Walking the Camino de Santiago

The trip will be memorable for many reasons. Our tour leader Lucas is a commendable young man, who knew exactly when and were he was needed and when to relax and let us enjoy our own company. His knowledge of the area and the environment was extensive and he delivered it in a relaxed and unobtrusive way. A special thank you must also go to our two leaders, who hosted the tours in Leon and Santiago. Both were incredibly knowledgeable and made everything funny and not at all dry, which some tours can be. The hotels were of a good standard and a special mention has to made about Hotel Pazo de Sedor. After a very long day it was like an oasis at the end of a very long walk. The building, which is an old manor house, the staff and food were quite brilliant. A special thank you, has to go to my fellow travellers, we were an amazing group which made everything even more special.

It was a wonderful experience. I wouldn't change a thing. I was part of a group of seven led by an awesome tour leader (Lucas). From start to finish, the trip exceeded my expectations. The itinerary was the perfect pace. Accommodation was all lovely. It was an ideal balance of walking, cultural experiences, group revelry, and reflection time. I highly recommend this tour and look forward to traveling with Explore again.

What a vacation! Relaxing, but thrilling at the same time. Explore have come up trumps with this trip.accomodation was awesome, varied each night a range of hotels, small family run guest houses to a manor house. All were spotless, with good facilities and a super team running each place. The trip was the right mix of challenge and relaxing. There are some long days of walking but the time flies in such beautiful countryside and time spent chatting to other pilgrims. The explore team on the trip were attentive and frankly brilliant, Lucas.our tour leader, did a great job looking after the teams needs in a totally relaxed way.His local knowledge and understanding of the environment we were walking through was invaluable and interesting.a great tour leader. Angela and Emma hosted tours of Leon and Santiago respectively. They were funny, engaging and oh so knowledgeable. We were so privileged to have them all. Us, a small group of seven, were of varying ages from late forties upwards, had an absolute ball. Each was able to find their own time, relax and find friendships which I believe will last. We laughed together and reflected together like old comrades. It was a life changing trip in so many ways. New friends, new experiences and some personal changes. Just perfect, thank you.

Ester is the best leader I have had with Explore! She was well organized and very personable. The trip was awesome because of Ester’s attention and care for all of us. I would sign up with Ester for a tour of my backyard! Yep she is that good!

I cannot imagine a better guide than Ester Galindo for my first experience walking the Camino. She has a vast knowledge of the region’s history and culture and brought it to life through her own personal experiences and good story-telling. She was keenly aware that people walk the Camino for many different reasons, and she provided encouragement for each individual pilgrim’s journey, along with providing for our physical needs. For example, she worked with our hotels to get earlier dinner times for us so we could get more rest, she provided tiger balm for sore muscles, she arranged for us to get a blessing at the church in O’Cebreiro even though the priest was off duty. I could go on, but in summary her warmth and generosity made the trip truly special.