Vigo to Santiago de Compostela

I am interested in traveling from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela by bus or train. I don't want to take the ship's tour or hire a driver if I can do it on my own. Is there anyone who can give me direction or tell me which bus or train to take. Thanks.

I don't know what time your ship gets to Vigo, but we will be there next Monday and plan on taking the 8:55 train to Santiago. You can get the schedule from the renfe.es website. The train station appears to be about a mile or so from the Port. The bus station is a bit further. We decided to take the train because the train station in Santiago is only a 10-15 minute walk from the Cathedral area. The train ride takes about 1 hour, 23 minutes.

The train schedule is not very favorable for the return trip. We have 2 choices: a 12:34 train back to Vigo which leaves us with only 2 hours in Santiago, or a later local train (about 1:15) that takes about 1 hour, 50 minutes to Vigo. There is a later train that gets in around 4:00 pm, but our train leaves at 5:00 pm so I am unwilling to take that chance.

Good luck.

Hi,

As the PP says you have two options: train or bus. They both take about 1:30 hrs, give or take some minutes. It is probably 5 mins longer to walk from the bus station than from the train station in Santiago to the main square called Plaza do Obradoiro, where the beautiful Cathedral is.

I have never been to Vigo so don't know where the train or bus station are located there. However, I am very familiar with the train and bus station in Santiago as I have been there several times and have used both methods of transport. Your decision as to take Bus or train should be dictated by the available schedules and your arrival/ departure time from Vigo.

Website for bus schedules is http://www.monbus.es. I thing it's only in Spanish. Where they ask "origen" put Vigo, "destino" put Santiago, "Fecha" select date.

Website for train schedules is http://www.renfe.es

I suggest you visit the following website on tourism info about Santiago:

http://www.santiagoturismo.com/

Good luck, Santiago is one of the jewels of Spain, my favorite city!

oppps, I got late to answer but as usual cruiseluv has perfectly answered for me.....thanks

Hi,

We will be traveling in May 2011 and would like to see Santiago. We arrive at the port of Vigo at 8 am and have to be back by 4 pm. Can someone recommend a tour company or guide in the area? Thanks for the help!

Hi,

We will be traveling in May 2011 and would like to see Santiago. We arrive at the port of Vigo at 8 am and have to be back by 4 pm. Can someone recommend a tour company or guide in the area? Thanks for the help!

i am also interested so hope they answer you

I am also interested in travelling to Santiago from Vigo as we will be in port in May on the Grand Princess. Hopefully there will be more responses and advice. I definitely appreciate everyone's input...

Appart from what was suggested taxi drivers have special fares for cruisers. To come to Santiago is 120 euros rt, and 17 euros per waiting hour.

I am also interested in travelling to Santiago from Vigo as we will be in port in May on the Grand Princess. Hopefully there will be more responses and advice. I definitely appreciate everyone's input...

Go to the end of this recent thread where a tour guide recommendation was posted:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1330398&highlight=santiago+tour

Please note that I haven't used his services so can't vouch for him.

Thank you for the info on the taxi service. Now I'll do the math..:)

As for the cruise fare. The best thing to do is getting to the tourist office, get a brochure with the prices and conditions, and get on the cab. Tourist office are opposite the shopping mall, and on the white croncrete structure on the other side of the shopping mall. So two points.

Sometimes taxi drivers tend to forget this issue. :-)

Just noticed that this thread is still alive.

Last summer we took the train from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela. This was one of our favorite trips. The ship was cleared a little late so we took a cab to the train station. Cabs are on a side street to the right once you exit the terminal. The cab ride to the train station is between 5-10 minutes. I don't remember how much it costs but it was very inexpensive -- less than 10 Euros for sure.

The train right was very scenic, and once we got to Santiago, we exited the train station, turned right, and walked up about 8 to 10 blocks to get to the Catedral. It was very busy because last year was a special jubilee year. There was many pilgrims. The area around the Cathedral was really quaint, with cute little shops. We only spent a couple of hours and would have liked to spend more time, but town is very small and going to Santiago sure beats staying in Vigo.

When we got back to Vigo we took a leisurely stroll through the town back to the ship.

Unless you can do only minimal walking, this trip is very easy to do on your own.

Good luck!!

Thanks for posting....as I was wondering if the trip was doable by train....had read some comments about the trains not being reliable....I will plan on using the train

The city is quiet now. Not as busy as last year. Gardens are blooming and spring promises to be warm this year.

Just noticed that this thread is still alive.

 

Last summer we took the train from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela. This was one of our favorite trips. The ship was cleared a little late so we took a cab to the train station. Cabs are on a side street to the right once you exit the terminal. The cab ride to the train station is between 5-10 minutes. I don't remember how much it costs but it was very inexpensive -- less than 10 Euros for sure.

 

The train right was very scenic, and once we got to Santiago, we exited the train station, turned right, and walked up about 8 to 10 blocks to get to the Catedral. It was very busy because last year was a special jubilee year. There was many pilgrims. The area around the Cathedral was really quaint, with cute little shops. We only spent a couple of hours and would have liked to spend more time, but town is very small and going to Santiago sure beats staying in Vigo.

 

When we got back to Vigo we took a leisurely stroll through the town back to the ship.

 

Unless you can do only minimal walking, this trip is very easy to do on your own.

 

Good luck!!

Oops. Just noticed that this post has a ton of typos. My apologies.

It happens to all of us...the message is what was important...

Hi Keltic,

I have been checking out the options for getting from Vigo to Santiago and notice you are 'local'. I've checked your profile, seen you are still active and visited Waves& Wind. I have printed out the information and I am sure I will find it most interesting.

I have one little question I hope you can help me with. I am considering taking the train from Vigo but our ship isn't due in until noon (27th Sept). I am wondering if by the time we got there we'll find everything closed as it will be Siesta time?

I'm also thinking this may be a silly question!!

Thank you

Siesta time is a bit of citche nowadays. Few people take it in north of Spain and of course it doesn't affect daily life. Perhaps a little nap in the summer in holiday time. Shops and public places close from 14:00 to 17:00 or 16:30 but there are more shops that doesn't close for lunch. Banks open just in the morning. Attractions have shorter closing hours, and usually close on monday. Siesta doesn't play any role.

Should you have any question please don't hesitate in asking

Siesta time is a bit of citche nowadays. ...public places close from 14:00 to 17:00 or 16:30.... Attractions have shorter closing hours, and usually close on monday. Siesta doesn't play any role.

 

Should you have any question please don't hesitate in asking

I won't be shopping shopping anyway. I want to admire what looks like a very beautiful place. I will have to research the history and make the most of my visit.

Thanks for the assistance and the very prompt reply.

I am so happy to find this thread and a person who lives in Santiago. We were there for three days two years ago after having walked for just five days on the Camino de Santiago. It is one of my favorite places in the world. The best part was the Cathedral roof top tour --- not only were the views amazing but I loved getting a close up view of the architectural details of the cathedral. We are leaving in a bit over a month on a cruise that will stop in A Coruna and plan to go back to Santiago for the day. Unfortunately the friends with whom we will be traveling are anti train so that means finding a driver to take us there. I notice you said (a couple of years ago) that a taxi from Vigo to Santiago is about 100euros and 17 per hour of waiting. Would you happen to have any updated info on rates from A Coruna ? And can I assume that there will be taxis waiting at the port that are willing to drive the hour to Santiago and wait and then drive us back? Also our one disappointment from the last visit to Santiago was that at the mass we attended they did not use the botafumeiro. Am I correct in my understanding that it is used at the daily noon mass for the pilgrims?( We will be there on a Sunday.)

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Actually the last time I ve heard about taxi fares to Santiago was about 150 with a couple of hours of waiting time over here. Pilgrim mass is at 12:00.

Train is about 28 minutes (in case you make up your mind) and for advance reservations at http://www.renfe.es you can get fares for less than 10 euros. Taxis is more expensive but really convenient.

The port of La Coruña is beinf refitted so it's a mess. Taxi stands may have changed. However there's information as soon as you get off.

Thank you so much for the info. I can't tell you why our friends are anti train --- if it were up to us we would take the train--- less time and less money. Thank you --- will get to the Pilgrims mass early.

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Train is about 28 minutes (in case you make up your mind) and for advance reservations at http://www.renfe.es you can get fares for less than 10 euros. Taxis is more expensive but really convenient.

 

The port of La Coruña is beinf refitted so it's a mess. Taxi stands may have changed. However there's information as soon as you get off.

Hi Keltic, We will be on the Rotterdam in September visiting La Caruna and Vigo. The ship offers excursions to Santiago from both ports. If we want to take the train on our own from which port is easier to get there? Many thanks.

Hard to say. Coruña is 67 km, Vigo 88 km. So it would be much more convenient from Coruña. The truck line has recently be updated and it's just 28 minutes from 80 minutes from Vigo under renovation.

But train station in Vigo is 1 mile from port in Vigo vs 6 miles in Coruña. My choice. Coruña and taxi to port and station (inexpensive). In Santiago old town is just 1 km from station.