Local bus and baggage service along the Via de la Plata

Another member asked me about baggage and local bus transportation along the Via de la Plata and since i am getting first hand experience given my wife's knee issue, i though i share what i have learned so far.

From Sevilla to Merida the primary bus line is Leda. it has the most frequent service and offers the most stops in most towns (but not all towns) along this section. Alsa also operates here ( Leda is owned by Alsa) but offer less times and stops less often.

From Merida to Caceres the primary service is Alsa bus lines. Leda has a morning bus and late afternoon bus but it stops only a few towns along the way. The mid morning Alsa bus stops at most towns but again not all.

Special note: Yon can not always buy a ticket even the schedule suggests you can. For example we wanted to buy a ticket from Merida to Caceres for the 10:10 morning bus but were told we could buy a ticket to Plasencia, whereby we could then simply get off at Caceres. Don't ask why.

From Salamanca north to Ourense and then on to Santiago the situation is extremely challenging. There are direct buses to Zamora from Salamanca for example but I am unsure if they stop anywhere along the way. After Zamora you can only go to Leon for example. There is a late/ afternoon evening bus from Zamorra to Ourense which does stop at one or two places only.

From Ourense to Santiago there are more options via bus but not many.

Also to add to the challenge the little regional train service is stopping as of this June.

Personally if you want or need baggage or alternate local transportation services, north of Salamanca on the via de la plata is a major challenge.

Further update:

For those in need of public transportation here is an update from Salamanca on to Ourense.

There are a number of buses that service the route from Salamanca to Zamora but none I found that stop at the towns in between except Alsa bus which appears to have a late afternoon run.

The next section I was able to find some local bus transportation was between
Santa Marta de Tera and Puebla de Sanabria.

The bus leaves benavente about 13:50 and passes through this region once a day, making stops along the way. You will need to flag down the bus and ask the driver to let you off at the town you want.

There is a little train that travels between Lubian and A Gudina but I did not get the exact details on it.

In order to travel between A Gudina and Laza since the town in between Campobecerros is fully booked up with AVG workers you can catch the local school bus that goes to Verin. It leaves from the school beside the albergue at approx 10 am. Once in Verin you can either taxi to Laza or catch the 2:15 pm bus there.

If you don't want to walk the steep hill from Laza to Alberguería you can catch a early morning bus at 6:30 am from Laza. It stops at Alberguería and later Vilar de Barrio.

Further update from Ourense to Santiago bus service :

For those needing to bus through this section there is a daily afternoon bus that travels from Ourense to Santiago stopping at some of the key towns that line the 525 highway. It does not stop at all locations so it is important to check.

I have also seen adverts for a pilgrim taxi service to Santiago but I do not have any details on it.