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Summary: We were unable to take the trip, but 3 stars because we got some of our money back, however the company's aggressive posture and predatory no-refund policy were off-putting.
We booked with Camino Ways (CW) in mid-February of 2025 with plans to travel with them on the Camino in late May of 2025. We were disappointed to see that, like the other tour operators on the Camino, CW only offered non-refundable trips if you are forced to cancel for any reason less than 30 days before your trip (more on this later).
Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a medical condition that prevented travel just a day before our flight to Spain. Although we booked nonrefundable flights with both United and Iberia, both airlines extended us full 100% credit for later travel.
However, just like the hyper-aggressive and corporate AirBnB, Camino Ways, held firm with their policy, telling us we should rely on trip insurance (turns out that our trip insurance did not cover tours) and told us we couldn't get anything back but that we could substitute a family member in our place (?!).
Ultimately, after more haggling with them, CW did issue a partial credit (no refund) for use in the next 24 months. Not sure we can use that, but it seemed like the best we could get from them, sadly.
Finally, we were also reminded that "all of the other tour operators on the Camino have the same policy" when it comes to nonrefundable trips....this was said as if it were some kind of moral or ethical defense of CW's policy! Of course, this is no such thing, this is merely collusion between a limited number of operators to take advantage of Pilgrims and tourists wanting help planning a trip on the Camino. Another term for this would be an Oligarchy, control by a few companies who enforce predatory and aggressive terms..... read more