Arriving in Santiago, on one page

To read without signal. Save it: on your phone, “Share → Print → Save as PDF”.

Pilgrim’s Mass

The Pilgrim’s Masses at 9:30, 12:00 and 19:30 are held in the church of San Agustín, not in the Cathedral, because of works in the main chapel. This has been the case since 16 October 2026, until further notice. The 7:30 one stays in the Cathedral, in the Chapel of the Communion.

Now: in the church of San Agustín at 9:30, 12:00 and 19:30. The 7:30 one, in the Cathedral, Chapel of the Communion. Until further notice.
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.
Where San Agustín is: Rúa Santo Agostiño, 2. Open in the map. It is wheelchair accessible from the street. It has no accessible toilet.
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.
Masses in other languages (Cathedral liturgy): in German, at 8:00 in the church of San Fiz, every day; in French, at 9:00 in the chapel of the Pilgrim Reception Centre; in English, at 10:30 in the Pilgrim’s Office chapel, every day except Wednesdays.

Checked 8 November 2026 on their official website.

Holy Year 2027

2027 is a Compostelan Holy Year. It is one whenever 25 July falls on a Sunday. The Holy Door opens on Thursday 31 December 2026 at midday.

What is not yet known: the exact time of the opening. The Archdiocese has only said “midday”. I will change it here as soon as it is published.
To gain the Jubilee, according to the Cathedral: visit the Apostle’s Tomb in the Cathedral and say a prayer, go to confession (in the Cathedral or anywhere else, fifteen days before or after) and receive Communion.
You don’t have to arrive on foot: the Cathedral says the Jubilee can be gained “travelling by any means”.
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 on the official website on 5 November 2026.

The Compostela

You collect the Compostela at the Pilgrim’s Reception Office, Rúa Carretas 33. It opens every day from 10:00 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 9 November 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.
Arriving without a bed? Turismo de Santiago publishes every day the places that have free beds today, with price and phone. Each establishment enters its own data. See today's free beds on Turismo de Santiago.

Checked 30 September 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 places and lockers in Santiago de Compostela 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.
Quintana Souvenirs · Rúa do Franco, 23: €3/day backpack · €5/day bicycle.
Praça Souvenirs · Praza da Quintana, 3: €3/day backpack · €5/day bicycle.
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 31 October 2026 to 15 March 2027, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 20:30; Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 10:00 to 18:00. From 16 March 2027 to 31 October 2027, every day 8:30 to 20:30. 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.
Praça Souvenirs: on Praza da Quintana, next to the Cathedral. Its website says «24h service (with booking)» and that the shop is open from 9:00 to 21:00 every day.
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: in October and November 2026, Monday to Friday 10:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 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. Closed for Christmas from 21 December 2026 to 3 January 2027: it reopens on Monday 4 January 2027. 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.
Radical Storage: you book online and leave your backpack in a shop or bar in Santiago. Its website advertises from €2.50/day (read on 20 October 2026). See its storage points in Santiago (affiliate link · same price)

Checked 28 October 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 stage by stage): up to 15 kg and 60 km a day, no home delivery, and the price only appears in its calculator for your route. Book before 20:00 the day before, leave the backpack at the reception of your accommodation before 8:00 and it is delivered to the next one before 14:30. The accommodation must have a reception open from 8:00 to 15:00 or an access code outside.
Paq Mochila in winter: Correos says that from Easter to 31 October it runs every day, public holidays included, and that from 1 November it is limited to the Camino Francés from Sarria to Santiago and the Camino Portugués from Tui to Santiago, with no service on 24, 25 and 31 December or on 1 January. Its website mentions extending it to more routes from March 2027. Confirm when you book ([email protected]).
Other companies that carry your backpack stage by stage (prices they publish, read on 9 November 2026; confirm them when you book). Pilbeo, per backpack: Sarria–Santiago €30, Tui–Santiago €42, Ferrol–Santiago €35, Santiago–Finisterre and Muxía €30. Caminofácil, per backpack and stage, from €6 on the Camino Francés and from €7 on the Camino Portugués. Today neither of them pays me anything.

Checked 9 November 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 September 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 September 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.
Group day trip: if you’d rather not take the bus, several agencies do Fisterra and Muxía in one day from Santiago. You can see them, for example, on Civitatis. It is an ordinary link: it doesn’t pay me anything.

Checked 16 October 2026 on their official website.

Signed: David Sousa, from Teo (Santiago de Compostela). Details checked on 23 September 2026. If anything changes, I’ll change it here.