Stay in Santiago or Ferrol ahead of first day?

[BenQ]

We are planning our first camino from Ferrol to Santiago in late May and have just booked our flights so no backing out!We land at Santiago airport at 16:30 and would want to start the following day - would it be better to stay in Santiago for the night and travel to Ferrol in the morning? I'm conscious there may be limited buses later in the evening, the one we'd most likely make is at 19:30 (Monbus), and it might be more relaxing to take an early bus to Ferrol the following morning.

I assume there is no issue in getting a credencial from the cathedral or tourist office on a Saturday morning?

Sorry if these are questions which have been asked before, I'm really looking forward to this trip and finally experiencing a Camino, even if it's only for six days!

 

[Elle Bieling]

For me personally, I would rather do the bus the evening before. My favorite time for walking is in the quiet, early morning hours. But then, I am a morning person! Buen Camino to you, and if you haven't found a good resource, you may enjoy my info: Camino Ingles. Six days will be plenty of time, to enjoy the wonder that is this Camino, up and down the coastal hills!

The Pilgrim's office is open 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, so there should be no problem there.

 

[Bradypus]

I would also choose to overnight in Ferrol. That way you have a full first day available and can either choose to stop early or carry on to Pontedeume without being too pressed for time. Personally I would find it very odd to start my pilgrimage by staying in the city I am aiming for

 

[MikeC]

We are planning our first camino from Ferrol to Santiago in late May and have just booked our flights so no backing out!We land at Santiago airport at 16:30 and would want to start the following day - would it be better to stay in Santiago for the night and travel to Ferrol in the morning? I'm conscious there may be limited buses later in the evening, the one we'd most likely make is at 19:30 (Monbus), and it might be more relaxing to take an early bus to Ferrol the following morning.

I assume there is no issue in getting a credencial from the cathedral or tourist office on a Saturday morning?

Sorry if these are questions which have been asked before, I'm really looking forward to this trip and finally experiencing a Camino, even if it's only for six days!

You could improve your options by getting your credential in advance from the online store of this Forum, or from your national Confraternity. Then you just need to get it stamped in the morning as you set out from Ferrol, regardless of when you have arrived there.

 

[mylifeonvacation]

I agree with all of the above; I’d also go to Ferrol the same evening of arrival. Here’s current info on the Tourist/Pilgrim’s office in Ferrol:

https://visitferrol.com/oficinas-de-turismo/?lang=en

 

[BenQ]

Thanks for all the feedback, it definitely sounds like going to Ferrol is the way to go. As it happens we already have our credentials from the Camino Society of Ireland so would just need the stamp.

Again, thanks for the advice, no doubt I'll have plenty of questions as the time approaches.

 

[KinkyOne]

Thanks for all the feedback, it definitely sounds like going to Ferrol is the way to go. As it happens we already have our credentials from the Camino Society of Ireland so would just need the stamp.

Again, thanks for the advice, no doubt I'll have plenty of questions as the time approaches.

I second all of the above suggestions. That first night you'll have plenty of time for a tasty dinner and a stroll in Ferrol which is quite nice city. In the morning you can get the first stamp either from TO or any of the bars/restaurants on the old harbour shore where Camino Ingles officially starts.

Buen Camino!

 

[peb]

Definitely spend the night before you start walking in Ferrol, as otherwise you waste time traveling from Santiago when you should be walking. The first stage to Pontedeume, if that is what you are walking, is long, and you need all the time that you can get.

One point on the Pilgrims office. When I did the Ingles, it did not open till 10am, far later than I wanted to set off. However, all you need to do is prove you started in Ferrol and the hotel which you stay in Ferrol should be able to stamp your credencial in the morning when you set off.

One other point to save time. The Ingles starts by the harbour, a good 30 minutes walk from most hotels. There is nothing against walking down to the harbour, walking the Ingles route up from the harbour to parallel where your hotel is, and then in the morning, walking out of your hotel to where you left off the evening before, because you have still walked from Ferrol to Santiago. If you walk all round the estuary to Pontedeume on the first day, your legs will thank you for shaving 30 minutes off a very long first stage.

 

[peb]

also, on the evening before, go to the supermarket at El Corte Ingles on the main shopping street in Ferro to stock up on water, fruit and snacks for the first day. Apart from Sundays it is open till 10am, but like most shops, opens well after you want to start walking for the day.

Shops, bars, and restaurants are not as frequent on the Ingles as on other caminos (sometimes you can walk an hour before one appears) and you need to have something with you to keep you going

 

[BenQ]

Great advice.I'm one of those awkward vegetarians so supermarkets will be more of less essential in that part of Spain.

We're planning to split the first leg at Neda for a gentle first day,taking six days in total.

 

[peb]

You should find salads and vegetarian food to eat in restaurants in Ferrol, Neda, Pontedeume, Betanzos and Sigueiro. Equally, Hospital de Bruma has a restaurant down the road. Therefore, do not think you will starve, Equally, there are one or two bars and restaurants on the way for lunch, but in some stages, only one or two all day, and if you set out early, you may pass them before lunchtime.

The key thing, as I noted above, is that the Ingles is not like the Frances or Norte, with water fountains, bars and restaurants every couple of kilometres, so if you don't stock up and carry things with you, the Ingles will not be pleasurable. This is especially on the stages between Betanzos and Hospital de Bruma and between Hospital de Bruma and Sigueiro where there is no supermarket for two days. I only survived by making myself a packed lunch from provisions from the supermarket the evening before to carry with me, as well as 2 litres of water per day.

 

[Greg Wilson]

Great information here ! I have been thinking about these details for a while. Tomorrow I have organised a planing meeting with my Camino companions to make decisions on these very issues and this first hand info and personal advice Will be very helpful. Many thanks to you all for your contributions. We're traveling from Belfast via Dublin to SdC then bus to Ferrol, departing after Easter. Buen Camino to everyone, G'luck !

 

[BenQ]

Will be very interested to hear how you get on Greg.Buen Camino!

Just looking at accommodation options and we seem to be well covered,but has anyone ever had a problem arriving at Hospital de Bruma and finding the albergue full?Both the pension and hotel in Meson do Vento seem to be booked out on the date I'm looking at (at least on the various booking sites).We'll be travelling light so a tent is not an option!

 

[Tincatinker]

Will be very interested to hear how you get on Greg.Buen Camino!

Just looking at accommodation options and we seem to be well covered,but has anyone ever had a problem arriving at Hospital de Bruma and finding the albergue full?Both the pension and hotel in Meson do Vento seem to be booked out on the date I'm looking at (at least on the various booking sites).We'll be travelling light so a tent is not an option!

The booking sites have only limited "reserved" rooms. Try contacting direct. If you are walking in Holy Week / Easter - thats when Spaniards go home to visit "mum".

 

[Pierre Julian]

Definitely Ferrol. It's a lovely town. We had no choice but get a taxi from Santiago airport as buses were on strike. A few people in a taxi makes it a relatively reasonable price.

 

[Deleted member 43780]

Hotel Silva is clean, quiet, place to stay.
Do as others told you. Walk portion day/night before. Then pick up at that point next day.
From hotel Silva walk down few blocks where you left off day before at traffic circle.

Ferrol to Neda is good walk. Nice albergue there.
Good friendly place to eat up hill from albergue.
Then to next stop. pontedume
Hotel Luis is nice and clean. Good food there.
Albergue in pontedume is bad news
Excuse typos. On my cell phone

 

[Greg Wilson]

Ferrol to Neda is good walk. Nice albergue there.
Good friendly place to eat up hill from albergue.
Then to next stop. pontedume
Hotel Louis is nice and clean. Good food there.
Albergue in pontedume is bad news
Excuse typos. On my cell phone

Hi guys,
You mention that the Albergue in Pontedume is bad news. We have just planned to walk to Pontedume on day one, what problems with the Albergue did you find, and was it recently ? Would you recommend an alternative accommodation. Many thanks.

 

[peb]

I would vouch for Hostal Luis in Pontedeume. Albergue is small, dark and noisy

 

[Bradypus]

I would vouch for Hostal Luis in Pontedeume. Albergue is small, dark and noisy

I stayed in Hostal Luis in November - very cheap and friendly and comfortable. I arrived just too late to check-in for the albergue at the tourist office before their lunch break and would have had a two hour wait otherwise. And I remembered the albergue from a previous winter visit as a freezing barn of a place. No contest

 

[Deleted member 43780]

Hi guys,
You mention that the Albergue in Pontedume is bad news. We have just planned to walk to Pontedume on day one, what problems with the Albergue did you find, and was it recently ? Would you recommend an alternative accommodation. Many thanks.

Greg, I stayed in Hotel Luis (hope got the name correct). Nice place. Inexpensive. Good owners. Across the street (actually the square) there is another small hotel. Walkers were also staying there.
The price and location of Hotel Louis makes it a great place to stay.
Problems with the Albergue was no windows, management with attitude, cold, ....
I did not meet a single walker who liked it.

 

[Greg Wilson]

Greg, I stayed in Hotel Luis
Problems with the Albergue was no windows, management with attitude, cold, ....
I did not meet a single walker who liked it.

Thanks for the information. I got hotel Luis on the phone yesterday and using my very first words of Spanish, I have hopefully got us booked in for our stay.
Many thanks everyone.
Buen Camino

 

[Albertinho]

We are planning our first camino from Ferrol to Santiago in late May and have just booked our flights so no backing out!We land at Santiago airport at 16:30 and would want to start the following day - would it be better to stay in Santiago for the night and travel to Ferrol in the morning? I'm conscious there may be limited buses later in the evening, the one we'd most likely make is at 19:30 (Monbus), and it might be more relaxing to take an early bus to Ferrol the following morning.

I assume there is no issue in getting a credencial from the cathedral or tourist office on a Saturday morning?

Sorry if these are questions which have been asked before, I'm really looking forward to this trip and finally experiencing a Camino, even if it's only for six days!

Order your credential here on the forum at Ivar's webshop. You will have time enough. No stress at the very moment to obtain one.
Ferrol is a nice place to stay.If you could get a bus by nIght I should go to Ferrol after arriving at Santiago airport.
Beware the busses in Spain are like touringcars. You are not allowed to take your backpack inside the bus so leave it in the luggage compartment underneath the bus.
The bus from Santiago to Ferrol stops at several stops and locals put their supermarket bags , prams etc in the compartment. At the stops the driver
opens the luggage compartment and everybody grabs his of her belongings but sometimes also belongings that don't belong to them. So anyway take your valuable things inside the bus and pray for your backpack is still there once you will arrive in Ferrol. And try to keep sight on what is yours. I stepped out of the bus at every stop and watched what happened . You are not the first one and probably not the last one to whom this happens.

Buen camino

 

[Deleted member 43780]

Thanks for the information. I got hotel Luis on the phone yesterday and using my very first words of Spanish, I have hopefully got us booked in for our stay.
Many thanks everyone.
Buen Camino

Greg
The man and woman who run (own?) hotel Luis are great.
I recommend eating there. Home cooked meal. Plenty to eat. Good price.

Visit the bar/cafe across the street (actually faces the square). You will find other walkers there.

I miss the leg after Bar Julia. The route changed. Bar Julia was a good stop.

You can still walk the original route (Bar Julia route) if you like.

Good luck

I recommend Hotel Silva in Ferrol

 

[peb]

@Albertinho speaks common sense in obtaining a credencial from Ivar here on this forum. I could not find the stamp at the cathedral in Ferrol, let alone finding where a credencial would be. The tourist office in Ferrol will be closed by the time you arrive in the evening, and may most probably not open by the time you leave to start walking next morning. The hotel where is stayed in Ferrol (Hotel el Suixo) had credencials for sale at reception, but I would not have wanted to have left finding a credencial to that late stage.

@Albertinho also talks from good experience about luggage on the bus journey from Santiago for Ferrol, especially noting that your journey will be in the dark. For that reason, I took the train from to Ferrol. The journey takes much longer than the bus journey, but I decided after reading stories that I wanted to take the stress out of the journey, not worrying about someone else taking my luggage. I also found the bus station at Santiago much less salubrious than the train station. On most days there is a direct train from Santiago to Ferrol leaving Santiago at about 20.30 and arriving Ferrol about 2 hours later. Cost about € 22, as it is the modern, fast Alvia train that comes from Madrid. No need to worry about booking or seats, as the train will be fairly empty after Santiago. You arrive later than the bus you were intending to take, so you would need to eat dinner in Santiago before the train, rather than in Ferrol when you arrive.

 

[Albertinho]

@Albertinho speaks common sense in obtaining a credencial from Ivar here on this forum. I could not find the stamp at the cathedral in Ferrol, let alone finding where a credencial would be. The tourist office in Ferrol will be closed by the time you arrive in the evening, and may most probably not open by the time you leave to start walking next morning. The hotel where is stayed in Ferrol (Hotel el Suixo) had credencials for sale at reception, but I would not have wanted to have left finding a credencial to that late stage.

@Albertinho also talks from good experience about luggage on the bus journey from Santiago for Ferrol, especially noting that your journey will be in the dark. For that reason, I took the train from to Ferrol. The journey takes much longer than the bus journey, but I decided after reading stories that I wanted to take the stress out of the journey, not worrying about someone else taking my luggage. I also found the bus station at Santiago much less salubrious than the train station. On most days there is a direct train from Santiago to Ferrol leaving Santiago at about 20.30 and arriving Ferrol about 2 hours later. Cost about € 22, as it is the modern, fast Alvia train that comes from Madrid. No need to worry about booking or seats, as the train will be fairly empty after Santiago. You arrive later than the bus you were intending to take, so you would need to eat dinner in Santiago before the train, rather than in Ferrol when you arrive.

If it was a "good " experience,I can't say but it happened not to me but to somebody else .

The train can be an alternative.

My wife and I came to Ferrol in a different way .
We took our car and caravan and drove in about a fortnight from the Netherlands through Belgium and France to the north of Spain, followed the track of the camino del norte partly and ended up about 30 kms north of Ferrol on a campingsite. The campingowner took us by his car to Ferrol to the tourist information where we got our first stamp. Then we walked to the harbour where is the start of the Inglés near the camino monument in front of a bar.
After accomplishing the camino we went back by bus to Ferrol and to Valdivia where our car and caravan was parked.
After some days of a good rest we drove to Portugal all away south , drove again to Spain (Seville) and followed by car the camino de via de la plata to Salamanca and from there returned slowly back home. A trip of 10 weeks and about 8000 kms

 

[Deleted member 43780]

If you want to get to Ferrol a different way....
Beautiful way.
Ride the FEVE train: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/...spain-feve-railway-santander-asturias-galicia

Slow. But beautiful.

 

[Greg Wilson]

[QUOTE="martyseville, post: 702567, member: 43780"]
Greg
The man and woman who run (own?) hotel Luis are great.
I recommend eating there. Home cooked meal. Plenty to eat. Good price.
Visit the bar/cafe across the street (actually faces the square). You will find other walkers there.
I miss the leg after Bar Julia. The route changed. Bar Julia was a good stop.
You can still walk the original route (Bar Julia route) if you like.
Good luck
I recommend Hotel Silva in Ferrol
[/QUOTE]

Marty,
Many thanks for your advice which we are sure to follow.

 

[Flig]

I agree with all of the above; I’d also go to Ferrol the same evening of arrival. Here’s current info on the Tourist/Pilgrim’s office in Ferrol:

https://visitferrol.com/oficinas-de-turismo/?lang=en

Wow, the pilgrim information office doesn’t open until July. Not an issue, but I think it does show that this is a less busy route.

Oh, and thanks for the link!