Camino de Santiago walking holiday Spain, self guided
Description of Camino de Santiago walking holiday Spain, self guided
This self guided walking tour takes you on a journey across northern Spain, following in the footprints of pilgrims along the legendary Camino de Santiago. People have been walking this route since the 9th century, and today, thousands come from all corners of the globe to take on the challenge. Winding 800km through the Spanish countryside, the route unfurls through the Pyrenees and then passes through Castile, Leon and Galicia, before coming to an end in Santiago de Compostela, at the Baroque cathedral where St James the Apostle is was laid to rest (Camino de Santiago means the Way of St James).
You won’t be following the entire 800km slog on this particular walking holiday, however! Your journey begins in Leon and finishes in Santiago. You’ll walk between four and seven hours a day, passing along country lanes, farm tracks and paths, and there will be time to stop for lunch at restaurants along the way. During the first three days you’ll be transferred by vehicle to your walking points, but you’ll follow the rest of the route on foot. Accommodation is in a range of stylish period buildings, including an old farmhouse, a converted mill and a restored parish house.
The sense of camaraderie along the route is a real highlight of this trip. You’ll walk alongside people of many different nationalities, and will be cheered on by passers by, too. At the beginning of your journey you’ll be issued with a Pilgrim Passport, which can be stamped in hotels, restaurants and churches en route. Show your passport at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago at the end of your trip and you’ll be issued with a special certificate - a fitting memento of your holiday!
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Responsible Travel
Planet and people
UK Office:We are well aware of the impact tourism has at home and abroad, and we make every effort to balance the environmental impact of travelling with the immense benefits sustainable tourism can bring to destinations and the people who live there. So we start in the office: we turn off all electrical equipment every night; we use energy-efficient bulbs; we measure print and paper consumption, and re-cycle wherever possible; we print our brochures on paper from sustainable sources, and send them out in bio-degradable packaging.
Leaders & local suppliers:
All the places we stay in are tiny, family-run and perfectly located to fit in with walking the famed Camino de Santiago. One such example is the 8-room Posada del Muriel in the centre of Molinaseca and right on the actual walking trail. Owner Juan Belda is a larger than life character in this riverside village and has himself walked the route all the way from France three times – taking one of his children with him on each epic journey so as to get to know them better!
Staff:
Staff will suggest places to see and visit locally.
Group size:
Having no minimum number means that groups sizes can be small and therefore the trips have less impact on the environment.
Activity:
Walking has minimal impact on the environment as you provide most of the energy yourself and, when you’re strolling from village to village, you can enjoy a relationship with locals in a way motorists passing through never can. On foot, you get off the beaten track, and you’ll find that people treat you as a visitor rather than a tourist. Also, by walking independently, and not having to worry about keeping up with a group, you set the pace so you can soak up the sights, sounds and scents of your surrounds and really get under the skin of the place you’re visiting.
We proactively encourage walking clients to think about travelling responsibly too: packing light, saving water, buying locally and re-cycling all maps and route notes at the end of their trip.
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