How the app works
Explained briefly, step by step. No prior knowledge needed.
Contents
🏠 The start screen
🧭 On the way
📍 Place page: Services & Mass times
🚨 Emergency & help
🥾 My way today
🕊️ Spiritual: Mass on the Way
🗺️ The map
📍 Near me
📖 Posts
🚨 Alerts
🛂 Stamps and pilgrim passport
🐚 The pilgrim book
🔐 Pilgrim account and signing in
📷 Stamp photos and stamp archive
📔 Diary
↗ Sharing
📖 PDF and memory book
✉️ Contact and report form
📲 Get the app on your phone
🌐 Language and dark mode
🔒 Your data
ℹ️ Where the data comes from
🆕 What’s new
🏠 The start screen 🔗 Go to section →
When you open the app you see large tiles: Start page (the map), Posts & topics, Alerts, Contact & report form, On the way, Pilgrim book and this manual. Simply tap the tile you need.
At the top, in the row under the title, you see the date and small icons for the pages. The ✕ takes you back to the tiles from any page.
The sun or moon at the top right switches between light and dark. Next to it you choose the language.
🧭 On the way 🔗 Go to section →
The “On the way” tile opens a page with four fields:
Partners on the Way: businesses we recommend, with phone, place page and map. “Nearest first” sorts them by your location.
Stamp archive: the stamp photos of pilgrims. You can search by place or name.
Emergency & help: a big button for 112 and, with “Help near me”, the nearest pharmacy, doctor, ATM and bus or train. Your location is shown so you can tell it to 112. There is also “My emergency pass”: blood group, allergies, medication, emergency contact and documents such as an advance directive or power of attorney. Everything stays on your phone only, with a large emergency card and Spanish phrases.
My way today: weather, warnings, your stage and a link to services and Mass times, for your place or one you choose.
You still find Near me on the map.
Tip: tap your allergies and conditions and the emergency card shows the Spanish translation automatically. “Copy text” puts the whole pass on the clipboard, in Spanish and in your language.
📍 Place page: Services & Mass times 🔗 Go to section →
On the map, tap a place and then “Services & Mass times”. You see businesses such as accommodation, shops, pharmacy, doctor and ATM, plus Mass times, with phone and map.
With “Distance from the centre” you choose how far from the middle of the place businesses are shown.
At the very bottom, the previous place on the Way is on the left and the next one on the right. Tap one to open the neighbouring place, so you can page from place to place. “Close” at the top right takes you back to the app.
🚨 Emergency & help 🔗 Go to section →
At the top is a big “Call 112” button. 112 works throughout Spain, is free of charge and is answered in many languages.
“Help near me” shows your nearest place and the nearest pharmacy, doctor, ATM and bus stop, each with a call button. It also gives a Spanish sentence to read out or show, and your coordinates written out as Spanish numbers (“Latitud” is latitude, “Longitud” is longitude), so you can give them over the phone. Your phone must allow access to your location for this.
Below are more emergency numbers, for example 061, Guardia Civil 062 and police 091, with notes on language.
“My emergency pass”: name, blood group, allergies, medication, conditions, emergency contact and documents. Tap common allergies and conditions and the emergency card shows the Spanish translation automatically. “Copy text” puts everything on the clipboard. The pass stays on your phone only.
🥾 My way today 🔗 Go to section →
Here you see the weather for your place, current warnings along the Way, your stage, Mass times and holidays. Tap “Use my location” or choose a place from the list. Your stage is only shown if your phone allows access to your location.
🕊️ Spiritual: Mass on the Way 🔗 Go to section →
The “Spiritual” tile leads to the “Mass on the Way”. You can read it in German, English, Spanish, Galician and French and switch the language at the top. The Mass can be celebrated with or without a priest. The top shows today’s date, and on feast days the feast. The collect, readings, psalm, gospel, homily, prayer of the faithful and closing prayer change every day and are those of the feast on feast days. Under “Theme today” you can choose a different theme for today, for example “Comfort and farewell” or “Hope”. The choice only applies to this visit; the next day it is “Theme of the day” again. “Save as PDF” gives you today’s Mass for phone or tablet. The round arrow at the bottom right takes you back to the top.
Bible verse of the day: the second tile in “Spiritual” shows a verse every day. “Copy verse” takes it with you. Under “More verses” you choose a theme (for example comfort or way and guidance) and keep turning the page.
Saying of the day: the third tile in “Spiritual” shows a short thought for the way every day. As with the Bible verse you can copy it and choose a theme under “More sayings”.
Stage impulse: the fourth tile in “Spiritual” has three tabs: Easy, Medium and Hard. Tap the level that fits your stage for the day and read the impulse of the day. “Next impulse” turns the page and “Copy impulse” takes it with you. With “Draw a card” you draw a random impulse of the chosen level, like a daily card deck.
🗺️ The map 🔗 Go to section →
Tap “Map” at the top. Pinch with two fingers to zoom, drag with one finger to move. Places and businesses appear as you zoom in. Tap a place to see the weather, hostels, shops, pharmacy, doctor, ATM and bus. “Search a place …” takes you straight to a place.
📍 Near me 🔗 Go to section →
Tap “Near me”. The app asks whether it may use your location. It needs it only to show you what is around you and for stamps. If you say no, the rest of the app still works.
📖 Posts 🔗 Go to section →
Under “Posts” you find thoughts, photos and stories from the Camino. Tap a post to open it right in the app. In the “Source” row you choose where posts come from (blog, Substack, podcast, video, news or exclusive to the app), in the “Topic” row the subject. You can combine both; “All” shows everything again.
🚨 Alerts 🔗 Go to section →
Under “Alerts” you see wildfires (satellite data) and weather warnings along the routes. If something important is going on, a notice appears at the top. This does not replace official warnings. In an emergency: 112.
🛂 Stamps and pilgrim passport 🔗 Go to section →
You get a stamp when you tap “Near me” while you are in a place (within 700 m of the town centre). At partner businesses with a QR code you also get the stamp by scanning the code on the spot. All stamps are kept in the pilgrim passport.
🐚 The pilgrim book 🔗 Go to section →
The pilgrim book is a page of its own with five tabs:
Places: all places on your way. Places with a stamp are filled in.
Stamps: your stamps with date and time.
Pictures: your stamp photos.
Write: a new diary entry.
Read: your diary to page through, day by day with the arrows ◀ and ▶. For each day you see the stamps, pictures and notes.
Stamps, Pictures, Write and Read need a pilgrim account; Places works without one. The shell icon at the top of the row also opens your pilgrim book as a small window over the map.
🔐 Pilgrim account and signing in 🔗 Go to section →
With a pilgrim account your stamps, pictures and notes are safe even if your phone is lost. Enter your email address and tap the sign-in button. You receive a code by email, valid for 24 hours and usable once. There is no password.
On a new phone you sign in the same way with the same email address: you get a new code and everything is back. Each email address has only one account.
If the email does not arrive, check your spam folder or request a new code after a minute.
You can delete the account at any time. If there is no new stamp for 12 months, it is deleted automatically.
📷 Stamp photos and stamp archive 🔗 Go to section →
In the “Pictures” tab, tap “Photograph a stamp” and take a photo of a real stamp, for example from a hostel or church. Enter name and place. Please photograph only the stamp, no people.
The photo appears in your PDF and in the memory book and stays private. Only if you tick the box for the shared stamp archive do we check it and show it to everyone, with name and place but without your account. You can change the tick later and delete the photo at any time.
📔 Diary 🔗 Go to section →
In the “Write” tab you note down what you experienced, with text and a place. The notes are private and appear in your PDF and in the memory book.
With the tick “This experience may be used for books & articles” you allow us to use the note in our books and articles without naming your account or email address. Without the tick it stays entirely with you. You can withdraw the tick for each note later.
You read in the “Read” tab: with ◀ and ▶ you page through day by day.
↗ Sharing 🔗 Go to section →
Stamps, stamp photos and notes have a “Share” button. It creates an image card with a QR code to the app, which you can send via WhatsApp or Facebook, for example. On a computer the image is saved.
Nothing is published on the internet: only what you pass on yourself is shared. Posts can be shared too, as a link, QR code or image.
📖 PDF and memory book 🔗 Go to section →
Your pilgrim passport as a PDF is free: stamps with date and time, plus your stamp photos and notes.
The memory book is a single file to keep, with links to the places and stages. You get it at a fair price: the minimum amount is shown before payment, and you are welcome to give a little more. Payment is secure via Stripe, by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Bizum. We never see your card details.
✉️ Contact and report form 🔗 Go to section →
You find the form as a tile on the start screen. Choose at the top what it is about: path closed or dangerous, hostel or business closed, something else on the Way, contact, suggestion for improvement or a fault in the app.
Write briefly where and what. A reply address is optional; without it the message stays anonymous. We check everything and pass important things on to other pilgrims.
📲 Get the app on your phone 🔗
Tap the arrow-down symbol at the top right. It shows step by step how to put the app on your home screen. After that it opens like any other app.
🌐 Language and dark mode 🔗
At the top right you choose the language: German, English, Spanish, Galician or French. The moon button switches dark mode on and off.
🔒 Your data 🔗
Without an account your stamps stay only on your phone. With an account we store your email address, stamps, photos and notes on our server (IONOS).
Photos and notes are private unless you release them yourself with the respective tick. You can delete everything individually; deleting the account removes everything. The full privacy policy is at the bottom of the start page.
ℹ️ Where the data comes from 🔗
The map background and part of the place and business data come from the contributors of OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), the weather from Open-Meteo, warnings from AEMET via MeteoAlarm, fire detections from NASA (FIRMS). Opening times and details can change: when in doubt, please call.
🆕 What’s new 🔗
- Oct 12, 2026 · Update 176
Camino topics: posts are now listed in the order of the route (by the page slug) instead of by date. Ads: until a Hungarian ad exists, the English one runs; places can now have their own Hungarian link. - Oct 12, 2026 · Update 175
Hungarian: topics and Camino filters now also work for Hungarian articles that were already imported; the assignment is recalculated once automatically after the update. - Oct 12, 2026 · Update 174
Hungarian: the Hungarian articles now appear in the same topics as in the other languages (French Way, Fisterra–Muxía, Recommendations …), taken from the topic of the English counterpart. - Oct 12, 2026 · Update 173
Hungarian: the Hungarian articles from steffenpfeiffer.es are now taken into “Posts & topics”; the full sync and the diagnosis include Hungarian. - Oct 9, 2026 · Update 171
Holidays and festivals: now included are Galicia Day on 25 July, the local holidays of Santiago and the festivals of San Fermín (Pamplona), San Froilán (León), San Pedro (Burgos), San Bernabé (Logroño) and Santo Domingo de la Calzada. - Oct 9, 2026 · Update 170
Timetables: new Alsa bus connections between the places on the Camino Francés (Santiago, O Cebreiro, Villafranca, Ponferrada, Astorga, León, Burgos, Logroño and the places in between) as well as to and from Madrid-Barajas airport. The import now covers the whole validity of the file, with summer and winter timetables. - Oct 9, 2026 · Update 169
Hungarian (HU) is now complete: interface, help, legal notice, privacy policy and the Mass on the Way. The language is also chosen automatically when your browser is set to Hungarian. - Oct 8, 2026 · Update 165
Installation page: the Android guide now explains every step in detail, including the notices many phones show when downloading and installing (“file may harm your device”, “allow installation from this source”, Google Play Protect, manufacturer security notice), in all five languages. - Oct 8, 2026 · Update 164
Ads: reach by direction of travel. In the ad form you can set a location with a “lead” in stages: a hotel in Fisterra then appears, for example, from Sarria onwards, but no longer for pilgrims who have already left Fisterra behind. There is also “Also show at” (onward journey). The position comes from the last stamp on the phone; without a stamp the ad runs for everyone. Also in the CSV file (standort, vorlauf, weiter). - Oct 8, 2026 · Update 163
Ads: partner links (affiliate) lead out of the app and are now marked as such (“opens externally”). The placeholders {sub}, {ad} and {lang} can be used in the link so the partner programme can tell each ad and language apart. Set in the ad form and in the CSV file (column “extern”). - Oct 8, 2026 · Update 162
Ads: new form “looping clip” – a short MP4 (up to 15 seconds, 720p, no sound) that plays in a loop as soon as the ad is on screen. With “reduce motion” or data saver it starts only after a tap. It is uploaded in the ad form. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 161
Timetable PDF: validity notes no longer overlap the times, symbols no longer show as question marks, and a heading stays on the same page as its table. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 160
Timetables: connections to and from the airport are now highlighted with a blue frame. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 159
Ads: if an ad has no image, the app now takes the featured image of the page behind the target link (pages on steffenpfeiffer.es), when saving and when importing. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 158
Ads: each language can now have its own target link, in the form and in the CSV file. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 157
Editorial: ads can now be imported and exported as a CSV file (one row per ad and language), with preview and duplicate check. A template is included. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 156
Timetables: direct trips without intermediate stops can now be tapped too and show start, destination and a “direct trip” note. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 155
Place pages: below the timetables there is now a support note with amounts (€1.50 / 3 / 5), paid via Stripe. Switchable in the admin under “Payment”. - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 154
Timetables: tap a departure time to see every stop on that trip with times (for imported routes). - Oct 7, 2026 · Update 153
Admin, timetables: “Poster sheet” for Libre Calc – one tab per place, A4 landscape, ready to print and put up. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 152
Timetables: the PDF download now also works in the in-app reader. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 151
GTFS suggestions: new connection Fisterra – A Coruña (Arriva, line XG848024). - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 150
Timetables: in Spanish and Galician, Porto now reads “Oporto”. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 149
Admin, timetables: new “Dates” tab with your own reminders and automatic dates for when to fetch new timetable data. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 148
On the way: the “Bus timetables” tile now sits right below “Partners on the Way”. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 147
Home: the “On the way” tile now also mentions “bus timetables”, so they are easy to find. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 146
New: under “On the way” there is a “Bus timetables” tile. It lists all places with a timetable, sorted by Camino and with search. On the place page the timetable now comes first. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 145
Editorial: the timetable import remembers how long each file is valid. On the overview, the tile “Timetable files expiring” shows when a new file must be fetched (for example for the Xunta). - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 144
Editorial: in the timetable import the “Suggestions” now appear right at the top of the connections and are hard to miss. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 143
Editorial: the timetable import now has “Suggestions” with ready-made connections (Fisterra, Muxía, Santiago, Sarria, O Cebreiro, Ponferrada, Villafranca and others). A connection can be limited to one file, such as Xunta or Alsa. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 142
Editorial: the timetable import now also reads very large files with exception days (e.g. from Alsa) economically and enters the import date as the update date. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 141
Editorial: timetables can now be read from official timetable files (GTFS, e.g. Xunta de Galicia, Renfe). You set up connections such as “Santiago → Fisterra”, the app reads the file and enters the times by weekday. With a new file, simply import again; a fare you entered is kept. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 140
New: timetables. For places with bus or train connections the place page now has a “Timetables” symbol with departure and arrival times, operator and fare. You can also save the times as a PDF on your phone. First for Fisterra, Muxía and Santiago. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 139
Emergency: below the location buttons there is now a clear note that the location goes to your trusted contact and rescue services are always reached via 112. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 138
Emergency: after “Help near me” there is now “Send location to emergency contact” (SMS with location and map link to the number in your emergency pass) and “Share location”. You always send it yourself. The 112 call button sits right below. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 137
New: start screen. When the installed app opens, the new logo appears briefly (light and dark). The new icons are now shown everywhere, including where the old one was still cached. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 136
Editorial: the text editor now supports quotes, tables and YouTube videos. Videos only load after a tap, nothing is fetched from YouTube before. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 135
Editorial: the overview now has the button “Sync with the platform now” (fetch new posts at once) and “Full sync”. - Oct 6, 2026 · Update 134
New icon: the app has a new, friendlier symbol with the magnifying glass – on the home screen, in the browser tab and in the preview when sharing. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 132
Map: two places (A Pena, A Brea) were far off because of wrong coordinates and now sit at the right spot on the way. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 131
Sharing: new selection window with large buttons for WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, X, Pinterest, email and copy link – with a ready-made text and hashtags. It also works on a computer and applies to posts, places, stages, Bible verse and saying of the day. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 130
Sharing: places and stages now show the cover image and teaser of their page in WhatsApp, Facebook & co. instead of the logo. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 129
Google: the app now has a sitemap and preview data for search engines and social networks. Places and stages can be found in all five languages. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 128
Sharing: places and stages can now be shared – in the Way lists and in the map pop-ups. The link shows a preview in WhatsApp & co. and opens the map at the right spot in the app. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 127
On the way: new “Ways” tile. Each Way has its stages and places as separate lists, with place search and “On the map”. The English Way follows once its data is ready. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 126
Posts: new “Camino” filter row – posts can be separated by Camino Francés, Fisterra–Muxía or Camino Inglés and combined with source and topic. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 125
Editorial: ads can now also be booked for specific sources (blog, podcast, video, exclusive), in addition to topics. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 124
Posts & topics: new “Source” row above the topics (blog, Substack, podcast, video, news, exclusive). Both rows can be combined, and the ads keep running in between. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 123
New in the Mass feast calendar: Friday of Sorrows (the Friday before Palm Sunday), with which Holy Week begins in Fisterra. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 122
Fixed: new versions of scripts and styles now load immediately, so new features such as “Theme today” appear without detours. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 120
The Mass now has ten theme sets and the “Theme today” choice: if you like, pick a different theme for today. Feasts keep their priority when nothing is chosen. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 119
The stage impulse now has “Draw a card”: a random impulse of the chosen level. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 118
New: the “Stage impulse” under “Spiritual” with three tabs (easy, medium, hard), in five languages, to browse and copy. - Oct 5, 2026 · Update 116
New: the “Motivational saying of the day” under “Spiritual”, in five languages, with themes to browse and copy. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 115
New: the “Bible verse of the day” under “Spiritual”, in five languages, with themes to browse and copy. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 113
Editorial: the Mass texts can be imported and exported as JSON or CSV, with preview and duplicate check. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 112
Editorial: the feast calendar now shows past feasts as “over” and marks the next feast. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 111
Editorial: new “Mass” area for maintaining the daily texts in five languages. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 110
The Mass now shows the fitting texts every day, and those of the feast on feast days. Own entries are no longer possible. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 109
The Mass now knows by itself which day it is and picks the fitting set each day, or that of the feast. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 108
The feast calendar for Spain is now in place in the background: Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, Advent and many more feasts, up to 2032 and beyond. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 107
The Mass now follows the chosen app language straight away. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 106
New: the “Spiritual” tile with the “Mass on the Way” in five languages, with places for your own texts and a PDF. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 105
Substack articles and podcasts now appear in the app every three hours instead of every six. - Oct 4, 2026 · Update 104
New: the log “What’s new” in the manual. - Oct 3, 2026 · Update 103
Partners on the Way: tap a partner and see all details with a QR code in a popup. - Oct 3, 2026 · Update 102
The alerts load more reliably. - Oct 3, 2026 · Update 101
In the manual, a “Go to section” button next to each heading takes you straight into the app. - Oct 3, 2026 · Update 100
On the place page you can page to the previous and next place on the Way. The manual has direct links, paging and a back-to-top button. - Oct 3, 2026 · Update 99
In “Help near me” your coordinates are written out as Spanish numbers, to give over the phone. - Oct 3, 2026 · Update 98
“Help near me” names your place and gives you a Spanish sentence for the emergency call. - Oct 3, 2026 · Update 97
Emergency pass: tap common allergies and conditions and the Spanish translation appears automatically. Plus a “Copy text” button. - Update 96
New: the emergency pass with blood group, allergies, medication, emergency contact and documents. Everything stays on your phone only. - Update 95
Emergency numbers for Spain with notes on language. - Update 94
New “On the way” tile with Partners on the Way, stamp archive, emergency & help and my way today. - Update 93
More detailed manual in five languages with a table of contents. - Update 92
The pilgrim book is now a page of its own with tabs for places, stamps, pictures, diary and reading. - Update 91
Sharing: stamps, photos and notes as an image card with a QR code. - Update 90
The sign-in code by e-mail now arrives reliably. - Update 89
A clear message if the code e-mail cannot be sent. - Update 88
Diary: notes from the Way in the pilgrim account, with PDF and keepsake book. - Update 87
New home screen with tiles and extended contact form.