busses? and advice :)

[travelingbones]

Hi, I'm planning a last minute trip to Santiago, and have 5 days to hike. I'll arrive in Madrid the morning of Jan 19th, and must be in Santiago the night of Jan 24th. So I can hike the 20th - 24th.

I want to see the most scenic part of the trial possible. My plan is to hike maybe parts of the camino near Piedrafita O'Cebreiro, and take a bus for maybe 30 km one day to make sure I can finish. For example, if I start in O'Cebreiro, hike to Triacastela, can I get a bus or taxi ride to Portomarin, and then hike to Santiago from there?

Is there a better section to skip (maybe something not very scenic?)

Any information about if there is a bus / taxi and how to get one along the camino would be great!

Gracia

 

[mralisn]

Hello,

I would never want to discourage anyone from walking, but I think this would be very difficult. Please don't take my writing below as discouraging. I'm thinking out loud as if I was trying to do the same. Perhaps you know more than I do.

You arrive Saturday morning from wherever in Madrid. Hopefully not a very long distance of travel. I'm thinking some bus services could be less on a Saturday, but since you arrive in the morning, you could be just fine. You might want to start with the Alsa.es bus service website to get travel times from the airport. You will start walking on Sunday, then continue Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday the 23rd. Depending on where you start (bus or train to), you might even be further away from Madrid. I will assume you will have to be back in a city where the bus/train will have a stop to get you back to Madrid on the 24th. You might have no walking on this day or very little as time might be spent mostly getting back to Madrid. If this is the case, then 4 days. Have you considered it might be snowing in O'Cebreiro? Do you already have your pilgrim's passport? If not, you'll need to make sure you put yourself in a position to attain one if you will be staying in the refugios.

In your example, start in O'Cebreiro on Sunday walking to Triacastela. On Monday morning (assuming not much bus service Sunday evening in winter) bus to Portomarin. I do know a little about this as this summer friend was needing to bus to Sarria, but actually had be bussed BACK to Leon (or something like that) just to get to Sarria. Didn't make sense then either. Anyway, let's say you get to Portomarin Monday morning, this leaves Tuesday and Wednesday to "finish" because I think on Thursday you'll want to make sure you are back in Madrid by bus or train. Whew!

For me, I LOVE the beauty of Galicia! However, I've only been in the summer (3 times). Again, I don't want to discourage, but this seems a bit much for only these few days.

Hmm...this is a hard one, but I really like the desire. Where there is a will there is a way. Oh this is exciting! My kind of travel!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You can get a taxi in Triacastela for the trip to Sarria or Portomarin. Ask at any of the restaurants. There is a bus to Portomarin from Sarria through Lugo, but the transit time is likely to be long. It is about 50 km from Triacastela, so expect a taxi to be about 50 Euro.

Buen camino.

TAXI ELVA
Rúa Peregrino, 12, 27630 Triacastela, Lugo, Spain
+34 659 89 35 88

 

[nreyn12]

An important consideration is how far you can walk in a day. Five days walking at 20kms a day will give you a different itinerary than five days at 30 kms a day. Or is it four days of walking...at 20 or 30kms?

In my opinion, every bit of the trail in Galicia is beautiful and worth walking, so don't worry that you aren't on the best part. I'd also recommend at least an afternoon in Santiago.

As for buses and taxis: taxis are available anywhere on the Camino, at a price. Buses are available also, but then you are subject to their timetables.

There is no direct bus service from Sarria to any point along the Camino - you will have to connect through Lugo, as Falcon said. The good news, though, is that you can get to any and all towns on the Camino by connecting through Lugo.

If you are that short on time, have you considered walking the three days / 90 kms from Santiago to Finesterre? It doesn't sound like you are trying to qualify for the Compostela, so this might be a nice alternative. You'd even have time to walk to Muxia, I think.

Keep warm and buen Camino!

 

[tyrrek]

Hi!

This is difficult given the short time you have. You don't want to waste time hanging around for buses etc.

The other consideration is that the weather in Galicia is such that you often get rain and mist that can obscure your view of scenic spots. My favourite photo from my first Camino was a beautiful sunrise in Galicia. At the same point the following year I couldn't see my hand in front of my face because the mist was so thick!

Maybe focus more on the other aspects of the Camino - the challenge, the friendship, etc.

Buen Camino!

 

[judydaisy]

Just to throw my two penny worth into the mix :lol: for what they are worth... Have you thought about the English route? You have the choice of 3 days to Santiago from La Coruna or 5 days walking from Ferrol. For my money, the latter with its Estuary/river views and interior scenery must make this a contender.
Buen camino whatever route you choose.
Judy

 

[travelingbones]

Everyone, thanks so much for the input!!

I wasn't clear on my itinerary. I'll have 5 full days of hiking. So I'll arrive in O'Cebreiro on Saturday afternoon, and plan on just sleeping a lot to recover from the flight/ bus ride that day.

I'm meeting my advisor in Santiago on the 25th. So I will have the 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th to hike. I know I can do 160 km in 5 days, but I wouldn't prefer it.

I want to start on O'Cebreiro b/c I love mountains ( I just moved to the Smokies). Thought I'd try to get a ride for 30 km somewhere in the middle, but I needed to see how doable this was. Sounds like my best bet is to get a bus/ taxi out of Sarria to bring me 30 km up the trail. Right?

Is there a website to see the bus routes and timetables? I couldn't find Sarria on the Alsa list.

Does anyone know - if I have a stamped passport showing I hiked 130 km of the pilgrimage, but had a ride somewhere in the middle, can I get the compostela?

JudyDaisy, I'll look into the Eng. route.

Mralisn, thanks for the concern What do you think now that I've got my itinerary clearly defined? I can take snow and cold. Not too worried about that. Doesn't sound like there's much chance of getting snowed in up there.

Thanks again everyone! Getting excited - soon to be a pilgrim

 

[Deleted member 3000]

if I have a stamped passport showing I hiked 130 km of the pilgrimage, but had a ride somewhere in the middle, can I get the compostela?

No.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Lugo to Portomarin and reverse:

http://www.concellodeportomarin.es/conc ... obuses.php

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Sarria to Lugo and reverse:

http://sarria.es/pdf/c_lugo.pdf

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Pedrafita do Cebreiro to Portomarin:

http://www.sarriaturismo.com/pdf/c_cebreiro.pdf

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Melide to Santiago:

Salida
Llegada
Días servicio
Ruta
6:45
7:45
LMMJV
Lugo→Santiago
7:50
9:00
LMMJVSD
Lugo→Santiago
10:20
11:30
LMMJVS
Lugo→Santiago
11:50
13:05
LMMJVSD
Lugo→Santiago
14:05
15:20
LMMJV
Lugo→Santiago
14:40
15:45
LMMJV
Lugo→Santiago
15:25
16:40
LMMJVSD
Lugo→Santiago
17:50
19:05
LMMJVSD
Lugo→Santiago
20:20
21:30
LMMJVD
Lugo→Santiago

https://maps.google.es/maps/ms?authuser ... 244ce5654a

https://maps.google.es/maps/ms?authuser ... 9589cc57b1

 

[travelingbones]

Just wanted to thank everyone again for all the advice! I was supposed to fly out today, and TYS (Knoxville) got 1 inch of snow and closed down. For someone from the midwest that's a great joke!

Looks like the weather in Galacia isn't cooperating either- I should have about 120km of rain!

In any case b/c my trip will be cut a day short, I'm going to do the Camino Ingles, starting in Ferrol.

Thanks again for for all the tips, amigos!

 

[Al the optimist]

Don't forget - if it snows some of the markers will be obscured! On the Ingles you may well not meet any other pilgs to help find the way. Also check if accomodation open as there is not much choice at Bruma. Johnnie Walker is the best source of knowledge, make sure you download hios guide.
Buen Camino
allan