Reviews (2014) of Walking the Camino De Santiago with RAW Travel

Sarria to Santiago – Winter walker – Mother and Son, Dec 2014

Raw travel provided a very personal service via phone calls and emails. I really appreciated the phone call just before we left Australia to see if we had any last minute questions. The information sent out in the pack was very comprehensive and covered everything.
My 14 year old son and I had a wonderful experience. We were expecting some rain and it to be quite bleak given that we were travelling in the middle of winter but we had the most glorious weather that was just perfect for walking. The whole walk was so beautiful and peaceful given there were very few other walkers at this time. The distances we walked each day were achievable and felt to be just the right length for the day. The hotels were comfortable and clean. We had a local taxi driver who was always reliable and helpful with luggage.

I had done some reading prior to leaving and the notes sent out from Raw Travel gave a good description of the terrain and the ascent heights for the day so it was as expected. The last 100kms of The Camino is so well marked – no chance of taking the wrong path.

Highlights

1. The walking through the beautiful hamlets in glorious sunshine
2. Spending a traditional Spanish New Years Eve at a beautiful house on a lake at Arzua
3. Arriving in Santiago de Compostela and attending the Mass at the cathedral

There were no low points, but just for other people to be aware when travelling late Dec/early Jan that there are very few cafes open for lunch/toilets in the little villages along the way.
We had a wonderful time with beautiful weather, scenery and a real sense of experiencing a different culture and are now thinking of doing a longer section of The Camino.

– Rosemary Falconer (Brisbane QLD)

Tailor Made Walk and Cycle Camino, Sept 2014

Because we prepared our own itinerary, Mel at Raw Travel was very helpful in finding appropriate accommodation in each of the places we wanted to stop. Everything went according to plan, accommodation was quite varied and all good to great, the bikes were in Burgos as planned, and luggage was transferred from one accommodation to the next as planned.

The itinerary we planned ourselves.  Only walked or rode for 4 consecutive days then had a rest day to give us time to recover, give our feet a rest and have time to explore the regions more leisurely.  Using the bikes across the Meseta provided a change of pace and the terrain wasn’t too difficult for riding.

This trip was much harder than we expected. We had done 4 months preparation – but this wasn’t sufficient preparation for the Spanish landscape – much more mountainous and continually up and down, in some place extremely steep.  Where we fell down, was walking for 5 – 6 hours day after day.  Our advice to someone else would be to take a week off before they go and undertake a full week of walking every day.  We found 20km to be an acceptable distance.  Longer distances became more difficult.  Also I’m 61 (reasonably fit), so this may not be the case for younger people.

Highlights:

1. We fell in love with Viana.  On arrival some celebration in the church just finished and the town was alive with people all dressed up. Great restaurant which served pilgrim meals from 6.00pm – great.

2. The initial walk from St Jean to Valcarlos was through absolutely beautiful countryside.
3. The meal served by the host at Casa Rural Roan was the most beautiful meal we had in Spain.

This holiday was one of the best experiences we have ever had and the feeling of accomplishment on arrival in Santiago was so rewarding we plan to do something similar in the future.

– Corrine Gyuris (Zilzie Heights QLD)

Walk and Cycle Full Camino (Raw Travel), Aug 2014

Walking/bike riding the Camino de Santiago was an experience of a life time and is one of the most memorable and personally fulfilling holidays I have ever had. Thank you for helping me achieve this.

We took the track for the Camino walkers which was very difficult with washed out waterways etc. In talking to other bike riders along the way they had used the made roads for majority of journey. We wanted to take the actual Camino track but weren’t aware of the level of endurance required.
However, there were many highlights so will try to list the top 3:

1. Walking over the Pyrenees – it was the most wonderful experience for beauty, getting into the feel of what the Camino de Santiago is about and testing endurance levels.
2. The food people and nightlife of Pamplona and were very glad to had 2 nights stay there.
3. Walking into Santiago and arriving at the Cathedral for the Pilgrim mass at 12 midnight – I had a very deep sense of spiritual wellbeing and achievement. I wanted to hold onto that feeling and remember it.

– Gabrielle Hanson (Wallan Victoria)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel),Tailor made Camino walk September 2014

Enjoyed the experience beyond my expectations. First stage (Pyrenees) more difficult than expected. Enjoyed the Villages, local friendly / helpful people. Commeradie along the walk was wonderful.
Villages and basic way of life. Hotels were excellent.

– Graeme Hall (Keilor Victoria)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Walking, Tailormade Birthday Package, June 2014

We are back in Australia now after a wonderful holiday and we are very grateful that we booked through an Australian company RAW travel especially when we had the delay to our flight from Rome to Santiago on 25 June which in turn this delayed our start on the camino. We we very grateful for your help in changing our arrangements and would highly recommend the whole adventure to others.
All the accommodation was great particularly the off the track ones.Food was great and hosts were friendly too.

– Kim Voss (Hawthornedene SAColwell)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Walking, Full Camino, May 2014

We loved the slow pace of our holiday and meeting people from all over the world. We loved getting to know what life in country Spain is really like. The countryside was so beautiful and there was not a day where we were bored or over the walk. The itinerary was 98 percent perfection. There was a change to the hotel/town on day 18 and the choice was fantastic. The lady who ran the hotel could not do enough to help us.

– Sharon Allen (Inverloch Victoria)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Sarria to Santiago May 2014

Everything went according to plan and the meals and accommodation were excellent.

– John Trevillyan (Parkdale Vic)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Walking, Sarria to Santiago May 2014

Many thanks to the staff at RAW Travel for doing such a great job of organising it for me. I particularly liked staying in the old stone houses converted to modern hotels. Excellent service, interesting itinerary, helpful staff eager to help in planning the trip, good accommodation selection, everything went pretty much as planned.

– Robert Beamish (Point Clare NSW)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Walking, Sarria to Santiago May 2014

I would like to say thank you for all your work in making the arrangements for Kathy and me for our Camino Walk. We had a great time. The transfer of our luggage went without a hitch with our suitcases waiting in our hotel room each afternoon when we arrived at our stop. The accommodation was excellent and the hosts at the hotels were friendly and helpful.

The Camino provided us with a great experience and this was greatly assisted by having RAW Travel coordinate our accommodation and baggage transfer which enabled us to really enjoy the walk without the worry.

– Marie and Kathy (Melbourne Vic)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Walking, Full Camino May 2014

I want to send you the biggest THANK YOU ever for letting me have the time of my life. Everything, and I mean everything just worked. And every day on my arrival I only got to hear “Hola Dorothea”. It was pure magic. Thank you for looking after me.

– Dorothea Colombo (Cape Town South Africa)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Pamplona to Logrono April 2014

We have just returned from a wonderful trip you customised for us.

Everything was organised perfectly.  Accommodation was great with The hotels you arranged were great, lovely boutique hotels with character. Taxis turned up on time and bag pick up and delivery was efficient. It was good to be able to rely on RAW travel’s experience on the best walking tour and good accommodation. The customised itinerary was exactly what we asked for with helpful staff who were able to prepare our itinerary at short notice.

– Ainslie Smith (Currumbin Valley Qld)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Walking, Full Camino April 2014

Having just returned from Europe and experiencing a wonderful Camino, we contact you to congratulate your company for their organisation of our trip, and to commend you on the way it all went without a single hitch. Our luggage was always at our accommodation when we arrived, and the rooms were always ready for us. The standard of accommodation exceeded our expectations, and was mostly in excellent locations, and the range in type of accommodation was interesting.

– Judy and Graham Quintal (Beecroft NSW)

Camino De Santiago (Raw Travel), Walking, Roncesvalles to Santiago March 2014

Am very glad that I engaged Raw Travel to map out an itinerary and book accommodation and luggage transport on the Camino Frances as it took a lot of stress out of the trip for me. Raw Travel made the trekking experience much easier and worry-free.

– Jane Lynch (Macquarie Park NSW)