Best time to get into Santiago?

[NomadBoomer]

I guess anytime of day is a good time to finish your camino in Santiago but..

I am currently(Weds 5th) in Palas de Rei 70km from Santiago. I thought I would be arriving in Santiago on Monday the 9th and I have booked that and Tuesday night before travel on the Wednesday. It now looks like I have an extra day free and I could walk into Santiago any time I choose between midday Sunday and Monday afternoon.

Is there any time of day that you recommend getting into Santiago for practical or personal reasons? I am thinking maybe early morning so I can make the pilgrim mass on the day in arrive??

I am not sure if I should go for 3 nights in Santiago or spend an extra night on the way?

 

[Turga]

Just take into consideration that some activities in Santiago can be quite time consuming. If you want to get the Compostela, be prepared to wait in line for up to two hours+ at the Pilgrims Office. Likewise, there can be a long waiting line to get in to the Pilgrims Mass at noon – especially on a Sunday I guess.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hi, when you arrive in Santiago do some nice things that day .
Go the day after early to the Pilgrimsoffice for your Compostela and later that morning to the Pilgrims Mass .

And you can visit pilgrim house.
https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/
And after that enjoy Santiago.

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Juspassinthru]

Don’t go The the Pilgrims Office between 2-5, reduced staff. Our last night was in O Pedruzo so the last day into Santiago was short, we were there by 1100 after taking our time for breakfast and a leisurely stop at Monte del Gozo. I’d go early as possible, I waited until the next morning so I could spend time with my wife who’d flown in and my Camino friends.

 

[november_moon]

We walked into Santiago at high noon. As we walked through the tunnel to the square where the cathedral is, the bells were striking noon and there was a bagpiper playing in the tunnel. It couldn't have been more perfect.

 

[trecile]

This year i got to the Pilgrim's office about 20 minutes before they closed. I wasn't going to wait in line if it was long, but there was only one other pilgrim ahead of me!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Our first camino we had just come from Monte de Gozo so got there early and mist still shrouded the cathedral - it was surreal.
After the Portuguese we walked in to the bells tolling 9am.
Both times we got compostelas and made it to a wonderful mass.
After the Via de la Plata....it might be the most recent but I don’t recall exactly - what I do remember is seeing the spires in the distance and my heart leapt (it’s my favourite approach)
But the arrival I anticipated would be the most significant - after 1,500km of various routes cobbled together - was disappointing. We’d had a wonderful camino, the kids had walked amazingly, we had created journals to be treasured along the way, we had spotted the cathedral (we were returning from Finisterre), and the kids decided they needed to niggle and dawdle and scrap all their way through the last forest and up the hill to the square. I am not blameless - I overreacted and asked them why they had to ruin such a fabulous walk (as if one morning could outweigh ten weeks of wonder).
That said, it was still a special ending - there are lessons in the anticlimactic as well as in mountaintop euphoria.
My observation would be you can’t orchestrate the details of your ending - whatever it turns out to be (whether that’s early morning solitude or bustling midday bell tolling or just catching the sunset or something completely different), you can be grateful for the gift you have received.

 

[NomadBoomer]

Thanks folks for the replies they helped. When I got up this morning I decided I wanted an extra morning walking on the Way. So I will arrive Monday and let wherever I get to the previous night determine what time I get to Santiago.

 

[Juspassinthru]

Buen Camino!

 

[piggyhinton]

I guess anytime of day is a good time to finish your camino in Santiago but..

I am currently(Weds 5th) in Palas de Rei 70km from Santiago. I thought I would be arriving in Santiago on Monday the 9th and I have booked that and Tuesday night before travel on the Wednesday. It now looks like I have an extra day free and I could walk into Santiago any time I choose between midday Sunday and Monday afternoon.

Is there any time of day that you recommend getting into Santiago for practical or personal reasons? I am thinking maybe early morning so I can make the pilgrim mass on the day in arrive??

I am not sure if I should go for 3 nights in Santiago or spend an extra night on the way?

In my opinion you are trying to stage manage the finish of your pilgrimage. just let it happen!

 

[drvnsmiln]

And I usually build in 10 to 12 days in Europe after my Camino to visit friends and family there. I have found that staying in Santiago for three or four nights after arrival helps me readjust to "real life" - the crowds, the other people, the shopping, the multitude of restaurants, and did I say the crowds? The extra days in Santiago really to help me to ease slowly into the other life, plus I enjoy visiting the Cathedral each night for 19:30 Mass.

 

[Jenyat53]

The first time I walked in, I had had dinner the night before with some young Russian pilgrims who had walked 40 kms that day. When I woke up the next morning at 6am (in Melide) I thought ‘I wonder if there is any chance that I might be able to walk the 50 kms all the way to Santiago today?’
Prior to that, 35 kms was my maximum in one day. I dismissed the thought and started walking.......
As the day progressed, it just so happened that my ‘Camino family members’ dispersed for a range of reasons and after my stop for afternoon tea (where I had planned to stay the night originally) I decided to just keep walking and see how far I could go.
As it turned out on that beautiful May day the weather was perfect and the approach to Santiago spectacular.
When I finally arrived in front of the cathedral at 7:30 pm there was no one else there. It was a most spectacular experience. I loved the solitary celebration and the space to reflect on all that had led to that moment.
The second time I walked in was at 11 am when the plaza was full of fellow, celebratory pilgrims and that was an equally spectacular and memorable moment.
So ......, I reckon just let it be what it is ....... It will undoubtedly be a most amazing moment!!

 

[Walking Lover]

I guess anytime of day is a good time to finish your camino in Santiago but..

I am currently(Weds 5th) in Palas de Rei 70km from Santiago. I thought I would be arriving in Santiago on Monday the 9th and I have booked that and Tuesday night before travel on the Wednesday. It now looks like I have an extra day free and I could walk into Santiago any time I choose between midday Sunday and Monday afternoon.

Is there any time of day that you recommend getting into Santiago for practical or personal reasons? I am thinking maybe early morning so I can make the pilgrim mass on the day in arrive??

I am not sure if I should go for 3 nights in Santiago or spend an extra night on the way?

It is good to get to the Compestela office around 9 unless you want to wait in line for hours.

 

[AndreaCT]

I guess anytime of day is a good time to finish your camino in Santiago but..

I am currently(Weds 5th) in Palas de Rei 70km from Santiago. I thought I would be arriving in Santiago on Monday the 9th and I have booked that and Tuesday night before travel on the Wednesday. It now looks like I have an extra day free and I could walk into Santiago any time I choose between midday Sunday and Monday afternoon.

Is there any time of day that you recommend getting into Santiago for practical or personal reasons? I am thinking maybe early morning so I can make the pilgrim mass on the day in arrive??

I am not sure if I should go for 3 nights in Santiago or spend an extra night on the way?

We arrived in Santiago last Sunday and the crowds weren't that bad. The Compostella office was dead quiet after evening mass. It was easy to get around on Monday as well. But, Friday after we returned from Finisterre, I swear the world descended into Santiago. Yet, another person I spoke to had a different experience. To conclude, go with your heart and whatever you decide will be the right decision! Oh, and check out the big part that connects you to the University. It's an oasis of calm.

 

[Thornley]

so I can make the pilgrim mass on the day in arrive??

You had better be booked in somewhere by then as NO bags allowed anymore.
Await that night or the next day and walk the last day into SDC as you see fit.