Camino - Leon to Santiago

Customer Reviews

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  Juliette

  · November 10th, 2023
  I'm interested in bike-packing and thought that using a service like UTracks would be great for my first experience. The main point was to have a reliable and efficient safety net should anything go wrong. On my fourth morning, my bike could no longer shift gears. I called the emergency line to their partner and was able to reach their voicemail. I called serval times and left messages. No response for over an hour. I emailed a contact directly at UTracks letting them know. Then emailed that contact and the info email for the their partner. Roughly a half hour later I got a phone call from their partner. When I spoke with their rep they let me know that they would send a taxi to come get me and take me to a repair shop that would have me back on the road by 2pm. When I arrived at the shop it was closed for siesta and would not re-open until 4:30pm. The rep promised that they could have me back on the road by 5pm. These would leave me roughly 3 hours to bike about 20 miles in the rain. The rep offered to get me dinner to make up for it. With my booking dinner and breakfast were included. Which didn't feel adequate for missing an entire day of an experience. The third party did get me a taxi to my last destination for the night. UTracks response to this was that there are sometimes challenges with travel and that their partner went above and beyond to help me. I hired a service to mitigate these situations not to increase the stress through poor coordination and lack of thinking ahead. It was clear that the rep did not coordinate with the bike shop and the time estimates given were not based on conversations that she had with the shop. When I waited for the taxi to take me to my final destination for the night, the gate on the shop was down. Indicating that either the shop was closed for the rest of the day and that someone was in around to close the gate. Throughout the process the rep failed to communicate effectively or set realistic expectations. They gave different answers on the phone, in person and via email. Whenever things fell through, dinner was offered again. I asked for a refund for service provided that day and was given less than my estimate, $1,500.00 / 7. Fine, but there was no cost breakdown. To try to soothe my frustation UTracks made a dinner reservation for me and let me know that they went above and beyond for me. I was clear with both parties throughout that I didn't want dinner. Continuing to offer it showed me that they weren't listening to me. During the conversations with UTracks and their partner I realized that they sent me to the bike shop because of the relationship they had with them, instead of finding a shop closer to my location. When the bike was dropped off at my hotel it was left out in the rain with no instruction to the hotel staff. I was the only person at the hotel, so it was easy to figure out it was mine. I realized that putting in the effort before the trip with booking hotels, or rolling the dice and seeing what hostels had room would have been a better option. There are several services that can transport your luggage from hotel to hotel. One person I met spent 26Euros for over 2 weeks of that service. Shipping a bike from the USA can be roughly $100 not including packing materials. Plus, the food. Most of the dinners were the same. All the hotels had a cheaper menu that was made to seem bigger. Three courses costing between 13 and 18 Euros for dinner. All the hotels seemed to have the same menu. I ended up eating a lot during the day to experience the local food, have more variety and often better quality. For less or the same amount of money that was noted on the menu. I may not have caught this when I booked, but there will be a mix of hotels and hostels. The hostels have different rules and don't always communicate their rules. I was locked out of my hostel for an our until I randomly met someone that explained that my room key was the same key to use to get back into the hostel. I don't think this was worth the money.
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  UTracks commented on this review

  Hi Juliette, Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about your recent self guided Spanish Camino by bike experience. We are naturally disappointed to read your review, which you’ve posted on TripAdvisor and Tourradar. We were sorry that... Show more
  Trip date: October 2023
• MM

  MaryJane

  · June 1st, 2019
  My Camino experience was wonderful and my first...
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  UTracks commented on this review

  Congratulations on completing your walk Mary Jane! All the best from the team at UTracks
  Trip date: May 2019
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  Michael

  · November 26th, 2017
  I walked the Camino de Santiago from Leon to...
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  UTracks commented on this review

  We're thrilled to hear you had a fantastic time walking in Spain! Thanks for your detailed 5-star review. We look forward to helping you plan your next active holiday in Europe.
  Trip date: May 2017