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Camino de Santiago walking tours!

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Why walk with us?

We are a Spanish company which specializes on guided routes on foot, based at Comarca del Bierzo, Leon – a location on The Way of St. James. We organize trips in the areas which we know very well.  Our goal is that each member of our small groups could participate in the adventure of experiencing and getting to know the nature, culture and people of the lands that we’ll visit.

We will make sure that your trip is comfortable and meaningful.

Explore our routes

Camino Confort
Portuguese Camino
Family Vacation
Self-guided

    Testimonials

    We have completed the Camino a Santiago three times with El Camino Tour. The experience would never have been the same without the support of the El Camino Tour team, since we only concentrated on doing the Camino knowing that the selection of hotels, the transfer of luggage, the restaurants and other details were taken care of. El Camino Tour took care of everything, making the experience bearable. The Camino Tour was designed to meet the needs of our group to Ria. Ria has immense knowledge of each of the towns visited during the journey and maintains continuous contact with the “pilgrims” to ensure that any need or unforeseen event is resolved immediately. Their attentive, gentle and selfless treatment makes the challenge of completing the Camino an incomparable experience. For all this, and many other accumulated details that after completing the Camino three times, we understand that our time in Santiago de Compostela, and the memories we have, have depended largely on Ria’s attention. Personally, it is difficult to put into words our feelings for Ria who has become part of our family. Recommended El Camino Tour without any reservation, and I assure an unforgettable experience with the support of Ria and her work team. GOOD WAY…!!!

    Alfredo Escalera , Puerto Rico . 2022

    I highly recommend El Camino Tours. The trip was beyond expectations, especially our guide, Ria. The accommodations, the food , the bag transfers and overall organization. She also provided helpful information about packing, training, and historical facts before arriving. RIA goes above and beyond. The absolute best!!!

    Gabriela Escalera, Camino Comfort . Puerto Rico. 2022

    I cannot recommend this tour guide highly enough. Ria is highly knowledgeable about the local area and Spanish history. She is friendly & approachable, yet organised & professional at all times. With Ria’s help, I really feel like I have visited the ‘proper’ Spain. Please do not hesitate – book this trip now! You will not regret it.
    MJH, the UK

    Maggie Harris , Tailor made . UK. 2023

    It was a wonderful experience, with Ria, a luxury guide. A solvent professional, who provides her service with warmth and empathy. Furthermore, I appreciated feeling that everyone was aware of their needs and tastes and feeling cared for at every moment. It was an unforgettable Camino de Santiago!!! It exceeded my expectations!!!

    Ana Maria de Souse , Camino Portugues , Huston .Texas.2023

    El Camino tours with Ria Fernandez is top notch. This is the second time I’ve been treated to a life-changing experience walking the Camino along the Portugese route in 2016 and now in 2023 along the French Camino from Sarria to Santiago de Compostella. Ria has exquiste taste in selection of hotels, dinning experiences and especially care and sensitivity of her Caminoites attending to our every need throughout the tour. Her picnic lunches are supreme where she takes special care to find the best local cuisine to introduce our palates!

    Highly recommend you reach out to El Camino tours if you are considering the Way…

    Mary H-F, Camino Comfort. Canada. 2023

    I can’t imagine a more caring and helpful guide than Ria Fernández, the owner and guide for El Camino Tours. Seven years ago we used Ria for our Camino Frances from Ponte Ferrada to Santiago. We had a group of 8 on a private Camino and were very impressed and happy with her competency and services with our group of hikers of varying ages and abilities.
    In May of this year we used her again for the Camino Portuguese. Again she exceeded our expectations. Her assistants are wonderful and share her concern for our comfort and wellbeing. Congratulations for another job well done.

    John McDonnell, Camino Portugues . Huston, Texas. 2023

    Ria Fernandez’ elCamino Tours is unique in the travel business as she is not simply a tour guide, but she is a special person, genuinely interested in her clients and in the individual and goup needs of any tour she organizes.  Our most recent Camino walk was with a fairly large group of family and friends aged 15 to 85 and Ria managed not only to herd us cats along our various and varied Ways but did so with such kindness and sensitivity to each and every member of our group that we all came away grateful to her for her never-ending kindness as well as for her wisdom, experience, and dedication to making this the best possible journey for us all. In the process, she truly became a welcomed member of our crazy, diverse family. Ria’s knowledge of her land, her dedication to its joys, its foods, its culture and history made our pilgrimage more than any of us could have imagined in advance. We are all profoundly grateful for our experience with el Camino.

    You are truly THE BEST,

    Ann Cameron , Camino Comfort . Canada. 2023

    Hi Ria,

    We are in the airport to go back we want to thank you for the perfectly organized tour and your daily involvement 🙏🙏 it was all perfect arranged and we enjoyed every stay and restaurant. There was nothing on the tour which was not 👍 thanks again !!

    And we will certainly recommend you to everyone who wants to do the camino , and who knows maybe we come back for the Nordic tour 😜😜😜💪💪💪💪 all the best !  Sammy , Lois, Jill and Dennis

    May 2022 | Family Vacations, Camino Confort

    Ria, thank you so much for an incredible Camino Portugese walk.  It was an experience of a life time.

    Your insights on local history and culture not to mention the exquisite local cuisine, added to the richness of our walk.  You really went out of your way, time and time again, to make sure that our needs were more than met.  But, most importantly, you made us feel like long lost friends, family even, as you took us on this journey.

    Very heartwarming indeed.  Muchos gracias!!!

    Epifanio Qua Hiansen | Camino Portugués 2017

    Ria Fernandez who owns El Camino Tours is the perfect person to take you on the Camino through Portugal and Spain. She custom made a 12 day trip for our group of seniors, aged 62 to 65. We were met at Lisbon Airport by Ria and Javier who she hired as her assistant. As we requested we went straight to Fatima. Hotel Consolata was a short walk to the Baslica and Chapel of the Apparitions. We were able to hear mass and spend quality time in Fatima. The next day we went  to Aljustrel the village of the 3 children-Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. We then drove to Porto where she arranged a special tour with Joanna, an excellent guide who shared her love for the city and country.
    We chose to do the Portuguese Camino which incorporates the beauty of the coastline and the forests, inland and rugged paths. Each day was a challenge; Ria kept us on our toes motivating  us.  We made it to Santiago de Compostela!!!!

    All  our hotels were the best in the area- former palaces,  abbeys.  Our breakfasts were always good and filling.  Our lunches were in places meant to break the long walks. Our dinners were gourmet experiences.

    Thank you Ria for a truly memorable Camino.

    Lisa Q. H. | Camino Portugués 2017

    The El Camino tour was the highlight of my year and the best vacation of my life!

    Ria and her team made the members of our group feel secure and well taken care of on every step of our journey. Each morning Ria provided us with a clear map and historical information about the route.
    All of our accommodations were beautiful, clean and inviting after the day’s walk. Many of the hotels where we stayed were in thoughtfully restored historical buildings and monasteries – all which included hearty breakfast options and fresh fruits.
    Ria prepared lovely picnics and selected excellent restaurants along our route for a superior culinary experience. We ate like queens and sampled regional delights including Padrón peppers, Tetilla cheese, Galician empanada, Tarta de Santiago and many other mouth watering treats.
    I highly recommend El Camino tours as a once-in-a lifetime opportunity or as a annual adventure to discover the coastal and pastoral landscapes, medieval villages, architecture and history of The Way

    Onya Hogan-Finlay. Los Angeles CA | The Portugues Way, May 2016

    Ria, this was the best tour of my life and I have travelled all over the world. Your calm and humorous nature, your exquisite choice of camino trails, Pousadas, delicious picnics and the ease with which you guided us from place to place made this a wonderful experience.

    We loved walking through nature (ocean and eucalyptus forest) and unexpected encounters with animals  (sheep,  goats, and dogs) along the way. We especially liked resting and wading our weary feet in the cool streams en route.

    The quaint restaurants that you took us to were some of the best local food and drink of Portugal and Spain that I have ever tasted.

    I will recommend your tour and I´ll be back!!

    Love you,

    Mary Hogan | The Portuguese Way, May 2016

    Ria is fabulous. She is a very sensitive, thoughful and compassionate guide. She makes great effort to respond to her client´s every wish and more. She entirely excedes expectations.

    We got a complete Camino experience, physically, socially , culturally and spiritually. She is very knowledgeable of the region. The history of the culture and the gastronomy delights of the áreas we traveled. She seems to have  limitless resources that make her tours very exciting locally. On our recent “Camino Portuguese” Sol and Carlos were incredible complements to Ria´s wonderful plans for us. Sol is a very wise thoughful companion with so much to offer in terms of the cultures of the various communities we visited and Carlos was a wonderful spirit accompanying us, so obliged, kind and observant. Together the three leads of our tour could not have been best in any way.

    Ann Cameron | The Portuguese Way, May 2016

     

    Overall we felt the trip was exceptionally well planned.

    – We really enjoyed the food:  Angelica says she ate so much she cannot remember if she had a favorite place, Martin says he was always looking forward to breakfast and for me the best meal was at the Bodega de Prada.  But really all the restaurants were great choices.

    – The choice of hotels was fantastic.  Elena made us feel like part of the family; she provided an intimate welcome that you do not often find.  I do not know if there were other options in Santiago de Compostela but for us it would have been nice to be able to get a triple room because we had to keep going back and forth from one room to the other to get things like toothbrushes, pajamas etc.  Also, the wi-fi was not that great.

    – Jesus was a great driver.  We felt very safe with him and he knew how to anticipate our needs.  Debby and I will never forget how he came to our rescue.

    – We were pleasantly surprised to learn that you would walk with us.  That is greatly appreciated.  In addition, it gave us an opportunity to get to know each other better and to see you more as a friend than a tour guide.  We missed you that last day when you went ahead to drop off the bags and prepare other things.

    Thank you for everything;  thank you for looking out for my ability to walk without getting hurt.

    Sincerely,

    The Worst Pilgrim, Cristina Lopez | Custumise french Camino 2016

     

    El Camino Tours with Ria Fernandez in The Way to travel The Camino Santiago. The mixture of History, authentic cuisine and small accommodations created an atmosphere of enjoyment trekking the 102km to Santiago.

    Ria provided historical information along the way and as native of the area this tent itself to accurancy and insight. I would highly recommend Ria and El Camino Tours for a more intimate way to travel The Camino.

    Kathy Patton| Camino Confort Sept 2015

     

    Everyone walks The Camino The Santiago for a different reason. Whatever form reason the very best way to experience this historic Pilgrim Walk is with El CaminoTours. Not only will you stay, every night, in charming casas and pazos, but you will also have every meal on freak local favourite dishes. As important as these things are, your guide, Ria, will share the historic, cultural, religious and political significance of each area you pass though making this the trip of a lifetime! Buen Camino

    Shirley Cunthers | Camino Confort Sept 2015

     

    Dear Ria (El Camino Tours) This was an extraordinary way to experience The Camino. We were emmersed in the culture, cusine and the land of Spain while treaking The Way of Santiago. I would highly recommend this guide service for those that want full experience on The Camino.

    Ria is a very Knowledgable guide and host… blending History, humor and passion for helping others to enjoy and experience a personal journey

    Sue Poyner | Camino Confort Sept 2015

     

    I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful experience we had on our camino and train trip, and we are looking forward to more next year. We arrived home safely last night and found everything in good order.

    We started our trip a week early, so that we could walk the Camino de Santiago, the way of St. James from Saria to Santiago de Compostella, a walk of 73 miles in six days. I was not sure if my feet would hold out, but they did, and our group arrived on June 26 in time for a “Botafumero” mass where six priests swing giant incense burners over the crowd of pilgrims who just arrived, and they mentioned our group from Houston. Although I am not a Catholic I was proud of my wife and our group, who really did enjoy our hike over hill and dale, across wooded streams and forests and small villages and larger towns. The weather remained not too hot, and only one day of light rain. It could not have been any better. We arranged it through Ria Fernandez, the owner of El Camino Tours. She escorted us like a mother hen, and took our luggage from one hotel to another, and arranged all of our meals along the way, so that we were much better off than those who hiked with all their gear in backpacks. The hotels were very nice places that were not too far from our daily starting and stopping points. I would highly recommend her services to any of your clients.

    John McDonnell | Camino Confort June 2015

     

    Ria!

    I just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for EVERYTHING. I am half way through and so far I have had the most amazing trip. I could not have done it without you.

    Every day has been amazing. I can’t believe I have another week. My soul is very happy : )

    Elizabeth | Self guided Tour 2013

     

    Dear Ria, thank you so much for being a wonderful guide. You were a big part of mobing this trip so enjoyable and comfortable. A special thanks to you for the doctor visit, the pharmacy visit and the soothing ginger tea!! Our best wishes to you in all your future trips and travels!!

    Sandy & Dick from USA 2012

     

    I walked this part of El Camino de Santiago with Ria as one of my guides in 2011. This is a magical and exhilirating experience whether you are doing this walk for religious reasons or just to walk through the lush countryside and little villages of this part of Northern Spain and it is a real buzz when you get to Santiago at the end. This tour is a great way to go as your luggage is managed for you leaving you free to enjoy your surrounds. Accommodation is in interesting and varied places and comfortable. The meals are excellent and includes daily picnic lunches on the walk. Ria is an extremely experienced guide and good fun. I hope to join Ria on another walk sometime.

    Lesley from Australia 2011

     

    Ria was one of our guides when I walked this section of the Camino with a group of friends in September 2011. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable time exploring this fascinating and interesting part of Spain. Would recommend a holiday of this type to anyone wanting something a little different to regular organized trips. Wish you all the very best with your new venture Ria!!!

    Inge from Australia 2011

     

    Hi Ria, thanks again to you personally for making the tour so much fun. I am sure that whatever you do in life, you will do well and will make others very happy. Hope that you get the job you were hoping for. You have such a wonderful life ahead of you, enjoy every moment of every day!!! Carpe Diem!!!

    Diane from Canada 2010

     

    Dear Ria, thank you for all you did to make the camino journey so worthwhile. Your hospitality and many kindnesses added so much to the experience.

    Best wishes for all that life holds for you.

    Tricia & Roger from Australia 2010

     

    Calendar 2024

    • 15th April to 25th April Camino Portugués (sold out)
    • 14th May to 24th May Camino Portugués (sold out)
    • 4th June to 10th June Camino Confort (sold out)
    • 1th Sept to 7th September Camino Confort
    • 26th Sept to 2th to October Camino Confort 

    Visit us

    Calle del reloj, 16 – 1 izq

    24401 Ponferrada | León | Spain

    Phone us

    +34 697 777 578

    Contact us

    info@elcaminotours.com