Walking the Camino de Santiago

Mr Hall, 21/07/2019

I enjoyed it

Mrs White, 30/06/2019

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.

Mr Bowett, 07/06/2019

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.

Mr Ivey, 27/12/2018

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

Mr Thorsteinson, 27/10/2018

Walking the Camino was a lovely experience. Having the luggage moved everyday and prearranging accomodation and meals took away the stress of travelling.

Mrs Williamson, 19/06/2018

Wonderfully organised and relaxing holiday, apart from the challenge of walking every day, which is what we paid for!! Thank you!

Mr Moore, 28/08/2017

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.

Ms Mead, 30/05/2017

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

Mr Bellis, 15/10/2016

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!

Mrs Watson, 16/09/2016

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.

Mrs Wright, 10/09/2016

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

Mr Paterson, 25/08/2016

Quite demanding. 9 days is a long walking holiday.

Ms Feist, 13/06/2016

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.

Mrs Lewis, 02/06/2016

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.

Mrs Feerick, 29/05/2016

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.

Mr Hilary, 24/04/2016

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

Mrs McInnes, 19/09/2015

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.

Mrs Bush, 06/09/2015

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!

Mr Collingham, 23/06/2015

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.

Mrs Lawrence, 13/06/2015

A superb holiday experience that we will always remember. Headwater's advice & organisation was faultless.

Mr Small, 06/06/2015

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)

Mr Howard, 05/06/2015

Excellent experience. A privilege to walk through such a beautiful and little known part of Spain!

Mrs Moxham, 29/05/2015

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.

Mr Woodgate, 23/05/2015

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,

Mr Ruffler, 24/10/2014

I have a friend who is doing this trip next year and I have recommended your company

Mr Heald, 24/09/2014

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!

Mr Smith, 29/06/2014

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.

Mrs Evans, 25/04/2014

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.

Dr Tudor, 24/11/2013

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.

Mr Arscott, 23/10/2013

Enjoyable expierence

Mr Hutton, 07/10/2013

Good mixture of walking, history and culture which in combination produced an excellent break

Mrs Crookes, 29/06/2013

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.

Mr Neilson, 22/06/2013

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.

Ms Clough, 24/04/2013

Fantastic, it was everyting I hoped it would be and more!