looking for someone to plan your camino?

[Clare Eby]

Garry Budin (who runs Spanish Adventures) is a consummate planner, world class resource, complete professional—and all-around great person. He designed the most perfect, unforgettable, and profoundly restorative trip we (two sisters) have ever had. We would recommend him to anyone, in a heartbeat, and will definitely use him again. For years we have wanted to walk part of the camino on a self-guided tour, but without having to carry our luggage or sleep in albergues. There are all kinds of companies catering to this sort of trip (which might be described as Boomer Adventure Travel Lite), and most claim they can hand-tailor trips. But other companies sell packages and they are going to try to fit you into one of theirs, whether or not it is the right trip for you. We closely looked at several companies, some of them big names. But when we found Garry it was as if we were dealing with a different species altogether—someone who personally knows every inch of the camino (and probably of all the caminos). Garry took the time to ask important questions that no one else had (such as, did we know how to read a wilderness map? No….), and factored in important details such as that we hardly speak any Spanish, before making a recommendation. It quickly became clear that the package another company had sold us would have been a disaster. Garry designed the perfect trip for us, expertly hand-tailored to our very long list of wants (200m km on the Portuguese camino). He recommended all sorts of brilliant things we never would have even thought of (such as a guided tour of the lovely Bom Jesus shrine in Braga, Portugal). The lodgings were magnificent (two of them homey, several lovely smaller hotels, and a few blowouts—one Parador and two Pousadas). The maps and detailed itinerary (complete with notes as to where to stop for coffee, where to be careful not to miss a turn, where to get the best tapas) were beyond invaluable. His luggage delivery service was handled perfectly as was *all* of the transportation to and from airports and between the camino and a lovely hotel on the ocean. There was an ideal balance of meals provided and those we acquired on our own—and all of the food provided exceeded our expectations (and we are serious foodies). Perhaps most important, when you do an adventure like this, there are bound to be glitches (one of us got a toe infection, the other sprained an ankle, and Delta never delivered the luggage to one of us!), and it is crucial to have someone you can actually contact who actually knows the area in detail and how to get things done. Garry even ran interference for us with Delta, often alerting us to things before the airline did. We couldn’t be more thrilled with our trip, or with Garry. The cost was entirely reasonable as well. We feel like the most pampered peregrinas of all time!