FerrisFar

My friend and I (late 50s, not great athletes) will be in Galicia, staying in Santiago de Compostela, for four days in mid/late June. Originally we had planned on taking some day trips through Viator, but it appears that Viator has discontinued the trips. (They are still announced on some sites, but when you follow the links you get an error message or get linked to something else.)

So it looks as if we will be touring on our own. I have received some useful advice in the past on this site about this trip. Specifically, Pontevedra and Lugo were highly recommended. So I've decided we should make these places our goals. My question now is whether you all recommend train or bus for a daytrip to Pontevedra (one day) and Lugo (another day).

Further, I would greatly appreciate advice on what to see, where to go, etc. with as much detail about how to get from rail or bus station to desired tourist site as possible.

Please forgive me if I say in advance that I am not interested in further advice about renting a car and driving since we have firmly decided against that option. We are not comfortable driving in a strange country. We will enjoy ourselves more without anxiety about getting lost or running over the locals.

But all advice about the area and how we might walk, take buses, find local tours, or take trains will be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Ferrie

ribeirasacra

Pontevedra I would say leave off. It can be smelly fro paper production plant. It is small and would not occupy you for a day.
Lugo you cannot take a train.
Bus website: http://www.empresafreire.com
Here you can read all you want about Lugo. http://www.lugoturismo.com-

cruiseluv

La Coruña is also a very pleasant day trip from Santiago. if you do this I suggest train as the fast one takes only 30 mins vs close to an hour for bus.
Since you'll only be 4 days in Santiago, dont shortchange the city itself. Frankly, although I enjoyed my day trips from there I was always anxious to return to enjoy more of the city .

chapla

Stop by the tourist office for Galicia and Santiago de Compostela-they are close together and loaded with info-Rua Vilar and at Santiago airport.
I enjoyed my visit to Pontevedra,took the train-lovely scenery. I walked to the historic part-quite a walk so I took a taxi back to the station.It's a good half day trip,Stop by the lovely Parador and lots of places for lunch.

FerrisFar

ribeirasacra -- Thanks for the link to the bus information and Lugo tourism. I believe it was someone here who earlier pointed out to me how worthwhile the trip to Lugo might be, and I am grateful.

cruiseluv --La Coruña was already on my schedule for a half-day trip train jaunt. I thought one day we'd go to La Coruña in the morning and come back to Santiago after lunch.

As far as enjoying Santiago itself, I got the impression that one could see the "main" things in three half-days, which is more or less what I had planned to spend-- 1/2 day the day of arrive, another half-day the day of going to La Coruña and a third 1/2 day on the day we leave to go to Madrid. Of course I won't see everything, but it's always a toss-up, isn't it? Should I get to know one place better or get to know the whole area superficially by going to several places?

Chapla--where is the Parador you refer to and how does one get to it? Is it on the train route, accessible when you walk to the town or on a bus route?

The tourist office is a good tip. I am glad to hear they are loaded with information. The website is very informative, but it doesn't address the transportation as much as I would like.

HappyTrvlr

We enjoyed staying in Baiona, south of SdC, pretty sea port. Don't short change SdC .

cruiseluv

Maybe I'm biased because I LOVE Santiago. I've been there five times and I'm never bored to just be there. For me its not a matter of checking off sites but of enjoying being there.

ribeirasacra

<i>"The tourist office is a good tip. I am glad to hear they are loaded with information. The website is very informative, but it doesn't address the transportation as much as I would like.</i>
Which website and what sort of transportation are you writing about?

chapla

When you get the map of Pontevedra at the Galicia tourist office you will see that the Parador is easy to find/walk to in the old section.They also will give bus/train info

FerrisFar

The website I referred to was
http://www.turgalicia.es/portada?langId=en_US

I have since found http://www.spain.info/ Which has a useful section on transport for Galicia (The link is enormous, but it takes me to a list of cities with the location of both train and bus stations. Very nice.)

Regarding "just being there" in one place or trying to see multiple places in a brief trip, that is the dilemma of the tourist, isn't it? I would never "just check off" places--I would rather see a little less and spend time to experience a few specific places. But I don't know when (or if) I will be able to afford (in terms of time as well as money and energy) another trip to Spain, so I am trying to get a little nibble (a tapas instead of a full meal, if you please) of different places.

I think Santiago will be wonderful. But I want to see more. I particularly want to ride train or bus to see the landscape and scenery. Pontevedra had been recommended as a good destination to view the landscape. I'm undecided how we'll split our time, but this is the current tentative plan:

Day 1 (Thursday) arrive Santiago by plane from Madrid around 1:00 PM. Eat lunch and check in to hotel. Go for a walk, maybe take the tourist train around the city (if it is running). Enjoy the place until dinner and maybe find a bar with music for after dinner.

Day 2 (Friday) After our usual light breakfast, take the train to Pontevedra. Have lunch before heading back to Santiago. Rest at the hotel before heading out to enjoy Santiago in the afternoon/evening. I'm thinking exploring the university section and/or the museum of the Galician people.

Day 3 (Saturday) Day trip to Lugo Play the rest by ear.

Day 4 (Sunday) After breakfast, head to the Cathedral, maybe attend mass there if not too crowded, appreciate the area in the morning. In the afternoon, head for La Coruña by train and return in the early evening. (Need to check what is open in La Coruña on Sunday afternoon, though.)

Day 5 (Monday) Do some last minute shopping before going back to Madrid by plane.

This is all very general, but it's the breakdown of time that seems to make sense for me, since I like to spend some time in the middle of the day resting.

Thoughts?

ribeirasacra

Well tugalicia will not give you information about public transport.
For trains you have to go to http://www.renfe.com
For the bus to Lugo you have to go to http://www.empresafreire.com
Depending on where your hotel is located you may need to take the local bus to the bus or the train station. However if your hotel is located in the old city centre you cannot catch a bus outside the door.
The Uni at Santiago is spread over several campuses.
The mass at midday is always very busy.
Shops will not be open on Sunday. Half a day will not allow you see a great deal of A Courña.
The city bus guide. http://www.turismocoruna.com/web/cor...idCategoria=44

CathyM

I agree with others that you are probably overly ambitious with the number of daytrips planned. 4 nights in Santiago with 3 daytrips (basically every day except for your arrival) is alot. You'll probably find the planned half day's may end up being longer by the time you have lunch and then get back to Santiago. Also by the time you head back to the hotel and freshen/rest up there may not be alot of time left for sighseeing in the evenings. Personally I'd probably cut at least one of the daytrips -but you could just do the ones you most want first and then play it by ear.

cruiseluv

I suggest that while you're there you peek into the cathedral in the morning and if you see the Botafumeiro hanging above the altar you go to the Pilgrims mass which is at noon. The swinging of the Botafumeiro is truly a scene to behold!

I agree with CathyM's comments above. I can't speak for Lugo as I have never visited it, but Pontevedra and La Coruña while nice, IMO dont compare remotely with Santiago. Also, I dont recall the scenery from the train to be particularly impressive.

HappyTrvlr

Santiago needs some more time..the Galician Museum, the marketplace, the Cathedral and walking around the historic quarter.

FerrisFar

Thanks, You may be right that we need to allow more time for Santiago. I will definitely play it by ear. Originally I was planning on two tours of the region--one which took us to Pontevedra and the other of the Rias Altas which had some nice towns included. The tours have been discontinued and I am trying to find something else to give me a sense of the area/countryside.

I get conflicting reports about Pontevedra and La Coruña. Some folks (here and elsewhere) suggest that they are worth the trip while others feel that they are not.

There are always going to be things that we regret not seeing. The question is always, which will I regret the most?

As for the botafumeiro, definitely I would want to see it in action. They don't have a regular schedule for when they use it, do they? Aside from the Jubilee Year?

chapla

I have been to Santiago many times and find enough to do by just wandering!
The tourist office of Santiago offers many wonderful tours of the city and very reasonably priced!
The tourist office of Galicia offer tours out of the city.
Forget the touris train-waste of time/money.
Go early and visit the market,what fun to see/watch!
Wander around the many parks-I love the Alameda.
Sit in front of the cathedral-there are stone benches and people watch,especially early in the evening.I have even wandered into the Parador and taken some great photos!
The univesity campus is not impressive.
At the noon mass there is usually has a nun who sings-wonderful voice,check it out on youtube.

CathyM

You really can't count on seeing the botafumeiro in action. I've visited Santiago twice, once during a Jubilee year, and both times had the luck of being at a mass when they brought out the botafumeiro. And both times this was during the Pilgrim's mass. On the first visit we were there for 3 nights and I saw it on my final day. My friend had to leave that morning and missed it. So you just never know. If you plan on doing daytrips 3 days it's likely you'll miss it - if it even is brought out these days.

I've visited Pontevedra, Lugo and A Coruna - actually spend a couple of nights each in Pontevedra and A Coruna. They're all 3 nice. The old quarter of Pontevedra, the atmosphere and food in A Coruna. I visited Lugo just for a few hours and was quite impressed - not very touristy, very authentic. But Santiago is a place you can easily just get lost in for a couple of days. Only you know which you will regret seeing the most.

ribeirasacra

botafumeiro; swings on holy days or when someone pays for it.

chapla

You can ask at the cathedral about the botafumeiro

cruiseluv

Yes, unfortunately there's no set schedule for the Botafumeiro. I've been lucky to see it three times. That's why I suggested to peek in early in the morning. If its hanging, it'll swing at the noon mass!