Optimus Tours

Who they are

Optimus Tours is the brand of Optimus Tours S.L., a wholesale and retail travel agency registered in Galicia under number XG-764. It began, according to its website, as a small guided-tour company in Santiago de Compostela; customers asked what else to do in Galicia and it gradually published a selection of activities that the team discovered on its own trips. Today it sells tours in around ten destinations, such as A Coruña, Vigo, Pontevedra, Asturias, Bilbao, Porto, Lisbon or Rome, but its base and its own tours remain in Santiago. It says it removes from its catalogue any activity whose average customer rating falls below 9 out of 10.

What they do in Santiago

The bulk of its offer is tours of the historic centre and the cathedral. It organises the guided visit to the Cathedral Museum and the church, with the option of entering the Portico of Glory: it covers Master Mateo's stone choir, the library, the Chapel of Relics, the cloister, the central nave, the ambulatory and the transept, and lasts 1 hour 40 minutes, or 2 hours 15 with the Portico. It includes an official tourist guide, museum tickets without queuing and a reduced rate for over-65s, pilgrims and accredited students. It also has a historic-centre tour with an official guide, tours combining city, museum, cathedral and rooftops, and several free tours (of the city, of mysteries and legends, and of the Templars and the Camino) that the website advertises from €0.

Outside Santiago, the Finisterre Express excursion covers in about nine hours Muros, the Ézaro waterfall, Fisterra and its lighthouse, and Muxía with the sanctuary of the Virgen da Barca, with transport, a guide in Spanish and English and travel insurance included. It leaves from the Pilar chapel, in Santiago. For private groups and agencies it prepares tailor-made private tours.

Meeting point and rules

Tours in Santiago leave from the Praza do Obradoiro, in front of the cathedral. The guide carries an orange umbrella; it is best to arrive five minutes early. In the museum and the Portico, pets, large backpacks and walking sticks are not allowed, and the cathedral visit is not adapted for people with reduced mobility. Places sell out easily, especially in season, so they recommend booking in advance.

Bookings and languages

You book and pay on its website, which is in Spanish and English; they answer by person, not a bot. The cathedral visits are in Spanish, with some departures in English, and the Fisterra excursion is bilingual. The website does not publish its cancellation terms in the listings, so it is worth checking them when you book.