THE ROLE OF YOUR GROUP LEADER
Your Camino Group Leader is someone who accompanies the group on the walk. Her task is to ensure that you get what you paid for and that you have the best possible experience on the walk. As our Group Leaders are not Tour Guides and we do not offer Guided Tours, she will not expect you to follow her every inch of the way! She will be the sweeper for the slower walkers and you are free to set your own pace.
Your Camino Group Leader is someone who accompanies the group on the walk. Her task is to ensure that you get what you paid for and that you have the best possible experience on the walk. As our Group Leaders are not Tour Guides and we do not offer Guided Tours, she will not expect you to follow her every inch of the way! She will be the sweeper for the slower walkers and you are free to set your own pace.
The Group Leader arranges a welcome and orientation on arrival, will take someone to see a doctor if needed, will organise group meals if required, take care of accommodation, transportation between locations, luggage transfers and communicates with Tour Guides where necessary. They might work together with Tour Guides when visiting specific sites. If anyone on the walk wants to visit a historical monument with a registered Tour Guide, your Group Leader can advise you on this but they themselves are not certified city or country tour guides and are not allowed to conduct guided tours of monuments claim to be hiking guides.
You are given a booklet of notes with descriptions of the daily stages, an itinerary of the walk: name, photograph, address and contact details of accommodation, and directions on how to get there. PLEASE print the booklet and carry relevant pages with you each day. This is Your walk and although the Group Leader is there to take care of the whole group, you are required to take some responsibility for your walk. If you can't find your way, show a local the photograph and address of your hotel and ask for directions.
The Group Leader will be available by phone unless telecommunications are inaccessible at any given point. She will let you know what time she leaves each day and will be in contact via a mobile phone so we suggest that you take yours with you. A group WhatsApp is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep in touch. You can keep your phone switched off all day but she will ask you to check it in the evening in case information has been sent to the group. She will ask the group members to 'clock-in' at the end of the day’s walking, around 5pm, once everyone has checked into their accommodation. Each night the group leader will be available to discuss the events of the day and share details of the following day’s route, sights, accommodation etc. If you choose not to take a cell phone or do not have service that provides for message services like WhatsApp, you cannot expect the group leader to check on you or keep you updated.
The Group leader is not responsible for your personal belongings and should you leave anything behind or lose items, she will help you to recover them but cannot leave the group to go in search of your belongings. She is not responsible for carrying your luggage, but she will check that the correct number of luggage items are available for the transfer company to collect in the morning. Luggage must be in the foyer by 07h30 each day.
Should you encounter any problems with a fellow walker, or with the Group Leader, please raise these in private with the person or Group Leader and not in front of the group. Likewise, if the Group Leader has to discuss any problems with you, she will do so in private and not in front of the group.
At the Group Leader´s discretion, a member may be asked to leave the group if the leader feels the person´s further participation may be detrimental to other group members or to the individual.
A qualified 'Tour Guide' is usually a local who works within an area they have studied (often at University level) and who is certified and registered to conduct tours in that area of expertise. They are usually paid by a local agency and typically work on a daily basis. They are licensed, qualified experts who supply specific information on history, art, architecture or culture of the city/ village/ museum in which he/she is guiding the tour. The guide might meet the group at a specified location and leaves the group at the end of the tour. Some qualified country Guides lead groups for Tour Companies. Tour Guides are restricted to conducting tours in their city, municipal area, region, province or Country.
