Planning to start from Grado, via Asturias airport

[drainr]

Hello,

I have been reading this site and found it to be a great resource.

I have a very short time for this trip, in fact, I just planned it this week, but have not yet booked a flight to Asturias (OVD). The tentative start date is May 26th.

I will attempt to complete the camino primitivo in 11 days, starting from Grado. I originally intended to start in Oviedo, but the distance from Asturias airport to Oviedo is 47km whereas it is 22-25km to Grado.

Would starting from Grado or Salas save me a day or two?

I have searched this site, as well as others, but have been unable to find answers to a few additional questions:

Is there a bus route from Asturias airport to Grado or Salas? Is there, in fact, any transportation? What would be the fastest, and least expensive way for me to get to Grado? I have not found much information, there appear to be four bus lines from the airport, but they do not go to that city.

Is there a possibility to take a shower in Grado before beginning the journey? You see, I will arrive in Madrid from overseas, and will fly to Asturias. I will book a hotel at the first stop, which could be Salas or Tineo. For the other days I will likely just stay in the albergues. I just need a good shower and a private room/bath to rest at the end of the first day.

Lastly, where can I obtain my pilgrim's credential? Would it be possible to do it in Grado, at the start of the journey?


Thank you very much for any help.

My route is based on the EROSKI site; will book a hotel through booking.com, also tried mundicamino.es but their planning link keeps giving me an error.


-d

 

[Davroos]

Why not catch a bus from the airport into town and then walk from Oviedo?

 

[drainr]

Why not catch a bus from the airport into town and then walk from Oviedo?

Hello, thanks for the reply.

The problelm is that I am really limited on time, so I figured starting in Grado would be better, but since the bus doesn't go there, I'll have to start in Tineo.

My plan this far is to arrive in Asturias, take bus to Oviedo then take a bus to Tineo, sleep in Tineo.

I found a good hotel (or at least it looks like a good hotel) there. I will need to sleep there in order to rest and get used to the time change.

I am taking the route from Eroski and Mundicamino though I am planning to stay in Pola the Allande and Grandas the Salime. I have tried to contact hotels there--La Nueva Allandesa and Hotelas Grandas, but I have not received a reply.

I plan to stay in albergues for the rest of the trip though I will stay in a hotel in Santiago.

And...all of this is for next week!

 

[mikevasey]

Hi D,

There are trains from Aviles or Piedras Blancas to Grado with usually one change in between at Pravia http://www.feve.es/es/. Both these places are quite near the airport and there is a bus service that goes frequently from it to Aviles stopping at Piedras Blancas as wellhttp://www.alsa.es/portal/site/Alsathis does not show up on the list of destinations, you have to put Aviles in and then look at the section with itinerary on it when it comes up,

Another option is to go on the Bus to Oviedo, these are more frequent and take 20 minutes longer, and then take the bus from there to Grado, Salas or Tineo. This would seem the less complicated option, hopefully both buses would arrive and depart from the same place in Oviedo.

You can obtain a credencial from the albergue in Oviedo, not sure where it is or how close the bus station is but you can look it up on mundicamino, if not there you may have to wait until Salas.

Good luck, dont push yourself too hard at the beginning, if your doing a transatlantic flight before walking have a good rest somewhere even if it means going further than Grado on the bus.

Buen camino


Mike

Just seen your reply as i posted mine. The bus from Oviedo to Tineo goes through Grado and Salas.

 

[drainr]

Well, I booked the trip!

Needless to say, I am quite nervous.

The daily route so far:

Asturias airport --> Bus to Oviedo --> Bus to Tineo
Sleep in Tineo @ Palacio de Meras Hotel

Walk to Pola de Allande
Sleep in a hotel, if I can find one...still haven't heard back from the one that I e-mailed.

Walk to Grandas de Salime
Sleep in a hotel again, I found a beautiful one, but they didn't write me back!

Walk to Fonsagrada
Sleep at albergue

Walk to Cadavo Balera
Sleep at albergue

Walk to Lugo
Tentativelly sleep in a hotel though they are looking expensive--recommendations?

Walk to Palas de Rei
Sleep at San Roman de Retorta

Walk to Arzua
Sleep at albergue

Walk to Compostela
Sleep in a hotel, already booked, but forgot the name.

Fly to Madrid by Ryanair


Do you have any recommendations for albergues?

I am very worried about having to sleep outside. I will not bring camping equipment or a sleeping bag, which is why I am alternating between hotel days and albergue days...

it all starts next thursday...

 

[dustylee]

I cannot imagine how you would end up having to sleep outside. I walked part of the Camino Frances (from Astorga) last September & at some point (due to horrible blisters) I started sending a bunch of my stuff (the pack with all I did not need immediately or was critical to the trip) by taxi to a pre-arranged destination (which was usually a private albergue rather than the public one). The cost was slightly higher (up to 10 euros rather than 5), but I called ahead the night before & made sure that I had a bed reserved & this worked perfectly. So even if you are not sending your pack in a taxi, you can call them I make a reservation. You just cannot do this with the municipal albergues. Don't worry: you will have a wonderful time!
Dusty from Austin

 

[drainr]

I called up the municipal albergues in San Roman de Retorta and Arzua and they explained that they couldn't take reservations, but that private albergues and pensions/b&bs are available. Everyone says that, but I can't find them anywhere :?

Was also able to book the hotels in Pola de Allande and Grandas the Salime.

Don't know what to do about Lugo yet...everything seems to be well expensive, around 70 euro...more than a three star hotel in Salamanca in Madrid.... it will be my birthday in Lugo, so I wanted to stay somewhere private, but I don't want to pay 70 euros!! (That's 3x the cost of the hotels that I booked on the way!)

 

[Canuck]

Don't know what to do about Lugo yet...everything seems to be well expensive, around 70 euro...more than a three star hotel in Salamanca in Madrid.... it will be my birthday in Lugo, so I wanted to stay somewhere private, but I don't want to pay 70 euros!! (That's 3x the cost of the hotels that I booked on the way!)

Try this one:
Hostal Alba
Praza Campo Castelo, 31, 27001 Lugo, Espagne

It's a one-star hostal. Very clean and pilgrim friendly. Well located within the walls (directly opposite the bus station on the other side of the walls) near the albergue de peregrino. You won't find it in the hotel reservation systems.

I stayed there for two nights in the fall of 2009 and highly recommend it.

Cheers,
Jean-Marc

 

[drainr]

Anticipation!

 

[HeidiL]

When I was hospitalera in Grado and we were full (usually doesn't happen often), we phoned private places, including one that picked people up outside our albergue in a car and drove them back the next morning. Go to the regular albergue and be nice to the people there, and they will help you find somewhere. Just make sure you have a little extra cash, since most small hostals don't take cards.

 

[Tia Valeria]

I called up the municipal albergues in San Roman de Retorta and Arzua and they explained that they couldn't take reservations, but that private albergues and pensions/b&bs are available. Everyone says that, but I can't find them anywhere :?

Was also able to book the hotels in Pola de Allande and Grandas the Salime.

Don't know what to do about Lugo yet...everything seems to be well expensive, around 70 euro...more than a three star hotel in Salamanca in Madrid.... it will be my birthday in Lugo, so I wanted to stay somewhere private, but I don't want to pay 70 euros!! (That's 3x the cost of the hotels that I booked on the way!)

Places we have stayed:-
Pension Bar Tineo (near the Correos and supermarket) - Tineo - also the owner's Bar/restaurant just along the main road has good food.
Nueva Allandesa - Pola de Allande
*Hotel Las Grandas - El Salto/Vistalegre (above dam 6kms before Grandas itself)
Hotel La Barra - Grandas
Hotel Moneda - Cadavo
*Albergue O Candido - San Roman
Hotel España - Lugo (here we have also stayed at the Hotel Metropol which gave us a pilgrim discount

All of these apart from the two marked * are bookable online. Details are on Gronze's Primitivo site. Etapa 4, 5A through to 10 - ask for directions in Ferreira to Palas deRei, we found it easily but it was not signed, then the Frances link given Etapa 31 Palas de Rei to Arzua.

 

[Sakami]

What is your plan for walking from Lugo to Palas de Rei?

 

[Tincatinker]

Hmm. The OP hasn't been back to the forum since May 2011 so I doubt he'll answer that question. We'll assume he made it despite that very ambitious 40kms from Pola to Grandas.

No point in heading to Palas de Rei from Lugo. Either follow the Primitivo to Melide or the Camino Verde via Friol to Sobrado dos Monxes and follow the Norte down to Arzua.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Just realised the date of the thread ☺

What is your plan for walking from Lugo to Palas de Rei?

We walked from Lugo to Ferreira and then took the side roads to Palas De Rei to give me a shorter stage than Ferreira to Melide. However since then (2012) there is now an albergue at As Seixas so that detour is less important.

 

[Sakami]

Yes, I just realized the date of this thread as well.

It caught my eye because of my plan to walk the Primitivo starting the end of April. My daughter is starting the CF from SJPP around April 10th. In a perfect world we would rendezvous at Melide and walk into SDC together. I'm figuring that if she got ahead of me she could hop on a bus and meet me in Lugo. If I got ahead of her I could do something similar to join her earlier on the CF at Portomarin or Sarria even.

Ferreira is only 10 miles from Palas de Rei and cutting across looks quick and easy. I don't know how pilgrims managed before the advent of Google maps.

 

[Tia Valeria]

......................
Ferreira is only 10 miles from Palas de Rei and cutting across looks quick and easy. I don't know how pilgrims managed before the advent of Google maps.

If you get to Palas de Rei and have a day 'spare' then walk out to Vilar de Donas. A wonderful ancient church with wall paintings of the ladies in their butterfly head-dresses. It is approx 6kms from Palas de Rei and signed out of town at the crossroads, or ask in the bar etc nearby. Usually open around 12.00-18.00 with the guide and key kept nearby but you would need to check this out. They love to have pilgrims and have a sello.