The 200km-long Lighthouse Method (Camiño dos Faros) is a unprecedented long-distance hike alongside Galicia’s legendary Coast of Demise in northern Spain.
Amongst European coastal treks, it sits firmly on the more difficult finish of the spectrum, with substantial cumulative elevation acquire, lengthy day by day distances, demanding terrain (together with sand, granite, and overgrown sections), and infrequently unclear waymarking. With the correct help, this trek may be much more manageable, easing each pre-trip preparation and the challenges on the path.
After we accomplished the path, many readers reached out with questions on abbreviated itineraries, advisable shortcuts, and baggage switch choices. It rapidly turned clear that many, if not most hikers would profit from skilled planning and reserving help.
With that in thoughts, I reached out to UK-based On Foot Holidays, certainly one of Europe’s most reliable and moral self-guided mountaineering operators, to find out how they arrange Lighthouse Method treks for his or her purchasers.
Beneath, I’ll clarify precisely why they’re one of the best operator to e-book this hike with, and why we’d select them in a heartbeat for the Lighthouse Method or just about any village-to-village hike in Europe.
Unique supply: On Foot Holidays is providing our readers a £20 voucher for his or her first journey. To redeem, enter the coupon code M&H20 within the “Promotional or voucher code” subject on any inquiry or reserving kind. This supply is on the market to new On Foot Holidays clients solely.
Baggage Switch is Included
In contrast to Portugal’s Fisherman’s Path or England’s South West Coast Path, baggage switch on the Lighthouse Method isn’t straightforward to rearrange independently, since there’s no baggage switch service out there alongside your complete route. On most phases, you’d have to contact native taxi companies the day earlier than and coordinate baggage transport to your subsequent lodging.
Reserving with On Foot Holidays takes care of baggage switch for you, so you may hike with a a lot lighter pack. And naturally, a lighter pack makes for considerably simpler mountaineering days.
It additionally makes carrying water extra manageable. When you choose to not supply water from streams, I like to recommend carrying as much as 3 liters on sure phases (similar to phases 2 and seven). Attempting to hold that a lot water on prime of a totally packed backpack is extraordinarily taxing.
Pre-Booked Taxis to the Path Begin and from the Path Finish are Included
One other profit to reserving this trek with On Foot Vacation, is that they arrange your switch from A Coruña (airport or metropolis) or Santiago (airport or metropolis) to Malpica, the start line of the Lighthouse Method. Additionally they arrange your switch from Finisterre, the ending level, again to A Coruña (airport or metropolis) or Santiago (airport or metropolis).
We additionally booked a non-public switch to Malpica: the one sensible method to get from A Coruña Airport to the trailhead with out having to in a single day within the metropolis. On the return to A Coruña, we used public transit, which turned was exhausting (bus, prepare, and taxi). In hindsight, a non-public switch would have been a much more fulfilling method to finish the journey.
Remember that the Camino Finisterre pilgrimage route additionally ends in Finisterre, so getting from Finisterre to Santiago de Compostela by public transit can really feel like a little bit of a circus.
Shorter Itineraries and Customizations
The official Lighthouse Method is split into 8 phases, which implies that hikers should sort out a median of 25 km a day. Fortunately, On Foot Holidays divides the route into 9 phases, making it much more manageable. As well as, you may additional customise your itinerary with taxi shortcuts, permitting you to comfortably shorten among the longer phases.
One of the vital ceaselessly requested questions we obtained was whether or not the route may be shortened.
Along with the entire route (10 nights whole), On Foot Holidays additionally gives a shorter 7-night itinerary beginning in Laxe and a 5-night itinerary beginning in Camariñas.
If you wish to construct in a relaxation day, you can too request additional nights in Laxe, or Camariñas.
Navigation App + Digital Handbook
The Lighthouse Method is marked with shiny inexperienced waymarking. Given the verdant foliage, recognizing the inexperienced waymarks isn’t all the time straightforward. Although the path not often deviates from the coast, it’s straightforward to finish up on different tracks for those who’re not paying consideration. You completely want GPX tracks to navigate the Lighthouse Method.
On Foot Holidays clients obtain entry to the bespoke On Foot Holidays Companion App, which incorporates an offline navigation system, your day-to-day itinerary, lodging, arrival/departure directions, and a wealth of different details about the path and space together with factors of curiosity, eating choices, and packing necessities. Moreover, you may entry the contact particulars of your native contact.
I downloaded the app to check its performance and would give it a five-star ranking. It’s well-organized and intuitive. I used to be significantly impressed by the day by day maps, which observe your progress, show detailed mountaineering instructions, and present clickable waymarks indicating historic websites, viewpoints, eating choices, tricking junctions, taxi drop-off and pick-up areas (when related), and many others…
Tip | Be sure you have enough storage in your telephone earlier than downloading the app, so that every one offline maps obtain fully.
Along with the data out there within the Navigation App, clients obtain a 30+ web page digital Lighthouse Method handbook with useful insights masking each side of the journey. Past logistical particulars, there’s an in depth part exploring the historical past of the area, the financial system, native food and drinks, structure, wildlife, and a lot extra.
Native Contact for Questions
On all On Foot Holidays self-guided excursions, every path is overseen by a neighborhood collaborator. On Foot Holidays purchasers can contact the native collaborator through whatsapp every time they’ve questions, or want additional help.
For instance, if it’s essential change the pick-up time of your taxi, you may attain out to your native contact. Or if you wish to take a taxi to shorten a stage, you may organize that together with your contact the day earlier than.
Their contact particulars are situated within the On Foot Holidays Companion App beneath “Contacts & Emergencies.”
Coupon Code for our Readers
If you need to e-book the Lighthouse Method with On Foot Holidays, don’t overlook to enter the coupon code M&H20 within the “Promotional or voucher code” subject on any inquiry or reserving kind. Each hiker in your journey will obtain a £20 low cost.
This coupon code applies to all On Foot Holidays strolling excursions. I like to recommend additionally having a look at their England excursions, Slovenia excursions, Greece excursions, France excursions, and Italy excursions.
Extra Hikes in Europe
Coastal Treks:
Europe Treks:
Alps:
Climbing in Spain:
