Everyone who goes on a Headwater holiday will be emailed a link to our post-holiday questionnaire where they can give us an honest assessment of all aspects of their holiday - everything from how quickly we answer the phone to how clean the hotels were - plus an overall rating and comments about their holiday.
Any feedback collected is posted to our website, so that people can make an informed decision based on past experiences before heading off on holiday. We don’t edit the reviews, the only thing we do is proofread them and alter any typos, where necessary, to ensure they are easy to read for everyone. All reviews will be published (except in certain extreme circumstances), and a member of the Headwater team will respond to any constructive criticisms/comments under the reviews, at their discretion. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of our holidays, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.
Your agents were fully conversive with the holiday and my needs. Only down side was I felt the hotel in Gatwick Airport was expensive with no breakfast provided in the cost
Well organised; good selection of hotels ; thoughtful planning of walk sections
Excellent. The only observation is that the full fees must be paid months in advance of the trip taking place which differs from many other providers.
Excellent holiday overall which was well organised from start to finish and all information given was clear and helpful.
We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and the whole experience and met some wonderful people.
Terrific experience. I do not see your name mentioned among the traditional Camino companies but it should be. It was a very easy and terrific experience.
The itinerary was good. I thought it was sensible to split the first and last days in two. Going from the start in France to Roncesvalles in one day, whilst doable would have been tough given the amount of ascent required. Equally stopping in Viana rather than going all the way to Logrono was sensible, given the heat and distance. The entrance to Logrono isn't particularly interesting and to put that at the end of a long day would have been dispiriting. The signage along the way was very good apart from the last section coming into Estella, where a series of new cycle tracks has made things confusing. A stone arrow on the ground helped, but it could be easily missed. As it happens I chose the right option.
Very enjoyable holiday
We had a lovely time walking the Camino - very helpful staff and everything went as it should have done. Helpful walking notes.
Organised. Stress free. Challenging but very rewarding
An enjoyable experience, with like minded people
Our first walking holiday and it was a fabulous experience. The pre-departure notes and information provided, made planning easy. A necessary cancellation and re-booking was handled expertly by Helen. The itinerary and route notes were very detailed. The overall quality of accommodation and meals, was excellent. We never went hungry or without a glass of wine! All taxi and bag transfers went smoothly. We hadn't anticipated being joined by other Headwater guests at the various hotels and it made it very enjoyable to meet new walking companions. We would definitely book another trip in the future.
A great experience with interesting and for the most part, rural, off the beaten track accommodation of a very high standard. The hosts were without exception extremely welcoming. The walk is challenging at times but no less enjoyable for that and the experience of arriving in Santiago and the sense of achievement at the end of the 6 days of walking was one I won't forget any time soon.
The Camino De Santiago was a wonderful holiday, great accommodation, food, route notes, etc and when our plane was delayed Headwater could not have been more helpful to arrange alternative flights.
Excellent pace of itinerary and well thought out accommodation. Local guide in Leon was enthusiastic, well informed and very collegial.
Excellent holiday, very highly recommended. However, 3 comments. Bike collection in Astorga, your directions say collect from Bike Shop at 9.00 am but the Bike Shop does not open until 9.30 am. MY Ebike was very good but the chain kept coming off,. On 13 Aug, our accommodation was changed to Casa Blanco but the route given in both the App and paper maps was only to A Parada das Bastas. We had to go to A Parada day Bastas and ask them for directions, which thankfully worked.
The Santiago ride was a pleasure but the information from the app caused us both delays, detours and frustration before reaching destinations
Cycling the Camino de Santiago was great but the description in the brochure is a little deceptive as there was a lot of cycling on roads (not on the Camino), even though not much traffic. Last 2 days didn’t see the Camino signs at all! I believe the brochure should describe this a little better. Electric bikes a must if you are a leisure cyclist as extremely hilly! Having said this Headwater were very helpful and we would definitely recommend them.
We would like to thank you for organising our pilgrimage on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. We had a truly wonderful time, and the memories will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Everything went smoothly, and Headwater arranged lovely hotels with fantastic food. We would recommend this unreservedly
A good experience for anyone walking the Camino de Santiago for the first time. Did not get to visit the cathedral in Leon due to the Easter Penitent festival taking place over the weekend. But this was more than made up for by the spectacle of the parades of about 20 religious societies that were taking part in the festival, which, I believe is the biggest of its type in Spain. All of them with their own bands which had very good and noisy drum sections. All of the venues where I stayed were good, and mainly in renovated old stone built Galician houses, some of which were former Pilgrim Hospitals. Staff very helpful, especially at Rectoral de Lestedo who greatly facilitated my visit to the church of San Salvador at Vila de Donas, which was well worth the effort made to see it. On the travel from Madrid Airport at the Railway station at Charmartin. Went to take a Taxi, advised by operative that price could be 50 Euros and it would be better to take the metro at 3 euros. This I did.
A perfect balance of independent travel with the knowledge of knowing that at the end of each days walk there will be a comfortable bed and an excellent meal in an unspoilt rural location each with its own individuality.
I enjoyed it
My husband and I used Headwater in order to walk the Camino de Santiago. When arranging our holiday, we asked for an extra night in Madrid as well as Santiago; this they did for us, no problem at all.
Throughout our holiday, we had, mostly, excellent accommodation and the walk routes were really good.
We will both be using Headwater again and highly recommend them.
The Camino from Sarria to Santiago do Compostela is a pilgrimage rather than a conventional long-distance hike. If you would like to share an unusual, fascinating and historical experience with fellow travelers from all over the world (and of all faiths and none), you will probably love it. I have heard people complain that it is rather crowded. If you see that as a disadvantage rather than a positive part of the experience, then perhaps this is not the right walk for you. The walking itself, for anyone of moderate fitness, is not at all challenging, and the way-marking makes it impossible to get lost. As I say, this is a great, historic pilgrimage, but not an escape to the wild.
The first night in Leon is an enjoyable experience, in the evening the streets are very busy with everybody out enjoying themselves, get a seat, get a beer, and sit and watch the world go by.
The first two days are the most difficult, uphill on unmade paths, once you pass from Leon in Galicia the paths are much better, made up with gravel and it is possible to progress at your normal walking pace. The first two days are also a delight, being high up with beautiful scenery, and looking down on eagles soaring below is a real treat. The spring flowers were stunning.
All along the route the local people are welcoming and happy to see you,. Your fellow pilgrims are a huge multicultural gathering of people from all over the world, and it is a pleasure to be a traveller on El Camino
The hotels are good, very comfortable, with good staff, and are very very clean and highly polished, a pleasure.
The connections, the taxis, the baggage moving all worked perfectly and reliably
All round a very happy and enjoyable experience
Thank you.
Walking the Camino was a lovely experience. Having the luggage moved everyday and prearranging accomodation and meals took away the stress of travelling.
Great experience to walk the 100km+ on the camino
Excellent holiday we connected with your other clients and walked as a group of six and made our own
Camino Famílily. Very helpful before set off. Great accommodation and food. Some confusion with notes for arrival at hotels! - we could provide you with better notes!
Wonderfully organised and relaxing holiday, apart from the challenge of walking every day, which is what we paid for!! Thank you!
The walk from Leon to Santiago started as a series of walks but developed into a pilgrimage of sorts as we and the walkers around us (who we'd bump into regularly) were immersed in the journey that so many hundreds of thousands of people have made for centuries. It was a wonderful feeling when we arrived in Santiago di Compostela
The holiday was excellent, thoroughly enjoyed it. Well organised, fantastic accomodation. Will definately book again through Headwater
Our holiday processing along the French Way of the Camino de Santiago at the beginning of May was a joy. We were not quite knowing what to expect, as some people had said that the Camino and Santiago itself were pretty busy and commercialized. How wrong they were! We loved the enchanting unspoilt villages and tracks we passed along and the places which we stayed at were a delight. Full marks to Headwater for winkling out those excellent choices. As indicated on the questionnaire, all were good but some were outstanding. Our hosts were generally highly helpful and, even if they didn't speak English, made every effort to please us through our pathetic Spanish. (Charming Fernando at Rectoral de Lestedo even presented us with a voice-recognition translating app on his mobile - conversations became quite fulsome!). The Pazo Santa Maria was the jewel in the crown - I could have stayed for days! A brill holiday - which I've been exalting since our return, thank you. Catherine Parkinson
An enjoyable way to experience part of the Camino with a mix of accommodation to stay in along the way and the opportunity to walk along several interesting parts of the route.
Great all round but the last hotel in Santiago de Compostela (Hotel Virxe de Cerca) was wonderful. Fantastic location and everything about the hotel was just lovely. We had a couple of extra nights here and it was a great end to the walk
After long tiring days of walking, it was lovely to relax in rustic accommodation with comfortable beds, a good en suite and decent food. We thoroughly enjoyed 'Walking the Way of St. James.' The landscape was thoroughly unexpected in Galicia, - very lush, green and much like the U.K. and Ireland. It was particularly special to make friends (although very briefly) with people from all over the world.
We had a very enjoyable trip, with great walking in beautiful locations, meeting interesting people, eating some delicious meals and we appreciated having our luggage transported!
We thoroughly enjoyed the entire set-up of this holiday. Our companions in the group were friendly and good company. The walk was spectacular with some of the more boring bits done by vehicular transfer. We were also extremely luck with the weather, it only rained once for 5 minutes! We felt a real sense of achievement when we arrived in Santiago de Compostella.
Anyone of reasonable fitness can walk the Camino, but maybe you should consider grading your Camino walking holiday. One grade for people who are not really used to walking distances and another grade for people who have come to walk at least 25 - 30 km per day. Most of the walkers had booked hotels and albergues in towns and villages. Walkers like to meet up with each other in the evening and share experiences. At one place the hotel pick up was 1 hour 15 minutes late from the agreed time, with no apology or
Quite demanding. 9 days is a long walking holiday.
A very good trip. Where scores have been less than excellent this is because I think the hosts could welcome guests with an offer of drink after a day of exertion - including making tea/coffee available. At times the hosts were not visible and when they appeared it felt awkward asking for a service of this kind with the exception of Pazo Santemaria and Casa los Semoza (the latter had a bar). Some of the accommodation may not be conveniently located so meant waiting around to be picked up. An arrangement whereby the guest could have a taxi as he/she arrived at collection point would be better. Also in some places it was cool/damp weather and bed linen felt a little damp. Heating not always switched on (noticeable feature when one is tired) and I had to ask at one place for it to be put on as I was quite uncomfortable. However, luggage was always transported exactly which was reassuring. Blanca the guide in Leon was excellent and Headwater have made a very interesting programme of accommodation - full of interest/quirky and beautifully located. Thank you.
The Camino is a wonderful experience. The walking can be challenging so you need to practice before your holiday. The accommodation was mixed, breakfast tended to be a disappointment. The star of the show for us was Rectoral de Goian. A wonderful place with great food and a sincere welcome. Overall the accommodation is lovely and given the standard that some of the pilgrims use it is pure luxury. The bag transfers and pick ups ran like clockwork.
We are 2 female friends and booked single occupancy of rooms. We felt hotels were well chosen and variable, but all interesting and overall comfortable . We got a bit sick of the Pilgrim 10 euro menu, but also had some superb meals. The walking was excellent, and easier than we had expected. We enjoyed the independence of being self guided. There were a few minor faults in the daily walking guide and we have offered to come in and point them out. We live in Chester and decided to Travel from Liverpool to Madrid and spend a night there rather than at Heathrow. We did find that the schedule on Day 1 was a bit over-heavy. Everyone was exhausted that night. But, overall this was a Brilliant holiday! And May was a very good choice this year.
A few suggestions
a) Update your travel notes to refer to the actual kilometre-markers which are now in place
b) Arrange the final leg so that your clients have the option to be in Santiago for the midday pilgrim service in the cathedral
c) The staffing of the Casa de los Samozo was a source of great amusement, somewhat lacking experience, but all was still delivered
d) Hotel Petit Palace was noisy but the location was perfect
But overall the holiday surpassed our expectation and we will certainly consider Headwater again
This holiday provides a stress-free camino experience for those who either do not wish to or cannot carry a full back pack. Accommodation and meals are of a significantly higher standard than is available in the hostels and dormitories along the route. As well as completing the 100km required for the compostela, it combines some interesting earlier sections of the camino as a bonus. The guided tour of Leon provides an excellent introduction to the camino combined with the visit to the impressive Cathedral and other historic buildings. It is well worth extending the holiday to spend two nights in both Leon and Santiago de Compostela.
This is my 10 th Headwater holiday,this time I convinced three friends to walk the Camino de Santiago with Headwater.
Our group of four were very pleased with Headwater and are looking at more holidays with them.
We loved this walk. Accommodation on the whole was as good as it could be given the isolated nature of some places. We were particularly impressed with the helpfulness of staff at Headwater when BA cancelled our outward flight the evening before our journey so we didn't miss any of our holiday. The arrangements went very smoothly. The weather in mid July was very hot-unusually so according to locals- so if you suffer from the heat, earlier or later might be better!
Well organised; great choice of places to stay with walking well directed and right amount of effort per day. The Camino is not the most beautiful route we have walked but communion with fellow travellers made it feel special.
Only comment would be O Coto. Finished short walk to Casa de la Somoza by lunch and really not much to do that afternoon. While the hotel was adequate it was not the sort of place you could amuse yourself in for an afternoon. The common parts were a bit gloomy. We went for a walk! that afternoon.
A pity about baggage handlers' strike in Madrid, main problem was that we had our walking poles taken from us in Stansted in spite of the fact that my husband had checked with Ryanair that we could get them through security. This is categorically not true. We had to store our poles in Stansted at cost to ourselves and buy poles in Leon.
A superb holiday experience that we will always remember. Headwater's advice & organisation was faultless.
This is a classic walk which also includes extra interest such as a tour of Leon and the ability, due to transfers, to stay in some lovely establishments. This part of Spain is very beautiful and we walked through lovely little villages and farms. The flowers, particularly on the first day, along the way were stunning. Lots of places to get snacks and drinks. The Camino is so well signposted that there is very little need to consult notes and maps so it is easy to enjoy the walking.
Excellent experience. A privilege to walk through such a beautiful and little known part of Spain!
Casa Rural santa maria-would have been helpful to know that he would pick up from the town as the extra km was not good on a v hot day.La Posada de Muriel-the hosts had changed! The breakfast of one piece of toast was not enough for a long walk and certainly could not be described as a buffet! Pazo Santa Maria-should have informed us of the most direct way to get to it as it is also a bit out and at least a 20min walk from the track as described.Rectoral de Lestedo-it would have been very helpful to have known that there was no option of drinks(tea, coffee or anything else for the three hours before the meal,which was poor.It would be useful to suggest that walkers go into the cafe about a km before the accommodation as going back doesn't seem sensible and we were ok with water (from the tap)
My 2nd camino walk holiday, a different personal experience but excellent, Galicia & Spain at its very best, Headwater organisation & bag moving en route is superb hassle & worry free,
I have a friend who is doing this trip next year and I have recommended your company
We would like to say how fantastic the man was who gave us the mini-moke ride from our hotel back into Portomarin and how hard our hostess (Maria) worked to keep everybody happy in the Casa de los Samoza.
The food in Rectoral de Goian was amazing! For the world's best bread and butter pudding go to O Muino de Pena>
Overall it was a great holiday. We throughly enjoyed ourselves.
It was an excellent holiday and very well planned so that we had a good morning sightseeing in Leon*, walked the best stretches of the Camino and had an attractive balance of accommodation.
* We were a bit concerned about starting the 1st days walk so late in such heat (30c+), but we managed it!
It was hard work covering the average 12 miles/day. We enjoyed the 8 mile day with some 'free time' in the afternoon and felt very at home at Casa de la Somoza that afternoon. Enjoyed the company of the other 4 Headwater walkers we ate and walked with. Exciting to arrive at such an interesting and varied accomodation with such a variety of ambience and fare.
We were told on the 'phone when booking that we needed to get the 6.30 flight from Stanstead in order to have time to catch the train from Madrid to Leon. In fact it only took a short time by taxi to the station where we waited 4 hrs for the train. 2 hrs extra in bed and 8.30 flight would have got us off to a better start!
Thank you arranging all the accomodation and transfer of luggage which worked so well. Loved Leon and found it such a generous place - we kept being given little extras, whether from market traders or patisserie.
Route instructions generally good, but not clear that we needed to walk almost to the railway station to find the Hotel Roma at Sarria. That was a long last k.
Also the last k to Pazo Santa Maria directions could have been clearer with more detail.
We were blessed with decent weather, and so enjoyed this 160km. very much. We found the O Munio De Pena a bit of a gloomy place, with Javier nowhere in sight until 8.30 that evening! The only other mild carp we have is at Sarria, where that last km. through the town was hard work. Could a pick-up closer to our entry into the town be considered?
Also, going into Arzua, the Pazo told us that if Headwater had told us we could have phoned the Pazo for a taxi from our entry into the town to the hotel for 4 euros! This could have been very valuable info. as we were being chased by a thunderstorm at that time! We also recommend the taxi back to the starting point next day.
Our pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was a magical experience, and spiritually uplifting. We encountered so many memorable characters and different nationalities along the way, all with different stories and experiences, which will endure as we reflect on our journey in the years to come.
Please see above comments - it was a wonderful experience walking the Camino but I was disappointed with the seesaw quality of the places we stayed - a couple lovely, several really miserable. Food poisoning episode only helped by the fact that there was a doctor on the trip who helped me. The venue seeemed unconcerned. Really spoiled the last few days of the holiday.
Headwater response:
Dear Mrs Wylde,
Thank you for taking the time to complete your post-holiday questionnaire following your holiday this summer to Spain. Firstly, we were sorry to see you felt this holiday did not live up to your expectations with regards to the standard of some of the accommodations and the walk ratings. Please be assured that we have discussed your feedback in detail with our local agents, he will in turn discuss with our local suppliers and measures will be put into place to improve where necessary. We were also sorry to see that you were unwell at the end of your holiday; our agent was also disappointed to hear this and advised us that had you mentioned this to him he would have most certainly arranged onward transportation for you. We have not received any further complaints regarding sickness over this period or throughout the rest of the season. Our agent has advised us that food poisoning is a very rare occurrence in this region as the suppliers are used to dealing with high volumes of pilgrims and all of the food is prepared fresh daily. However, we will continue to monitor the feedback we receive, and will ensure it is cascaded back to the suppliers should another incidence be reported. We were also sorry to see that you felt the accommodations were poor in places. Due to the amount of walking done on this holiday, we try to use accommodations which are on or close to the Camino and because of this the accommodation standards can vary, as reflected in our brochure and web page ratings, however, please be assured that we do realise how important it is to maintain our high standards of accommodation and service, and we do appreciate we cannot afford to let our standards slip. With this in mind, our agent continually monitors any feedback received and provides feedback to both Headwater and the specific suppliers as appropriate. He also advised us that there are newer Albergues being built, however, these do not comply with our standards as most of them offer shared facilities and are mostly dorm type rooms with bunk beds and this is not the type of accommodation we feel is suitable for our customers. In closing we would like to thank you for your constructive feedback.
Yours sincerely,
Headwater Customer Service team
Everything extremely well-organized - comfortable and interesting accommodation. Would thoroughly recommend Headwater.
The accommodation was variable between wonderful and very simple.
We were suprised by how few vegetables we were available both in the accommodations and in restaurants.
At the end of some of the walk sections the instructions/directions were less clear and this was a problem when you are tired at the end of a days walking.
We were part of the party with the Raeburns were there was a muddle about our tour of Leon which we missed out on. That shouldn't have happened.
This was a great holiday. It's the walks are fairly straightforward, but there are some long days. The arrangement by Headwater worked like clockwork. The hotels are well-chosen and generally of a good standard. Our favourites were the 2 rectorals and Paze Santa Maria. This was a great way to explore the Camino de Santiago.
Good mixture of walking, history and culture which in combination produced an excellent break
Enjoyable expierence
Overall it was a fantastic holiday - one of our best ever. We loved the Camino itself and our holiday was enhanced by the 6 others in our group.
Our stay in O'Cebriero was horrid, as the community was celebrating its local saints day and the hotel/pub was in the centre of the long festivities, including lots of pulpo (octopus) being prepared, boiled and eaten and an amplified band striking up at midnight. Understandably on such a big occasion it took quite a while before we could access our rooms, and it was not possible to get our cases through the crowds for a time either. Unfortunately the refuge at the quiet end of the village was fully booked otherwise we would have stayed there instead. Headwater should warn clients arriving on that day what to expect.
Felt could have walked further each day, especially in order to reach Santiago more comfortably to experience the pilgrim's service (we walked the final 21kms in 4 hours in order to do this) plus that last part is the least interesting part of the walk. Appreciated the care taken to make the first 3 days so interesting - very glad that started at Leon and not at Sarria - and very glad that stayed way out of Sarria as it's a rather depressing town! Found the trek down to the resort at Portomarin a pain - felt had arrived, at the river, then found had another good up and down km to do to reach the entrance. The manager/owner offered to drive us the next morning, which we all appreciated. All the taxi and other drivers were excellent, on time, friendly and efficient. Would especially like to mention Blanca, the guide in Leon; such a lovely and enthusiastic person with immense knowledge - we were expecting to be bored, but were totally immersed and hope to go back. We all agreed that it would be useful to have a list of taxi and other drivers' phone numbers as we often arrived 2 or 3 hours before pick up time. O'Coto was a pleasant hotel, it was just a pity that was sandwiched between 2 busy roads with a car dump nearby. It was also a bit damp, tho the owners put the heating on for us (we know they are new owners so maybe will be making improvements for next year), and was difficult to dry our washing - which we all did as were staying 2 nights there. I am being very pernickety here, as overall we enjoyed the holiday immensely and have enthusiastically recommended it to our friends.
We thoroughly enjoyed the walking but preferred the days when the accommodation was actually on the Camino. The inconvenience and waste of time waiting for taxis in unpicturesque places at the end of a day's walking was irritating. Similarly starting a day with a taxi ride to get back to the Camino from remote accommodation was unsatisfactory.
Headwater had thought of everything and it's attention to detail that counts on a holiday like this. Thank you !
Fantastic, it was everyting I hoped it would be and more!
