In this post we will see together why you can enjoy your trip 100%, if you decide to do the Camino de Santiago with a specialized Travel Agency. At Galiwonders, we are local experts in the Way of Saint James and we can help you create the best experience. You won’t make a mistake, by booking an organized route to Santiago, you will forget about any problems.
The organized Way of Saint James
Whether you are already a professional of the Way or if you have never travelled one of the Xacobean Ways, the advantages of living the route without worries are countless. When we choose to undertake a journey like the Camino de Santiago, we mainly want to forget about all those tasks and problems that we experience in our daily lives. Among the motivations that push us to choose such an adventure, we find the desire and the need to live some days of peace and quietness.
To allow you to live this experience to the fullest, we, as Travel Agency of the Camino de Santiago, will take care of all the logistical details. So, you will enjoy your trip with total peace of mind. This means, above all, not having to worry about finding accommodation for the night. Therefore, you’ll be sure that when you arrive at your destination, you will already have a place to rest. You will then enjoy a shower and you will find your checked-in luggage (normally after 3pm) already at the reception waiting for you.
Although it may seem banal, we can assure you that the experience of reaching the end of the stage and not finding a place to sleep is quite unpleasant. In fact, you have to take into account that most of the villages where the stages of the route end, are very small. Also, they will be full of pilgrims who did booked in advance, especially along the French Way.
It is most likely that the hotels will reach their limits of capacity in the busiest months (April to June and September to October). This eventuality unfortunately has only two possible consequences, or you take a cab to the nearest hotel and will be taken back the day after where the stage begins. Or, simply continue walking to the next available accommodation! Do not forget that next year 2021, it’s the Jacobean Holy Year and the number of pilgrims will increase even more. Don’t take any risk and book your Camino in the Jubilee Year as soon as possible.
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What are the advantages of booking an organized Camino de Santiago?
The hotels are already booked
As we have mentioned before, the main advantage is that you don’t have to worry about finding accommodation for the night. Moreover, among the documents we send to our clients before the beginning of their trip, there is all the information needed to get to the hotel and to contact with its staff. This can be found in the travel kit that we send by email a month before departure, so that the pilgrims can arrive at their hotel without any problems. Also, we want to remind you that at Galiwonders, we only work with hotels and guesthouses that offer private rooms with private bathrooms. This will allow you greater comfort and privacy on your arrival.
The Pilgrim’s passport is sent at home
If you decide to travel with us, you won’t have to worry about finding your pilgrim’s passport because we will send it directly to your home before the start of the trip. Remember to get a stamp every day at the start and end of the stages so that you can get your Compostela at the end of your trip!
You travel lighter
In addition, by organizing the luggage transfer from one stage to another, guests can leave their backpacks at the reception in the morning of their departure and find them at the next hotel after their arrival. This service is very appreciated by those pilgrims who travel 20 or 30 km, because they can thus enjoy a more pleasant experience. The only weight you will have to carry will be a small backpack in which you can take a bottle of water, some snacks and personal items. Nothing to do with the backpack in which we put everything necessary for the trip.
24h assistance
One of the services that we offer, as Travel Agency of the Way of Saint James, is the possibility of calling our emergency number, active 24/7. This phone is available to solve problems that have occurred along the way or to help pilgrims in difficulty (for example, if they are injured). This allows, especially those pilgrims who are making the journey for the first time or who are traveling alone, to feel safer and more confident before the start of their journey.
Saving time
As you can imagine, if you have everything organized by a Travel Agency of the Camino, you will have much more time to enjoy the Camino and relax at the end of your day. You don’t have to waste time looking for a hotel, finding a restaurant or consulting a luggage transfer service. You just have to make the most of your experience and spend time with the other pilgrims in total relaxation.
More safety in time of COVID-19
Unfortunately, the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus is not yet over and we have already begun to consider all preventive measures to avoid further spread of the contagion along the Camino de Santiago. The health protocols imposed by the Spanish government, and in particular by the Galician community, have allowed us to consider this region as a “safe destination” during the summer of 2020. For this reason, at Galiwonders we only work with facilities that ensure full compliance with these measures and, in addition, by offering private rooms with private bathrooms, we reduce the possibility of sharing common areas with other pilgrims.
To check out our reasons to walk the Camino de Santiago after the coronavirus pandemic, click here.
A walk with a “special” friend
Another difficulty that you can avoid by booking an organized walk with a Travel Agency, is to find a suitable accommodation if you want to make the camino with your dog. This type of trip is getting more and more popular, but it can still be difficult to find structures that accept our friends. The best option is, without a doubt, to get professional help to prepare your trip and live it without worries.
A path for every age
Although the physical effort is not little, (we consider an average of 20 km per day for about 5 or 6 consecutive days), most of our pilgrims are retired people. The age is obviously not a limit to walk the Way of Saint James. You just need to be trained to completely enjoy the Way. To ensure maximum comfort to our travelers, we offer transfers from and to the airport, as well as the possibility of choosing a superior hotel to live a trip with all the luxury, or organizing transfers along the way if needed.
Not only that, many families embark on this adventure with small children, sometimes even with new-born babies. Of course, this can become problematic if not organized in advance and for this reason we are happy to help families create new memories along the way.
Traveling in large groups
If you travel with a group of friends, with a school or your parish, surely the more participants the better, but at the same time finding accommodation for everyone will be more problematic. No doubt that an organized Way of Saint James will help you out! As we said before, some of the routes are very crowded, especially in certain months. Just think that according to the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago, in 2019 alone, 189,937 pilgrims walked the French Way! For this reason, we assure you that it is much better to trust a Travel Agency with previous experience in managing large groups, to book the best facilities.
Tailor made caminos
At Galiwonders, we put our pilgrims at the centre of our business and we really care about their opinion and satisfaction. That’s why we offer custom made itineraries, where each customer can modify his route as he wish. For example they can change the number of nights, add or take off dinners, split a stage in two, arrange extra transfers, upgrade the accommodation to a superior standard and so on.
Assistance from local professionals
Unlike other companies that offer tours along the Santiago route and are located outside of Spain, at Galiwonders, we are based in Galicia, the region where most of the routes take place. We personally go and visit the hotels we work with, as well as the other providers along the Way (tour guides, luggage transfer, bars and restaurants, ect.). Moreover, we can recommend you the typical dishes to try, as well as offer you the best day tours to complete your experience at the end of the Camino. We have more than 4 years of experience in creating routes to both the national and international tourists and we can attend you in the following languages: English, Spanish, Italian and French.
Besides being local experts, we are also great fans of the route and of everything that this experience represents. If you want to know more about a route, do not hesitate to contact us as soon as possible. At Galiwonders, we will be happy to help you create your own experience.
