Sandrapf99
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- Time of past OR future Camino
- Future:As soon as we are able to travel post Covid travel restrictions.
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There are a number of companies.
Three major companies are
Correos (Spanish Post Office)
Jacotrans
Caminofacil
This thread has now been tagged with "luggage transport/storage". If you click on the tag under the thread title, you will get all of the threads that have the same tag. You should find some good information there.
thank youAs @C clearly said there are a number of threads on the topic. Here's one https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/luggage-transfer.73431/#post-1002714
And my response on that thread.
I actually carry my pack, but have travelled with people using most of the services, including my wife. They ALL provide a reliable and easy to use service, so in many ways it doesn't matter which one you pick. For myself, I would suggest Correos based upon their very slick web-based scheduling service, and the fact that they respond to emails, in english, in a matter of hours.
This sounds more than fair.Many public and donativo albergues will charge a fee for storing/handling bags sent ahead by people who are not staying there.
Jacotrans.Hello everyone,
What company do you recommend for luggage/backpack transfer on the Camino Frances?
I have seen quite a few changes already in 2022 in comparison to 2021.Things are shifting in the luggage delivery business, you will likely see some outcomes in 2023, especially on the Camino Frances, especially in places staffed by volunteers.
Many public and donativo albergues will charge a fee for storing/handling bags sent ahead by people who are not staying there.
They will only accept backpacks. People who ship suitcases, duffle bags and carry-on type luggage along the camino will not be able to send them to public/donativo albergues dedicated to serving pilgrims.
@Rebekah Scott I'm a bit puzzled at this. What is the rationale for accepting backpacks but not suitcases? If neither of them is being carried by the walker then both are simply "luggage". Is the shape significant? I don't use luggage transport services so I am not directly affected anyway but it does seem an odd position to take.They will only accept backpacks. People who ship suitcases, duffle bags and carry-on type luggage along the camino will not be able to send them to public/donativo albergues dedicated to serving pilgrims.
Bring lettres de change instead ?And to really be a "traditional" pilgrim, leave your ATM card at home.
It is puzzling. I never recall any albergue "accepting" any items. Items were simply dropped off and piled up in a corner. It was up to the. travel to sort through the pile.@Rebekah Scott I'm a bit puzzled at this. What is the rationale for accepting backpacks but not suitcases? If neither of them is being carried by the walker then both are simply "luggage". Is the shape significant? I don't use luggage transport services so I am not directly affected anyway but it does seem an odd position to take.
As far as I have seen in recent years, the bigger problem has arisen with people with multiple items of luggage treating hospitaleros like cut-price luggage transport employees, so cut-price that in fact it's free.It is puzzling. I never recall any albergue "accepting" any items. Items were simply dropped off and piled up in a corner. It was up to the. travel to sort through the pile.
Hard to tell over a whole year, nor over the Camino routes as a whole, but what I saw within about a 150K radius from Santiago during high pilgrim season this Autumn was suggestive of about a 3:2 ratio, increasing the closer you are to Santiago itself.I wonder what the ratio of plilgrims who use pack transport to those who choose to carry their pack is now?
Wow....I no idea that the non-pack carrying had become the majority or norm.Hard to tell over a whole year, nor over the Camino routes as a whole, but what I saw within about a 150K radius from Santiago during high pilgrim season this Autumn was suggestive of about a 3:2 ratio, increasing the closer you are to Santiago itself.
There were occasional days when I would see virtually nobody carrying a full backpack.
Special mention to the twenty-somethings on their electric bikes and sometimes not even a daypack sending all their stuff through JacoTrans or similar.Wow....I no idea that the non-pack carrying had become the majority or norm.
I guess I should have worked that out due to the continuous threads and posts that seem dominate the forum and Facebook camino sites.
It sounds like pack/luggage transport is more prevalent closer to Santiago.Wow....I no idea that the non-pack carrying had become the majority or norm.
I guess I should have worked that out due to the continuous threads and posts that seem dominate the forum and Facebook camino sites.
Hard to tell over a whole year, nor over the Camino routes as a whole, but what I saw within about a 150K radius from Santiago during high pilgrim season this Autumn was suggestive of about a 3:2 ratio, increasing the closer you are to Santiago itself
Nobody is saying that people with such problems should carry their packs in that way, as a matter of fact, I myself can remember coming across a somewhat elderly English lady in 1994, actually crying not just from pain but also frustration, from thinking she wouldn't be a proper pilgrim without carrying her pack every step of the way, which she was not physically capable of.What I am trying to say here is that luggage transport can be one way that older pilgrims can continue to walk the pilgrim routes: good for our health, wonderful for our spiritual life. I can still walk with a pack, if I leave behind a great deal and ignore the pain in my shoulders, or medicate heavily. For now, I prefer not to use luggage transport again, if I can avoid it. But pilgrims do not use such a service just for convenience.
Hi Albertagirl-- I am aware that many pilgrims need help with transport for health reasons. I know heroic pilgrims who simply cannot carry their stuff. But I am also aware that there are some healthy walkers that assume that transport is necessary and it's necessary to have a set of clothes and shoes for the evening. As one friend of mine exclaimed "I'll be in Spain, I need to dress in the evening. "Ok then", I thought to myself as I handed her my pack which I was lending her for her pilgrimage, "A different Camino than mine."I sent my backpack forward with the Maille Postale for the two weeks that I walked in France in the fall. I needed more than usual because I brought items to defend against covid: tests, masks, medications in particular. It was a real nuisance: having to make bookings before I could arrange for pack pickup, trying to do everything a day longer in advance before Sundays, the towns that seemed to have no accommodation, when I knew that I could find something if I just walked through. I left behind what I could with a friend in Rabanal del camino, where I had been called on to serve as a hospitalera, and carried my pack for the rest of my pilgrimage. Now I am considering walking shorter caminos, beginning this year at around Easter, as I have never walked a spring camino. It would be interesting celebrating my 75th birthday on pilgrimage in Easter Week. I might like to spend several days in ancient cities to visit churches and monuments: Zamora is one possibility for such a stay, then walking on to Santiago.
What I am trying to say here is that luggage transport can be one way that older pilgrims can continue to walk the pilgrim routes: good for our health, wonderful for our spiritual life. I can still walk with a pack, if I leave behind a great deal and ignore the pain in my shoulders, or medicate heavily. For now, I prefer not to use luggage transport again, if I can avoid it. But pilgrims do not use such a service just for convenience.
Looking at the Jacotrans website it looks like those different regional companies may have joined up. Possibly for marketing or other reasons.BTW probably not the exact same company of that name operating today, advertised as "founded in 2006", but there was a JacoTrans in the early 90s - - though IIRC there were several such companies, each operating only on a portion of the Francès
Thank you for the info. Question, do the transports stop all along the Camino, not just the predefined stages? And which ones transport people as well?I actually carry my pack, but have travelled with people using most of the services, including my wife. They ALL provide a reliable and easy to use service, so in many ways it doesn't matter which one you pick. For myself, I would suggest Correos based upon their very slick web-based scheduling service, and the fact that they respond to emails, in english, in a matter of hours. Jacotrans is very popular, but for the first time this year, a guy I was walking with gave up trying to call them because there was nobody that spoke english on the other side of the phone. Best to use Whatsapp to communicate with Jacotrans via text, or ask your hospitalero to call on your behalf. Either way, your bag will get picked up and delivered, and if one goes astray, or your plans change, your bag will always find its way to you.
They stop on every town along the Camino. I don't know of any that transport people as well. You would have to ask about local taxi services.Thank you for the info. Question, do the transports stop all along the Camino, not just the predefined stages? And which ones transport people as well?
@trecile has it. And by the way, there are no predefined stages, just guide book authors making suggestions.Thank you for the info. Question, do the transports stop all along the Camino, not just the predefined stages? And which ones transport people as well?
The only ones that will transport people as well are the taxis providing backpack transport services.Thank you for the info. Question, do the transports stop all along the Camino, not just the predefined stages? And which ones transport people as well?
On our last Camino we stayed at a place in Lestedo, it was very new, and very nice.@Rebekah Scott I'm a bit puzzled at this. What is the rationale for accepting backpacks but not suitcases? If neither of them is being carried by the walker then both are simply "luggage". Is the shape significant? I don't use luggage transport services so I am not directly affected anyway but it does seem an odd position to take.
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