Shipping luggage to Santiago

november_moon · Feb 21, 2014

What do people do about shipping luggage to Santiago? Can you send things general delivery to Santiago itself or is there a service that people ship luggage to that will hold the luggage? Any ideas about costs?

We arrive in Madrid on a Thursday evening and plan to spend 1 night there, then take the train to Leon the next day and start our walk from Leon. If things go according to plan, we will have a few days post-Camino before flying back home from Madrid. As such, we will have some clothing and things for pre- and post-Camino - and we definitely don't want to carry it with us. I have friends in Madrid that I can leave a suitcase with, but I think it would be nicer to have it waiting for us in Santiago, if possible - I imagine that after 300 km of walking with just the basics on our backs, I will want a cute dress, sandals, and make-up at my disposal

Plus we may not decide to go directly back to Madrid and it would be nice to have that flexibility.

mspath · Feb 22, 2014

november_moon,

Check this Forum link regarding shipping to and storage in SJPdP.

Happy planning,

Margaret Meredith

peregrina2000 · Feb 22, 2014

Hi, november_moon,

I always ship a few things up to Santiago before I start my walk, most importantly the duffel bag that I used to carry on my walking poles. Since I am an overly organized (add your own adjectives here) person, I have this down to a regular routine. At home I collapse a sturdy box and stick it in my backpack. I put the address of my Santiago hotel on the box. On arrival in Madrid or wherever, I use some of the duct tape I have wrapped around my poles to re-make the box. Then I head to the nearest correos and mail it. It is quick and easy, and I've never had a problem with things not arriving.

If your hotel/albergue in Santiago won't hold packages for you, Ivar's service (Margaret gave the link) is a good idea.

Just one thing -- if you use the regular Spain mail system, you will need a return address in Spain. The first time I tried this system, I didn't have a Spain address and the man behind the counter told me to just put an address of a Madrid hotel on it. So that's what I have done since then. Buen camino! Laurie

november_moon · Feb 23, 2014

Excellent - thank-you both so much. This is exactly what I was looking for.
I like the idea of packing a flattened box in a duffle bag with your things so that the box can then be used to protect the bag while shipping. And we will be taking a small amount of duct tape anyway just to have with us, so we can add a little more to rebuild the box and will be all set. Our backpacks will be small enough to take as cabin luggage for our flight, but we will have a duffle checked with our extra clothes and items such as our poles, leatherman knife, etc.

nreyn12 · Feb 24, 2014

The worker in the post office in Pamplona told me to put the destination also as the return address - that way the package goes where I want it to regardless.

You don't even need to carry a box or tape - the Correos offices sells boxes. Three of the four sizes are self-sealing, and they will give you tape if you need the largest size.

nreyn12 · Feb 24, 2014

A worker at the post office in Pamplona once advised me to use the destination address also as the return address. That way the package definitely gets where it's going. So far, so good!

The Correos offices sell four different sizes of boxes, so you don't really need to bring along your own. Three of the four sizes are self-sealing, so you don't need tape. The largest size does need tape, and they will provide it, in my experience at no cost.

For the full story on how to use the Correos system, look here: http://thecaminoexperience.com/Correos-post-office-Camino-de-Santiago.php

peregrina2000 · Feb 24, 2014

nreyn12 said:
A worker at the post office in Pamplona once advised me to use the destination address also as the return address. That way the package definitely gets where it's going. So far, so good!

The Correos offices sell four different sizes of boxes, so you don't really need to bring along your own. Three of the four sizes are self-sealing, so you don't need tape. The largest size does need tape, and they will provide it, in my experience at no cost.

For the full story on how to use the Correos system, look here: http://thecaminoexperience.com/Correos-post-office-Camino-de-Santiago.php

I guess I should have figured that the Correos would sell boxes, thanks for that tip. And I like your idea of having the destinario be the same as the remitente! Thanks, nreyn.