Camino Ways Santiago — Attraction in Santiago de Compostela

They offered great service till they made my bookings. I had 22 nights with them planned. They kept urging me to pay the deposit to confirm the bookings because everything would get filled up quickly so I gave them the deposit. But once I receive the bookings, I noticed they had my ONLY rest night in the wrong town and that would mess up 2/3 of my 22 night journey. So with all that rushing now I have the wrong bookings with them. Realizing this I immediately began emailing them with titles of URGENCY please respond. I set up a call back with them. They usually call me back, this time they did NOT. Also I wasn't allowed to schedule any more call backs- all the time slots suddenly shown as taken. After 4 days of this I warned them in emails that I will make my own bookings. I saved 2 YEARS of vacation time and money for this trip and I wanted the proper experience (I did not want to be taxied around as Caminoways had warned me about this happing to me if I did NOT make my deposit quickly). It took 6 days for them to finally get back to me and when they did, they told me the reason was because they were busy making other bookings (they actually said this) it was why they didn't respond (for sure my properties wouldn't be available and it was apparent the people at Caminoways didn't care). They said they could 'likely get me into or near the towns on the trail and figure something out". Luckily after 4 days of waiting, and taking 2 days off of work, to do the work of booking I was very thankful I had done what I did. I had ALL my own bookings so after hiking my 20 miles/day average I knew I did NOT have to be waiting for a taxi at night and again in the morning- this wasn't the experience I wanted and was the reason I paid them the deposit in the first place. I also made ALL my own connections (trains and shuttle services) and ALL my luggage transfers. Of the 22 nights I booked myself, I had to change some towns around because of the 4 day delay some towns were already full (but I was able to add or subtract some hiking distance- something Camino ways told me they would never do for me at our "planning stage" because they only can book specific towns so I would have been taxied by Caminoways for sure). I told (and emailed) Caminoways all this, and mentioned that I only used 2 of the same properties off their list. Despite all this Caminoways would not refund me, even partially. I have American Express so I disputed the charge (a lot of work again uploading documents) yet Caminoways got to kept every penny because of their cancellation policy that was attached to the deposit. I never had a company treat me like, to make that kind of a mistake, not be responsive for 6 days and keep everything despite doing nothing but making me extra work. Update: Since posting this review elsewhere Caminoways lied about both the timeline they got back to me and also about their mistake- 2 VERY key factors about my bookings. They also came up with excuses to sound good/concerned for me (haha). The sad part is there is nothing to stop these type of companies from doing this to consumers. Don't believe only me, just look at the other bad reviews of people who did end up using them and the problems they faced there. Caminoways responded to them to saying how they will use their terrible experiences to improve but over time people continue to complain about serious problems. This company can take honest people's hard earned money and give bad to no service (I am a nurse but no matter your profession we all give of ourselves and save up both our money and time for trips like this to reward ourselves) With their greedy ways they attempt to sound concerned and defend themselves. I will look at reviews totally different now after this $800...

Disappointing Experience with Camino Ways

We recently (June 21) completed the Camino Espiritual and unfortunately had a rather disappointing experience with Camino Ways, the booking agency we used for our trip.

While the initial interactions with their sales team were positive and helpful, everything changed once we made our payment. They provided incorrect information about the distance we would be walking, misquoting the kilometers by a significant margin (101 KM instead of the actual 117 KM). Additionally, their maps were unreliable, and the accommodations they booked for us were mediocre at best. When we reached out (4-5 times) asking for help with the maps, they would just tell us we are doing it wrong or that we need to download apps that cost up to $60. We tried their maps on 3 different phones and even took a video of how it didn't work and they kept telling us that the problem was not on their end. BTW: they don't have their own app so every time we had to access any information or thee Google maps they have created to support their customers, we had to go through many steps to get there.

The most frustrating part of our experience was when they scheduled us to return to a hotel we had stayed at the previous night. We found this incredibly demoralizing and contacted their customer service for help. Unfortunately, they refused to assist us in booking another hotel, so we had to arrange our own accommodation. Despite our efforts, they also refused to reimburse us for the unused night's stay and transportation.

This oversight caused us unnecessary stress, and had we not taken matters into our own hands, we would have missed a special evening prayer at the Armenteira Monastery, a highlight of our trip.

In summary, we do not recommend Camino Ways due to their poor customer service and inaccurate information. While we made the best of our journey and enjoyed our walk, the experience was marred by the issues with the booking agency.

I couldn't add a reply to their response which is subpar and all we have been hearing from them, I decided to add more to this message.

While we appreciate your acknowledgment, several points need clarification.

The most distressing issue was the booking error that had us return to a hotel we had already stayed in. Your customer service refused to assist, forcing us to arrange and pay for alternative accommodation and transportation.

Additionally, we are concerned that your team repeatedly made excuses rather than addressing our issues directly. Listening to customer feedback, especially regarding our experience with the maps, could greatly benefit future customers.

We request a refund for the unused night's stay and the transportation costs incurred due to this error. We believe this is a fair resolution for the inconvenience and stress caused.

Thank you for your understanding and prompt...

It troubles me to begin my Camino walk by sharing my distress; however if this review can help someone avoid what I am experiencing then perhaps it will be of value. I want to warn other pilgrims that Camino Walks does not honor their Contractual agreement to provide a specific level of lodging. Six months before my trip I booked the second highest level of lodging options, Country Cottages. I was informed less than 24hrs before my first night that my lodging had been downgraded to a standard room. I arrived at the hotel (which has a Trip Advisor rating of 7.5) and was shown a room with no natural light or fresh air. It was basically a dark box. I tried contacting Camino Ways on what’s app, as instructed, but they did not reply. They DO NOT provide a number to call to speak to someone. The hotel contacted them and they responded that they gave me a refund of $30 because of the downgraded room. They said they would call me but they did not. I’m dreading having to go through the rest of this trip with Camino Ways. I am traveling solo and hoped this company would provide back up help if I need it. At this point I can’t imagine counting on them...