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[Chris Adams]

Hi, Chris Adams here. As a "taster" walked Santiago to Fisterra last June and launching myself at the del Norte Route this June - walking Irun to Santiago. Bit concerned about apparent lack of economical accommodation ie albergues so taking my light-weight tent. Does anyone have any experience of camping (campsites, not "wild") on the del Norte? Regards Chris

 

[MermaidLilli]

Darn!! I am going early May... I would camp with ya!
Not sure about the Norte, since it will be my first time on it, but for sure along the Via de la Plata there were perfect areas for it. Hope there will be on the Norte for you.
Lillian

 

[Chris Adams]

Hi Lilian. That's interesting. I start on June 9th but if I run I may catch up with you! On a serious note, do you/anyone know how well signed the del Norte is? I'm trying to avoid carrying loads of maps and information. When I walked the Fisterra last year I had about a kilo of paperwork, none of which was necessary as the route was very well marked. Regards Chris

 

[sillydoll]

Welcome Chris,
For a list of ‘Aires’ in Spain go to http://www.campingcar-infos.com and on the left side of the page you will see Rechercher une aire,click on that and scroll down the page untill you see Espagne,there are 57 Aires listed here,

Camping sites in Spain are listed as Luxury, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and special category camps. (Some give pilgrim discounts.) Please check opening times before you go as times can change without notice.

http://www.camping-spain.net/
http://www.canalcamping.com
http://www.campingbungalow.com
http://www.vayacamping.net

For a map of all the camping sites in Spain (Take it up to 400% to get a good view of the tent logos along the Norte)
http://elcaminosantiago.com/PDF/Map_Spain_Campings.pdf

Good luck!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Chris,
You'll love the Norte. My information may be a bit out of date since I walked in May 2006, but the only place we had trouble with the signage was in Asturias. There were some places around Luarca, I remember, as well as a few other spots, where the arrows were nowhere to be found. But we always managed to find our way in the end. I carried only the CSJ guide, which was adequate. But the German walkers we met had a far superior guidebook (in German, of course) so I would suggest looking for a few Germans and tagging along! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Dave]

Hi Chris.

I think you'll find there is actually a lot of budget accommodation on the Norte - many, many more albergues still operate on the donativo system there (which, of course, is not free, but also not 10 euros unless you're feeling generous!).

I've posted everything I've found out about albergues on the Norte (through Oviedo)/Primitivo (to Santiago) here: http://roadscholarswa.com/cnalbergues.html

I had no issues with the waymarking; the CSJ guide made me feel uneasy going in, but the problems it describes have largely been resolved. The hardest part frequently was finding the albergues in town, which sometimes are barely marked. But, locals can often point you in the right direction.

I'll be heading out from Irun with my group of students a day after you, so we might see each other (unless the idea of running into a small group of younger people causes you to double your speed!).

Dave