BEFORE THE TRIP | SEPTEMBER 2024
Weekly online preparation and coaching session with Sonia from Travel Awakens for 4 weeks.
THE TRIP
Sonia will travel with the group and will guide you every step of the way, incorporating important daily rituals for the participants.
DAY 1 | Dublin to Tui
Today you will travel to Dublin airport and take a flight to Santiago de Compostela (flights are available from Dublin or London; but can also be organised from a different airport, talk to our team for advice). The group will be collected at Santiago Airport and travel to the hotel in Tui, where you will have time to explore the town.
DAY 2 | Walking from O Porrino to Redondela (16.5km)
This morning after breakfast, you will be transferred from Tui to O Porrino, from where you’ll begin your Camino experience with a walk to Redondela. After a slight climb early in the day you reach the chapel of Santiaguiño de Antas, beyond which the group enter a expansive woodland area. Surrounded by trees, from there, the Camino starts its descent to Redondela.
DAY 3 | Walking from Redondela to Pontevedra (19.5km)
After leaving Redondela, you will proceed to the village of Arcade. Arcade is a great spot to stop for a break or an early lunch. After Arcade, you’ll pass the hamlet of Santa Marta Bertola just over half way through your walk day, and 5km further on you’ll reach the beautiful Old Town in Pontevedra city. After checking into your accommodation, take some time to stroll to town and admire its cobbled streets, squares, Romanesque churches and the Pilgrim Virgin church, Virxe da Peregrina, looking after pilgrims on their way to Santiago.
DAY 4 | Walking from Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis (22kms)
After Pontevedra, the route continues inland and through pine forests. You can stamp your passport in the pretty chapels and churches along the way such as Santa Maria de Alba and San Mamede Church in Portela. After Portela, depending on the time, it might be possible to take a detour to visit the waterfalls at the Ría Barosa Natural Park. Your finish line for today is the town of Caldas de Reis, famous for its hot springs.
DAY 5 | Walking from Caldas de Reis to Padron (20km)
Today is a shorter walking stage than previous days and you will be passing various hamlets and villages where you will be able to take a coffee break and get your pilgrim passport stamped. From the village of Santa Marina the Camino trail takes pilgrims along lovely forest paths into Padron, home of the famous small green peppers and Galicia’s most illustrious poet: Rosalia de Castro. In the town’s Alameda Park you will find a statue dedicated to 19th century poet Rosalia de Castro as well as Camilo Jose Cela, Nobel Prize of Literature and also a native of Padron. Your accommodation is a couple of kilometres north of the town centre, so be sure to take a little time to explore the town before continuing to the hotel. By staying a little outside the town, you last walk day into Santiago will be a little shorter.
DAY 6 | Walking from Padron to Santiago de Compostela (23km)
While the day starts along similar forest paths to previous walking days, as you get closer to the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela the stage becomes gradually more urban, with asphalt replacing the forest tracks and countryside we’ve become accustomed to. It is an exciting day as we tackle the last into Santiago. As the group nears Santiago’s Old Town and approaches Obradoiro Square and the Cathedral, the excitement and joy of all pilgrims is palpable. Walking into Obradoiro Square, you will finally reach Santiago Cathedral where the atmosphere of exhilaration and jubilation is something special, a memory that you will treasure forever. Enjoy and savour this moment, you have arrived!
DAY 7 | Exploring Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, destination of pilgrims for centuries and capital of Galicia is a city full of wonders, with beautiful cobbled squares, arched streets and cosy nooks and crannies. Originally built in the 9th century on the spot where the remains of Saint James were found, the Cathedral is the city’s most important landmark and monument but there are many other wonderful places not be missed in Santiago’s Old Town such as the Abastos Market, the Alameda Park, the University Buildings and its many museums.
In the lively streets of the Old Town such as Rua do Vilar, Rua Nova and Rua do Franco you will find a vibrant mix of pilgrims, locals and students enjoying the many cafes, bars and restaurants. Galicia’s traditional cuisine can be found everywhere; the famous Galician octopus, empanadas (savory pastries), Padrón peppers, caldo galego and Tarta de Santiago almond cake are just some of the region’s many unmissable delicacies you should sample. Santiago city is split in two areas: the Old Town (Zona Vella), and the New Town (Zona Nova).
You can also venture into the New Town, wrapped around the historic quarter and a short walk away where you will find many stores.
DAY 8 | Santiago de Compostela to Dublin
This morning after breakfast and check out, a local guide will take the group on a walking tour of the city, the best way to discover its magnificent UNESCO-listed Old Town. You’ll then have a little free time for lunch before being transported to the Santiago Airport for your flight home.
AFTER YOUR TRIP | MEANINGFUL CHANGE 2024
Weekly online post-trip coaching session with Sonia from Travel Awakens for 4 weeks.
