To read without signal. Save it: on your phone, “Share → Print → Save as PDF”.
Pilgrim’s Mass
From Friday 16 October 2026, the Pilgrim’s Masses at 9:30, 12:00 and 19:30 are held in the church of San Agustín, not in the Cathedral. The 7:30 Mass stays in the Cathedral, in the Chapel of the Communion. Until further notice, because of works in the main chapel.
Until 15 October 2026: Pilgrim’s Mass in the Cathedral, high altar, at 7:30, 9:30, 12:00 and 19:30.
From 16 October 2026: in the church of San Agustín at 9:30, 12:00 and 19:30. The 7:30 Mass stays in the Cathedral, in the Chapel of the Communion.
The Cathedral is still open to visitors every day from 7:00 to 21:00 (on summer Saturdays it closes at 20:30). Free entry through the Platerías door.
You can’t go in with a backpack. The Cathedral says so itself. If you arrive with one, go to luggage storage first: where to leave your backpack.
Checked 23/09/2026 on their official website.
The Compostela
You collect the Compostela at the Pilgrim’s Reception Office, Rúa Carretas 33. It opens every day from 9:00 to 19:00. Closed on 25 December and 1 January. To collect it you need to get a ticket with a QR code, which lets you see the queue status in real time.
Requirement on foot or on horseback: 100 continuous km heading towards Santiago. If you start outside Spain, at least 70 km must be in Spanish territory.
By bike: 200 km. By sailing boat: 100 nautical miles and the rest on foot.
Reason: you have to state a religious reason, or “religious and other”. Otherwise the Office issues a different certificate.
Stamps: in chronological and geographical order, with a stamp at the start and end of each stage, dated.
Valid credential: the Office’s official model, or credentials “recognised by the Cathedral” handed out by parishes, authorised associations, albergues and confraternities.
It’s free and you collect it in person.
Distance certificate: same conditions as the Compostela. From November to March you can request it by email at [email protected]. The Office doesn’t publish its price.
Checked 23/09/2026 on their official website.
Public albergues
The public albergues (pilgrim hostels) run by the Xunta de Galicia (regional government) can’t be booked. It’s first come, first served. They cost €10 per person per night, open their doors from 13:00 to 22:00, turn the lights off at 22:30 and you have to leave before 8:00. One night only.
Order of priority: first pilgrims with physical limitations, then those on foot, on horseback, by bike and, last of all, those with a support car.
Albergue de San Lázaro (Santiago): Parroquia de San Lázaro, 15707. Phone +34 981 571 488. Check-in from 9:00 to 22:00. Showers, kitchen, paid washing machine and lockers. Going by the coordinates the Xunta publishes, it’s about 2.7 km in a straight line east of the Cathedral, where the French Way comes in. It’s not in the old town.
Albergue de Monte do Gozo: Lugar San Marcos, calle Monte do Gozo, 15820. Check-in from 13:00 to 22:00. Showers, kitchen and paid washing machine. Going by the Xunta’s coordinates, it’s about 3.7 km in a straight line east of the Cathedral, where the French Way comes in.
If you come in from the south (Portuguese Way), neither of them is on your way: both are to the east, where the French Way comes in, on the other side of the city.
Checked 23/09/2026 on their official website.
Where to leave your backpack
You can’t go into the Cathedral with a backpack. These are the luggage storage options with a published price, checked one by one on 23 September 2026.
Correos · Rúa do Franco, 4: €4/day backpack or small suitcase · €6/day large suitcase · €7/day bike · €1/day walking pole. VAT included.
Locker24horas · Rúa da Algalia de Arriba, 14: From €5.99/day (medium locker). Open 24 hours, 365 days.
Casa Ivar · Rúa Nova, 7: Storage for up to 90 days: €15 letter or envelope · €25 small or medium box · €35 backpack, suitcase or large box · €50 bicycle.
Intermodal station · Rúa Clara Campoamor, s/n: There’s luggage storage on the main floor. Price not published.
Correos (Spanish Post): from 23/03 to 30/11, every day 8:30 to 20:30. From 01/12 to 31/03/2027: weekdays 8:30 to 20:30; weekends and public holidays 10:00 to 18:00. Closed 25/12, 1/1 and 6/1. You can book on their website and bring the code to the office. It’s on Rúa do Franco, in other words at the southern entrance, two minutes from the Obradoiro.
Quintana Souvenirs: their website says “24-hour luggage storage service” but doesn’t publish the shop’s opening hours. Before you rely on the “24 hours”, ask at the counter.
Locker24horas: self-service lockers next to Plaza de Cervantes, about 400 m from the Cathedral according to their website. Unlimited access during the calendar day. Prices for the large lockers only show up when you book.
Casa Ivar: April to November, Monday to Friday 10:00 to 18:00, Saturdays 10:00 to 12:00, Sundays 19:30 to 20:00. December to March: Monday to Friday 10:00 to 14:00; closed Saturdays and Sundays. Out-of-hours delivery to hotels in the old town: €15 per item.
Pilgrim House (Rúa Nova, 19): stores backpacks during the day. They don’t accept parcels or shipments. They don’t publish opening hours or prices.
Albergue Seminario Menor: luggage storage at €2 per item per day, only if you’re staying there. Reception from 8:00 to 23:00.
Luggage storage apps (Nannybag, Bounce, Radical Storage): from €1.95 to €6.90/day in partner shops and bars. They’re intermediaries; you see the exact location when you book.
Checked 23/09/2026 on their official website.
Sending your backpack
If you start the Camino with a suitcase you don’t want to carry, Correos (Spanish Post) will take it to Santiago and keep it at their office for up to 45 days. Up to 15 kg: €20.95 for 15 days, €28.95 for 30 days, €35.95 for 45 days. VAT included.
Paq Peregrino · up to 15 kg · collection at the Santiago office: 15 days: €20.95 · 30 days: €28.95 · 45 days: €35.95. VAT included.
Paq Peregrino · up to 25 kg: 15 days: €31.40 · 30 days: €39.40 · 45 days: €46.40. VAT included.
Shipping to your home at the end: Correos says this is also possible, but publishes neither the price nor the delivery time. Ask at the office at Rúa do Franco, 4.
Paq Mochila (backpack transfer from stage to stage): 15 kg maximum, no home delivery, and the price only shows up in their calculator, depending on the route.
Checked 23/09/2026 on their official website.
Fisterra, Muxía and getting home
All buses leave from the intermodal station, Rúa Clara Campoamor, s/n. Not from Plaza de Galicia or the old station. Some pilgrims have missed their bus by going to the wrong station.
Monbus Santiago → Fisterra: From €7.35. On 23/09/2026: 8:45 (direct, arrives 10:00), 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 13:00 and 18:30 (with stops, between 2 h 10 and 2 h 55).
Monbus Santiago → Muxía: From €6.85. On 23/09/2026: 9:30, 11:05 and 17:30 (with stops).
TUSSA line 6A → airport: €1.00 for a standard ticket. From Rúa do Hórreo (intermodal station), roughly every 30 minutes, from 6:00 to 22:45. About 25 minutes on the direct service.
Taxi to the airport: €23.00 (approximate fare published by Santiago Tourism).
ALSA Santiago → Porto: “From €15” according to ALSA’s general page for Portugal. Frequencies only in their search engine.
Intermodal station: open from 5:45 to 0:00. Information point every day from 6:30 to 22:30. City bus lines 6, 6A, 12, C5, C6 and P3 stop here.
Train to Madrid: Renfe doesn’t let you read fixed timetables outside its search engine. I won’t give you a timetable I haven’t been able to check.
Checked 23/09/2026 on their official website.
Signed: David, from Santiago de Compostela. Details checked on 23/09/2026. If anything changes, I’ll change it here.