Our Story
Who is Pablo Machado Soares
I walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela for the first time in 2012 — alone, with no group and no ready-made itinerary, just me and the road. That experience, learned stage by stage on my own, is what truly brought me close to the Camino Francés: its history, its logistics and everything a pilgrim needs to know before setting out.
I remember one rainy afternoon when I lost sight of a yellow arrow — the same arrows that have marked the Camino since the 1980s, painted by a priest from O Cebreiro so that pilgrims would not get lost. I walked for kilometers without being sure I was heading in the right direction, one of the most uncomfortable moments of the journey — and one of those that taught me most that truly walking the Camino Francés is not just about reaching Santiago de Compostela, it is about learning to trust the path even when it becomes hard to see. Having lived through that kind of setback myself is why I now make such a point of documenting every stage of our self-guided itineraries so carefully — so that you never have to go through what I went through that rainy afternoon.
Since then I have walked this route 12 times, on foot and by bike. Between 2014 and 2024 I guided groups of pilgrims along the Camino Francés, and each journey taught me something new about where people need support most: language, logistics, comfort and safety. All that field experience is now behind the curation of every Ultreya Travel self-guided package — every place to stay, every luggage transfer, every recommendation has been thought through by someone who has walked that exact stage more than once.
I live in Spain, close to the routes that lead to Santiago, which lets me keep walking them and keep every itinerary up to date with what the Camino is really like today.
Since 2018 I have also run the website caminodesantiagofrances.com and the Instagram profile @caminodesantiagofrances, where I talk every day with pilgrims and people in the travel industry — constant contact that keeps Ultreya Travel always up to date.
Pablo Machado Soares — Founder of Ultreya Travel
Why Ultreya Travel exists
Ultreya Travel was born in 2026, but it was not born from nothing. It grew out of years of walking, guiding and answering the same questions from pilgrims who dream of walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela but do not know where to start, or are afraid of facing the logistics alone, in a language that is not their own.
Over that time, one thing became clear: the fear is almost never of the Camino itself. It is of what comes before it — choosing the right place to stay, understanding the stages, carrying a backpack without getting hurt, knowing that if something goes wrong halfway, there is someone available 24/7 who has been through it. And it is exactly that fear, so often, that stops someone from answering a calling they have felt for years.
The idea is simple: to combine the freedom of walking at your own pace, with no group and no fixed schedule, with the reassurance of a self-guided package designed by someone who has walked the route 12 times — accommodation booked, luggage transferred between stages and 24/7 assistance whenever you need it.
Because the Camino de Santiago de Compostela already asks enough of every pilgrim: tired feet, sun, rain, the distance between one stage and the next. Everything else — the logistics, the safety, the certainty of reaching the Botafumeiro swinging in the Cathedral and the embrace at the Pórtico da Gloria — should not weigh more than the journey itself. That is why Ultreya Travel exists: so that the only baggage you need to carry is your own story.
What makes us different
An agency specialized in the Camino de Santiago
We work with a single destination: the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It is not just another option in a catalog — it is what we truly know, in every detail.
Personal support from start to finish
Before, during and after your journey, you talk directly to the people who planned it — with no call centers and no intermediaries.
24/7 assistance throughout your journey
Even when walking on your own, you are never alone: we are available to help with anything unexpected, at any time.
A community of pilgrims
We are the same people behind the @caminodesantiagofrances profile on Instagram, where we talk every day with thousands of pilgrims about the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
A real presence in Spain
We are where the Camino happens: in Spain, close to the routes that lead to Santiago — from the Camino Francés to the Camino Portugués — ready to help even before you travel.
Years of experience on the Camino de Santiago
We have walked the route more than a dozen times and have been accompanying pilgrims since 2014 — we know every stage, every surprise and every detail that makes a difference on a self-guided itinerary.
Would you like to walk with us?
Discover our self-guided packages for the 2027 Holy Year: ready-made itineraries with accommodation booked and luggage transferred between stages, so you can walk at your own pace with the reassurance of someone who has walked the route 12 times.
- Self-guided itinerary
- Accommodation booked
- 24/7 assistance