"Best experience" villages along Camino Frances

[Trish MacGregor]

Hi there everyone. I'm walking CF in September/October and taking my time - 10 - 15k a day. I'd prefer to stay in small villages along the way where possible and would love to know your thoughts on the "not to be missed" villages along the way that made your Camino so special. Cheers, Trish.

 

[happy dog]

I am walking same time. Hope to leave around Sept 23 and start at SJPP. Same plan of about 15 miles a day. What day do you plan to start?

 

[AshaDasi]

Hi there everyone. I'm walking CF in September/October and taking my time - 10 - 15k a day. I'd prefer to stay in small villages along the way where possible and would love to know your thoughts on the "not to be missed" villages along the way that made your Camino so special. Cheers, Trish.

Hi Trish, I especially liked Puenta la Reina, Estella and the stretch to Villamajor de Monjardin was just amazing. Most villages are so pretty and quiet. A few are a bit run down, but you'll amble through those, anyway. Belorado and Castrojeriz were also memorable and I loved Astorga (I'm not sure if it counts as a village though). There are lots! Its hard to say. You'll get a feel as you walk, and you'll enjoy it. Buen camino!

 

[amancio]

so many!!!

Torres del Río
Navarrete
Bercianos del Real Camino
Hospital de Órbigo
Rabanal del Camino
Molinaseca
Cacabelos
Fonfría
Airexe

 

[StuartM]

San Xulian. The bar/albergue is run by a crazy little man. The walls are covered in pics of his travels when he was young, including some really old Camino shots. He was a bit of an adventurer and the bar is incredibly cosy on a cold day. Lovely village too.

 

[Jabaldo]

Hey Trish
My wife and I will be on the trail when you are. We leaver SJPP on Sept. 17, 2014. Hope you find what you might be looking for. I will be out there. See you along the way.

 

[domigee]

Redecilla del camino, a few km after Grañon.

 

[george.g]

Foncebadon during a thunderstorm !

 

[Magwood]

I absolutely loved the tiny stone built village of Santa Catalina de Samoza, and really enjoyed exploring the pretty streets. It will also remain well and truly ingrained in my memory as the starting point for my favourite walking day of the camino Frances, albeit in wet and windy weather, which included our stop at Cruz del Ferro and the beautiful descent into the charming town of Molinaseca. It was our longest day at 37km, but I was hardly aware of the distance because the surrounding countryside was so beautiful.

.....Camino Frances with my daughter: http://magwood.wordpress.com

 

[amancio]

Redecilla del camino, a few km after Grañon.

That, to me, is the most unpleasant experience ever in the camino... the owners of the only bar in town are VERY RUDE. As in really really really rude. Nasty people.

 

[domigee]

Ohhhh! Just goes to show there is no such thing as 'best' or 'worst' . It is all subjective...
We had the best time there, it is one of my most cherished memories of the camino. I even debated whether to share it or not and i thought '
yeah, I'm a pilgrim. i share! '

 

[scruffy1]

Cirauqui
Boadilla because of En El Camino albergue
Herrerias nice tiny place with wonderful albergue
El Burgo Ranero for sunset over the frog concert ribeting happily in their pond plus an adobe albergue.

 

[jmcarp]

Some of our best albergue memories were those with the fewest amenities:
Grañon: Everyone sleeps on mats on the floor; showers were cold, but the Pilgrim's Mass in the church, the communal meal, and the meditation service in the choir loft were fantastic. The local pharmacist's husband drove us back to Santo Domingo to his personal dentist, then waited while the dentist repaired a tooth my wife had broken, and drove us back to Grañon, saving us several hours of back-tracking and getting us back on the Camino by noon.
San Anton: The tiny albergue built into the ruins of the convent; no electricity, no hot water, but again the communal meal was great, and the entertainment provided by Jose Manuel, the hospitalero, was fantastic.

Other memorable albergues in small villages include Villamayor de Monjardin (Hogar Monjardin), Vilaria de la Rioja (Acacio y Orietta), Rabe de los Calzados (Liberanos Domine), Villares de Orbigo (Albergue Villares), Rabanal (Gaucelmo), and Vilacha (Casa Banderas). The common thread in all these albergues is that they are all in samll villages, all privately operated or by associations, and with the exception of Gaucelmo in Rabanal, all offer excellent communal meals, which greatly contribute to meeting and fellowship among pilgrims. While Gaucelmo does not offer a communal meal, they do (or did when we were there) serve a British-style afternoon tea in the garden behind the albergue.

Buen Camino,
Jim

 

[karenhypes]

That, to me, is the most unpleasant experience ever in the camino... the owners of the only bar in town are VERY RUDE. As in really really really rude. Nasty people.

Unfortunately I have to agree that Redicilla is to be avoided if you can. We have walked 108 days on Caminos and the ONLY negative experience we had was at the bar in Redicilla. The Albergue was fine but the only place to eat was the bar on the main street. Stop in Granon!!!! Dayton

 

[Ladybird]

Hontanas, - great albergues, municipal swimming pool, and a couple of bars, only one road in and out of the village, lovely old church in the centre of village.

 

[Icacos]

Villafranca del Bierzo is more of a small town than a village, but it seemed very interesting. Unfortunately, due to extreme weariness that day, I was unable to explore any of it. It’s built on the side of a steep hill. If my memory serves me correctly, peregrinos enter the town at the high point and descend all the way, before crossing a river and exiting the town. Even if you don’t plan to overnight there, you may want to allow a bit of time to explore.

Beware of cars speeding up those steep hills …..

Buen Camino.

 

[Trish MacGregor]

I am walking same time. Hope to leave around Sept 23 and start at SJPP. Same plan of about 15 miles a day. What day do you plan to start?

Hi there .... I'm starting from Roncesvalles or Pamplona (not decided yet) on 7th September. I'll be slow so maybe you'll catch me up !!

 

[Trish MacGregor]

Hi Trish, I especially liked Puenta la Reina, Estella and the stretch to Villamajor de Monjardin was just amazing. Most villages are so pretty and quiet. A few are a bit run down, but you'll amble through those, anyway. Belorado and Castrojeriz were also memorable and I loved Astorga (I'm not sure if it counts as a village though). There are lots! Its hard to say. You'll get a feel as you walk, and you'll enjoy it. Buen camino!

Hi there ... thanks for your thoughts. Will make a note of all of them! Cheers, Trish.

 

[Trish MacGregor]

so many!!!

Torres del Río
Navarrete
Bercianos del Real Camino
Hospital de Órbigo
Rabanal del Camino
Molinaseca
Cacabelos
Fonfría
Airexe

Thanks for all your suggestions. Cheers, Trish.

 

[Trish MacGregor]

San Xulian. The bar/albergue is run by a crazy little man. The walls are covered in pics of his travels when he was young, including some really old Camino shots. He was a bit of an adventurer and the bar is incredibly cosy on a cold day. Lovely village too.

Thanks for your suggestions Stuart. Cheers, Trish

 

[Trish MacGregor]

Some of our best albergue memories were those with the fewest amenities:
Grañon: Everyone sleeps on mats on the floor; showers were cold, but the Pilgrim's Mass in the church, the communal meal, and the meditation service in the choir loft were fantastic. The local pharmacist's husband drove us back to Santo Domingo to his personal dentist, then waited while the dentist repaired a tooth my wife had broken, and drove us back to Grañon, saving us several hours of back-tracking and getting us back on the Camino by noon.
San Anton: The tiny albergue built into the ruins of the convent; no electricity, no hot water, but again the communal meal was great, and the entertainment provided by Jose Manuel, the hospitalero, was fantastic.

Other memorable albergues in small villages include Villamayor de Monjardin (Hogar Monjardin), Vilaria de la Rioja (Acacio y Orietta), Rabe de los Calzados (Liberanos Domine), Villares de Orbigo (Albergue Villares), Rabanal (Gaucelmo), and Vilacha (Casa Banderas). The common thread in all these albergues is that they are all in samll villages, all privately operated or by associations, and with the exception of Gaucelmo in Rabanal, all offer excellent communal meals, which greatly contribute to meeting and fellowship among pilgrims. While Gaucelmo does not offer a communal meal, they do (or did when we were there) serve a British-style afternoon tea in the garden behind the albergue.

Buen Camino,
Jim

Thank you Jim for all your suggestions .... and thanks to everyone for your input. Hopefully everyone's suggestions will make my Camino as special as yours. Cheers, Trish x

 

[Olivares]

That, to me, is the most unpleasant experience ever in the camino... the owners of the only bar in town are VERY RUDE. As in really really really rude. Nasty people.

I stopped at Redecilla del Camino hoping to see their beautiful baptismal font which I had read so much about. Unfortunately, the church was closed. A local man who saw me when I pulled on the (closed) church door told me to wait a minute. He got out of the car and knocked in 2-3 houses until he found the neighbor who had the church key. They opened the church for me and for other pilgrims, never once hurrying us in our sightseeing. Some of the nicest people I encountered in the Camino.

I relate this experience in case somebody reads the description above ("Nasty people") and mistakenly labels all folks in Redecilla del Camino as such. That would be incorrect and unfair.

 

[NoQ]

There are so many wonderful villages, but if I had to pick one that was a bit different I would go for Zabaldiko, which is before Pamplona. Wonderful, peaceful setting with a church where pilgrims are encouraged to go up to the belfry to ring the bell. Very nice albergue with some of the best food on the Camino and the people of the village make pilgrims very welcome. It's well worth staying here for those that do not want to stop at the main book stage day end points.

 

[whariwharangi]

... Ciruena ...

I think it was the 'se vende' signs that really got to me. It was as if they dressed the whole town for a festival ... yet it was every day.

Though it might have been the golf course ...

Special.

 

[corneliab]

Hermanillos de la Calzada, f

 

[corneliab]

If only for the wonderful little shopkeeper

 

[Olivares]

I have to write about the farmer in Irotz who left a huge bucket of beautiful cheries (cerezas) at a bench in front of his house for pilgrims to take and share in. It became a break spot and soon enough a very nice camaraderie was taking place. He actually came back to refilled and you could tell how pleased he was upon seeing all this pilgrims partaking on the fruit of his labor. A simple act of kindness yet so powerful that years later it still warms my heart just thinking about it.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The fate of a beach in Thailand, when it became too popular. Could the Camino Frances suffer a similar fate?


By Robert Foyle Hunwick
Welcome to Koh Phangan … I guess. The host of tuk-tuk drivers and solicitors who await the tourist ferry-load arriving every hour make no mention of the actual island. It’s all about the party. Or rather, parties. Every night.

The next greeting is a giant billboard that warns, “MARIJUANA AND MAGIC MUSHROOMS ARE ILLEGAL IN THAILAND.” Bottom-right is a photograph intended to terrify anyone fresh off the boat: a white-haired foreigner, eyes blacked out, seated before a bunch of cops. Oddly, one policeman flashes a sinister grin.

Minutes later, our minivan filled with backpackers bounces down the 10-kilometer road toward Haad Rin, where the party happens. Most passengers are carrying coffin-sized luggage and look weary. Where’s a copy of the Daily Mail with the latest about some dead Brit? These kids surely need to be warned.

Koh Phangan’s Full Moon Party long ago lost its original innocence, devolving into a mess of drunken foreigners cramming onto a once-beautiful beach to celebrate nothing more than the party itself. But in recent years, things have gotten much worse. There have been rapes, fatal accidents, suicides, and gang-related murders. “In the nine months I lived there, one guy I admired hung himself, while another died drunk-driving his motorbike,” a former expat told me. Meanwhile, the local environment has been decimated. In fact, one’s first taste of the island pleasures that await can be found in the water itself, which glistens with oil and plastic.

Yet most visitors are blasé about it. “If you’re a girl walking down the beach, you get this all the time,” a British voice in the minivan drawls to her Danish companion, making a firm, pinching motion. “My friend gets drunk and throws up … then she’s fine again,” another brays cheerfully.

It’s nearly 3 o’clock in the afternoon, hours before action time, where I might find, as a disgusted Mail reported, “naked couples bobbing up and down in the water,” a “sordid scene … lit by a beautiful, white full moon,” “a sign saying ‘F*** me,’ ” and “[h]ard drugs.”

This, supposedly, is the best party in Asia.

It wasn’t always like this. The origins of the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, which is about 90 percent dense jungle with some gorgeous beaches, are unclear. “The Full-Moon Party started in 1987 or 1988, nobody really knows,” the island’s official guidebook unhelpfully notes, and almost everyone on Koh Phangan has an equally vague explanation for why 30,000 people converge here every month.

The myth is that a farewell party for a dozen tourists somehow mutated into a phenomenon that’s now the island’s virtual raison d’être. The facts are less tidy, but more interesting. They reach back to the end of the Cold War, where on a remote island, flower-power idealists with Indian monikers muttered about Shiva over some bongos. The waves then were said to sparkle with phosphorescence under a blue moonlight. (Thirty years later, phosphorescence sells for a buck a bottle and no one cares about Vishnu.)

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...d_increasingly.html?google_editors_picks=true

 

[Icacos]

The fate of a beach in Thailand, when it became too popular. Could the Camino Frances suffer a similar fate?


By Robert Foyle Hunwick
Welcome to Koh Phangan … I guess. The host of tuk-tuk drivers and solicitors who await the tourist ferry-load arriving every hour make no mention of the actual island. It’s all about the party. Or rather, parties. Every night.

The next greeting is a giant billboard that warns, “MARIJUANA AND MAGIC MUSHROOMS ARE ILLEGAL IN THAILAND.” Bottom-right is a photograph intended to terrify anyone fresh off the boat: a white-haired foreigner, eyes blacked out, seated before a bunch of cops. Oddly, one policeman flashes a sinister grin.

Minutes later, our minivan filled with backpackers bounces down the 10-kilometer road toward Haad Rin, where the party happens. Most passengers are carrying coffin-sized luggage and look weary. Where’s a copy of the Daily Mail with the latest about some dead Brit? These kids surely need to be warned.

Koh Phangan’s Full Moon Party long ago lost its original innocence, devolving into a mess of drunken foreigners cramming onto a once-beautiful beach to celebrate nothing more than the party itself. But in recent years, things have gotten much worse. There have been rapes, fatal accidents, suicides, and gang-related murders. “In the nine months I lived there, one guy I admired hung himself, while another died drunk-driving his motorbike,” a former expat told me. Meanwhile, the local environment has been decimated. In fact, one’s first taste of the island pleasures that await can be found in the water itself, which glistens with oil and plastic.

Yet most visitors are blasé about it. “If you’re a girl walking down the beach, you get this all the time,” a British voice in the minivan drawls to her Danish companion, making a firm, pinching motion. “My friend gets drunk and throws up … then she’s fine again,” another brays cheerfully.

It’s nearly 3 o’clock in the afternoon, hours before action time, where I might find, as a disgusted Mail reported, “naked couples bobbing up and down in the water,” a “sordid scene … lit by a beautiful, white full moon,” “a sign saying ‘F*** me,’ ” and “[h]ard drugs.”

This, supposedly, is the best party in Asia.

It wasn’t always like this. The origins of the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, which is about 90 percent dense jungle with some gorgeous beaches, are unclear. “The Full-Moon Party started in 1987 or 1988, nobody really knows,” the island’s official guidebook unhelpfully notes, and almost everyone on Koh Phangan has an equally vague explanation for why 30,000 people converge here every month.

The myth is that a farewell party for a dozen tourists somehow mutated into a phenomenon that’s now the island’s virtual raison d’être. The facts are less tidy, but more interesting. They reach back to the end of the Cold War, where on a remote island, flower-power idealists with Indian monikers muttered about Shiva over some bongos. The waves then were said to sparkle with phosphorescence under a blue moonlight. (Thirty years later, phosphorescence sells for a buck a bottle and no one cares about Vishnu.)

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...d_increasingly.html?google_editors_picks=true

This is a very sobering story. Thank goodness the albergues kick everyone out first thing in the morning.

 

[Camino2014]

Hi there everyone. I'm walking CF in September/October and taking my time - 10 - 15k a day. I'd prefer to stay in small villages along the way where possible and would love to know your thoughts on the "not to be missed" villages along the way that made your Camino so special. Cheers, Trish.

Hi Trish,

I'm a little less than halfway through my first Camino, but so far I've especially enjoyed the following villages:

Estella (leafy plazas and history galore)
Los Arcos (THE. CHURCH.)
Cirauqui (medieval charm)
Lorca (quaint beyond belief)
Mañeru (beautiful surroundings)
Viscarret (I just loved the pintxos tbh)
Azofra (love the tranquility!!)
Grañón (BEST albergue ever!!)
Navarrete (adorable town!)
Etc. etc. etc.....

Because I started in Lourdes (an extra week which I recommend to all!!), I'll go ahead and include some of the villages I loved there:

Lourdes (obviously)
Betharram (monastery)
Arudy (father Pierre is AWESOME)
Mifaget (really ancient crypt)
Oloron Sainte Marie (nice small city)
L'Hôpital Saint Blaise (AMAZING)
Bussunarits-Sarrasquette (cutest little church)
Saint Jean le Vieux (basque charm)

Honestly, each village has it's own uniqueness, even the ugliest of towns. I'm in a pretty dismal town right now, but the owners of our albergue are quite generous and it makes all the difference! Don't go with any expectations, always look for the positive, and you will LOVE your Camino!

 

[thetravellingpen]

The fate of a beach in Thailand, when it became too popular. Could the Camino Frances suffer a similar fate?


By Robert Foyle Hunwick
Welcome to Koh Phangan … I guess. The host of tuk-tuk drivers and solicitors who await the tourist ferry-load arriving every hour make no mention of the actual island. It’s all about the party. Or rather, parties. Every night.

The next greeting is a giant billboard that warns, “MARIJUANA AND MAGIC MUSHROOMS ARE ILLEGAL IN THAILAND.” Bottom-right is a photograph intended to terrify anyone fresh off the boat: a white-haired foreigner, eyes blacked out, seated before a bunch of cops. Oddly, one policeman flashes a sinister grin.

Minutes later, our minivan filled with backpackers bounces down the 10-kilometer road toward Haad Rin, where the party happens. Most passengers are carrying coffin-sized luggage and look weary. Where’s a copy of the Daily Mail with the latest about some dead Brit? These kids surely need to be warned.

Koh Phangan’s Full Moon Party long ago lost its original innocence, devolving into a mess of drunken foreigners cramming onto a once-beautiful beach to celebrate nothing more than the party itself. But in recent years, things have gotten much worse. There have been rapes, fatal accidents, suicides, and gang-related murders. “In the nine months I lived there, one guy I admired hung himself, while another died drunk-driving his motorbike,” a former expat told me. Meanwhile, the local environment has been decimated. In fact, one’s first taste of the island pleasures that await can be found in the water itself, which glistens with oil and plastic.

Yet most visitors are blasé about it. “If you’re a girl walking down the beach, you get this all the time,” a British voice in the minivan drawls to her Danish companion, making a firm, pinching motion. “My friend gets drunk and throws up … then she’s fine again,” another brays cheerfully.

It’s nearly 3 o’clock in the afternoon, hours before action time, where I might find, as a disgusted Mail reported, “naked couples bobbing up and down in the water,” a “sordid scene … lit by a beautiful, white full moon,” “a sign saying ‘F*** me,’ ” and “[h]ard drugs.”

This, supposedly, is the best party in Asia.

It wasn’t always like this. The origins of the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, which is about 90 percent dense jungle with some gorgeous beaches, are unclear. “The Full-Moon Party started in 1987 or 1988, nobody really knows,” the island’s official guidebook unhelpfully notes, and almost everyone on Koh Phangan has an equally vague explanation for why 30,000 people converge here every month.

The myth is that a farewell party for a dozen tourists somehow mutated into a phenomenon that’s now the island’s virtual raison d’être. The facts are less tidy, but more interesting. They reach back to the end of the Cold War, where on a remote island, flower-power idealists with Indian monikers muttered about Shiva over some bongos. The waves then were said to sparkle with phosphorescence under a blue moonlight. (Thirty years later, phosphorescence sells for a buck a bottle and no one cares about Vishnu.)

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...d_increasingly.html?google_editors_picks=true

I live on Koh Samui, neighbouring island. It's a pity that the whole of Koh Phangan is painted with the same brush as full moon party - as that's one beach, for one night of the month. We own a boat charter company and do private charters all around koh Phangan, and there are some amazing bays - Thong Nai Pan for example, and we take guests snorkelling at Koh Ma, which is lovely! But agreed, the full moon revellers are a nightmare! And when the ferry brings them back to Samui... you don't want to be driving past, as they are still drunk and stagger in front of your car!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I hope you will go with an open mind and no lists at all, aside from maybe a guidebook. Seeking "the best" of everything is how consumers go shopping. The camino is an entirely different sort of economy. The best things and places happen when you are not looking for them, and especially when you have no expectations.
Everyone talks about "walking your own camino," but how does that happen if you do that with everyone else's "best and worst" lists?

 

[siseale94]

Navarrete, Viana and Los Arcos were three of my favorites. All had very good food and wine.

 

[Diefenbaker]

Hontanas was my favourite village too. I stayed in the small Albergue above the supermarket/café which was lovely. Seated outside the café I could watch the two women that ran the Albergue opposite shepherding any pilgrims that walked down the hill into their building and it was really comical to watch them, especially when the pilgrim didn't want to stop in the village. Later I watched them literally take 10 min's to help someone park his car in the church car park when he could quite easily have done it himself in 30 seconds, it was hysterical! There's a hotel in the village that does a lovely meal in the evening too. The population of the village was 22 in 2010 and I must have spoken to most of them that afternoon.
There really are so many lovely villages though and I never had a bad experience in any of them, even in the ones that look run down. The Albergues in these places were usually so rich in character that they made up for any shortcomings in the villages themselves, and I'm thinking of the ones on The Meseta in particular as this was one of my favourite parts of the whole camino.
If you do need to stay in a big city for shopping purposes then I'd recommend Burgos and the Casa Parroquial, just off the main Pilgrim route into the city. It's a hostel above a lovely church run by a few nuns but only has 20 beds and is very cheap and spotlessly clean but because it's small it has a lovely atmosphere and there's a mass in the evenings which you're welcome to join. It had the feel of a village hostel but I was able to stock up or replace anything I needed in the city itself.
It's the memories of these little places that's made me change my future plans and am now planning to walk the CF again in 2 years.

 

[tploomis]

I had collected some "don't miss" lists and some "places to avoid" lists before my Camino, but they quickly went out the window. I ended up taking what was in front of me, and it worked out just fine. I don't like to get trapped in feeling that where I'm at isn't the best place for me. I can't think of any planned aspect of my Camino that I found worthwhile in retrospect, other than the original decision to do it.