Walking the Camino de Santiago

Just brilliant! I can't recommend this trip enough. It was tough going at times but all worthwhile when we eventually marched into Santiago in glorious sunshine. Our guide, Rocio, was beyond brilliant. She was so supportive, set the pace to suit everyone and kept us all going when people were struggling towards the end of the day (usually me). She helped us all in so many ways over the 12 days and always with great efficiency, competence and good humour. Nothing was EVER a problem. It was truly a fantastic experience, not always easy but the people you meet, the sights you see and great sense of achievement when you are done make it all worthwhile. So, if you are reading this and thinking should I/can I/will I do the Camino – DO IT. I promise you won't regret it.

The Explore leader was excellent and provided way more services than expected. The trip began with a slow start in that none of our fellow travelers received the promised shuttle from the airport and had to make our own way to the first hotel. This is where we first met our Explore leader, Jessica. I did not expect any more from Explore than a once a day briefing on our route but Jessica looked after us like a mother hen looking after chicks. She kept track of who was leading and who was lagging. Escorted the willing on side trips to visit churches or monuments, directed us to pharmacies, restaurants, laundries. Arranged for taxis for those that needed them and followed up to make sure that the taxi had actually arrived etc. She was outgoing and personable and made what turned out to be the hottest week in a century more tolerable. Great job!

First and foremost we had a most wonderful guide, Jessica. She gave us a rundown daily of what to expect ie: mileage, terrain, history of the area, landmarks. She made sure we were well hydrated during the heat wave. Had numerous bathroom breaks as well as nutrition stops. Jessica was able to negotiate and translate with the locals when we needed her in restaurants and hotels. To me Jessica made the entire trip memorable. She is a ray of sunshine.

I will start with a couple of small things that meant a lot to me. I had been travelling all day and arrived a Madrid Airport around 11pm local time to be met with Alex our guide who had a taxi waiting for me. He ensured the hotel checkin went very well. Everyone on the Camino was incredibly friendly if anyone was in trouble everyone came running to help. I mentioned above about being met at the airport and everything going smoothly it was the same for the whole trip. The hotels were all first class, the staff could not have been nicer. I felt that we were given the freedom we needed to experience the Camino with the support of a guide there in case anything went wrong. We formed a good group who got on really well. I can see why the pilgrimage is rated so highly, the scenery was excellent, the churches were fantastic along with some of the historic towns and cities. Something which surprised me about the Camino was the number of single women walking on their own. The fact that they feel that it is safe to do so should be a source of pride to the Spanish people. Everyone I talked to who completed the Camino took away what they needed from it.

I think we lucked out having a great group of co-travelers. I think 10 people was the right amount to get to know one another but not be too overwhelming / cliquish. We felt like we could have started walking in Leon instead of spending an entire night there but Leon itself was beautiful and our walking tour guide, Blanca, was so funny and really knowledgeable about the history. Aside from the hail and rain which can't be helped, the nice sunny days and some of the hotels were excellent! Since each guide differs, we would have liked to have some more information about the history of the Camino and Spain in general all throughout the tour. I think Explore could provide this info to the guide to ensure uniformity (can't expect everyone to know everything). Explore itself communication was okay but my co-traveler didn't receive any of the emails directly so it was a bit annoying to have to forward and know who got what info - can you change it so everyone signed up gets all the emails? Paying from the US was also a pain and there should be an option to just use a common digital payment platform (Paypal, etc.). There was quite a range of physical abilities in the group which means we spread apart 30-60 mins on the Camino. I don't think everyone was well-informed about the physicality needed to complete this tour and thus they needed to take taxis. The packing list should include a large, sturdy poncho because it rained A LOT. All hotels need to have hair dryers and ability to dry damp clothes overnight (this dampness was a common problem). Probably need to bring gloves for the fall/winter trips. Should probably forewarn that the can be very limited bathroom options on the Camino. The KMs walked per day was not very even so one day walking 10ish KMs and another walking 28KMs was really rough - could spread that more evenly. We really liked the Hotel Gaudi, Vistalegre Hotel-Spa, & Casa Rural Pazo de Sedor (looked like a palace! But the food was lacking.). The others were fine. One I think needs to be dropped from the itinerary: Hotel Restaurante Amenal (was very damp / smelly). Additionally, I'm a vegan and my sister is vegetarian so we felt like a lot of the restaurants did not have good options for us (and fixed menus made it feel like we over-paid for not an adequate amount/quality of food). Dinner at 8pm is too late for an early start - I know this is more culturally Spanish but could start at 7pm and thus get to bed at a normal time. Overall it was nice to not have to think about accommodation and one meal. We personally were just friendly w/ the guide and he really helped folks who were having medical issues. We probably didn't really need a guide on the French Way since it's so well-marked.

One leader for 17 people is excessive. You really need 2 to manage 17 in a group. Especially when you have people of all levels to manage. I felt the last 2 days were very demanding on everyone maybe you should consider breaking it up into 3 days.

Luca's was a fabulous guide and very knowledgable about the area. He was the perfect advocate for the group. The walk was more of a challenge than I expected and not for the faint hearted. It was great to start the walk a few days before the 100km mark when the crowds joined in. The accomodation was mostly good but a few places were a little poor.

The Camino walk was incredibly challenging and worthwhile, with a wonderful group and beautiful countryside of Galicia, Spain.

Walking The Camino de Santiago was an absolute amazing experience that can not be described in a few sentences. One should make this journey and immerse themselves in the people, food, history, culture traditions and deeper connection with others. Highly recommend you do this at least once in your lives. Our guide Ester was phenomenal, providing great details on the trails, hidden gems along the way, and the best lunch and dinner locations; Explore is the only company that i could find that fulfills the milage requirements to get your Compostela Certified.