A faith-infused film from Hallmark Channel and DaySpring, JOURNEY TO YOU premieres Saturday, April 19, at 8pm ET/7CT.
Solal Bellaiche, Erik Valdez, Erin Cahill, Pep Tosar, Isabelle Bres, Credit: ©2025 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Manu Sevillano
Starring Erin Cahill (Monica) and Eric Valdez (Luis) the film follows two people walking the Camino de Santiago, seeking help for their present life and answers for their future. Along the way, they discover a deeper faith, unexpected healing, and the power of love.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Camino de Santiago—the Way of Saint James—it is a network of pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwest Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried. The Camino was created and established in the beginning of the 9th century. By the late 10th century onward pilgrims began followimg its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth. Thousands of pilgrims have walked the Camino; according to American Pilgrims on the Camino, over 58,000 people walked the Camino in 2024.
About JOURNEY TO YOU
As a nurse practitioner in an emergency room, Monica (Erin Cahill) has given her all to her job and prides herself on her track record of not going on vacation. She is certain she is a shoo-in for a promotion, but is shocked when another person is hired. Monica’s new boss has a different perspective on the situation and encourages her to take some time away as it will help invigorate her. At her mother’s urging, Monica heads to Spain to join a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, just as her parents had done many years ago. Equipped with the final gift she received from her late father—a devotional journal featuring scripture passages and daily prompts to help guide her and clear her mind—Monica begins to appreciate the slower, more deliberate pace of the Camino. She forges relationships with her fellow pilgrims including Luis (Eric Valdez), a divorced father traveling with his father and his teen son. As their Camino progresses, Monica finds herself on a journey of self-discovery that ultimately brings her closer to God and helps her realize what she really wants in life. And as Monica reaches the emotional end point of this trek, she learns something surprising about her parents’ own pilgrimage that will have a lasting effect on her as she steps into her post-Camino life.
The production values of JOURNEY TO YOU were quite good, especially the sets, as they were filmed in Spain with many scenes on the actual Camino de Santiago.
The acting was strong. Cahill and Valdez were believable as two adults seeking answers for themselves and their families.
The script had both strengths and weaknesses.
As a Hallmark film, it has the typical “strong businesswoman seeks life away from the 9-to-5; she goes to another place where she meets a handsome man; they are attracted to each other, until something happens and their budding relationship is strained; then something else happens to resolve their problem, bring them back together, and they look forward to living happily-ever-after. This film had this in spades. Monica and Luis’ romance was squeaky clean; beyond a few kisses, there was nothing that would give parents concern over their children watching it.
Beyond the sights in Spain and on the Camino, it included many reasons pilgrims walk the pilgrimage, as well as how people who live in the towns and villages along the Camino will help the pilgrims, providing food and lodging. The script had a number of strong messages that will resonate with viewers, including:
Monica’s mother told her, “All the good stuff happens while you are on the journey.”
Monica’s late father said that he, “always trusted the journey, even when He didn’t know where God was leading.”
“Keep walking, step-by-step, knowing I’ll never be alone.”
The script’s weakness had to do with the anthropomorphism of the Camino itself. The script treated the Camino not as a spiritual journey, but as an entity that directed the pilgrims and answered their questions. God was mentioned a few times, but with the exceptions of several crosses, Jesus was never mentioned.
Rated TV-G and with a running 1 hour, 30 minutes, JOURNEY TO YOU is a sweet family-friendly story of faith, healing, and love
JOURNEY TO YOU premieres Saturday, April 19, at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will stream the next day on Hallmark+. For additional airings on Hallmark Channel after the premiere, viewers can visit the movie’s page at HallmarkChannel.com.
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