fruter

Can anyone recommend a tour company to walk the camino de santiago? Has anyone used "Spanish Steps"? There are quite a few companies out there & I would really like some reviews to help choose.

ribeirasacra

Using a tour company is not normal practice when walking the Camino.
But I am sure if you read through the following forum dedicated to the Camino you will find some information about tour companies.
http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/

cruiseluv

Hi fruter,

For years I have considered doing part of the Camino with one of the companies that organize these tours. I still haven't done it but have looked into Spanish Steps and Fresco Tours. They seem very professional and have been doing it for years (especially Spanish Steps). A poster on Fodors, Marigross, did it with Spanish Steps a few years ago and wrote an extensive and well written Trip Report on her experience (positive). I will try to find it and post the link here for you.

cruiseluv

Her is the link to Mari's report. Her first week she is traveling independent in Spain, the second week with Spanish Steps , from Ponferrada to Santiago. :

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Guy_Thatcher

You may want to rethink the idea of needing a tour company. You can readily set up for and walk the camino without professional help and you may find it a more rewarding and enlightening experience if you do. Have a look at this website http://www.guythatcher.com/faq.php for many questions about the camino answered. Good luck with your search and buen camino!. Cheers,
Guy

Aduchamp1

I am traveling. Upon returning, I will post my wife's reports regarding the Camino. She and her than 73 year old sister walked from St. Jean to Santiago without any porfessional assistance.

PeconicBill

I'm 69 and walked the Camino last April/May from SJPP to Santiago without incident, staying in albergues. I can't imagine why anyone would want to use a service other than being assured of a bed at the end of the day, which admittedly could be an issue in this Holy Year. Like most peregrinos, I walked alone and interacted with other pilgrims in the bars and albergues at the end of a day's walking. Walking alone allows you to set your own pace, stop to visit special sites, etc.

I'll turn 70 this fall and plan to celebrate by walking the Via de la Plata from Seville to Santiago----alone.

cruiseluv

I admire those of you that do the Camino on your own and stay at Albergues. I agree that fits more with the true spirit of the Camino. However, we all have our "hangups" and different ways we like to travel. I will be the first one to admit I am spoiled when I travel and would not enjoy having to carry my belongings on my back for any period of time. Therefore, the support van and prebooked hotels provided by these tour companies would allow me to do part of the Camino in a way I would consider. Everybody is different.

joangk

I had a great experience with Fresco Tours two years ago. Although I'm not usually a tour kind of person, for various reasons (time limimtations, age, need for a good bed at the end of the day) I chose to go with a group. I had absolutely no complaints. The group was small, the inns lovely, the guides helpful and informative, and you could walk alone or withy others from the group. It was a fantastic experience.

cruiseluv

Joangk,

I am so glad you posted this feedback regarding Fresco Tours. Did you do their 9 days from Leon to Santiago? If so, could you comment if all the roads you walked by were backroads?

Thanks for any additional info.

Pegontheroad

To do the pilgrimage is a goal of mine, but at my age I could never do it alone and unaided. I looked into Spanish Steps, and I thought it looked good.

I know Aduchamp's wife did it, but I'm sure she is in better shape than I am. She's my hero, anyway.

At present I can't even get in walking shape now because I have a broken bone in my foot. It's maddening. It's been almost 6 months and it's still not healed. Well, maybe next year.

Aduchamp1

Here is part one of their Camino
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...the-camino.cfm


Here is part of two of their Camino
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...es-part-ii.cfm

joangk

Yes, I did the 9 day walk. 99% of the walk was on backroads. Occasionally we walked along the side of a road, but it was usually a stretch just to connect two walking paths. The bulk of the walking paths were lovely. I was initiall worried about my ability to walk the (avg.) 10 miles per day, but the scenery was so beautiful and we stopped frequently at cafes, so the distances were not a problem.

cruiseluv

Thanks joangk, that's good to know.

lreynold1

I know that there are many different ways to walk the Camino, and I think that those of us who walk it "on our own" with our packs on our back sometimes get to feeling a bit superior to those who want to do it a different way. This post has helped me realize this, actually.

For those of you who are contemplating doing all or part of this walk with some kind of advance plannint and/or support, there are many options. There are different levels of support available, ranging from fully guided walk with bag transport and support wagon to to self-guided but pre-planned and pre-reserved options.

Some additional resources include:

-- The Confraternity of St. James, the largest English speaking Camino organization, which has a list of some of the guided options: http://www.csj.org.uk/tour-operators.htm

-- This listing of various agencies that can help with planning and/or guide you on the way: http://www.amawalker.blogspot.com/

As many of you know, this is a Holy Year, which means that plenary indulgences are available to those who are religiously motivated. It also means that the crowds are likely to be astronomical, so having accommodation arranged could take a lot of the stress out of the walk.

And I will also say that I've met many "solo" or independent walkers who started out with a ten day guided walk and then decided they wanted to take the plunge and try it on their own the next year.

Laurie

cruiseluv

Thank you Laurie for providing these resources. Who knows, I may turn out to be like one of those solo walkers you met the second time around!

Are you doing the Camino this year?

Aduchamp1

It is not possible to book an albergue in advance and many towns do not have alternative rooms. And even then many cannot booked in advance.

And yes, they are expecting astronomical numbers to walk the Camino this year.

lreynold1

Hi, cruiseluv,
I hope to walk the Via de la Plata, which is a route that goes from Sevilla to Santiago; it's one of the "alternative" Caminos and will hopefully be less crowded. My plan is to start in early May, arriving in Santiago in mid June. I started to walk this route last spring, but my heel fell apart after about 350 kms of walking and I had to stop. That was the first time this has happened after almost ten years of Caminos, so I was pretty depressed about it and hope that things will be better this year.

As far as the albergues go, it is true that municipal albergues and many religious albergues cannot be reserved, but privately run albergues all take reservations. I have met many people who stayed entirely in private accommodations (including private albergues, which are usually a few notches above the others in terms of comfort and often cleanliness) the whole way from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. Some would say they missed the "real" Camino, but they would vehemently disagree. It's all just a personal choice and different people have different needs and desires.

As many of my pilgrim friends are quick to point out, the medieval pilgrims who walked were well divided along socio-economic lines, and accommodations were similarly divided. People with money stayed in the nicer places. In fact, along those lines, I have heard the argument that people who have the ability to pay for private accommodations ought to do so and leave the albergues (whose fees range from 3-10 E a night) for those who don't have money. At least that's what we tell ourselves when we decide to splurge and stay at the parador in Leon or Santo Domingo de la Calzada, for instance.

Laurie

mikelg

I just asked my uncle about this, who´s done the Camino 11 times (well, the different Caminos...the "normal" one, the North way and the Via de la Plata, among others) and he has replied that no assistance is needed unless you want to specifically make sure you have a bed at the end of your day. Even so, you may make your reservations on rural housings or hotels in advance. Not on albergues, though.

alexislovesspain

There is also a few group sites on Facebook as well for the Camino. We are looking WAY down the road and going to take the summer (several years away), when our kids are teens. It is an experience I can not wait to do. Glad to know that I should not feel guilty about staying in the Paradors .. I have stayed in both the one in Leon and Santo Domingo de la Calzada and both would be a wonderful respit from a long day of walking

Enjoy and I can't wait to read your trip report.