Cycle The Camino de Santiago in Spain

Our Clients’ Reviews

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Average Review Rating: from 17 reviews.

Robert Baxter

CYCLE THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Written April 2013
This was a great cycling holiday with some lovely scenery, great food and good biking. The company was great too - all the group (5 of us) bonded and together with the two guides, we sat down together for every meal and coffee break.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
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.
What did you think of your 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.
Do you have any 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).
Is there anything else you would like to add?
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!
Alan Davidson

CYCLE THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Written October 2012
Best cycle holiday yet. Excellent company and well paced itinerary.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Reaching Santiago late on the last day, with wonderful final dinner
What did you think of your group leader?
Jose and Sandro were a first class team
Joanne Froy

CYCLE THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Written September 2012
A Good trip. My only complaint was that I was issued with the wrong size bike and had to suffer back ache for the firfirst day due to shortage of a suitable bike. There were no spare bikes in case of breakages and I felt this put unnecessary strain on the leader.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Arriving at Santiago on Friday eveving.
What did you think of your group leader?
.Great. He coped with difficulties by improvisation and always kept his sense of humour.
Do you have any 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.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
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.
John Tribe

CYCLE THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Written August 2012
Great trip, great guides
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Arriving at the village of O Cebereio after a long hard climb. A simple, beautiful village high on the mountain between Leon and Gallicia.
What did you think of your 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.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
I'd say you need to be taking regular exercise to get the best out of this trip.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
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.
ian harries

CYCLE THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Written October 2011
I'm not one to write about a recent holiday but this was an exceptional holiday with a group of people who loved the whole experiece as much as I did. We were lucky enough to enjoy a mini heatwave in October without needing to get the wet weather gear out of our suitcases.It was my first Exodus holiday and it wont be last. Some of the group had travelled on other trips and I was able to hear first hand about the trips ( much better than reading about them in the brochure).Northern Spain, what a beautiful region to cycle thru with 2 experienced guides Nachos and Jamie. We were even abe to help Nachos with some of his English sentences .....
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Sharing the Camino with people who had been walking for up to 4 weeks and cycling on a route where thousands of pilgrims had walked before was a very thought provoking experience.
Not having to worry about the speed of the front runners ( there were some very keen experienced cyclists up front) wasn't a problem ...you simply cycled with those who were the same pace as you!
Grinding out the long steep slopes after lunch one afternoon in 30 degrees of heat with 2 similar paced cyclists and sharing the job of being the leader along the climb was a great 'mini' team effort ( thanks Richard and Rose).
What did you think of your group leader?
A couple of decent Spaniards, well informed and who new the way to Santiago ...thanks guys!
Thank heavens for the yellow arrows that marked the route the whole distance.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Try to be fit before the trip to enjoy the whole week long experience.
I think because of the heat I would have graded the trip 'challenging' rather than 'moderate / challenging'.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Would have liked to have stayed on an extra night in Santigo to see the whole town and spent some time watching the pilgrims arriving in the square.
The Cathedrals and Churches along the way were breathtakingly beautiful.
Dont forget to fill your pilgrims passport with stamps from everywhere along the route.
Buen Camino
Stephen Bennett

CYCLE THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Written October 2011
This trip was fantastic! Really good route with a mixture of on and off road cycling. Beautiful area of countryside with a good amount of attractive towns and villages. Superb guides with excellent command of English, good local knowledge and great entertainment.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
This trip has a good mixture of fairly level cycling with a number of significant ups and downs. The two long uphills mentioned in the trip notes were fairly hard going, but the rewards came on the way down - A couple of fantastic long descents with superb views over the surrounding countryside.
What did you think of your group leader?
Both Nacho (cycling guide) and Jaime (driving the minibus) were excellent. Both had a great grasp of English (Jaime lived in Scotland for many years). Both were good cyclists and looked after the group very well - giving plenty of leeway for the faster/fitter riders and keeping an eye open for the more laid back cyclists in the group. Not an easy job with a group of 15 of various ages! The organisation was fantastic and the care of the cycling equipment with appropriate help when needed was superb. They were also good company both on the ride and in the evenings.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
This is a superb trip, but you do need to have a certain degree of cycling fitness! Having been on a couple of other trips, I would say Moderate/Challenging is about right... there are several fairly hard going uphill bits to the trip, but that only makes the downhills even more worthwhile. We had a very mixed group aged mid-thirties to late-sixties, but all coped very well albeit at slightly different paces! However, it isn't a gentle ride in the country!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Although I took my own bicycle, the hire bicycles provided appeared to be well maintained and stood up to the trip well. I think 3-4 punctures in the week were the only difficulties encountered, and the guides sorted these quickly on each occasion. Enjoy!
Robert Renfree

CYCLE THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Written October 2011
This was a really great trip- the history of the Camino, interesting towns, the Galician countryside, some reasonably challenging climbs and a good group of people who got on well.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Arriving in Santiago, but also the days we climbed up to O Cebreiro and cycling through the Galician country lanes.
What did you think of your group leader?
Nacho and Jaime were both excellent and looked after the group really well, and with a great sense of humour.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
If you like historic cities, consider staying an extra day in Santiago at the end. For those of us who cycled on the last afternoon, we only had an evening there which isn't time to have a good look round.