2012

£2980 (deposit £300). This includes: airport transfers from Biarritz (day 1) and to La Coruña (day 12) and all other road travel by comfortable nine-seater vans (flights are not included); accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 9 lunches (5 are picnics) and 8 dinners, with wine, water and coffee; admission costs; tips for waiters; the services of the lecturer and tour manager and additional driver/baggage handler. Single supplement £320. (double room for single use).

Flights are not included in the cost of the tour as the most convenient outbound flight is with Ryanair and we cannot make a booking without knowing the passenger name. We can book flights on your behalf, quoting the fare at the time of booking, or you can make the bookings yourself using the details below.

We provide airport transfers around the following flights:

Day 1: depart London Stansted 12.15, arrive Biarritz 15.05 (Ryanair flight FR 372).

Day 12: depart La Coruña 14.40, arrive London Heathrow 15.40 (Vueling VY 7100).

As quasi-pilgrims we lodge in a different place each night except on rest days, ranging from relatively workaday to very grand: Roncesvalles (1 night): recently opened 3-star hotel in an 18th-cent. building. In S. Millán de la Cogolla (1 night): 4-star hotel beside the monastery of Yuso. In Sto Domingo de la Calzada (1 night): 4-star parador, former mediaeval pilgrim hospital. In Burgos (2 nights): 4-star hotel in a converted palace. In León (1 night): 5-star parador in grandiose Plateresque pilgrim hostel. In Astorga (1 night): 3-star modern hotel in the centre. In Villafranca del Bierzo (1 night): newly-refurbished parador. In Sarriá (1 night): a modern hotel near river. In Santiago de Compostela (2 nights): 5-star parador, in the former pilgrims’ hospital.

We cover up to 82 miles of the 500 mile route with an average of 10–14 miles walking per day. Fitness is essential; do not book this tour in order to get fit. Participants should be used to walking cross-country, uphill and down and be able to walk pleasurably for several hours at a time. Safety and comfort are our main concern and there are opportunities to retire.

We regret that applications from people aged 81 or over at the time of the tour will not be accepted.

We stay in Parador Hotels, which have a green policy. The 2009-2012 Strategic Plan of Paradores resolutely impels sustainability, energy efficiency, responsible consumption, accessibility in the hotel complex, and the company’s social responsibility.

Lunches are in local cafés or picnics, which use local produce.