep with the windows open and not be annoyed by the parties in the bars, etc. LOTS of windows, so very bright during the day. I highly recommend it. There was public parking very nearby. But pricey. We liked Porto a lot, but we both thought it could use a good power-washing. Also, if you're not sure footed, stop walking before you look up or mess with your phone. There are lots of uneven surprises in the sidewalks. It got to where whenever one of us spotted an uneven or awkward pavement, we'd yell, "OSHA" to warn the other.

Porto -- the stuff Rick recommends is really walkable. The city is hilly, but after walking the Camino - meh. We enjoyed the river front. We did walk cross the bridge to the other side of the river. That turned out to be just good exercise. We rode the tram down to that side, but then walked all the way back to our apartment. One thing we were impressed by -- and it started in Porto... Portuguese seem to be the NICEST, most friendly, most helpful people.

We drove from Porto to Lisbon, and stopped at Conimbriga -- a large site of Roman ruins. Rick Steves mentions it in his guides. It's very interesting if you like that kind of stuff. There were hardly any people there when we stopped. We liked it a lot. Oh, and we ate lunch there. Not fancy, but another good jaomn y queso sanwich!

Our daughter and her husband met us in Lisbon We rented another VRBO in the Alfama district.It was right on the street car line -- across from a fantastic coffee shop. https://www.vrbo.com/1771784ha?unitId=3482259 It had a terrace in the back, and we found it to be a great place for our Lisbon base. (As a bonus, they had free parking for our rental car.) We rode the streetcar once. They're packed and we're tall, so we didn't see much from them. They fun to watch go by though. Also Uber is great there -- and cheap. If you don't want to walk (again LOTS of hills), no prob, Uber. We saw all that Lisbon has to offer.

We were walking distance to two Fado places. I struggle with these types of touristy stops. We went anyway. The food was edible. And some of the singers were very entertaining. I guess we can say we did that...

We also went to Sintra. Meh. The palace was miserable to get into. We had timed entries for 3:15. We didn't get in until after 4:00. And we were disappointed by what we saw. If you want to see the palace, follow Rick's advice. Be the first in.

Our daughter and her hubster departed and we left for the Algarve. We weren't sure what to do with that. We didn't have anything booked and a majority of people on the RS forum dog the area; too many Brits and Germans on holiday apparently. We stopped in Tavira. It's a pretty little town -- but we were just ahead of the tourist hordes according to the hotelier there. I think the Algarve gets a short shrift from the people on the RS forum.

Then we drove through the White Hills towns - staying first at Parador de Los Arcos, and then at Parador de Ronda. We liked Los Arcos more because it wasn't as crowded. In Ronda, we attended a performance by the guitarist Rick talks about in his guidebook. It was a pleasant time. The dinner beforehand wasn't much but the view was very nice.

We REALLY liked driving around Andalucia. We just missed a running of bulls in Zahara, which was disappointing. But the drive over the mountains was lovely, lovely, lovely. If you're headed for this region, you'll need a car but also plan to take an extra day and sit. It was great -- and beautiful.

Sevilla, where we turned in the car, was great, as well... It was perhaps our favorite stop despite the fact that I got horrifically sick for three days there. We stayed in a VRBO in the old town. Rick lists the things to do there, and we did most of them in the one day I could walk and the night we arrived. We really enjoyed his walking tour.

The rest of the trip, we took a train wherever we went. I booked all of the train rides online while we were in Spain. I never had a problem getting seats. The senior discount is possible, but you have to get them at the station... I was too lazy or too busy.

Our first trip was from Seville to Madrid where we rented a three-bedroom via VRBO because our two sons and their beloveds met us there. We like the Prado. The palace was okay. Get tickets online, though, for both stops. We walked everywhere - never taking a cab or public transportation except to and from the train station with everyone's gear.

Oddly, twice in Madrid, waiters in two different places made mistakes with our bill - upcharging us. In one situation, they upcharged us 100 euros. We caught the errors. They seemed aghast at them and very apologetic, but still, pay attention when you sign for stuff.

Speaking of signing for stuff... If you're using cards, ALWAYS ask to pay in Euros. We Americans are given an option to convert on the spot to dollars -- but the card companies on their end charge anywhere from 2% to 8% on top of the bill for the privilege. Pay in Euros.

We did a day trip to Toledo from Madrid. I almost forgot about that. Given how nifty Sevilla and the White Hills Towns were, Toledo was only okay. Our young adults liked it, but didn't love it. Still for them it was worth the stop. If you're going to places I've described, I'd suggest passing on Toledo entirely -- but that's me. Put it this way... If you're in Spain for a week or two, and you're in Madrid, a day trip by train is probably worth it.

In Madrid we did one of the flamenco dinner/dance spots - Las Carboneras recommended in Rick's guidebook. The dancing was entertaining, but I didn't really know what I was looking at. Pass on the dinner and just go for drinks before the show. Afterwards, the six of us walked around Madrid enjoying the buskers on the street as much as any shows we'd paid for. It was memorable for all of us.

We departed Madrid for San Sebastian, another place that gets the short shrift by RS acolytes. I think old folks just don't like beach towns. We stayed in a fantastic three-bedroom overlooking the beach in the newer part of town. https://www.vrbo.com/10861669ha?unitId=5892183 It's a short, easy walk to the old part of town. And the beach is just across the street. We enjoyed it a lot there.

One place that was highly recommended to us was Casa Urola. Pass on that place. Just do the pinxto walk... Friends gave us lots of other recommendations for San Sebastian eating. It's easy to find good places to eat and drink -- and they were all enjoyable.

One son and his sweetie left for Germany from San sebastian. Our other son and his fiance stayed with us when we went to Zaragoza and on to Barcelona. Zaragoza is a city on a road much less traveled by American tourists. If castles and cathedrals are your thing, consider passing. Rick doesn't even cover it in his guidebook -- but many on this forum recommend it highly. It was a nice break from tourists, and there are some Roman ruins and two important churches there. Since our son and his fiance are firefighters, we went to and enjoyed thoroughly the Museo de Bomberos - the firefighting museum. You don't even need to be a kid to be 10 years old again... But one afternoon and a full day were enough in Zaragoza, so we moved on to Barcelona for our final stop.

In Barcelona we had another VRBO right around the corner from Placa Catalyuna. We were there a week, so we did everything Rick suggests. As I said earlier, Gaudi doesn't impress me but we went to Sagrada Familia; get tickets online ahead of time. My wife and daughter-in-law-to-be loved it. Las Ramblas is San Francisco's Pier 39 en Espanol. The Gothic Quarter was nice to wander through. The Picasso Museum - not bad if you like Picasso. We even saw the Barcelona Dragons of the European League of Football (American football) play. We also took a couple of trips to the beach. On our last night, we did a sunset sail, which seemed like a reasonable way to end a very memorable trip.

To celebrate a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day/Mom's birthday/Dad's birthday in Barcelona we had dinner at Abac, a Michelin starred restaurant. Michelin doesn't hand those stars out to be nice. The service, food, and wine were as you'd expect for such a place. The food was rich, really, really, really rich. And so was the tab. But the memory will never fade.

A couple of notes about eating on the Iberian Peninsula... First, get used to dinner or tapas at 8:00 p.m. I never did. But that's just how they roll there. Also, and I found this to be true in France too... We struggled to get a lot of vegetables on our plates. In Barcelona we found a place right across from us (a stone's throw from Placa Catalyuna) called Honest Greens. Mountainous salads. And generally really good eats. We wound up going there a few times for lunch or dinner...

One other travel app note... This trip, as you may surmise, was loaded with logistics. Plans, trains, automobiles, car service rides, luggage transportation, a BUNCH of hotel reservations, and reservations for tours and dinners. I used -- and have used -- TripIt.com. for the past couple of years. There is a free version that's just fine for most folks. If you're a heavy traveler -- especially a corporate traveler with an admin who books your trips -- it's worth paying for the pro version. Either way you can upload PDF files of your reservations to each element of the trip. So if you're checking into a hotel and the clerk says, "sorry, no reservation," it's really easy to access your rez and show it. It happened to us at Hotel Alfonso in Sarria - the mystery four-star place. We got our room.

The downside to TripIt, and I've pinged them about this... You can only upload 25 PDFs per trip -- even with the pro version. I had so many activities that I had to split this trip into two stages. Technology! Helpful, but sometimes not.

The other good thing about TripIt is that you can easily share the trip with anyone in your circle. We share our trips' schedules with our adult children as a "just in case." It's easy to see each day's events or evolution, and it's easy to see if your bookings are wrong. The kids know where and how to reach us if they can't raise us on our phones.

While we were in Santiago, my wife looked at the app -- and mind you, we'd double- and triple-checked our accommodations long before we left the US -- and said, "We're leaving Sevilla on June 9, but we don't have a place to stay in Madrid until June 10!" We were able to fix that pretty quickly.

Lastly, Gertrude Stein said, "Silent gratitude isn't of much use to anyone."

We - me and my entire family - know how fortunate we are to enjoy such a trip as I've described. And we are deeply grateful for the good fortune that's enabled us to do just that. I'm also grateful to the people on this forum and to Rick Steves for the information everyone shares that I wind up processing to create the best trip for us. We are full of gratitude for everything that lead up to my sharing our experiences with you.

"Keep on travelin'!"

Thanks, gbrennan, for such a great trip report!

Loved your report.

I am taking a cruise in October from London (Southampton) to Lisbon. Bruges, two ports in France, Three in Spain and Porto before Lisbon. We are porting in Vigo Spain and I have an excursion to Santiago for some free hours.

I saw the movie The Way many years back and feel very affected by it to this day, even kind of haunted. When i realized I could take an excursion to Santiago from Vigo, that sealed the deal of booking this particular cruise. My Camino may be only a few blocks but it will be mine.

Did you attend a Pilgrim's Mass at St James Cathedral?

What a trip with many moving pieces! It sounds marvelous! Thank you for writing it up. And I love the quote - I have also learned a lot from others (like you) on the forum!

Great report! Very well organized and easy-to-read!

Great trip report! I like your approach to the Camino and how you made it your own journey. I'm bookmarking this for future reference, many thanks for sharing.

Thank your for taking the time to write a trip report. My brother is planning our Camino walk (starting in Sarria) for next September and I’ve already texted him the info on your reviews of hotels in Sarria and Arzua. I will be planning the rest of the trip for 2 couples to Portugal as the rest will go on a cruise. I now know we have to either rent a car or hire a driver to get to Porto.
I also use TripIt. So easy to Set up, add to, delete, and share.
I am bookmarking your report and will re-read it when I get to the serious stage of planning.
Another PS, We agree about Gaudi’s work - too busy for us.

BostonPhil asked: Did you attend a Pilgrim's Mass at St James Cathedral?

We did not. That was a scheduling error on my part. We got into Santiago de Compostela in the afternoon, and for some reason, booked departure for the next day with the rental car that kept us from attending Mass. (Also, we're recovering Catholics, so we were really only interested in seeing the botafumero swing, to be quite honest.)

I forgot to mention a fantastic place to eat in Jerez de la Frontera. Tuga is a spot-on place for one of the best meals on your trip if you're in that region. In fact, it was equal to or better than some of the other top spots we dined at during our trip.

We were headed to Los Arcos from Tavira, but it was getting time to eat. My wife did a Google search for places in Jerez de la Fronterra. Tuga topped the list. It wasn't in the tourist area, but since we were driving through that wasn't an issue.It's a small place in a bit of a strip mall in a residential area.

We walked in, unsure if it was even open. It was. The waiter seated us, and we started asking about the menu. His English was not as good as our "survival Spanish", so he went into the kitchen and brought out the owner/chef. The owner/chef suggested that we enjoy a tasting menu created at his discretion... I know enough about eating out that if a chef offers a personal meal, you take it. WE WERE THRILLED WITH THE MEAL. We got a little bit of everything from the region. Beef cheeks. Sardines. Anchovies. Oh my!

Then he spent time with us after we ate, and we simply chatted about cheffing in Jerez. He said he was working with some people to open another place by the same name, so I don't know if he has or will...

For the Tuga we ate at:
858-175-498 or 627-720-640
[email protected]
C/Jose Ortega y Gasset, 11407 Jerez de la Frontera

One other thing about walking the Camino...

Most of the people walking solo were women.

We were impressed by that. Men were mostly in groups or with other women. But there were many women who were alone on their trips. Some would sync up with others during the day. Some stayed contemplatively solo for much of their walks...

If you're a woman and wondering if you should go alone. Do it. You'll meet plenty of others just like you who wondered the same thing -- and went anyway.