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Student Group Tours on the French Way

A true pilgrim experience for groups of students. Our Student Group Tours on the French Way are our most affordable tour and one of the most competitive on the market. It is tailored for younger groups, school field trips or scouts groups, who want to discover the best of the last 11km of the French Way in an all-inclusive and safe way.

We will take care of everything to ensure your group has the best time along the Camino: privatizing dorms for your group in clean and safe hostels along the Way with separate rooms for girls / boys / teachers, providing all meals, organizing transfers and any activity as requested. Walk the last 112 km (70 miles) of the French Way from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela, the real traditional pilgrim way and obtain your certificate of accomplishment (Compostela) at arrival.

on request

  • OUR STUDENT GROUP TOURS CAN INCLUDE

    ⇰ Accommodation in privatized dormitories in Albergues (private hostels) separated girls / boys / adults (private rooms for adults)
    ⇰ An official Pilgrim Passport (Credential) and a Scallop Shell
    ⇰ All breakfasts, picnic lunches, afternoon snacks and dinners
    ⇰ Multilingual accompanying guide throughout the tour.
    ⇰ Emergency support from our local team
    ⇰ All taxes and gratuities for the accommodation
    ⇰ Basic Schengen Space Insurance
    ⇰ Group Day tour to Finisterre
    ⇰ Guided tours with an Official Guide of Galicia of La Coruña, Pontevedra and Santiago de Compostela ( this tour includes entrance into the Cathedral with the guide and headphones).
    ⇰ Transfers to/from the Camino and the hotels, if not directly accessible by foot
    ⇰ Private transfers to skip the less interesting stages
    ⇰ Luggage Transfers from hotel to hotel (1 piece of luggage per person of up to 20 kg)

    price & dates

    Can be organized on request for 15 to 60 participants from Easter Week to end of October - subject to availability and price fluctuations - ask us for a rate!

    Ask us for rates as they depend on group size and what you would like to include - starting from €600 per person

    • No single room supplement as you are sharing rooms
    • 1 teacher goes for free per 20 participants!
    • Guided tour of Santiago: + €220 for 4h

    This level of comfort can be organized on other routes and even by bike. Contact us for further pricing details including extra activities, shorter walking days, stop-overs and day tours.

    •   fact file

      Accommodation  Private Albergues
      Total Walking Distance  112 km
      Duration  8 days / 7 nights
      Starts  Sarria
      Stops  Portomarin, Palas de Rei, Melide, Arzua, Pedrouzo
      Ends  Santiago de Compostela

    • highlights

      A "true pilgrim" Camino experience for school groups
      Teach valuable lessons to your pupils
      Every participant will receive their Compostela
      A unique field trip you will be proud to guide

Looking for a different journey? You can also walk the same section staying in 2 to 4* hotels or decide to cycle or horse-ride the French Way

what to expect on this tour?

Expect a real pilgrim experience as a group staying in dormitories, which is impossible to do with a large group if you do not pre-book. All the while knowing your group is always safe in privatized, clean and secured dorms with guaranteed reservations.

Note: The stops, activities and distances detailed in the tour itinerary are subject to accommodation availability. Ask us for a final itinerary based on your dates and requirements! We will happily customize this itinerary by adapting the number of days and the distances to your specific interests and needs! Learn more about our Services here.

self-guided Tour with local emergency support

This tour does not normally include a guide so you will be walking at your own pace and making as much or little stops as you wish. If you wish to add a guide, we can either send you a professional tourism guide specialized in the Camino de Santiago with perfect English but less experience with kids or during school holidays an experienced Leisure Time Monitor with in-depth knowledge of the Camino, biology, geology or history but limited English.

The days have been shorten to ensure you are walking an average of 20 km a day. Plan to leave early in the morning to avoid the heat and to be able to indulge during the afternoon in some of our suggested activities, have a siesta and visit the local town before your three-course pilgrim dinner.

Sleep in privatized dormitories and rustic-charm guest-houses

On this tour, you will stay in privatized dormitories in Albergues (private hostels) in the small towns of the last 112 km of the Camino. We know security is very important to your group so there will be no outsiders in your rooms and we will always aim for the highest quality accommodation within your budget and availability. Our Albergues are not the most glamorous places but they are very conveniently located in the town centers on the Camino. We guarantee they are clean & secure places with a unique Camino de Santiago / Northern Spain charm.

We will take care of your students luggage (1 piece per person) and ensure it travel with you to the following accommodation.

Breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner included!

All your meals will be included in this trip. This includes everyday: breakfast in your Albergue, a picnic lunch, a afternoon snack in the Albergue and a 3 course dinner.

For dinners expect mouth-watering traditional three-course meals or tapas with several choices prepared with the best fresh and local products served if possible in the Albergue otherwise in a nearby restaurant. We will schedule at least one traditional "Pulpo a la Gallega" dinner and one barbecue type dinner.

We cater for vegetarians, vegans and any special dietary requirements or allergies. Just let us know beforehand so we can advise the chefs.

Add extra days or activities for an unforgettable adventure

Need to do a stop-over on your way to the Camino? Why not include a visit of Madrid, Barcelona, Grenada or any major European city? The closest International airport to your Camino is Santiago de Compostela but you might want to change the airport pickup town to Madrid (6h drive from Sarria) or add nights somewhere on your way to Santiago.

We can help you choose and book those extra nights before or after your tour and organize day tours around Galicia (Cies Islands, Finisterre, Oporto... ), extra activities during the tour (a cheese factory in Arzua, the Monastery of Samos, the Celtic village of O Cebreiro... ). Check out our selection of Day Tours in Galicia and European Stop-Overs or let your imagination run wild and let us know let us know how you would like to make this tour unique.

CAMINO FRENCH WAY ALBERGUE DAY BY DAY ITINERARY

This 7 nights route brings you along the last 112 km (70 miles) of the Camino Frances - French Way into Santiago de Compostela.

Map and elevations of the last 112 km of the Camino de Santiago from Sarria to Santiago

day 1 - Making our Way to your starting point of the Camino

Our bus will pick you up at Santiago Airport and bring the group to Sarria where you will spend the night and forget about today’s transit in the hostel Monastery of La Magdalena just outside the old town. In the afternoon, visit the Old Quarters, go for a walk by the river and soak in the unique atmosphere of the staircase on which the old town of Sarria has been built.

Suggested hostel: Monastery of La Magdalena or similar

day 2 - 22 km - Walk from Sarria to Portomarin

Finally, this is the day you start your pilgrimage! Head up the medieval staircase and start making your way to Portomarin. The Camino starts with easy paved trails going up and down through beautiful countryside, meadows and oak woods, charming villages with slate roofs before you find a huge medieval bridge in Portomarin. 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.

Our destination is a small hostel in the center of Portomarin, a town with great history, impressive archways and a memorable church. This town is very unique as great battles that took place in the valley below and the town you visit is only a replica of the Medieval town relocated in the 60s rock by rock to avoid floods.

Suggested hostel: Albergue Ferramenteiro or Albergue O Mirador

day 3 - 24 km - Walk from Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Today, you will be walking a trail that has been protected by the Knights of the Order of Santiago since 1184 and you will pass near a Romanesque Church, of Vilar de Donas, where the knights are buried (a 5 km return detour from the hamlet of Portos). There will be some more uphill and downhill but mostly peaceful oak and eucalyptus forests and charming villages including Gonzar and Airexe until Palas de Rei.

Suggested hostel: Albergue Castro or similar

day 4 - 14 km - Walk from Palas de Rei to Melide

There is less than 4h walk today, so take it easy and enjoy your walk. We will follow the ancient roman road through forests to a different Province - A Coruña - and marvel at true jewels of the Camino such as Furelo’s medieval bridge, considered one of the jewels of the French Way’s civil architecture, and the oldest surviving cruceiro (calvary) in the world. At arrival in Melide, you will be staying in a Albergue right in the center and we will plan a special "Racion" dinner with "Pulpo a la Gallega" (Octopus) which is the local specialty.

You also have the option to continue to Arzua, walking a total of 29 km but saving one day.

Suggested hostel: Albergue O Cruceiro or similar

day 5 - 14 km - Walk from Melide to Arzua

Another relaxing day through the peaceful Galician countryside. You will find by now 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 the journey but the best is still to come. Our destination for the night, Arzua, is famous for a peculiarly shaped cheese, so at dinner your host will do a cheese degustation and explain the origins of that cheese.

Suggested hostel: Albergue de Selmo or Albergue de Camino

day 6 - 19 km - Walk from Arzúa to O Pedrouzo

Only 40 km left before Santiago, the ambiance 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 forests with totally symmetric rows that produce curious visual effects. The villages you pass virtually have no name and seem stuck in time. Walk this section at sunrise for a unforgettable experience and arrive early in O Pedrouzo, your last stop on the Camino before Santiago!

Suggested hostel: Cruceiro de Pedrouzo or similar

day 7 - 20 km - Walk from O Pedrouzo to Santiago

This is it! Only twenty kilometers separate you from your goal. Leave early to reach Santiago before twelve, if you wish to see the pilgrim mass (also at 7:30 pm). On your journey today, you will cross Lavacolla’s river, where traditionally pilgrims would bath and clean their clothes - and hence purifying their soul - before stepping into the Cathedral. You will then climb up to Monte do Gozo (Mount of joy) which offers stunning views on the City before walking into the Medieval Town, which you 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 (in 2021 you will be able to enter through the Holy Door on the Quintana Square), and continue down to the Plaza del Obradoiro. You have finally finished the Camino de Santiago!

Enter the Cathedral now, if you wish, we recommend continuing to the Plaza del Obradoiro, the main Square of the Cathedral, where you will find the Portico de la Gloria and the most impressive view of the Cathedral. Simply stop here. Breath in and truly live this moment, do whatever feels right. You still have a few things to do today, after you check-in at your hostel just a few minutes away - get your pilgrim certificate, attend Pilgrim Mass & marvel at the architecture of our beloved City.

Suggested hostel: Albergue The Last Stamp or similar

day 8 - Start of your next adventure

A wise pilgrim once told us “the real Camino starts where the Camino de Santiago finishes but I will not be afraid because the Camino will always be there for me.”

As we bring you back to the Airport, we hope the Camino de Santiago has brought you whatever you were looking for and to wish to see you again soon in Galicia!

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only 4 steps away from your journey

Step 1   After you have filled in our inquiry form and clicked 'Submit', a Camino Planner will get back to you with a personalized quote within 24h or contact you over the phone for further details

Step 2   Once you are satisfied with the Terms & Conditions of your tour, we will invoice you for a non-refundable 50% deposit of the total price to process the booking - we currently offer two modes of payment: bank transfers & credit card payments via a secured page of our website (we will add an extra 1,50% if paying with American Express - VISA & MasterCard free).

Step 3   Ultreya Tours Reservations Team will start booking your accommodation, meals, activities, guides and other services immediately after receiving the initial deposit and send you your hotel vouchers as soon as they are ready

Step 4   30 days before the departure, we will request the 50% remaining deposit and we will send your pilgrim kits directly to your first hotel along with printed versions of your vouchers, your scallop shells and guidebook

To make sure we constantly meet your expectations, we will regularly follow up with you and keep you updated throughout the whole process and until you come back home.

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