Ourense to SdC

[viclis]

Looking to complete my first Camino in the last week of August of 2024. I plan to fly to Madrid on the Sunday and take the bus to Ourense. I will then begin the trail on Monday morning, and will need to arrive in SdC by Friday.

What are the dos and donts of this routes?
Must sees and skips?
Can I rely on being able to get a spot in an albergue when I arrive, or should I look to book some in advance?

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences!

 

[nycwalking]

In Ourense, there are hot springs about 1-2 minutes down the hill from the municipal albergue. You will need a swimsuit and a small lock with narrow handle for the locker.

August is a busy month on the Camino Frances, but the Camino Sanabres should not be overcrowded.

Don’t get lost and take hilly road out of Ourense. It goes up, and up, and up.

Have the time of your life.

Take as many pictures and as much time as you can.

Buen camino

 

[Stivandrer]

one good tip:
If you last leg is too long before SdC, check in at Reina Lupa, situated just a small distance from the track in Susanah. In this way, you will be just 10K south of the city and will arrive rested before
your end goal.
The hostel is near the restaurant at the main road in, but set a little back and absolute sound proof to the roar of the traffic. Washing machines.Food is good and plentiful and Mama is reigning supreme of it all.

Albergue Reina Lupa | Camino de Santiago Apps and Maps

Albergue Reina Lupa, Private accommodation in A Susana.

wisepilgrim.com

Albergue REINA LUPA | Boqueijón

Albergue REINA LUPA, Boqueixón. 1,118 likes · 61 talking about this · 157 were here. Albergue a 100m del Camino de Santiago de Compostela, a pie de nacional.

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[Stivandrer]

The train from Madrid to Ourense is fast and not very expensive, to be recommended
2½ hours shorter in traveling time.

 

[gns]

Make sure to take the longer route via Oseira would be my tip. The stretch from Ourense is a good one a but without much in the way of sights, so it would be a shame to miss the monastery. There is a new(ish) Xunta albergue there if I recall.

 

[dougfitz]

I walked through Oseira, and would recommend that, but had more time than you appear to have.

Most nights I stayed in Xunta albergues, which cannot be booked but were never full when I walked. There were two nights I stayed in tabernas, and booked those and accommodation in SDC when I arrived.

 

[DawnBP]

I walked this route in October and it was lovely! The albergue in Castro Dozon was closed for construction/repairs and there were limited lodging options on that stage, so plan ahead.

The monastery at Oseira is impressive but please check their hours before you head out. We walked there on a Monday arriving just around noon. No visitors were permitted into the monastery after noon AND the town’s only 2 restaurants were closed on Mondays, so we walked back to the main route disappointed and hungry. Next time I will do my homework first.

This camino overall was very peaceful with just a handful of other pilgrims along the way. I recommend it.

 

[Henry B]

one good tip:
If you last leg is too long before SdC, check in at Reina Lupa, situated just a small distance from the track in Susanah. In this way, you will be just 10K south of the city and will arrive rested before
your end goal.
The hostel is near the restaurant at the main road in, but set a little back and absolute sound proof to the roar of the traffic. Washing machines.Food is good and plentiful and Mama is reigning supreme of it all.

Albergue Reina Lupa | Camino de Santiago Apps and Maps

Albergue Reina Lupa, Private accommodation in A Susana.

wisepilgrim.com

Cannot sing the praises of Reina Lupa loud enough. Stayed there last November.
They own the adjoining bar too What an albergue. Cotton sheets. Blankets. Showers were perfecto. Food excellent.
Just 10k from SDC.

 

[MesaWalker]

If you want a special religious experience, we learned that you can book the last tour of the day at the Oseira monastery and tell the person at the shop (where you buy the ticket) that you'd like to attend Vespers. In our case, in early November last year, the last tour was at 5:30, I think, with Vespers after that, although I don't know whether summer hours are different. So verify the time if you're interested.

My wife and I were the only persons from a pretty crowded tour group who had asked to attend Vespers. A young monk with a flashlight nabbed the two of us right after the tour, walked briskly through a labyrinth of dark stairways, hallways and rooms for maybe 5 minutes until we reached a small chapel. We were the only attendees while the 9 or 10 Trappist monks chanted Vespers in Spanish. Then a different monk took us back. It was a beautiful experience and one of the highlights of our camino.

As mentioned above, the Xunta albergue is onsite and is beautiful.

Also, on the same day on the way to Oseira you go through Cea, which is famous throughout Spain for the bread maybe 30 different families have baked in outdoor stone ovens since the 13th century. If you like bread, it's worth eating the Menü del Día in Cea and enjoying their tasty bread.

 

[el-pe]

Oseira is definitely worth visiting, as is the monastery and vespers. The day I was there the restaurant was closed, but the hospitalaro was able to order in food and the nuns took care of breakfast.

 

[Rita Flower]

Ourense to Santiago Autumn 2022 Autumn

Ourense Hot springs. I went to Termas de Outariz: E5 for 2 hours – lots of different pools of varying temps from quite hot to cool, spas and fountains and soothing music. They ask you to maintain silence. Absolutely wonderful.
The public hot springs are free with three pools and would be a different sort of experience.
There is a monastery in Ourense that I have heard is worth seeing but I didn’t stop.
There are two routes out of Ourense – both steep – I took the right hand one and it was fine.

Oeira and the Monastery – see @MesaWalker comments for details. The monastery has a rare statue of Mary of the Milk. There is a brand new municipal Albergue there with plenty of beds – absolutely beautiful. You might want to take your food as there is only one little café – excellent food but limited and a bit expensive. You can buy a breakfast pack at the monastery. It is a steep walk / trail out the next morning and you might be joined by the monastery’s big black dog for a few Kms.

It appears the the albergue in Castro Dozon is still closed according to Gronze so it’s a 30 Km walk from Oseira to A Laxa. As I had started in Sevilla I was up for it (and you might be too) but there are a Hostal in Botos (E30 for a single) about 6 km before A Laxe.

It’s a beautiful Camino and as I walked I imagined it would become more popular as the Frances gets even busier. I loved every step.

 

[viclis]

Ourense to Santiago Autumn 2022 Autumn

Ourense Hot springs. I went to Termas de Outariz: E5 for 2 hours – lots of different pools of varying temps from quite hot to cool, spas and fountains and soothing music. They ask you to maintain silence. Absolutely wonderful.
The public hot springs are free with three pools and would be a different sort of experience.
There is a monastery in Ourense that I have heard is worth seeing but I didn’t stop.
There are two routes out of Ourense – both steep – I took the right hand one and it was fine.

Oeira and the Monastery – see @MesaWalker comments for details. The monastery has a rare statue of Mary of the Milk. There is a brand new municipal Albergue there with plenty of beds – absolutely beautiful. You might want to take your food as there is only one little café – excellent food but limited and a bit expensive. You can buy a breakfast pack at the monastery. It is a steep walk / trail out the next morning and you might be joined by the monastery’s big black dog for a few Kms.

It appears the the albergue in Castro Dozon is still closed according to Gronze so it’s a 30 Km walk from Oseira to A Laxa. As I had started in Sevilla I was up for it (and you might be too) but there are a Hostal in Botos (E30 for a single) about 6 km before A Laxe.

It’s a beautiful Camino and as I walked I imagined it would become more popular as the Frances gets even busier. I loved every step.

This sounds fabulous, thank you for all the detail, I hope to take a similar route!