Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

We were a small group (five) - I took my inspiration from the other people on the trip who were all a bit better than me and helped me along the way. The off-road section on the morning of the penultimate day - this was harder than anything I had done before and the scenery was spectacular. The end of the final push up to Santiago!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dani was a great leader. He constantly adapted the route to give us more/less off-road biking according to our pace. I learnt a lot and will be much more confident about tackling hills in future. Jose was in a driver/support role for our week but I would also have complete confidence in him. A local guide really makes the difference with food tasting. We got some preferential treatment and delicacies from the restaurants along the camino who all know our guides very well. Try a bit of everything!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get your pilgrim passport stamped - it is a nice momento of the trip. The toughest climb is the road up to O'Cebreiro. There is an option to take the walkers' route to the summit village instead which two of us did and enjoyed. Consider an extra night in Santiago - we flew back on Sunday from the local airport. Go to the Friday night mass in Santiago with the Botafumeiro - none of our party were doing the camino for religious reasons but it was an insight into how much the pilgrimage means for those who were. Packing cubes - I'm a recent convert! They really help for a trip like this when you are on the move all the time. Take your own water bottle as these are not supplied.

Suggestions

Enjoy this trip - Buen Camino!

Most Inspirational Moment

Arriving at the top of a 12 km climb to the view from O Cebreiro. A beautiful old stone village with cobbled streets and awesome views across the mountains. Well worth the pain of the climb in 31 degree heat

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was fantastic, tireless and very patient. He was great company in the evenings and certainly knew the best places to eat. He seems still really enthusiatic and passionate about the tour and the region, despite having done it many times before.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you have general all round fitness, but if you go steady you should manage it. Also dont eat a three course meal at lunch and then try to bike up a big hill!!

Suggestions

I was really lucky to have the chance to go with a small group, which worked out great. I'm not sure how it would work out with pacing if you are a fit and fast cyclist in a larger group, I think you would need to expect quite a few waits for the others.

Most Inspirational Moment

Achieving the climbs and arriving in Santiago.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both the group leader and support leader were excellent in every way; knowledgeable, skilled in their respective jobs, supportive, encouraging, thoughtful, mindful of the needs of individuals, conscientious and thorough.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be fit!

Suggestions

Thank you Jose and Danni!!

Most Inspirational Moment

cycling through forest tracks with all the Autumn colours then arriving at the Santiago Cathedral to finish the trip. Lots of local sites, cafe stops etc

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose the leader was excellent, consistentley helpful, cheerful and generally a good guide 

Advice for Potential Travellers

bring your own saddle. The food was generally good , with a menu of the day inc wine typically being 9e. Some of us found the breakfasts a bit sparse - if you want muselli or lots of fruit, bringing some would be useful

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the top of the climbs, and arriving in Santiago on the last day of the trip

Thoughts on Group Leader

Can't imagine a better leader

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring your own pedals and bike shoes if you want to clip-in.

Most Inspirational Moment

One of the most inspitrational moments was getting to the top of the hill on the 3rd cycling day. Our group of 16 varied quite widely in cycling ability. Even the best cyclist set himself his own challenge to get up the 8km rise as fast as possible without putting a foot down. I just wanted to get to the top without having to give up and when I achieved this, the rest of the group gave me a round of applause - awesome !!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dani was a complete star !! This mountaneer had only led one Camino cycling trip before and was now presented with the responsibility of guiding 16 cycalists of varying ability. He was consistently enthusiastic and encouraging while maintaining a sense of humour. As we struggled to find those elusive yellow arrows he took all our ribbing about his map reading skills with good humour !!

Advice for Potential Travellers

My advice is really about the conflict between the grading and the written description of the trip.In my opinion the trip is correctly graded moderate to challenging.However the trip notes also state "the riding is generally undemanding" Not sure what planet this author is on !! Even the most experienced cyclists on the trip found  demanding sections on most days.A later sentence reads "This trip is ideal for the occassional cyclists who exercise regularly" It was on the basis of this statement that my husband and I signed up. In reality it was FAR more challenging than this would indicate. We are SO delighted to have experienced the trip but as "occasional" cyclists we had to dig very deep into our reserves of "regular exercise" to get up those hills !!! My point is that less motivated and stubborn people might be disappointed and demotivated to find themselves on a trip that was too difficult for them.

Suggestions

Definitely one of our best holidays ever..Great combination of personal achievement overcoming the cycling challenges presented by the Camino together with stunning scenery, great group, enthusiastic guide, good food and comfortable hotels.Bring on the next one !!

Most Inspirational Moment

The descent from the outskirts of Santiago to the front of the Cathedral late on the Friday night after a 70k + cycle was awesome and made it all worthwhile. Personally, managing to cycle up all of the two mountain climbs was really satisfying too.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I am full of praise for our group leader Jose, who found the best way through the trails and roads, managed our safety while keeping the trip challenging and exciting and found great places for us to eat! On our trip, some severe rain and winds had lead to some river crossings flooding which could have caused us real problems. Jose found the best way through with minimal interruption and all on spur of the moment - that's great leading.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would certainly recommend you spend a good few weekends leading up to the trip getting your cycle legs ready - get plenty of uphills in (that's really important if you want to cycle all the way around). You will be cycling around 50-60k + a day so build up your distance, though there are plenty of breaks during the day. I would certainly recommend filling your drinks bottle with isotonic (especially for the two big mountain climbs).

Suggestions

Be aware that the rental bikes (Spanish Orbea make) are OK but not great. I certainly made the trip fine on mine but would have preferred something more up to date and better spec. These bikes have heavy steel frames, the gearing is not particularly low and they use caliper brakes rather than disc. If it's convenient you might want to bring your own bike instead. I took my own saddle and SPD pedals but I wish I'd also taken a gel saddle cover too as my backside was either sore or numb after a day in the saddle! Be warned!

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching Santiago late on the last day, with wonderful final dinner

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose and Sandro were a first class team

Most Inspirational Moment

Arriving at Santiago on Friday eveving.

Thoughts on Group Leader

.Great. He coped with difficulties by improvisation and always kept his sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring warm clothes. I only had cycle shorts and really needed long trousers to ride in especially when we were cycling at higher altitudes. Waterproofs were essential.

Suggestions

THe bikes were not particularly well maintained with dodgy gears and worn fittings on some. The driver had no spare parts and no spare bikes which seemed incomprehensible. He had to rely on finding bike shops on route to purchase these. There should definitely have been a spare bike available.The trip was made very enjoyable as a result of the guide. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Arriving at the village of O Cebereio after a long hard climb. A simple, beautiful village high on the mountain between Leon and Gallicia.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was an excellent leader in every respect. Professional, supportive, hugely positive attitude and always seeking to make the trip work for everyone and with great suggestions for eating. He deserves an Exodus medal.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I'd say you need to be taking regular exercise to get the best out of this trip.

Suggestions

This could easily be a 5* trip if a little more attention was paid to the hotels. On a few days these were quite far out of town or rather functional. So this detracted somewhat from the magic and atmosphere of the Camino experience.