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No, because I would never be able (or try) to afford using a company. You seem to be straddling one side or another.Does anyone know of the company FOLLOW THE CAMINO? Still considering companies to book with as I have posted before but in doing research I have become a bit more confident in doing it myself, until someone mentioned this company and said they are the best. Just thought I would ask.
So while I don't intend to engage one anytime soon, I have to admit that discussing her experience with my friend has muted my opposition somewhat.I'm pretty sure that as someone who hasn't used a tour company, I have no idea whether or not it would take away anything from my pilgrimage were I to use one. More, having had friends who have been walking the camino longer than I have recently use a tour company for a group, it actually allowed her to get more from the camino experience not being distracted by the day to day organisational arrangements for her friends.
There's a middle ground - book your own accommodations, then you have more control over your Camino and may learn more about the Camino during the planning process. If you have made the bookings yourself you control them, not the booking company. So if you find that you need to take a day or two off because of illness or injury you can change your bookings yourself rather than miss out in any stages.I will be using them in September. They have been very responsive to date. I understand many participants on this forum frown on assistance. I appreciate the trade off of flexibility/spontaneity for preplanned. However, for me preplanning will take away the daily angst I would experience worrying about where to stay each night. I will have a more fulfilling trip knowing it is preplanned. Perhaps I will feel more comfortable with free form once I have one Camino completed. We all need to do what makes us comfortable to achieve the goal we desire.
...for me preplanning will take away the daily angst I would experience worrying about where to stay each night. I will have a more fulfilling trip knowing it is preplanned.
Hi James, I will be returning to Zamora probably at the end of May next year but I’ll be doing the Sanabres. As Santiago is a rather damp place, it’s nice to get there in June and hope by then it’s dry at least! Buen CaminoI have used both Follow the Camino and Camino Ways in the past. There is a strong bias on this forum towards staying in albergues and if using private accommodation, doing all the booking yourself. I disagree with this bias and agree completely with the comment from @Mamarich:
I just returned from the Via de la Plata where I had to stop after walking from Seville to Granja de Moreruela because of worsening tendonitis in my left leg. I was with a friend, and we did no advanced booking, and mostly stayed in albergues. Because there are 5% or less of the pilgrims on the VdlP than the Camino Frances, there is much less infrastructure. Many of the towns had only one albergue, and often it was very sub-par. And, after Salamanca, we were in a Camino bubble where there were more than 30 pilgrims and the albergues often had 30 or fewer beds, so a bed race emerged. The bed race dramatically reduces, no, the bed race kills the positive experience of the pilgrimage.
So I'll return next spring to walk from Zamora to Santiago de Compostela, and will not stay in one albergue, I'm using Follow the Camino to pre-book. Therefore I'll be able to walk at my own pace, enjoy the vistas, the diversions, the churches, really enjoy a more fulfilling pilgrimage.
Buen Camino!
--james--
I don't think this is quite accurate.There is a strong bias on this forum towards staying in albergues and if using private accommodation, doing all the booking yourself.
Does anyone know of the company FOLLOW THE CAMINO? Still considering companies to book with as I have posted before but in doing research I have become a bit more confident in doing it myself, until someone mentioned this company and said they are the best. Just thought I would ask.
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