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Introduction

Travel Advice
Provided by UK's
Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Santiago De Compostela

Street in Spain
There is a tradition that pilgrims who were not able to travel to the Holy Land would choose instead to go to the shrine of St. James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Santiago de Compostela has been a focal point of European pilgrimage for over a thousand years and still has an enormous attraction for all kinds of people who my not necessarily have Christian convictions at all. Pilgrims embark on this adventure to discover themselves and others along the way and Compostela is the final chapter of the story. Ideally this is a destination for those who wish to walk long at least some of the Camino (Way) but since this is not possible for everyone, we offer you the chance to use modern transport to reach the main destination and then to explore the place at greater leisure.

We are offering in this brochure three ways of visiting Santiago de Compostela.

Available for groups of twenty or more pilgrims. Please contact us for details and departure dates.
Freephone 0800 371972

Tour one

The Compostela Weekend - where we fly you to Santiago de Compostela for a long weekend (Thursday to Sunday) and, apart from an initial guided tour on your first day, you are free to explore at your own pace.

Tour two

In the Footsteps of St James - where you fly to Madrid or Bilbao and follow the Camino from Burgos to Compostela by coach and on foot.

Tour three

Compostela to Montserrat - where you fly into Santiago de Compostela and travel by coach across the North of Spain stopping en route at Valladolid, Salamanca, Avila, Toledo, Zaragoza, Montserrat and flying home from Barcelona.

We are also happy to provide tailor made tours for groups wishing to devise their own routes to any cities within Spain.

Santiago - St James The Apostle

The Apostle, St. James the Great, son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother or St. John the Gospel Writer, was born near Nazareth and was nick-named "Son of Thunder" by Jesus, because of his impulsive and passionate nature.

St. James made the journey from Palestine to Spain, where he carried out his preaching mission. When he returned to Palestine he was beheaded as an example to the Christian community there. Thus he became one of the first martyrs of the Church and his body was taken back to Galicia for burial.

By the year 820 the remains of St. James were found and news of the discovery spread throughout the community of believers and the Christian communities of the West. And so began the tradition of pilgrimages to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela.