Reading some posts on the theme of numbers on the CF I saw many suggestions to stay off stage. I assumed this meant stopping before or continuing onward from the towns at the beginning and end of stages on apps like Gronze etc. In my own case the only time I stayed completely off the Via de La Plata was on the stage from Zafra to Merida I walked off the Camino to Almendralejo and not having booked ahead was unable to find a bed. I finally took a taxi to the next town Aceuchal. The infrastructure on that stretch is not solely for pilgrims so there were limited options.
I am hoping to walk the CF for the first time in ‘24. My question is what
is the general consensus of what is off stage? Is it stopping just before or after a stage start/ finish or do people head off (more then 2kms) the Camino, whether walking or taxi/bus, to stay away from the crowds?
I think you have the right idea. I tend to look at the Stages in
Brierley first, and Gronze second for where the "stages" are. There are other guides but either they are not as popular or I don't see them because I tend to hang around English language sites.
Staying "off-stage" comes with trade offs. There is less competition for beds because you don't get the hordes that are just following the guides. But there are also less services and amenities (shops, restaurants, banks, pharmacies, etc.) because there are less pilgrims. When I stay off-stage I tend to pause in the stage-end town before my stopping village and pick up what I will need before heading on.
Generally, staying off-stage is primarily recommended for the busier Caminos that are rich in infrastructure where you are worried about the albergues in the stage ends being full and there are plenty of albergues in the intermediate villages. In the less walked Caminos there is much less worry about full albergues (on the Camino de Madrid, more than half the time I was the only pilgrim in the albergue) and less options for albergues between stages.
I don't think there is a rule how far from the town it has to be. In 2016, I stayed 5 km after Sarria to put myself a bit out of synch for the big crowds I expected to be leaving from there. This year, in July after Melide, I put myself at least 10 km from the stage ends to give myself maximal separation (and to have the days' walk the length I like with a nice short walk at the end into Santiago.
