Starting in Pamplona during Santa Semana

[JerseyWalker]

Hello,

My husband and I may start from Pamplona the first week of April and are concerned about crowds. We are planning to walk from Pamplona to Leon over 2 weeks. Does anyone have thoughts about crowds and weather during this time?

Thanks!

 

[J Willhaus]

Hello,

My husband and I may start from Pamplona the first week of April and are concerned about crowds. We are planning to walk from Pamplona to Leon over 2 weeks. Does anyone have thoughts about crowds and weather during this time?

Thanks!

I would say definitely have reservations over the holiday weekend. People will be visiting family and taking holidays. Some will be walking stretches of the Camino, but you may be competing with nonpilgrims for beds. Expect that some albergues won't be open this early and may be closed for the holiday.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Hello,

My husband and I may start from Pamplona the first week of April and are concerned about crowds. We are planning to walk from Pamplona to Leon over 2 weeks. Does anyone have thoughts about crowds and weather during this time?

Thanks!

I did that that route in April this year. About half of Albergue’s were closed until after Easter. Even cafés and small stores were often closed or had short hours in the smaller towns. Hotels and pensions were open, though.

On Easter weekend you should have bookings, but otherwise I didn’t find it a problem at that time. There weren’t crowds at all.

It changes from year to year, but the weather was absolutely glorious. I had one day of torrential rain, but otherwise it was perfect.

 

[Cynistra]

I did part of the Camino Frances during Semana Santa in 2019 and it was an absolutely brilliant experience. The festivals and the atmosphere along the way was brilliant and there was no problems with accommodation.
The one thing to be aware of is that there is a massive wave that aims to arrive in Santiago for Easter so if you get caught up in that there will be serious accommodation problems but that doesn't sound like it will apply to you.
We were told several times that at points everywhere was fully booked in that wave but as we were a behind that - around Astorga for Easter if memory serves - we had no issues.

 

[Jodean]

I was in Pamplona this year, the day before Good Friday and Good Friday. Booked my bed in Jan. and even then it was rather full already. The Procession on Good Friday was interesting (but 50 min. long) and afterwards, it seemed like a drinking party in the streets. Was happy to leave the next day. Lots of Spaniards walking this time so be prepared for people coming into the albergues late at night. Once we got a week past Easter, it slowed down a bit with the crowds on the CF.

 

[jrewins]

I did that that route in April this year. About half of Albergue’s were closed until after Easter. Even cafés and small stores were often closed or had short hours in the smaller towns. Hotels and pensions were open, though.

On Easter weekend you should have bookings, but otherwise I didn’t find it a problem at that time. There weren’t crowds at all.

It changes from year to year, but the weather was absolutely glorious. I had one day of torrential rain, but otherwise it was perfect.

Just to show you that different pilgrims can have different experiences on the Camino, here is my experience:

I left SJPP on Tue, 11 April ’22 (The Tue before Easter Sunday). The albergues in Roncesvalles, Zubiri, Pamplona we’re busy, but open. I had made reservations for the first week, but had no problem doing so.

I did not observe any significant # of closed albergues…bars, restaurants, food stores, shops were all open and anxious for the pilgrims’ business as it has been a lean past couple of Covid years. There may have been reduced ‘Open’ hours, but not having been there before, I don’t know what their previous hours were. Remember that Spain observes a daily siesta from 2:00 - 4:30/5:00 when virtually ALL businesses are closed.

The weather was the typical ‘spring in Spain’. Cold, often overcast mornings, occasional spring showers, some lasting most of the day, but I never experienced anything even close to “torrential“. The Camino population was not noticeably crowded, but albergues ranged ~75% - 90% full (my estimate).

I would suggest reconsidering the aggressive plan of walking over half of the Camino in just 2 weeks. That’s almost 450K; averages over 30K / day in 14 days. The Brierely book steps for that distances takes almost 3 weeks. And thats walking that distance EVERY day! You might miss some things the Camino has to offer with such an aggressive plan

Buen Camino!

 

[henrythedog]

Hello,

My husband and I may start from Pamplona the first week of April and are concerned about crowds. We are planning to walk from Pamplona to Leon over 2 weeks. Does anyone have thoughts about crowds and weather during this time?

Thanks!

Easter Sunday 2023 is April 9, as you’ll know. In the big towns the Semana Santa crowds tend to build during the week; but I’d concur with others that reservations in towns and cities are to be advised - even more so as you get to the Thursday and into the weekend. It’s common for Spaniards to visit their home town at major festivals; but they don’t all take a week off work.

As above, your planned distance is quite considerable - but you know better than some random bloke on the internet (me) what you can do.

 

[JerseyWalker]

Easter Sunday 2023 is April 9, as you’ll know. In the big towns the Semana Santa crowds tend to build during the week; but I’d concur with others that reservations in towns and cities are to be advised - even more so as you get to the Thursday and into the weekend. It’s common for Spaniards to visit their home town at major festivals; but they don’t all take a week off work.

As above, your planned distance is quite considerable - but you know better than some random bloke on the internet (me) what you can do.

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Yes, 2 weeks is much too aggressive for this distance. We will look at extending our time to allow for more manageable walks so that we can enjoy our time on the Camino! Thank you again!