Cycling the Camino de Santiago

Expert Local Guides

Award Winning Adventures

Nature First Adventures

Support Local Communities

9 Days from

CAD 3,595

Incl. taxes Excl. flights

Cycling

Ways to Travel :

Self-Guided Holidays

Activity :

Cycling

Activity Levels :

3 out of 7 - Moderate

Ages :

12+

Trip Code :

C08CS

The Spanish Camino de Santiago is one of THE most ancient pilgrims routes in the world.

Since the 9th century, the French Way has led thousands of pilgrims on an 800km journey across northern Spain, winding from the Pyrenees across the wheat fields of old Castile to pass through to Leon and onwards to Santiago.

Your eight-night self-guided cycling holiday begins in Leon with the route taking in the last 225km of the pilgrimage trail. Leon is the seat of the Spanish Kings and is full of soaring cathedrals and hushed convents. Your cycling route then builds through the Galician countryside to a spectacular finale at Santiago de Compostela's majestic Baroque cathedral, the last resting place of St James the apostle.

Highlights

Cycle along one of the world's most famous UNESCO pilgrimage routes
Stamp your pilgrims passport in the villages, chapels, churches and cathedrals.
Visit the architecturally stunning cathedrals of Leon and Santiago de Compostela.
Follow one of the most ancient pilgrimage routes in the world!
Stay in converted water mills, hilltop monasteries and stylish farmhouses
Soaring cathedrals, Roman bridges, country chapels and thatched Galician villages
Poppy-sprinkled wheat fields, orchid-rich water meadows, pine-scented woodland

Key Information

8 nights hotel to hotel accommodation in a mix of 3 start and 4 star hotels
Management by your local Headwater-appointed agent
E-bike hire available on request (supplement applies)

Countries visited: Spain

What's Included

All buffet breakfasts and 4 dinners
GPS route directions and maps
High Quality Bikes
Luggage transfers between hotels
Transfers on day 2 and day 5 as per the standard itinerary
Pilgrims passport

What's Not Included

Leon guided tour (available for a supplement)
Travel insurance
Single accommodation (available on request - compulsory supplement)
Solo traveller supplements (where only one person is travelling on a departure date)
Visas or vaccinations

6 Days of Cycling

Day 3

49 km / 30.4 miles

Day 4

49 km / 30.4 miles

Day 5

52 km / 32.3 miles

Day 6

50 km / 31.1 miles

Day 7

58 km / 36 miles

Day 8

31 km / 19.3 miles

Responsible Travel

At Exodus we believe in the power of Responsible Travel.

Every time we travel, we are part of a global movement that creates jobs, builds more sustainable societies, encourages cultural understanding and safeguards common natural and cultural heritage. To learn more about what Responsible Travel means to Exodus click here…

Itinerary

Arrive at the Posada Regia hotel, perfectly located in the centre of Leon. Explore the picturesque old quarter, the Barrio Humedo, which boasts narrow alleyways, traditional Spanish tavernas and breath-taking plazas.

After your morning briefing, discover the highlights of Leon, including the Panteon Real, the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo and the 13th-century Catedral de Leon, reputed to be one of the most beautiful in Spain. You can choose to take a guided tour of Leon (available for a supplement.) A late afternoon transfer takes you to to Hotel Via de la Plata in Astorga where the Episcopal Palace was designed by Gaudi.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Cycle into the Maragateria area, a wooded mountainous region where beautiful villages dot the landscape. Climb to the highest point of the tour, passing the stone cross at 1,510m, where traditionally each pilgrim leaves a stone they have brought from their homeland. Later descend into the rich valley of the Bierzo before arriving at the Hotel El Palacio in medieval Molinaseca

Meals Included: Breakfast

Cycle through the Bierzo valley, which produces excellent wines, fruit and vegetables before reaching the historic town of Villafranca del Bierzo. On to the foothills of the O'Cebreiro, a pastoral village between the mountain ranges of O Courel and Os Ancares where you have a traditional tapas dinner at the Hotel Capricho de Josana.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

A transfer takes you to the top of the steep O'Cebreiro mountain with breath taking views. Descend into outer lying woods and mountains, cycling through the small town of Samos where you can visit its ancient Middle Age monastery and is still inhabited by monks to this day. Cycle alongside streams and rivers arriving at the restored parsonage Hotel Rectoral de Goian in time for your included dinner.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Today cycle on narrow secondary roads through one of the most beautiful sections of the Camino. Pass through peaceful woodland and green pastures before arriving at Hotel A Parada das Bestas for your included dinner.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Time stands still in many of the pretty villages you cycle through today, each one a hidden gem with stone-built houses and quaint narrow streets. Dinner awaits at Hotel O Muiño de Pena

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

The final few miles of your epic pilgrimmage takes you into the heart Santiago de Compostela, the capital of northwest Spain's Galicia region. We cycle into this unique city of pilgrims and onto the Plaza de Obradoiro overlooking the Cathedral built in honour of Saint James before arriving at the Virxe da Cerca on the edge of its legendary historic centre.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Enjoy Santiago and the cathedral before taking a taxi to the airport (pay locally approx 15 euro). Alternatively, stay on for extra nights to explore this beautiful historic city. Walking through the old streets of Santiago is a fantastic way to spend your time here, with Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque buildings lining the old town's streets and plazas.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Essential Info

Visa

Spain

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Spain. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/spain
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/spain
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/entry-requirements
• USA:  www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Spain.html

Vaccination

Spain

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus and rabies. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Eating and Drinking

All breakfasts and 4 dinners are included.

Dinners are either taken at the hotel, or left open, where there is a good choice of restaurants.

Weather

In April and October expect temperatures in the 5-15°C with high chance of rain showers though it could also be simply partly cloudy and more temperate. Temperatures in May, June and September tend to be about 5°C warmer than April and October. Expect a combination of sun, showers and clouds. July and August are typically sunny and warm (15-25°C). Occasionally in summer there can be hot days so it is always important to make sure you have enough water.

Is this trip for you?

As this is a self-guided holiday there is no group and no leader. There may be others on the same departure date as you, but you will not be organised together. The route notes contain a 24-hour emergency assistance telephone number should you need it and in emergencies, the local representative is normally able to dispatch a taxi or pick you up themselves. They may wish to charge for this service.

Vehicle Support: This is a self-guided trip for those who prefer to cycle independently, but with our assistance to take out the stress of the logistics and planning. We arrange your accommodation, provide you with a map and route notes so that you can cycle at your own pace, while your bags are transported from one hotel to the next. The maps and route notes are provided in a link and can be downloaded to your phone via an app, RidewithGPS. A representative will be there to meet you, make sure the bikes are all set up and will be on call throughout the trip should you need.