Planning to Walk from Sarria to Santiago Dec. 19-24, 2021

[Former member 99404]

Hello, from Alexandria, Virginia, USA--

I walked the virtual CF last spring through Camino for Good and am heading to Madrid for Christmas to visit friends. My plan is to do the final 100K of the Camino Frances starting on Sunday, December 19. I've done long solo walks in the past but am looking forward to the resources and support of this community. I am happy to have found it.

Today I am looking to book my roundtrip Madrid to Santiago flight, as well as the bus from Santiago to Lugo and then from Lugo to Sarria on Saturday, December 18. If anyone has links to that bus information, I would be grateful.

I know that Galicia will be wet in December, the days short, the route less travelled, and fewer albergues open, but I have my fingers crossed for a buen camino. I am concerned about the 18 mile stage from Palas de Rei to Arzua, but I am training.

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

 

[jcat]

I did the last 100k in February of 2016. It was very wet, but still my favorite time on the Camino. Another option could be a direct train from Madrid - Sarria. Buen Camino!

 

[Former member 99404]

I did the last 100k in February of 2016. It was very wet, but still my favorite time on the Camino. Another option could be a direct train from Madrid - Sarria. Buen Camino!

Thank you, jcat. I hadn't considered flying to Sarria. Will look into that. Meanwhile, I saw that there is one Mon Bus that leaves SCQ at 11:15, arriving in Sarria at 12:56. I don't see a way to buy a ticket in advance. More importantly, however, I am glad to hear that despite winter weather, your favorite time on the camino was February. I will take that as encouragement.

 

[David with new Kit!]

We stopped in Ribadiso in October this year, just short of Arzua. It's a long slog up the steep hill from Ribadiso to Arzua and you might prefer to do it the following morning when you are fresh.

It will also knock a mile of the distance.

 

[Former member 99404]

We stopped in Ribadiso in October this year, just short of Arzua. It's a long slog up the steep hill from Ribadiso to Arzua and you might prefer to do it the following morning when you are fresh.

It will also knock a mile of the distance.

David, I think you just saved my sanity, not to mention my feet. I never prefer a long slog, but when required, yes, always in the morning. Thank you for that suggestion. I will research accommodation in Ribadiso. Gracias, amigo.

 

[David with new Kit!]

David, I think you just saved my sanity, not to mention my feet. I never prefer a long slog, but when required, yes, always in the morning. Thank you for that suggestion. I will research accommodation in Ribadiso. Gracias, amigo.

We stayed in Pension Albergue Los Caminantes. A two minute walk to the only restaurant in town, but a great restaurant.

 

[Former member 99404]

We stayed in Pension Albergue Los Caminantes. A two minute walk to the only restaurant in town, but a great restaurant.

You had me at "two minutes" and "great restaurant." Do you think I should book the albergue in advance? I am guessing no. I suspect that at this time of year, armed with a list of recommended places still open, I will have no difficulty. Gracias, again.

 

[Aguapura]

That sounds like a lovely way to spend the week before Christmas! It seems likely there will be some local fiestas and of course decorations. Going to midnight mass on Christmas eve could be very special, too. Let's hope you luck out and have warm dry weather! Have a great trip

 

[Rmarkob]

A couple of tips I learned on my recent CF (Sep-Oct 2021):

1. The AllTrails app on a smartphone is location-aware, and a great way to find the Camino when you don't see any markers, like in some cities/towns, in the dark, etc.

2. The godesalco.com "Planificador" at https://godesalco.com/plan/frances is very useful for calculating distances from any point on the CF (and other routes). I kept that page open in my phone's browser for the whole Camino and used it for planning my days, especially when I didn't want to stay in the traditional guidebook places. Just click on any town, and it recalculates the distances to all of the next towns to SdC.

3. One of those non-traditional places I stayed the day before my final stage to Santiago was Salceda. It's 27.7km from there to Santiago, which may be too far for a short Camino, but I started in SJPP and by the time I reached Salceda 31 days later that distance was a piece of cake (my longest day was 38km). I stayed at Albergue-Pension Turistico Salceda, which is a beautifully restored building with wonderful hospitaleros, bar/breakfast/dinner available, laundry services available, and open year round. It's about two city blocks distance off the Camino (but not in a city), and tip #1 came in handy the next morning for getting back on the Camino without back-tracking a bit.

Buen Camino!

 

[Former member 99404]

A couple of tips I learned on my recent CF (Sep-Oct 2021):

1. The AllTrails app on a smartphone is location-aware, and a great way to find the Camino when you don't see any markers, like in some cities/towns, in the dark, etc.

2. The godesalco.com "Planificador" at https://godesalco.com/plan/frances is very useful for calculating distances from any point on the CF (and other routes). I kept that page open in my phone's browser for the whole Camino and used it for planning my days, especially when I didn't want to stay in the traditional guidebook places. Just click on any town, and it recalculates the distances to all of the next towns to SdC.

3. One of those non-traditional places I stayed the day before my final stage to Santiago was Salceda. It's 27.7km from there to Santiago, which may be too far for a short Camino, but I started in SJPP and by the time I reached Salceda 31 days later that distance was a piece of cake (my longest day was 38km). I stayed at Albergue-Pension Turistico Salceda, which is a beautifully restored building with wonderful hospitaleros, bar/breakfast/dinner available, laundry services available, and open year round. It's about two city blocks distance off the Camino (but not in a city), and tip #1 came in handy the next morning for getting back on the Camino without back-tracking a bit.

Buen Camino!

Thank you for this helpful info. Congrats on your CF completion! I will definitely need to get a Spanish chip for my iphone so that I can use those apps. One of many details to sort, right? Thanks again.

 

[Rmarkob]

Thank you for this helpful info. Congrats on your CF completion! I will definitely need to get a Spanish chip for my iphone so that I can use those apps. One of many details to sort, right? Thanks again.

I had planned to get a Spanish SIM until I learned that my carrier (AT&T) now allows you to use the same minutes and data that your US plan allows while roaming overseas for $10/day, with a $100 monthly cap. In other words, no extra charges after the 10th day. I went with this - one less detail to sort!

 

[Former member 99404]

Cool! I will see if T-Mobile has something similar. Thank you!