Mailing excess luggage

[Meeshell]

I am starting the Camino trail soon & have some excess luggage I want to post onto Santiago to pick up when I finish. I have been travelling around Europe & will continue to do this when I finish the pilgrim & don't need to take it all, but will need it when I have completed it. Is this possible? I did send e-mail to Pilgrim Office asking, but never got a response back.

 

[donalomahony]

Let us know where you are starting please! Determines our answer...

 

[Anemone del Camino]

The pilgrim office does not do this, but the Spanish postal service does.

Free storage for the first 15 days, then 1 € a day. It's their Pac Peregrino package.

http://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/envio-maletas.php

 

[ivar]

The pilgrim office does not do this, but the Spanish postal service does.

Free storage for the first 15 days, then 1 € a day. It's their Pac Peregrino package.

http://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/envio-maletas.php

If you will be sending your things from Spain, this is a good option.

If you send it from outside of Spain (France or Portugal), the Spanish post office will most likely refuse the parcel in Santiago since it comes to them with SEUR (from France) and another private shipping company (don't remember the name now) if it comes from Portugal. The reason is that the Spanish post office charges other companies a storage fee, if they are to store the parcel with them... and the private shipping (e.g. SEURE,..) companies will not pay.. so it gets returned. I have been helping an Asian pilgrim with this problem las week. She sent a suitcase from SJPP with the French post office to the post office in Santiago... and it got returned to France.

So if you are sending it from outside of Spain, you can make a reservation at a hotel in Santiago.. and send it there. that would be the most economical option, since they most likely do not charge for the service. (You should get in touch with them first).

I do offer this service here as another alternative:
http://www.casaivar.com/luggage-storage-in-santiago-de-compostela/index.html
..There might also be other options if you google a bit.

Buen Camino!
Ivar

 

[Meeshell]

If you will be sending your things from Spain, this is a good option.

If you send it from outside of Spain (France or Portugal), the Spanish post office will most likely refuse the parcel in Santiago since it comes to them with SEUR (from France) and another private shipping company (don't remember the name now) if it comes from Portugal. The reason is that the Spanish post office charges other companies a storage fee, if they are to store the parcel with them... and the private shipping (e.g. SEURE,..) companies will not pay.. so it gets returned. I have been helping an Asian pilgrim with this problem las week. She sent a suitcase from SJPP with the French post office to the post office in Santiago... and it got returned to France.

So if you are sending it from outside of Spain, you can make a reservation at a hotel in Santiago.. and send it there. that would be the most economical option, since they most likely do not charge for the service. (You should get in touch with them first).

I do offer this service here as another alternative:
http://www.casaivar.com/luggage-storage-in-santiago-de-compostela/index.html
..There might also be other options if you google a bit.

Buen Camino!
Ivar

Let us know where you are starting please! Determines our answer...

Let us know where you are starting please! Determines our answer...

Let us know where you are starting please! Determines our answer...

i am in Spain now, starting from Barcelona. I think the hotel option might be my best bet. I will look into that anyway. I'm thinking it will take me about 9 weeks or so to walk, so that would be great if a hotel could hold it for me. Thank you everyone for your helpful answers.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

If you will be sending your things from Spain, this is a good option.

If you send it from outside of Spain (France or Portugal), the Spanish post office will most likely refuse the parcel in Santiago since it comes to them with SEUR (from France) and another private shipping company (don't remember the name now) if it comes from Portugal. The reason is that the Spanish post office charges other companies a storage fee, if they are to store the parcel with them... and the private shipping (e.g. SEURE,..) companies will not pay.. so it gets returned.
Buen Camino!
Ivar

Yes Ivar, from inside Spain, which I sort of assumed as this is a Correos service. But, what about the Lista de Correos, for those who will catch up with their gear within two weeks? Is that no longer available in Santiago? Will they send the parcel back?

 

[Wanderlust57]

The pilgrim office does not do this, but the Spanish postal service does.

Free storage for the first 15 days, then 1 € a day. It's their Pac Peregrino package.

http://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/envio-maletas.php

Is this information available in English?

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Is this information available in English?

It is in English.

 

[freetobe]

If you will be sending your things from Spain, this is a good option.

If you send it from outside of Spain (France or Portugal), the Spanish post office will most likely refuse the parcel in Santiago since it comes to them with SEUR (from France) and another private shipping company (don't remember the name now) if it comes from Portugal. The reason is that the Spanish post office charges other companies a storage fee, if they are to store the parcel with them... and the private shipping (e.g. SEURE,..) companies will not pay.. so it gets returned. I have been helping an Asian pilgrim with this problem las week. She sent a suitcase from SJPP with the French post office to the post office in Santiago... and it got returned to France.

So if you are sending it from outside of Spain, you can make a reservation at a hotel in Santiago.. and send it there. that would be the most economical option, since they most likely do not charge for the service. (You should get in touch with them first).

I do offer this service here as another alternative:
http://www.casaivar.com/luggage-storage-in-santiago-de-compostela/index.html
..There might also be other options if you google a bit.

Buen Camino!
Ivar

Ivar - you have answered my Question that I have just posted elsewhere on this forum. Perhaps you could suggest the best way to pack some gear that I want to have available post Camino. I am intending to post from SJPDP to your luggage storage facility late Sept with pick up mid Nov. I had intended a day pack or similar. Using the french postal system - is this a problem?

 

[Terri B]

Ivar - you have answered my Question that I have just posted elsewhere on this forum. Perhaps you could suggest the best way to pack some gear that I want to have available post Camino. I am intending to post from SJPDP to your luggage storage facility late Sept with pick up mid Nov. I had intended a day pack or similar. Using the french postal system - is this a problem?

Hi freetobe, the post office in SJPDP has sells boxes that you can use. I did this last year and picked it up from Ivar 6 weeks later. Buen Camino Terri

 

[ivar]

Ivar - you have answered my Question that I have just posted elsewhere on this forum. Perhaps you could suggest the best way to pack some gear that I want to have available post Camino. I am intending to post from SJPDP to your luggage storage facility late Sept with pick up mid Nov. I had intended a day pack or similar. Using the french postal system - is this a problem?

The french postal system works fine.. but the boxes they sell are not very large, so you might want to find your own box (in SJPP there are supermarkets that I know pilgrim get boxes from) or just plastic wrap it (kitchen wrap from the supermarket works).

 

[ivar]

Yes Ivar, from inside Spain, which I sort of assumed as this is a Correos service. But, what about the Lista de Correos, for those who will catch up with their gear within two weeks? Is that no longer available in Santiago? Will they send the parcel back?

If you mail things from within Spain to Lista de Correos... they hold it 15 days (or 14, don't remember) for free, then €1,-/day after that.

 

[t2andreo]

From my experience and observation, here are some quick tips:

1. If you are walking the Camino Frances from St. Jean Pied de Port, seriously consider using Express Bourricot ( http://www.expressbourricot.com/ ). They are NOT cheap. But they ARE safe, secure, and reliable. If walking in a group, consider sharing a bag.

When I last used them, they charged €70 for a carry-on sized suitcase. However, you lock it, leave it at your last night's front desk, and it is taken care of for you. Hotel and hostal operators in St. Jean know about this service. You can also contact them online beforehand and make your arrangements. Caroline speaks good English.

Your luggage is driven once or twice monthly from St. Jean to Santiago (a two-day trip) by van. It is stored in a separate, locked luggage room at the Hostal / Albergue La Salle.

2. To keep things simple and reliable, try not to mail anything to Spain from outside of Spain. Yes, it is possible, but contrary to logic the EU postal system is NOT unified. Each EU country still maintains it's old-school postal system.

Thus, something you mail from France into Spain, or from Portugal into Spain, is still considered an international shipment. The only thing that no longer applies are VAT and excise taxes. All other provisions of an international mail system remain. This adds time, complications, and opportunities for your parcel or luggage to "go walkabout..."

Keep it simple. The Spanish mail system is great.

4. If mailing from one Spanish point to another, DO use the Spanish Correos. It is reasonably priced, convenient, and safe.

The only complicating thing that is reported from various sources, is that there is not a standard for accepting luggage for shipment. Some offices will take a locked bag with destination tags. Some require the bag to have an external strap to prevent it from opening if the latching fails. Some require shrink wrapping. See Ivar
s post above. Others, still require that the luggage be in a box...go figure...

5. You should mail stuff to Ivar to hold for you. He accepts most anything. Failing that, if you have a reservation for a hotel in Santiago (you really should), ask that hotel if they will accept and hold a parcel or suitcase you send ahead for your arrival. If they say yes, then you might send it there instead.

6. DO NOT MAIL OR SHIP ANYTHING TO THE PILGRIM'S OFFICE! For obvious security reasons, they accept NOTHING mailed to an arriving pilgrim.

If you do this, your parcel or luggage will end up in the dead letter bin if you are lucky, or blown up by the local bomb squad as practice if you are not lucky. When I volunteer there, we regularly refuse Correos and parcel delivery service delivery attempts of rucksacks, luggage and parcels that over-clever peregrinos thought they could mail to themselves there. PLEASE DO NOT DO IT!

Once the Correos takes it away, we do not know where it goes or what happens to it. We only know it is no longer a possible threat to the Pilgrim's Office.

Think! Then think again...after you read the papers or watch the TV news. Buff said. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

No, I do not want to hear anecdotal stories of how you did this and got away with it. It is irrelevant, selfish, and highly dangerous. Please THINK ahead.

All said, I hope this helps someone.

 

[trecile]

. If you are walking the Camino Frances from St. Jean Pied de Port, seriously consider using Express Bourricot ( http://www.expressbourricot.com/ )

I recently completed my second Camino, and I used Express Bourricot to send a full sized suitcase to Santiago. Yes, it is a bit spendy, but the process couldn't be easier. When I arrived in St Jean I just had to go to their office (near the Pilgrim's office) and pay the fee. They gave me a tag to attach to my suitcase. Then all I had to do was leave the suitcase downstairs at the hostel where I spent the night. Five weeks later when I arrived in Santiago it was waiting for me at Hotel LaSalle. The hotel offered a 20% discount for people who used the Express Bourricot service, so I took advantage of that, and it was a very good deal. In fact, I got a private single room for just a couple of Euros more than some of my friends paid for a bed in an albergue. It's a little bit out of the center, but just about a 5-10 minute walk, and it was nice and quiet.

 

[t2andreo]

FWIW - Here is the address, phone number, and office hours. I pulled it from their web page:

Express Bourricot
31, Rue de la Citadelle
64220 St Jean de Pied de Port, France
Tel: +33.(0)661.960.476

URL: www.expressbourricot.com
e-Mail: contact@expressborricot.com

Office Hours: Open daily from the 13th of March to the 20th of October, from 07h00 to 10h00 in the morning, and from 16h00 to 20h00 in the afternoon.

FYI, the SJPdP Pilgrim Office is almost next door at #39 Rue de la Citadelle. So, you can make this baggage shipping arrangement part of your pone-stop shopping...

I hope this helps.

 

[trecile]

I did not know that Express Bourricot now has an office in St. Jean Pied de Port. Do you have the location, and perhaps hours?

Yes, it's right on their website:
You have to contact us when you arrive in St Jean Pied de Port.
It is not necessary to book this service in advance, except for the bike’s boxes.
We have an office located at N° 31, Rue de la Citadelle, next to the Pilgrim’s Office.
It is open every day from march 14th to october 20th, from 07h00 to 10h00 in the morning, and from 16h00 a las 20h00 in the afternoon. You can meet us there.

http://www.expressbourricot.com/luggage-transport/

I hadn't realized that they are just open part of the year - March 14yh to October 20th, so that's important to note.