www.ultreyatours.com ULTREYA TOURS [email protected] +1 646 934 6859 CAMINO FRENCH WAY PREMIUM FOR GROUPS Our Camino French Way Premium for groups brings you along the last 112 km (70 miles) of the French Way from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela staying in the best accommodation available along the way. You will spend 7 nights in beautiful, peaceful and historical guest- houses on the Camino de Santiago or 3 to 5* hotels in town centers including Paradores. We shortened the walking days of the traditional stops to give you time to take in those wonderful places and includes nights in the Ribeira Sacra and Lugo so you can discover the best of Galicia. Our Premium tours for groups include support van, luggage transfer, carefully selected accommodation, breakfast and dinners and much more. So, let us guide you through our favorite monuments, villages and viewpoints and show you the true Galician hospitality and gastronomy. PRICE & DATES FACT FILE Can be organized on request from 8+ participants on the Accommodation Luxurious dates of your choice. Manors & 3 to 5* Hotels Total Walking Distance 112 km €1550 per person Duration 9 days / 8 nights • Single room supplement: + €320 per room Starts Monforte de Lemos • No dinners discount: - €200 per person Stops Sarria, Portomarin, Lestedo, • Accompanying Guide for the duration of the tour: + Melide, Arzua, Pedrouzo €2100 Ends Santiago de Compostela • Extra night in the 4* Parador of Monforte: + €200 per room (dinner not included) • Extra night in the 5* Parador of Santiago: from + €250 per room (dinner not included) • Private Day tour to Finisterre: €450 for the group CAMINO FRENCH WAY PREMIUM INCLUDES • Emergency support from our local team • All taxes and gratuities for the hotels • En-suite accommodation in charming luxurious manors & 3 to 5* historical hotels (including • A detailed guidebook per room nights in the Parador of Monforte and Santiago • All breakfasts and three-courses dinners if available!) • A Pilgrim Kit per person • Luggage transfers from hotel to hotel • Walk between 14 km and 22 km per day • Wine and water included for each dinner + 1 welcome drink at arrival each day • Dinner at a Michelin Star restaurant (if available) www.ultreyatours.com ULTREYA TOURS [email protected] +1 646 934 6859 CAMINO FRENCH WAY PREMIUM STEP BY STEP ITINERARY This 8 nights route brings you along the last 112 km (70 miles) of the Camino Frances - French Way into Santiago de Compostela. DAY 1 - MAKING OUR WAY TO YOUR STARTING POINT OF THE CAMINO Our driver will pick you up and drive you to the palace of the counts of Lemos now the Parador of Monforte de Lemos, located in the uppermost part of the Capital of the Ribeira Sacra in inland Galicia. The Ribeira Sacra offers one of the most spectacular gorge scenery in Europe: terraces of vines precariously perched on steep slopes (over 60% inclination) and one of the highest concentration of medieval monasteries. In the afternoon, we can schedule an optional half-day tour with a wine- degustation cruise of the Sil River just 20 min away before visiting a local bodega with vineyards on a 80% inclination or you can relax in your hotel and enjoy the swimming pool. In order for you to meet the other group members, we will organize a Welcome Cocktail including some tapas and wine or beer around 7pm before enjoying a gourmet dinner together at the Parador. DAY 2 - 22KM - WALK FROM SARRIA TO PORTOMARIN After a 30min drive to Sarria, our driver will leave you at the top of the medieval staircase of Sarria so you can start your journey on the Camino de Santiago. Walk along easy paved trails through beautiful countryside, meadows and oak woods, charming villages with slate roofs towards a huge medieval bridge. Don’t forget to take a picture of yourself in front of the 100 km marker and witness those who have walked hundreds of kilometers get emotional. Expect some steep uphill and downhill at some point today, but it will be made up by the beauty of the route. We will end the walk in Portomarin before driving to a stunning Pazo next the Cathedral and the intact Roman Wall of the UNESCO World Heritage City of Lugo where we will spend the night. www.ultreyatours.com ULTREYA TOURS [email protected] +1 646 934 6859 DAY3 - 20 KM - WALK FROM PORTOMARIN TO LESTEDO After a 30 min drive back to Portomarin, leave the village of Portomarin on a bridge over the artificial lake of Belesar. The next kilometers will then be uphill through woodlands into the hamlet Gonzar. Near Castromaior, the path borders the ruins of a 2200 years old Celtic Castro, and in Ligonde, you will find a hospital which received the emperor Charles V and his son Philip II, the most famous pilgrims of the sixteenth century. Tonight, you will be sleeping in a beautiful and luxurious Guest-House/ Galician Manor (if available) just outside the Camino 4 km before Palas de Rei. When you are ready, we will drive you from the Camino to the guest-house and bring you back to the same point the next day. DAY 4 - 18 KM - WALK FROM PALAS DE REI TO MELIDE In the morning, you will pass near a Romanesque Church, of Vilar de Donas, where the Templar knights are buried (a 2,5 km detour) on your way into Palas de Rei, where you should stop to visit the town church and maybe enjoy a coffee in one of the many bars. You then have about 4h walk into Melide but make sure to arrive in there in time for lunch (2pm in Spain). Melide is renown for having the oldest surviving cruceiro (calvary) in the world and for the best “Pulpo a la Gallega” (Octopus) in Galicia. After lunch, we will bring you to a 17th-century mansion (if available) converted into a beautifully and extremely luxurious guest-house directly based on the Camino between Melide and Arzua. DAY 5 - 14 KM - WALK FROM MELIDE TO ARZÚA After a short drive back to Melide, continue your journey through the peaceful Galician countryside. You will find by now the way you live the Camino is changing. As your body and feet are getting used to the activity, the path becomes gentler. Take it in and enjoy this time-off from your busy life to think, relax and interact with fellow pilgrims. You have done more than half of your journey but the best parts are still to come. You will be walking into Arzua, which is famous for its peculiarly shaped cheese, and staying a stunning is an 18th-century Galician Mansion (if available), set on 8.5 acres of gardens, 1,4 km away from the center of Arzúa (you can also stay two nights in the Pazo from last night). DAY 6 - 19 KM - WALK FROM ARZÚA TO O PEDROUZO With only 40 km left before Santiago, you will notice the atmosphere along the Way is changing as people plan to celebrate their arrival and start realizing it will soon be time to part with people they might have been walking with for a month. The countryside itself changes as you enter forest with totally symmetric rows that produce curious visual effects. The villages you pass virtually have no name and seem stuck in time. www.ultreyatours.com ULTREYA TOURS [email protected] +1 646 934 6859 Walk around 20 km to get to O Pedrouzo, where we will bring you to a XVII century Galician Manor near Lavacolla where you will spend the night (if available). Take time to visit the guest-house’s 64.000 m2 of land including it’s own functioning water-mill, orchard, horreo and a small chapel. DAY 7 - 20 KM - WALK FROM O PEDROUZO TO SANTIAGO On our journey today, we will cross Lavacolla’s river, where traditionally pilgrims would bath and clean their clothes - and hence purifying their soul - before stepping into the Cathedral. Climb up Monte do Gozo (Mount of joy) which offers stunning views on the City before continuing downhill into the Medieval Town, which we will enter via the “Camino Door”. A few minutes later, you will finally pass the Azabachería Door, the official entrance to the Cathedral on a non-Holy year, and continue down to the Plaza del Obradoiro. You have finally finished the Camino de Santiago! Enter now if you wish, we recommend continuing down to the Plaza del Obradoiro and simply stopping there. Breath in and truly live this moment, do whatever feels right. Your hotel, the Parador de los Reyes Católicos, is on your right when looking at the Cathedral (if available). You still have a few things to do today - attend Pilgrim Mass, get your pilgrim certificate, marvel at the architecture of our beloved City and visit your hotel which is no less than a jewel before a gourmet dinner in the Parador dinning hall. DAY 8 - DISCOVER SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA Today, we want to truly enjoy your time in Santiago de Compostela and relax. Late morning, gather for a private half-day guided tour of the Medieval Walled City, the Market and the Cathedral where you will be told about the fascinating stories of each monument you see. You have the option of booking a guided visit of the Cathedral Towers for an extra €12 per person (must be booked in advance). If you wish, we can also plan in the morning a half-day tour to the Costa da Morte and the famous lighthouse of Finisterre at the end of the world (not included in normal package).