---
title: "Where to donate your Camino gear in Santiago"
description: "Poles, boots and gear you no longer want to carry: the places in Santiago that give them a second life — San Martín Pinario, Cáritas and Pilgrim House."
url: https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/donate-gear
locale: en
---

# Where to donate your Camino gear in Santiago

On arrival

Trekking poles can't board the plane cabin, the boots have given all they had, and half your backpack turns out to be surplus. Before it all ends up in the albergue bin: there are people in Santiago who'll give it a second life.

![Mochila de peregrino con vieira junto a un mojón del Camino, grabado dorado](https://santiago.es/img/illus/mochila.jpg)

[© santiago.es · Ilustración](https://santiago.es)

By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author) · updated 11 September 2026

Updated 18 August 2026.

It happens every day at the Pilgrim's Office and in albergues across the city: perfectly good gear abandoned because it doesn't fit, weighs too much, or airline rules won't allow it in the cabin. Most of it ends up in the bin, which is a shame, because Santiago has small volunteer-run circuits that collect that gear and put it in the hands of people who need it — pilgrims starting their route, or people in the city going through hard times. These are the drop-off points we know of, with one general caveat: they're small, changeable initiatives, so check on the spot before turning up with your whole pack.

## Poles: San Martín Pinario and the Pilgrim's Office

Poles are the clearest case: officially airlines don't allow them in the cabin, so you either check them in or they stay in Santiago (if you are still deciding whether to take them at all, see [the packing guide](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/packing#trekking-poles-yes-or-no)). At the **San Martín Pinario** guesthouse next to the Cathedral there's a pole collection run by the Camino Francés federation of associations: as their own volunteers explain on the pilgrim forum, poles are sent back to route starting points — the Pamplona pilgrim office and albergues in Estella, Los Arcos, Navarrete, Burgos and Ponferrada — for other walkers to reuse. Some pilgrims leave a note attached for the next owner, a small tradition that has been catching on.

The evergreen plan B is the **Pilgrim Reception Office**: dozens of poles are left there every day by people flying home the same afternoon. It's not an organised programme, but poles in good condition tend to find a new owner fast. Some albergues also keep a box of their own: pilgrims confirm that **Santiago KM.0**, one of [Santiago's best albergues](https://santiago.es/en/where-to-stay/best-albergues), in the old town, has a pole-donation box.

## Clothing and boots: the Cáritas box on Rúa de San Roque

For technical clothing and footwear in good condition, the drop-off pilgrims themselves mention most is the **red Cáritas donation box** on **Rúa de San Roque**, next to the A Bodeguilla de San Roque bar, five minutes from the old town. Clothes go into Cáritas's social circuit, so the standard for any clothing donation applies: clean and fit to be worn by someone else. Boots destroyed by 800 km aren't a donation, they're waste — those go in the rubbish. If you're choosing the next pair, we counted what pilgrims recommend in [what footwear to take on the Camino](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/footwear).

## Gear in general: Pilgrim House

**Pilgrim House** (Rúa Nova, 19), the international welcome centre for pilgrims, is the most complete of the three, and in August 2026 they confirmed to us in writing what they do and don't take. **Yes:** hiking poles, shoes and clothes in decent condition and fit for pilgrim use, sleeping bags, microfibre towels, ponchos, unused medical supplies and backpacks, plus general gear. **No:** used toiletries, used medical supplies or water bottles.

What they take in they wash — everything except shoes — and they make no repairs: they only keep what can be used again. And here's the part almost nobody mentions: the gear doesn't go somewhere else, it stays there in stock **for the next pilgrim to take**. If you arrive without a poncho or something of yours has given up, you can walk in and pick one up exactly as you'd walk in to leave one. When they end up with a surplus of clothes and shoes, that does go on to organisations working with homeless people.

Two practical points. First: collection depends on their capacity, and there are times when they're full and have to turn donations away, so drop in and ask first. Second, and we had this wrong: **they do run a left-luggage service**, but drop-off has to be in person. They don't accept parcels or shipments — storage space is limited and their opening hours don't work for receiving deliveries.

Pilgrim House opening hours (confirmed by them)

They open from **March to November or December**, depending on the year, **10:00 to 18:00** on **Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday**. **They close on Wednesdays and Sundays.** That explains the pilgrims who report turning up on Rúa Nova twice and finding it shut: if your only free day in Santiago falls on a Wednesday or a Sunday, San Martín Pinario and Cáritas are the fallback. If you're still deciding [how many nights to stay in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/how-many-nights), it's worth building in enough slack to catch Pilgrim House open.

The alternative: ship it home

If the gear has real value — good boots at half-life, an expensive sleeping bag — it makes more sense to ship it than donate it: Correos handles backpack and suitcase shipping from around €21 with its Camino service. Details in [the guide to arriving in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/arriving). And if you're heading straight for the station or the airport afterwards, see [how to leave Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/leaving-santiago).

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I take trekking poles on the plane?**

Officially no: they're on the list of items not allowed in the cabin and security can confiscate them, although some pilgrims report getting blunt-tipped poles through. They travel fine in checked luggage. If you're flying carry-on only, don't count on your luck: donate them in Santiago before heading to the airport.

**Where do I donate poles in Santiago?**

At the San Martín Pinario guesthouse, where a Camino Francés federation collection sends them back to route starting points (Pamplona, Estella, Burgos, Ponferrada…). You can also leave them at the Pilgrim Reception Office, where they usually find a new owner quickly, or in the donation box at the Santiago KM.0 albergue.

**Where do I donate clothes and hiking boots?**

In the red Cáritas donation box on Rúa de San Roque, next to A Bodeguilla de San Roque. Only clothing and footwear that's clean and fit to be worn by someone else.

**What does Pilgrim House take, and when is it open?**

They take hiking poles, shoes and clothes in decent condition, sleeping bags, microfibre towels, ponchos, unused medical supplies, backpacks and general gear; they don't take used toiletries, used medical supplies or water bottles. They open from March to November or December, 10:00 to 18:00, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and close on Wednesdays and Sundays. They do have a left-luggage service, but drop-off must be in person: they don't accept parcels.

**What about gear that's too worn to donate?**

Anything broken or worn out goes in the appropriate bin (not the yellow recycling one — textiles have their own collection containers around the city). Donating unusable gear just shifts the problem onto the volunteers who receive it.

## Keep reading

**[Arriving in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/arriving)** — On arrival — The Compostela, the pilgrim's mass and the embrace of the Apostle, step by step. — Read the guide

**[The Compostela certificate](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/compostela-certificate)** — The certificate — Requirements, stamps and where to collect it at the Pilgrim Reception Office. — Read the guide

**[Camino de Santiago guide](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago)** — The Camino — Routes, stages, statistics and everything about the final stretch into Santiago. — Read the guide