Where to sleep if Albergues are full?

[Mahoney]

My wife and I are planning our Camino and one question that came to mind was: If the Albergues are full what are our options for a place to sleep. My wife suggested bringing a tent as a backup but I would rather not carry the extra weight and I have yet to hear of anyone doing that. I imagine there are hotels but that could be expensive if done often. Is there always room for two more in spite of no beds?
Thanks,
Dan

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It depends entirely when and where you are walking. This year late July and August have presented problems finding a bed on a couple of caminos. At other times of the year, there seems to be a bed when you want one.

 

[Felipe]

Well, it depends on the season. I suppose you are talking about summer.
The camping issue has been discussed many times (use the search box).
There is a report of an experience and a list of camping sites there http://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/camping-on-the-camino.10865/
Buen camino!

 

[Al the optimist]

As Mendi said, may options. I would really hesitate to carry more than I have to, but each to their own.

 

[RENSHAW]

Leave the tent behind - in summer time , start (very) early and end before 12h30 - be prepared to sleep on a mat on the floor( nice ones supplied a lot of the times) ............................ RELAXxxxxxx. Allow for an emengency hotel budget ...this will not be often.
But wait .................... take the tent , YES , Take the tent , even for a few days ...........it may enhance the marriage - be it for a few days

 

[Al the optimist]

LOL Renshaw

 

[scruffy1]

Read your guidebook carefully and stop at the first place before the recommended stop. You can take a chance and go for the next stop beyond but then you will be meeting those who were turned away before you. Will take a day to set up, a short one or a long one but afterwards you should be alright.

 

[RENSHAW]

LOL Renshaw

TAKE THE TENT AND BE NAUGHTY - ........just once ....or... hehe

 

[cinimod]

Or if you think it may only be on the odd occasion, and if you are going in summer - you may be able to make do with a poncho as a cover over you and one on the ground... so you would only need 2 ponchos, a washing line and maybe floor mats? (Not as much privacy as a tent though)

 

[Mahoney]

Thanks everyone! I agree with traveling light, though Renshaw's suggestion sounds good too. It's nice to know there are lots of options... You are all nice to reply and I thank you very much.

 

[whariwharangi]

I would suggest carrying a closed cell foam mat. Its not intended for comfort; all it does is prevent your body from warming the planet. That means you can sleep anywhere. If the albergue is full you can even sleep outside ... just cover your sleeping bag with your poncho.

I like the thermarest z lite.
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/fast-and-light/z-lite/product

 

[eagleak]

Dan, it really depends on when you start your Camino. If you'll be walking May through August probably yes regarding tent. If you start later like Sept the kids are back in school. Etc
Also if you start too late in the t fall there are limited rooms as you near Santiago due to not enough pilgrims that owners close down for the winter. As we get older we fall back on doing our research, and to avoid the crowds. Go late and forget the tent.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Toward the end, there are many more albergue beds:
Sarria - 436
Portomarin - 375
Palas de Rei - 430
Melide/Boente - 462
Arzua - 331
Pedrouzo - 418
Monte do Gozo - 500
Santiago - 595

Hostales and pensiones also begin to proliferate in this stretch, and there are beds between the big stops.

It takes time to wander between the albergues, which is why many now take reservations, and pilgrims call ahead to find vacancies to save walking. It all makes a fair amount of sense as conditions change. New accommodations have appeared as the number of pilgrims has increased. In Holy Years the xuntas step in to provide additional shelters. We can rue the days of old, but we have to accept reality!

 

[stephenjhorrocks]

I'm just back today from Santiago and its been a bit tough accommodation wise. From Triacastela, we planned to be at the Albergue (Xunta) around 11-12 O'clock. This is due to the fact that almost all the private albergues were full, as many of those who join the final week of the Camino block book all their accommodation. There are the odd beds available in private albergues though. Otherwise it means a lot of very early starts!

 

[cj2003]

At the albergues you typically pay per person and at the hostals, b&b etc. you typically pay per room - I did the camino with my wife and often slept at the hostals and small hotels - all in all we had to pay 10-20€ extra when comparing with the albergues per night.

Naturally there was great diversity in the prices, but for two persons it isn't THAT much more expensive - it would be a bigger expense if you were walking alone and had to pay the prices.

Buen camino
Christian

 

[Sagalouts]

My wife and I are planning our Camino and one question that came to mind was: If the Albergues are full what are our options for a place to sleep. My wife suggested bringing a tent as a backup but I would rather not carry the extra weight and I have yet to hear of anyone doing that. I imagine there are hotels but that could be expensive if done often. Is there always room for two more in spite of no beds?
Thanks,
Dan

Hi Dan
I have walked 2 Camino,s a year for 5 years all over Europe never once did I not find a bed for the night,imo too many walks are spolt by the constant worry of where to sleep,people start booking into Aubergues at 12 if poss all laid on there beds by 2 having washed everything in sight wrote about how little they have seen or done in their journals,they miss so much.
just walk in a relaxed manner eat a menu del dia far better than the pilgrim menu and stroll into town if there is room at your preferred stop great if not check the other 4 or 5 options available or walk another 5k to the next town enjoying the day,try and get out of sink with the masses all going for the same large town,by 4pm the camino is empty apart for the few who love to walk in the cool of the late afternoon and early evening staying clear of the galloping masses,walking this way enables you to even walk longer days if you wish all in a relaxed manner,in the 5 years I have been walking I have seen the albergues double and triple in every town priced from 6 to 12 euro.
if you start in SJPP you wil be given an accomadation list of every town on the way price included.
I hope you and your wife have a great Camino
Ian

 

[FlechaCadaDia]

You can also just sleep outside without a tent if the sky is clear. I did that many times.

I'd much prefer to not make my day into a race-for-a-bed and instead sleep simply. There's something really incorrect about spending a pilgrimage competing with other people--trying to get a bed so they can't have one.

I found that an inflatable mattress for the swimming pool was a decent air-bed. A sheet of plastic or something underneath it is helpful in keeping it from getting poked holes into.

If you're feeling flexible, it's an option.

 

[hotelmedicis]

Since I enjoy walking I usually arrive late at the refuges. I have frequently found no beds to be available. I carry a Therm-a-Rest inflatable air mattress (300g) and a light sleeping bag. There is always space on the floor, even in an office or on a kitchen counter. Once you have the air mattress and the light sleeping bag, you can sleep anywhere and no longer worry about refuges being full or not. Enjoy your walk.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There is always space on the floor, even in an office or on a kitchen counter.

Notwithstanding the inconvenience that may cause others, even the most hospitable hospitalero is now paying some heed to occupancy limits in albergues. The good old days are pretty much gone, and covering the floor with sleeping mats is disappearing. When the first albergue tragedy happens, and it will happen, where emergency exits are blocked or chained, or pilgrims trip over mattresses evacuating, all of the good old days will be gone. Albergues have occupancy limits, and they are slowly being enforced. I think that the logical safety concerns about occupancy restrictions deserve respect from pilgrims. Sometimes it is less about what one wants to do, and more about what is in the best interests of everyone.

A tent is probably a better way to plan for full beds.

 

[hotelmedicis]

Pilgrims should always follow the wishes of the hospitaleros in the albergues that is for sure.

 

[Reija]

This is pretty much my biggest concern. What happens if the albergues are all full. I would hate to spend time and energy on reserving in advance (or is that even possible). I'll be walking my first camino with my daughter in August and sure it must be the busiest month, but the only possibility for us. Can someone share about their real experiences. If you have a sleeping mat and a sleeping bag, can you sleep on the yard or something? What have you done in such a situation?

 

[whariwharangi]

This is pretty much my biggest concern. What happens if the albergues are all full. I would hate to spend time and energy on reserving in advance (or is that even possible). I'll be walking my first camino with my daughter in August and sure it must be the busiest month, but the only possibility for us. Can someone share about their real experiences. If you have a sleeping mat and a sleeping bag, can you sleep on the yard or something? What have you done in such a situation?

I am currently spending many nights sleeping in my backyard using a closed cell foam sleeping mat and a sleeping bag. It works as well on concrete or on the grass. It works quite well ... except if it rains. I use a plastic sheet underneath to help keep things cleaner.

I would suggest not setting up on tracks that might be used by vehicles .. even if there isn't much else suitable.

If your bag gets damp from condensation ... get it dried as soon as possible.

You might find that you prefer sleeping under the stars. Particularly if you experience a night in an albergue with the dread snorer from hell.

 

[domigee]

This is pretty much my biggest concern. What happens if the albergues are all full. I would hate to spend time and energy on reserving in advance (or is that even possible). I'll be walking my first camino with my daughter in August and sure it must be the busiest month, but the only possibility for us. Can someone share about their real experiences. If you have a sleeping mat and a sleeping bag, can you sleep on the yard or something? What have you done in such a situation?

Hi Reija.
I can share my experience with you, for what it's worth: walked twice the camino francés in 2012 and 2013 in the busy months of July/August. Always found a bed. A pilgrim friend walked it last year - same months - and also always found a bed. (I did specifically ask as people were saying 'oh it's becoming soooo crowded).
That said....This year may be different! I just don't know. The statistics so far show it will be busier than the Holy Year 2010....It may put some people off (I know for a fact a pilgrim friend of mine -from Canada- decided NOT to come this year for that very reason and so did friends of hers).

I'll be walking it again in July/August, we shall see. Ultreia!
Buen camino

 

[Reija]

Thanks Domigee, I won't worry too much. Anyway, if it's really really crowded, at least we won't be alone looking for just ANY place to sleep.

 

[Albertagirl]

I walked in October/November last year and nearly ended up spending a rainy night in a wood just a day's walk from Monte de Gozo. I had planned on staying at one of the three albergues in the vicinity, but all three closed for the season on Nov. 15. Fortunately, one kind-hearted albergue owner took mercy on half a dozen bedless pilgrims and took us in.

 

[Reija]

Well, at least a night in the woods sounds better in August than Oct / Nov!