Fave Accomodation from Sarria to Santiago. Also, a question of days.

[Hal]

I have 9 days to walk and I am doing so in order to get a Compostela for a relative. Because I will be walking with a day pack and will be sending my bag ahead, I am pre-booking accomodation and can hopefully not have to sprint for a bed but enjoy the road.

As I will be missing the more scenic parts of Spain, I don't want to miss out on Samos I will start from there rather than Triacastela or O Cebreiro and (hopefully?) will have a spare day or two to explore Santiago and Finisterre or Muxia.

I have looked at many posts, lists and blogs and have a reasonable idea of where to stay but I want some personal ideas. The last 100km is the least romantic leg, so with that in mind, what are the towns and places to stay you most enjoyed post-Sarria? Your favourite meal or view church or tree?

 

[Bradypus]

Been a long time (2002) since I stayed there but for setting I really enjoyed the albergue at Ribadiso da Baixo. Passed by last year at lunchtime when walking the Primitivo and had a good meal at a restaurant next door. Still a pretty spot but very busy these days. Probably true of all the final 100km though.

 

[Davey Boyd]

I really enjoyed Albergue Casa Domingo just past San Xulian (the alberque with the huge shell outside you can't miss it). Also Albergue San Anton in Melide was nice too.

Davey

 

[Robo]

What type of accomodation are you intending to use? And what price level?

 

[Hal]

Hey @Robo

I have the budget for 60 euros a day. Due to dietary issues I primarily live on sachets of protein powder for shakes in such situations, so I should be able to spend a minimum on extra food (wine and coffee on the other hand...)

 

[Davey Boyd]

Hey @Robo

I have the budget for 60 euros a day. Due to dietary issues I primarily live on sachets of protein powder for shakes in such situations, so I should be able to spend a minimum on extra food (wine and coffee on the other hand...)

Hi Hal

You will have no problems with 60 Euros a day, you will be able to have a real comfortable time on that, and treat yourself to some hotel accommodation too if you wish. I walked on a budget of 30 Euros a day and was very comfortable on that (and I drink lots of beer)!

Buen Camino!
Davey

 

[ascensions]

I think my two favorite places to stay back in 2012 was my first and last stop, neither of them do I remember their names. The first one was about 12 to 14 km from Sarria and was new at the time. Had a little rustique stone bar near the Camino and a modern dormitory up the hill. It was great for my first night. Laundry, wifi and a huge glass window to watch other pilgrims and the sunset. Maybe someone else will know where it was, I'd like to know too.

Then there was my stay in Santiago. Not the nicest, but the location was literally on an alley off of the main cathedral and main shopping street in old Santiago. The walls were like 4 foot thick, wooden shudders with iron hardware and probably hundreds of years old. The bells went off all night, but it was super cool being right where everything was and for only about 15 Euros. Wish I could be more helpful on this one, but again, maybe someone can chime in and figure out where the heck this is.

 

[mspath]

I think my two favorite places to stay back in 2012 was my first and last stop, neither of them do I remember their names. The first one was about 12 to 14 km from Sarria and was new at the time. Had a little rustique stone bar near the Camino and a modern dormitory up the hill. It was great for my first night. Laundry, wifi and a huge glass window to watch other pilgrims and the sunset. Maybe someone else will know where it was, I'd like to know too......

This might be the Casa Cruceiro in Ferreios. Here is their web.

 

[ascensions]

Yep, that looks like it. Very nice stay!

 

[DurhamParish]

I enjoyed the albergue & restaurant at Mercadorio, about 6 kilometers before Portomarin.

 

[mspath]

Here are two of my favorite places west of Sarria with good hearty food.

Down the hill from Ferreios and next to the church/cemetery the restaurant O Mirallos is a favorite stop. Their great simple food with kind service is hard to beat. They are open every day, serve breakfast from 07:00 and offer a small dorm for those in need.

Years back in 2010 I stopped in the private Casa Garcia in Gonzar. It was late November and cold walking with frozen mud on the path through the wood. The private albergue had great food in an elegant renovation with slate floors, white walls and wonderful single beds clad in crisp linen. However NO heat except sub floor pipes in the loo. Guess where I slept? On that heated loo floor since there were no other pilgrims but plentiful blankets for topping my sleeping bag!

 

[GettingThere]

Here's a recommendation for a place that's a few km off the camino between Portomarin and Palas de Rei. In May last year when my mother and I were walking, we were going very slowly and couldn't make it all the way to Palas de Rei. Unfortunately all the places we tried in between were full, so I got onto Booking.com and looked further afield. Casa Roan is about 5km off the camino, and if you are staying with them they will pick you up from the camino and drop you back again the next morning in the same spot (for no charge). We had them pick us up from Ligonde. Their rooms are from 58 Euro for a double, which is not bad if two of you are sharing, and the place is a beautiful old farmhouse. The dinner we had there was one of our best meals in Spain. Thee was no menu/carta - we just ate what they were preparing that night. From memory I think the meal was 20 Euro, more than the standard menu peregrino but still imho amazing value. Platters of cold meats and vegetables (my first experience of pimientos de Padron!), an amazing goat meat stew, wine and dessert. And a good breakfast the next morning. Lovely, welcoming family who own and run the place. They're on the edge of a tiny village (Sestelo) surrounded by woods and farms - really beautiful. Highly recommended.

Also Casa Morgade, at Morgade between Sarria and Portomarin - another beautiful old farmhouse with a few double rooms and one (I think) dorm with bunks. Popular bar downstairs that's busy with passing pilgrims through the day, and then by late afternoon you're left to enjoy the quiet (or we were last May) along with the cows and the friendly family dog.

 

[Albertagirl]

The Albergue Turistico Salceda, about halfway between Arzua and Pedrouzo and just off the camino, welcomed, housed in superior pension accommodation, and cooked for and fed myself and five other pilgrims. The day before, they had officially closed for the season, so opened just for us. The food was great and the accommodation was very welcome, as the sun was setting (mid-November) and the other nearby albergues had also closed for the season and were not willing to reopen. Our host cooked for us and only charged 20 euros each for a bed in a three bedded room, including the menu peregrino. They take reservations through Booking.com . As far as I can tell, you cannot book an albergue bed there through Booking.com, but Brierley provides a telephone number (981 502 767) to call to book.

 

[GettingThere]

The Albergue Turistico Salceda, about halfway between Arzua and Pedrouzo and just off the camino, welcomed, housed in superior pension accommodation, and cooked for and fed myself and five other pilgrims. The day before, they had officially closed for the season, so opened just for us. The food was great and the accommodation was very welcome, as the sun was setting (mid-November) and the other nearby albergues had also closed for the season and were not willing to reopen. Our host cooked for us and only charged 20 euros each for a bed in a three bedded room, including the menu peregrino. They take reservations through Booking.com . As far as I can tell, you cannot book an albergue bed there through Booking.com, but Brierley provides a telephone number (981 502 767) to call to book.

We stayed there too! I second this recommendation - really kind and welcoming people. And one of my favourite Camino memories was sitting in their courtyard in the sun, during the European Champions League final (Barcelona v Juventus), hearing shouts and cheers echoing around from the houses in the village, and then our delightful hostess shouting loudest of all and dancing around for joy at the result! I'm really not a football follower at all, but it was such an infectiously happy moment!

 

[Hal]

Thank you for all these suggestions. It looks like, even in the most "maligned" segment of the Camino, that many pilgrims can find the odd place of gratitude and happiness.