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Things that we "hear" can be very enduring! I have also heard about long lines, but mostly in the earlier days of this pilgrim season, when the new systems and volunteers were still getting organized, or perhaps during the surge of Semana Santa. I was in Santiago for several days in early June and never saw a "long" line. I got my compostela in mid-afternoon one Friday - it took perhaps an hour in total, and as others have said, it was a very pleasant wait seated in the courtyard.I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela.
There is not much to say - that is what you are faced with. I would expect that if you miss out on the first afternoon, you will be fine for the next morning. In the latter case, ask someone at the Pilgrim Office what time you should get there in the morning. They should have a better idea of the variables on that day, than we would here and now.So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one?
Hi, @morrisjo:Hi everyone,
I've only recently joined this group and have to say that I'm benefitting greatly from everyone's advice. We're leaving in 1 week for our trek up the Portuguese route. Here's my question...I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela. Since we're likely to be arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, will we have an issue getting our certificate that day? How early would we need to get in line the next morning? My concern is that we need to leave Santiago by noon the day after we arrive in Santiago. So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one? Thanks!!
Buen Camino @morrisjo, or, as you're on the Portuguese, Bom CaminhoThanks everyone! Can't wait to get started!
But isn't it true that you were not required to wait at the Pilgrims Office since you had received a number and could monitor your place in the virtual queue online?it took perhaps an hour in total, and as others have said, it was a very pleasant wait seated in the courtyard.
Yes, but I really didn't have time to go very far.But isn't it true that you were not required to wait at the Pilgrims Office
I mentioned that to point out with the ticket system that was instituted in 2019 there there is no "line" that one must stand in for hours as was the case previously.Yes, but I really didn't have time to go very far.
True, but when I was there at the end of May, there was still a queue to get a ticket. It didn't take too long, and then one could wait in the garden or leave and monitor your position in the next queue online.I mentioned that to point out with the ticket system that was instituted in 2019 there there is no "line" that one must stand in for hours as was the case previously.
Hi everyone,
I've only recently joined this group and have to say that I'm benefitting greatly from everyone's advice. We're leaving in 1 week for our trek up the Portuguese route. Here's my question...I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela. Since we're likely to be arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, will we have an issue getting our certificate that day? How early would we need to get in line the next morning? My concern is that we need to leave Santiago by noon the day after we arrive in Santiago. So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one? Thanks!!
Hi, @morrisjo:
Hope this helps you to obtain both the Compostela and distance certificate.
As @Tincatinker mentioned, is good to pre-register, so this is the link for that purpose: https://catedral.df-server.info/agencias/Banderas.aspx?ind=1
Have Buen Camino.
It has been discussed in earlier threads: the various foreign language versions (English, French, German, and so on) of this online application form are a badly made interface with an atrocious translation, actually more of a non-translation than a translation. Ignore what does not make sense in English, or better yet, if you can, choose the Spanish language version where it says "Alta individual" instead of "Create a group" (which is plain wrong!!!), meaning that the link and its online form are indeed for the application by an individual pilgrim.I have yet to try this system, but the link appears to be for Groups?
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It has been discussed in earlier threads: the various foreign language versions (English, French, German, and so on) of this online application form are a badly made interface with an atrocious translation, actually more of a non-translation than a translation. Ignore what does not make sense in English, or better yet, if you can, choose the Spanish language version where it says "Alta individual" instead of "Create a group" (which is plain wrong!!!), meaning that the link and its online form are indeed for the application by an individual pilgrim.
Holy Door entryHi everyone,
I've only recently joined this group and have to say that I'm benefitting greatly from everyone's advice. We're leaving in 1 week for our trek up the Portuguese route. Here's my question...I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela. Since we're likely to be arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, will we have an issue getting our certificate that day? How early would we need to get in line the next morning? My concern is that we need to leave Santiago by noon the day after we arrive in Santiago. So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one? Thanks!!
I don't recall even showing my credencial. Certainly not my compostela.does anyone know if you can enter through the Holy Door this year with a compostela from earlier years?
Personally, I would avoid the stress and skip ahead somewhere or at multiple places in order to arrive in Santiago a day earlier. Santiago is the destination for goodness's sake. Why scurry through there and miss so much of what many people travel so far to see and savor?Hi everyone,
I've only recently joined this group and have to say that I'm benefitting greatly from everyone's advice. We're leaving in 1 week for our trek up the Portuguese route. Here's my question...I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela. Since we're likely to be arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, will we have an issue getting our certificate that day? How early would we need to get in line the next morning? My concern is that we need to leave Santiago by noon the day after we arrive in Santiago. So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one? Thanks!!
We got ours about 10 days ago and it definitely helped to register online. There was no wait at the moment we arrived, but this was a Monday. I believe that Sunday’s are busier. There was something very gratifying in being there sweaty and with gear and getting them right away. You get both the Compostela and Distace Certificate at the same counter. The Distance Certificate costs €3 and a nice tube to put them in costs €5. The Compostela is free.Hi everyone,
I've only recently joined this group and have to say that I'm benefitting greatly from everyone's advice. We're leaving in 1 week for our trek up the Portuguese route. Here's my question...I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela. Since we're likely to be arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, will we have an issue getting our certificate that day? How early would we need to get in line the next morning? My concern is that we need to leave Santiago by noon the day after we arrive in Santiago. So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one? Thanks!!
Umm...if Santiago is like other Catholic cathedrals, the Holy Door is "open" during the Holy Year, and you don't have to show a Compostela to enter.Holy Door entry
I walked the Portuguese camino 13 years ago and received my compostela. I'm too old to walk the required distance now, but does anyone know if you can enter through the Holy Door this year with a compostela from earlier years?
Yes.The question is, if the extended Holy Year has now ended, is the Holy Door still open?
At Milladoro (sp?) there is a place where you can get a 'Q' code and then when you arrive in Santiago you go and show that at the Office and then take your 'Q' slot in the queue.Hi everyone,
I've only recently joined this group and have to say that I'm benefitting greatly from everyone's advice. We're leaving in 1 week for our trek up the Portuguese route. Here's my question...I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela. Since we're likely to be arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, will we have an issue getting our certificate that day? How early would we need to get in line the next morning? My concern is that we need to leave Santiago by noon the day after we arrive in Santiago. So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one? Thanks!!
You can fill out a form online on the pilgrim office website. That gets you a code, then go to the queue and show them. They will give you a number. It is a bit faster than stating the process at the office.At Milladoro (sp?) there is a place where you can get a 'Q' code and then when you arrive in Santiago you go and show that at the Office and then take your 'Q' slot in the queue.
I was there a week ago. I did not pre register online. I waited about 15 minutes outside in the hot Sun and then about 10 inside and got my Compostela. You can fill out the paperwork with a pen.I was in Pilgrim Office yesterday. You show them your code (you register online in advance). When they let you enter you take a ticket from machine. You then wait next to screen for your number. It took only 15 minutes wait then bingo!
My biggest issue was the poor attitude of security guards and volunteers. My experience was similar to a bad day at the TSA. Once you go through all the lines and the yelling and you’re burned in the sun, you discover that there’s an empty courtyard with chairs and shade, a cheap locker area for your backpack, and clean bathrooms. Why not start there? I recommend you ask the guards to let you in to use all those services before attempting the lines. Oh, and no mask no Compostela.
For my friend and I the actual volunteers were lovely. But for some reason the person at the counter told her to go to ‘the other side’ (her ticket was for his counter) with no explanation of why or where. So she left to find me, we tried to figure it out and went back in. Only to get yelled at by a manager for being late for her counter. It took me pushing back in Spanish to get her to a counter with a lovely volunteer. Without me, my friend’s Camino would have ended on that note. It was a Monday and not crowded, but yes, she was clearly stressed.I imagine that they are tired! Did you see Ivar's thread? 3569 Compostelas were issued today!
That's how I did it and no problem. Got my Compostela that day.As @Tincatinker said, filling out your application in advance is a good idea - but I don't think you necessarily have to wake up early and get to the office when it opens to expedite the process, though it couldn't hurt.
I arrived in Santiago on a very crowded Sunday last month and went straight to the Pilgrim Office around 2 PM. Via the QR code posted at the entrance I filled out my application online and received a number for the queue, which a very helpful attendant told me would be called in about an hour. I went back to the plaza for a bit, came back to the office an hour later, waited in line for about ten minutes, and walked out with my Compostela + distance certificate about ten minutes after that. All told, it took less than 90 minutes between getting to the office and holding my Compostela in my hand - and most of that was spent waiting very pleasantly offsite (though the small courtyard behind the Pilgrim Office felt like a quite festive place to spend some time as well).
Either way, you should have absolutely no problem getting your Compostela & c. before you leave Santiago the next day.
Agreed you can do it the paper way but it's easier the digital way for vast majority.I was there a week ago. I did not pre register online. I waited about 15 minutes outside in the hot Sun and then about 10 inside and got my Compostela. You can fill out the paperwork with a pen.
My biggest issue was the poor attitude of security guards and volunteers. My experience was similar to a bad day at the TSA. Once you go through all the lines and the yelling and you’re burned in the sun, you discover that there’s an empty courtyard with chairs and shade, a cheap locker area for your backpack, and clean bathrooms. Why not start there? I recommend you ask the guards to let you in to use all those services before attempting the lines. Oh, and no mask no Compostela.
NO judgment on anyone else, but for me, a final sello that I got by going to a different office was sufficient. No lines for that even before the electronic system.I was in Pilgrim Office yesterday. You show them your code (you register online in advance). When they let you enter you take a ticket from machine. You then wait next to screen for your number. It took only 15 minutes wait then bingo!
Your biggest issue , I worked there as a volunteer to and the problems are with some Pilgrims who yell , calling your names and say to one off the Sisters that she discriminates . And some times the cards cal the police.My biggest issue was the poor attitude of security guards and volunteers
HiHi everyone,
I've only recently joined this group and have to say that I'm benefitting greatly from everyone's advice. We're leaving in 1 week for our trek up the Portuguese route. Here's my question...I've heard that there are long lines to get the Compostela. Since we're likely to be arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, will we have an issue getting our certificate that day? How early would we need to get in line the next morning? My concern is that we need to leave Santiago by noon the day after we arrive in Santiago. So either we need to get the certificate the afternoon that we arrive or hope to get it the following morning. Any advice on this one? Thanks!!
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