I have used both Follow the Camino and Camino Ways in the past. There is a strong bias on this forum towards staying in albergues and if using private accommodation, doing all the booking yourself. I disagree with this bias and agree completely with the comment from
@Mamarich:
I just returned from the Via de la Plata where I had to stop after walking from Seville to Granja de Moreruela because of worsening tendonitis in my left leg. I was with a friend, and we did no advanced booking, and mostly stayed in albergues. Because there are 5% or less of the pilgrims on the VdlP than the
Camino Frances, there is much less infrastructure. Many of the towns had only one albergue, and often it was very sub-par. And, after Salamanca, we were in a Camino bubble where there were more than 30 pilgrims and the albergues often had 30 or fewer beds, so a bed race emerged. The bed race dramatically reduces, no, the bed race kills the positive experience of the pilgrimage.
So I'll return next spring to walk from Zamora to Santiago de Compostela, and will not stay in one albergue, I'm using Follow the Camino to pre-book. Therefore I'll be able to walk at my own pace, enjoy the vistas, the diversions, the churches, really enjoy a more fulfilling pilgrimage.
Buen Camino!
--james--