2010 – HOLY YEAR IN SANTIAGO BOOKING ACCOMMODATION ON THE CAMINO

Photo credit:  Tour Spain

If you are concerned about overcrowding on the camino next year, you could book all, or some of your rooms ahead of time.  You can do it yourself, via a hotel chain website, or through a tour operator.

Many tour operators that normally only provide complete packages – guided or non-guided tours, luggage transfer, accommodation and food on the camino trails – are prepared to help pilgrims in 2010 by offering to book their accommodation on the camino. Regular package services are also available. (For a more comprehensive list of tour operators, including art tours, coach tours, cycle, fly-drive-paradors etc., visit the CSJ of UK website here. )

Here are a few operators that you can contact to book all or some of your accommodation for you next year:

TOUR OPERATORS

Camino Travel Centre

The Camino Travel Centre in Santiago will help you book rooms along your camino route and can help with reserving bus, train or flight tickets. They also provide 60 days storage facilities for excess baggage. You can contact them at: frank@caminotravelcenter.com or ivar.rekve@gmail.com or visit their website at: www.caminotravelcenter.com/

Follow The Camino

They specialise in walking and cycling holidays along the many different routes of the Way of St James. They select hotels and guesthouses based on their comfort, character, facilities and convenience to the Camino. For further information, you can contact them by phone on +353 1 443 3972 or by email info@followthecamino.com See website for information on our trips, news and special offers: http://www.followthecamino.com/

Fresco Tours:

They have been working on the Camino since 1999 and are very familiar with all the hotels and providers along the trail. They would be delighted to assist any pilgrims with their travel needs! For more information on their scheduled, full service guided tours of the Camino, please contact them: alex@frescotours.com  http://www.frescotours.com/tours_camino_de_santiago_10.asp

Frontier Holidays:

Guiding and helping folk to independently walk the Camino for a decade. Affordable family run accommodation. Luggage transfers, maps, route notes and useful tips. Tailor made self guided and Guided holidays can be seen at:  http://www.frontierholidays.net/ info@frontierholidays.net

Iberian Adventures:

They provide an accommodation booking service, as well as help planning itineraries, arranging transfer of luggage from overnight stop to overnight stop or even taxis to get to and from lodgings if need be. They can arrange a range of accommodations, from some private albergues all the way up to the most luxurious lodgings available along the way. http://www.iberianadventures.com/   jd@iberianadventures.com

Outdoor Travel Pty Ltd 

http://www.outdoortravel.com.au/
Australian based walking holiday travel specialists Outdoor Travel Pty Ltd has been helping pilgrims, walkers or cyclists to secure accommodation & assistance with luggage transfers on the Camino for over 8-years. The staff have experienced the Camino first hand and offer several routes from Le Puy in France to Santiago (the French route), the Camino Portuguese, the Primitivo & Norte & the route to Finisterre.  For information & assistance see the website www.outdoortravel.com.au or email info@outdoortravel.com.au :  You can also call to talk to them personally on +61 (03) 57501441.
Spanish Adventures:

Camino de Santiago, Self guided. I am an Australian living in Santiago de Compostela and have been working as a guide on the Camino since early 2003. As well as guided trips, I offer self guided trips on the various caminos, organizing your accommodation (with dinners usually provided in the smaller towns), and bag transfers so you only need to carry a small day pack. Stages are worked out according to your requirements and experience, and accommodation is selected according to your budget, in general using good quality local accommodation. I provide maps and suggestions on places for lunches and coffee breaks, and labels for your bags each day to ensure your bags arrive at your accommodation. See my website for more info. http://www.spanishadventures.com/ Contact Garry at garry@spanishadventures.com

Totally Spain

Totally Spain is an established and reputable Spain Travel Agent dedicated to planning and organising quality, customised travel and tours in Spain for independent travellers and groups since 1999.
We provide an accommodation booking service along the camino in hotels and B&B´s.  http://www.totallyspain.com/spain_travel.asp  info@totallyspain.com

Iacobus Bono (In Galicia)

A tourist service designed specifically for the Camino de Santiago spending each night in a different rural home. The price includes accommodation, dinners, breakfasts and car transportation from the rural settlements to the beginning and end of each stage. Also available, as an optional service, is a picnic lunch, luggage transfer and accommodation in Santiago de Compostela.

All cottages cooperating in Iacobus Bonus offer excellent accommodation with a family welcome and outstanding gastronomy, and are very close to the points of arrival of each stage. The Bono Iacobus can be purchased throughout the year except during the month of August and Easter. http://www.turgalicia.es/iacobus/bono.asp?cidi=E


DO YOUR OWN BOOKINGS:

Turespana’s Guide to Accommodation:

In 2004 the tourism institute of Spain - Turespana - published an official guide of hostals, pensions, hotels, and camping sites on the Camino called "Guia Oficial de Hoteles y Campings del Camino de Santiago". It is available in French, German, Spanish and English and lists all accommodation authorized by the appropriate municipal and national tourism authorities. Obtainable free of charge in any tourist office or from TOURSPAIN :  E-mail: manuel.jurado@tourspain.es

Top Tour of Spain

Their website provides a link to inns, hostels, pensions, hotels, paradors, monasteries and apartments, which they believe offer the best rates going.

http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com/hotel-information-for-spain.html
http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com/Camino-de-Santiago-walking-tours.html

Hotel Asturias: 
Visit our website for making reservations on the Internet for all our hotels with the best price available, because there is no middleman and we don't charge a commission. This may be very useful for all pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela this year, especially as many of our hotels have launched special rates and services for pilgrims. http://www.ehotelesasturias.com/ 



Find accommodation in Guide books:

The CSJ (Confraternity of St James) in the UK sells excellent, annually up-dated Pilgrim Guides for all the routes, which are good value at ± £5 and light enough to carry: http://www.csj.org.uk/

A more comprehensive guide to the Camino Frances, Caminho Portugues and Fininsterre routes are the John Brierley guides. Available online at http://www.caminoguides.com/ and through Amazon.

These and other guide books offer names and contact details for ‘other accommodation’ in the towns and villages including inns, hotels, casa rurals etc.

Camino websites with lists of alternative accommodation:

http://www.jakobusfreunde-paderborn.eu/Download.html   In German but with lots of accommodation on the camino Frances.

http://www.caminosantiago.com/  Click on Lodging

http://www.mundicamino.com/MenuHospedaje.cfm?id=HOTELES&startrow=1&pag=40&primer=37 Links to hotels in all regions

Lists of Albergues

 

http://www.caminosantiago.org/cpperegrino/federacion/inicio.asp

http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/albergues/

http://www.mundicamino.com/

http://todosloscaminosdesantiago.com/caminofrances-albergues

http://www.jacobeo.net/


Private albergues  (Many private albergues can also be booked in advanced)

http://www.redalberguessantiago.com/documents/211.html

Free, download leaflet with all the albergues on the Camino Frances including the Private albergues that can be reserved ahead.  One can also have baggage transported to most of the private albergues.

If any of these companies do not offer to book beds ahead, please let me know so that I can remove their details from this post.
Disclaimer:  I do not endorse, nor am I in any way connected with the companies listed above.  This post is merely a resource for people who might want to reserve some or all of their accommodation next year.