Galicia: Lighthouse Way Traveller Reviews

We are experienced Camino hikers and were looking for something quieter and more scenic. We learned of the Camino Dos Faros (Lighthouse Way) and On Foot Holidays through a magazine article. Our trip was everything we had hoped for, and more. OFH's local contact, app, accommodations, recommendations, and assistance along the way were wonderful in all respects. The hike itself, along the Galician coast, was very scenic, peaceful, and inspiring.

On Foot Holidays did everything we expected and more. Their local contact, navigation app, recommendations, and assistance were an integral part of our overall experience. We've traveled with other tour operators, and OFH was head and shoulders better than others, and competitively priced as well.

A walking holiday for my wife and I on the Spanish Galicia coast was wonderful. Well organised by On Foot Holidays, the accommodation and support throughout was very good in particular evidenced by the excellent walking pack notes and route App on our phone which was excellent. A special mention also of the local rep Aznar who was fantastic, his knowledge and advice was very welcome. The region rightly lived up to being authentic, its rugged coastline with beaches and walks on headlands that had no crowds, was a joy. The food was fantastic, the people, their hospitality and helpfulness everywhere made us feel very welcome.

on foot holidays We have used this company many times now, they have always delivered exactly the walking holiday we have sought . By example helping us further to often juggle getting there, getting back, where the start end of the breaks require extra days sometimes by necessity - sometimes we want more time to explore, so in addition to the advertised walk- they have always been able to add value- with suggestions or options with other excellent recommendations of places to stay. They demonstrate to me that they want us to truly get the best out of our walking and exploration of the regions they offer as holidays breaks.

The holiday was better than we could have hoped for. The accommodations were good to great. The scenery was beyond belief! The trails were very well marked. The food was fantastic. The entire experience was life changing. Everything was a positive - not one negative - that's an amazing trip!!

On Foot was fantastic. Their communication was wonderful - i was very grateful for the quick responses and all the helpful hints and tips. Our local contact in Spain was also fantastic - super helpful and knowledgeable with local idiosyncrasies that he was able to help us work with - especially restaurant reservations and booking cars.

Our favourite type of holiday: self-guided hotel to hotel walking with luggage transfer. We were keen to try this route having previously had good experiences walking in Northern Spain. We weren't disappointed - except by the weather on a couple of days as we caught the remnants of a couple of tropical storms coming off the Atlantic. However, readily handled with the right kit. Splendid cliffs, spectacular beaches, a well-waymarked route clearly explained in the notes with shortening options if required, and sea views almost constantly. A good selection of small characterful / idiosyncratic hotels with welcoming hosts, and a reliable listing of local restaurants. Everything worked as described.

OFH are a joy to work with. Somehow they always give you the feeling that you're their principal client, when clearly theymust be handling lots of queries, bookings, etc, simultaneously. Response times are very impressive, and internal communbications are seamless - nothing gets held up because it's someone's day off - another person picks up the matter and it's progressed. You never have to repeat or recap a query or an issue. There is a strong body of knowledge around the office of every route, and that local insight can easily be accessed if required to deal with an obscure query. Feedback is welcomed - and as far as I can see is acted upon - which is in stark contrast to most companies' approach to customer surveys. Aznar - OFH's man on the ground for this - and other - routes in Northern Spain is an invaluable person to have at the end of the phone / text should anything need tweaking - shortening options, speaking to a restaurant in the next place etc.. Helpful, efficient, but not overbearing.

The success of a holiday is driven by 3 factors: destination, company and weather. We got 2 out of 3!

Response to queries: 10/10 Flexible to changes: 10/10 Documentation provided: 10/10 The App: 10/10 Locally employed services: 10/10 Outstanding customer service (have I won the £2,000?)

I really great holiday with excellent walking

They were able to be flexible and accommodate our needs

We spent 5 days on this coastal walking path. Luggage was transported from accommodation to accommodation, so all we had to carry was a day pack with food, water, and rain gear. Accommodations and some meals were pre-booked by the tour operator, as were taxi transfers to and from the start/end points.

Everybody we dealt with was very professional and pleasant. E-mails were answered to promptly. Explanations were clear. They provided a mobile app for this walk that included everything we needed to know for trip preparation and the actual walk. The map on the app, with detailed route itinerary was very accurate. If we got off the track at any point, the app would very quickly notify us that we'd taken a wrong turn. Having said that, the waymarks on the trail were well-situated and clear, so we mostly stayed on track without much confusion.

Nice walking on trails along the coast from fishing village to fishing village with lighthouses along the way. Beautiful scenery, quiet trails, and delicious food.

Communicative before the trip. Sent a wealth of materials regarding the trip. Also have an on the ground host to help with issues that arise, restaurant reservations, etc.

On Foot Travel go out of there way to respond to your emails promptly to ensure everything runs seamlessly on your holiday. Their detailed maps were terrific, the on site contact was most professional and resourceful. The walks were invigorating, peaceful, very scenic ,and breath taking views. It was interesting as each location the accommodation was so different but all were very friendly ,clean and beds comfortable.

Tour operator was excellent, catered to your needs, offered tailored solutions, very professional and resourceful.

Galicia is a wonderful place, reminiscent of Spain in the 1970’s before mass tourism and commercialism took hold. My sister and I chose this holiday because we wanted to explore the dramatic coastline of the Costa da Morte and liked the idea of walking for hours without meeting another soul. Our route took us through varied landscapes; from pine and eucalyptus-scented forests to remote beaches, unspoilt villages and along wild coastal paths. We stayed in a different location every night, our bags transported daily by a local courier service to our next destination. We ate simply cooked fresh fish or seafood every day, sometimes in our hotel, other times in a recommended restaurant. We walked according to our planned itinerary, occasionally missing out sections of the route at the suggestion of our local guide, due to issues with overgrowth of gorse or simply to shorten what might have been a particularly onerous route. On these occasions, we took a taxi to a different starting point on the route and carried on as usual. Having the freedom to decide how much or how little walking to do on a particular day, gave us the feeling of being in control of how we spent each day, albeit in a thoroughly supported way. With the exception of our last day in Santiago, when it rained continuously, the weather for our trip was perfect – warm without being unbearably hot, and as we were walking very close to the sea for the most part we had the refreshing off-shore breeze to keep us cool. Spending a week with my sister brought us closer as we learned to work together, from trying to communicate with our hosts (note to self: must learn some Spanish next time!) to exercising patience when one of us was struggling with sore feet or just feeling a bit tired. It has taught us our limitations as well as our capabilities and we surprised ourselves with what we achieved. The trip was amazing and we came home buzzing with energy and enthusiasm and looking forward to booking our next one (with On Foot Holidays, of course!).

I was apprehensive about our fitness to undertake a trip of this nature, which we understood to be fairly challenging in places. Having spoken at length to Mary, a member of the On Foot Holidays team, before booking, I was reassured by the fact that she had walked the same route herself and therefore fully understood the terrain. She was able to answer all my questions and convince me that we would be up to the task. This level of support and attention to detail is typical of the service provided by On Foot Holidays. What struck us both was how every element of the trip had been meticulously researched and every potential issue addressed in advance; from what to pack to what to expect each day, so that we didn’t need to worry about anything or get caught out because we had forgotten to organise something ourselves. Throughout our stay we had the support of a local guide, Aznar, who was on hand each day to provide advice on weather or terrain conditions and to resolve any local issues (we only had one, relating to a misplacement of our bags on one leg of the journey, but this was quickly resolved). The accommodation was excellent, too, with super-comfortable beds and great showers and friendly hosts. There were also plenty of recommendations for eating out during our stay - we tried many of them and were never disappointed. As well as being provided with comprehensive walking maps and directions, we were given the opportunity to try out the Company’s new walking app. This turned out to be an invaluable tool providing amongst many other things, a day-by-day itinerary with maps, eating out suggestions and interesting information about the area. It was so good that we decided that we would use this exclusively rather than rely on paper maps. Although the route itself is generally very well-marked the walking app provided the additional confidence that we were heading in the right direction. Our overwhelming opinion of On Foot Holidays is that it is committed to providing the very best possible experience for its customers. All the staff with whom we interacted were passionate about what they do and unfailingly helpful. No detail was overlooked. We cannot recommend the Company more highly and will definitely be booking with them again.