Primitive Camino (Private Groups Only)

Duration:

12 Days / 11 Nights

Distance:

127.5 km / 77.22 mi

Difficulty:

Medium

Itinerary:

Oviedo - Santiago

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The Primitive Way - the first and oldest route

The primitive Way is considered the first and oldest. It is the one that in the ninth century King Alfonso II "El Casto" traveled from Oviedo, the capital of the Christian kingdom of Asturias, to the newly discovered remains of the apostle in Compostela. They are 300 kilometers through the rugged Cantabrian mountain range that offers us a journey through the history of the origins of the pilgrimage through the most incredible landscapes. In addition to being chosen the most beautiful way by the pilgrims who travel it also has the attraction of being able to enjoy delicious cuisine. In this tour, we have selected the most historic and scenic beauty stretches in addition to traveling the last 100 kilometers to Santiago, which will allow us to obtain the Compostela

Cancellation Insurance

With our cancellation insurance, you will be covered in case of cancellation of your travel due to health reasons, legal, labor or extraordinary reasons.

Our cancellation insurance is detailed as follows:

Double room occupancy: 55€
Single room occupancy: 60€

Important note: If you are over 70 years old at the time of the tour the price will vary.

If you need more information regarding our cancellation insurance and procedures, you can contact us here

Meals
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All breakfasts and all dinners are included in this tour. We have carefully chosen every meal so you can have a taste of the most typical and delicious, local cuisine. Lunches are not included to provide more flexibility during your walk, we encourage you to try the local foods in the towns you will walk by or have lunch at the end of the daily stage.

Vegetarians, vegans, or those with a special diet (e.g. gluten-free) can always find suitable options. Just let us know beforehand and we will be happy to provide great alternatives.

Accommodation
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We are sure you will absolutely love all the wonderful accommodations on our Primitive Camino. We have personally selected all our accommodations to give you the best possible experience. During the Camino, we will spend the night at the most charming Manor Houses. They are located in beautiful rural areas surrounded by lush, peaceful scenery to give you a complete cultural experience. All of our accommodations have en suite bathrooms. You can be sure to receive personalized attention and excellent service from the owners, who will make you feel right at home.

Walking
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On our Camino we want you to walk at your own pace. There is no one you have to follow or walk with, but our guides are available for you at any time. We have meeting points along the way where our support vehicle will be waiting with snacks, fruit, and water and to make sure everything is OK. We also offer assistance for any unexpected circumstances or simply to relieve muscular pain or cure blisters.
Don’t worry about getting lost! The yellow arrows will always guide the way. Moreover, on the Camino, you are never alone. If you do not want to keep walking for any reason, you can hop on the support vehicle or be taken back to the hotel. After the daily walk, and after we’ve all had lunch we will head back to the hotel where we can shower, freshen up and have a much-deserved rest.

Before and After
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Before Our meeting point will be the lobby of the Hotel NH Paseo del Prado in Madrid at 8:30 am. After a short presentation, we will head to Oviedo in our private vehicle.

After: Our tour ends in Santiago de Compostela on the last day at around 1:00 pm. Transportation back to Madrid is NOT included. We offer optional add-on activities once the tour is finished like our recommended one-day trip to Finisterre or culinary activities in Santiago. You can join one of our activities, stay in Santiago on your own, or leave on the last day of the tour. An extra night in Santiago is 75€ per night for this tour.

You can fly or take the train back to Madrid or elsewhere. The Santiago-Madrid flight is 1 hour long, and the train trip is 6-10 hours long. There are plenty of short flights throughout the day to Madrid and other cities. You can book online or through your travel agency. We would be happy to make recommendations.

Cancellation Insurance

Meals
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Accommodation
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Walking
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Before and After
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Means and Assistance

Private support vehicle

You will have a support vehicle throughout your Camino. You can use it if you are tired or if you don’t want to keep walking for any reason, if you want to leave or take things during your walk or if you want to change your shoes. Our van is equipped with a first aid kit, medicines, snacks, water and fruits. This vehicle will cover any unexpected circumstances.

Guides

Our incomparable Camino guides are not just fountains of knowledge; they are pilgrims too! Your guide will be your friend on the Camino; a friend who will make you laugh with Camino stories and anecdotes, offer you encouragement and cure your blisters, and maybe even help you to find what you’re looking for along the way.

Insurance

All of our tours include travel insurance, which will be very useful in case you have an emergency during your Camino. Also, we offer cancellation insurance at a special price, which will vary depending on your Camino.

Pilgrim's Kit

We prepare you for your walk by sending you a packing list with recommendations on what to bring along on your trip, and provide a backpack with our Pilgrim’s Kit (Click here to view) that includes: Your Pilgrim's Passport, the shell, a Marly Camino program with reflections and waterproof Route Map, a waterproof pouch, notebook, snacks and more!

Dates & Price 2023:

€

Single Supplement + €

Pick your dates for groups

Dates & Price 2024:

€

Single Supplement + €

Pick your dates for groups

Our Primitive Camino includes:

Welcome cocktail and dinner in Oviedo
Guided visits in Oviedo, Lugo and Santiago
All dinners included

Day-by-Day itinerary

Day 1

Meeting in Madrid
Private transfer to Oviedo

Our meeting point is the lobby of the Hotel NH Paseo del Prado in Madrid at 8:30 am. After a short presentation we will head to Oviedo in our private vehicle. We will stop in León for lunch, we will also see the starting point of the Camino de San Salvador, which from the Middle Ages was walked by the most devout pilgrims deviating from the French Way in León to visit the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo and its famous relics. Among these relics highlights the Holy Shroud of the face of Christ.

Night in Oviedo

Day 2

Oviedo - La Bolguina
6 km / 3.72 mi

In the morning we will enjoy a guided tour of Oviedo with special focus on the cathedral. In the afternoon, to make a first contact with the Camino, we will make a small stage. We will see how fast the primitive path from the urban hustle passes through the most beautiful rural landscapes. then we head back to Oviedo.

Night in Oviedo

Day 3

Cornellana - Salas
12.5 km / 7.76 mi

We start this stage at the Monastery of San Salvador, founded in the year 1024 which with next to the cathedral is a Unesco World Heritage site. This stage runs through wonderful natural spaces to end up in the village of Salas, one of the best preserved medieval towns in Asturias, with its fortress, stately palaces and "villas indianas" that make Salas the so-called Puerta de Occidente in the Jacobean tradition.

Night in Tineo

Day 4

El Pedregal – Monasterio de Obona
18 km / 11.18 mi

Today's stage passes between forests, streams and typical Asturian villages surrounded by the Sierras de Tineo and La Curiscada. We will visit the Monastery of Obona, founded in the 9th century. It was declared an obligatory passage for Jacobean pilgrims in the 12th century by King Alfonso IX and is now abandoned.

Night in Tineo

Day 5

Pola de Allande – Alto del Palo
7 Km / 4.34 mi

A stage of incredible natural beauty and uphill in which climb, we will enjoy quietly crossing a beautiful valley along the Nison River. Upon reaching the top we will enjoy beautiful views of the mountains through which the Camino runs.
At the end of the stage and back, we will enter the Galician lands and enjoy the views of beautiful mountains that surround A Fonsagrada.

Night in Lugo

Day 6

Lugo – San Vicenzo do Burgo
10 km / 6.21 mi

We will enjoy a tour in Lugo with a local guide. This city has the best preserved Roman walls in Europe and has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. We will know its historic center and its beautiful cathedral. After lunch we will walk a short stage starting the last 100 kilometers to Santiago.

Night in Lugo

Day 7

San Vicenzo do Burgo - As Seixas
22.8 km / 14.16 mi

Today we continue the last 100 kilometers to Santiago walking through the rural surroundings of the province of Lugo, passing through small villages where we will see how is the daily life of its people. We will see memories of Roman times such as the miliary of San Román or the Roman bridge in Ponte Ferreira. At the end of stage in As Seixas, where in medieval times there was a pilgrim hospital maintained by the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, today Order of Malta.

Night in Lugo

Day 8

As Seixas - Melide- Boente
20.7 km / 12.86 mi

Today's stage is also very new rural. During its first part we will enjoy the last kilometers of the quiet Camino Primitivo before connecting to the bustling French Way in Melide where you can enjoy the famous octopus in one of its typical pulperías. We can see the lively French Way where we just incorporated. After lunch we continue to Boente through beautiful forests in a simple and very beautiful stretch of 6 kilometers.

Night in Arzúa

Day 9

Boente - Salceda
19.5 km / 12.1 mi

We head to Boente, home of the spectacular church of Santiago. We will continue on through the lovely towns of Arzúa, Ribadiso and Castañeda, all of these towns are very closely linked to the Camino's history. In Arzúa we can see the chapel of "La Magdalena" - a gothic church founded in the 14th century. We will also enjoy some of Arzúa's delicious cheese, which was given Denomination of Origin. We will continue our walk to Salceda, passing by the town of Calzada.

Night in Arzúa

Day 10

Salceda - Monte do Gozo
22.9 km / 14.2 mi

We will start our walk in the beautiful villages of A Brea and A Rua. We will have the opportunity to see the hermitage of St. Irene with its beautiful baroque fountain. Its water is said to have curative properties. We head to the town of Lavacolla, known for being the town where the ancient purification ritual needed to arrive in Santiago was performed. We end at one of the Camino's most emblematic places: Monte do Gozo (Mount of Joy), and enjoy a marvellous view of Santiago and our final destination, the Cathedral.

Night in Arzúa

Day 11

Monte do Gozo - Santiago de Compostela
4.5 km / 2.79 mi

The day has arrived! Our journey's most exciting day!
We will walk to our final destination: Santiago's Cathedral. We are scheduled to arrive before 12:00 pm. If you wish to attend the pilgrim’s mass and perform any pilgrim rituals like hugging the Apostle Santiago, you are welcome to do so. After that, we will have a wonderful farewell surprise accompanied by a delicious dinner to celebrate our arrival.

Night in Santiago de Compostela

Day 12

Guided visit of Santiago

To culminate our Camino, a guided visit in Santiago awaits us in the morning, through the old city and its main monuments and squares.

Your Camino through life begins!

Exclusive bespoke Caminos

Private experiences in Spain and Portugal!

If you would like to enjoy this Camino as a private group, or would like to add additional experiences to enrich your Camino, please click on the link below.

Bespoke Experiences

We tailor every detail adding that special Marly touch so you can live your dream Camino.