Camino Groups Travel Agents

The Camino de Santiago is the pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, North-Western Spain. Here, legend has it that the remains of the Apostle Saint James are buried. Pilgrims have been travelling to Santiago since the Middle Ages. As pilgrims used to start their journey from their own home different Camino ways have emerged over the years but the most popular is the French Way, or Camino Frances, particularly the last 100kms from Sarria.

Today, however, the Camino is more than just a pilgrimage: it is a unique cultural experience that attracts thousands from all over the world each year. Whether ‘doing the Camino’ for religious or spiritual reasons or as an adventure, it is trip of a lifetime.

There are many Camino routes across Spain, Portugal and France, you can see the full list of Camino tours we offer here: Camino de Santiago routes.

When a client says they want to go on the Camino, what do they mean?

The traditional and most popular Camino route is known as the French Way, Camino Frances, and the most popular section of this route is the last 100km from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela.

The full French Way route is 800km long and travels from St Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees across Northern Spain to Santiago. You may occasionally get clients looking to walk the full route. We can provide itineraries for this and it takes between 35 and 45+ days to complete.

Walkers need to cover at least the last 100kms of the Camino in order to get the Compostela pilgrim certificate in Santiago which is why Sarria is the most popular starting point. It is also a very well-marked route so self-guided tours are most popular.

As part of a self-guided tour, the route can be walked in either five or six walking days. The 5-day walking tour includes a 28km long day which can prove challenging, so the 6-day walking tour itinerary is designed to break this long day down into two shorter walking days. An easy walking option tour of 10 nights / 11 days, walking an average of 12kms per day, is also an option.

We also organise guided tours departing on selected dates, focusing on specific Camino routes.

*Irish agents – As Aer Lingus flights from Dublin to Santiago take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (also Wednesdays in June, July and August) should your client opt for the 5-day walking tour it may be necessary to add an extra night in Santiago to align the tour with these flights.

Our self-guided Camino tours include:

Accommodation
We provide hotel/guest house accommodation of around 3* star standard with en suite bathrooms. Hotel upgrades are also available in bigger towns. For certain routes, including the French Way and the Portuguese Way, we have a Superior Collection available, where clients will be booked in the best hotels along the route.

Meals
Breakfasts and dinners on walking days are included as standard. We do not provide dinners on the first and last nights (ie. Sarria and Santiago) as we find clients prefer to try out the numerous meal options available in these larger towns. Breakfast-only throughout the walk is also possible but options for evening meals would be limited in smaller towns along the walk. Lunches are not included each day but there are numerous cafes where good lunches can be gotten for between €5 and €8. Dinner is included on all nights on guided tours.

Luggage Transfers
Luggage transfer from hotel to hotel is included each walking day. The luggage transfer limit is one bag per person weighing no more than 20kg. Clients should leave their bag in the lobby of the hotel around 8am each morning before going for breakfast, ensuring their luggage tag (which we provide) is on the bag. The bag will then be moved to the next hotel and would usually be at the next accommodation no later than 4pm each day.

Walking Notes and Maps
As with all of our routes we provide all clients with walking notes and maps. As the section from Sarria to Santiago is very well marked, we often find clients don’t need to use these. On some of our other routes they prove more useful.

Support Number
Clients are provided with a 24/7 support number (included in their holiday pack) to assist them with any issues or questions that might arise during the trip, outside office hours. Our reservations team manages these support calls and they speak fluent Spanish and other Camino languages, as well as English.

Airport Transfers – Optional Extra
We can provide a transfer from Santiago Airport to the client’s first hotel in Sarria for €120. This can work out to be cost effective if the client group is 4+ people but can be provided for any client group size.

Should the clients prefer public transport details are outlined in the ‘access’ tab for each of our tours.

For instance, the best way to get to Sarria from Santiago Airport is to take a combination of 2 buses: First, from Santiago Airport to Lugo bus station (1h50, 5 times a day). Then, take a local bus from Lugo bus station to Sarria bus station (30min). Total cost for journey roughly €10pp.

There is also a direct bus between Santiago de Compostela bus station and Sarria but only departing once a day, except Sundays (2h30 travel time).

Transfers from the last hotel in Santiago to Santiago airport can be added for €30. A shuttle bus to the airport is also available for around €6 per person.

Transfers are included on guided tours and are aligned with the Aer Lingus Dublin-Santiago flights.

We offer guided tours on fixed dates (see dates: Camino guided tours) to which you can add your clients.

Our guided tours on the route from Sarria to Santiago always do the 6-night (7 days) walking itinerary.

Guided tours include:

• Hotel/guest house accommodation of approximately 3* star standard with en suite bathrooms
• All breakfasts and dinners
• English-speaking guide throughout the walk
• Return airport transfers to/from Santiago de Compostela airport
• Luggage transfer on walking days
• Walking notes and maps

In order to request an itinerary for your clients for the Sarria Santiago walk we need to know the following information:

• Lead client’s surname
• Number of people travelling
• Whether they would like double, twin or single rooms
• Whether they would like a self-guided itinerary or would prefer to join a guided tour
• Their proposed travel dates
• For self-guided tours we will also need to know if they would like the 5-day walking tour or 6-day walking tour. An easy walking 10-night tour is also an option.

Start dates and remaining availability for guided tours will be outlined on our website. Self-guided tours can start on any date.

Please note clients will never walk on their arrival day, and the will have an overnight in their first hotel prior to commencing their walk on the second day morning of the tour.

Contact us to request a sample itinerary.

On receiving the above information regarding your clients proposed tour we will send you on an email containing an itinerary and pricing.

For agents, the price outlined includes a commission discount and is therefore Net, our price to you, and needs to be marked up before presenting to your client.

Our commission discount starts at 12% for agents but should you confirm a large number of tours with us we can discuss the possibility of increasing the discount offered.

To confirm a tour with us on the route from Sarria to Santiago we require a deposit of €180 per person. For tours on longer stretches of the Camino the deposit required is 20% of the tour value.

When you get in touch with us to request an itinerary, we set you up a username and password. You can login using these details via caminoways.com and can make your deposit payment for the tour using a credit. Credit card details can also be given to confirm a tour by contacting us over the phone.

Payments can also be made by forwarding a cheque payable to Greenlife Tours or by bank transfer adding the relevant tour reference as payment reference.

Please contact us to advise if payment is being sent by cheque or bank transfer. Please note also that the tour will not be confirmed until the cheque has arrived or transfer has arrived into our account.