picking a start date in April

[Carlita416]

How do you pick a starting day? Are there any dates in April that I should shoot for, or avoid? Other than Easter and Holy Week

 

[Momonne]

I would want to be there for Semana Santa.

 

[Deleted member 43780]

Which Camino are you doing?

Semana Santa in Seville is a once in a life time event to see.

Besides these two major events in Spain ... there are always carnivals, events that may or may not impact on your Camino.

Starting date is when you can make it to the starting point of your Camino.
And ready to walk, ride or bike.

 

[HedaP]

This is just a personal prefence but because I enjoy walking alone I avoid starting on the first of any month. I have a totally unsupported-by-facts theory based solely on observation of posts on this forum that the first is the most popular date to start. You may prefer to be on the crest of the wave.
April is a lovely time of the year to walk.
Buen camino, peregrina.

 

[Arn]

Starting point important. Days on Camino important. Starting date usually driven by cheapest airfare. April can mean snow in the Pyrenees. Snow/Rain toward Pamplona. Sunshine through to Burgos. New life on the Meseta. Sunshine, maybe snow at Cebreiro with relatively smooth sailing Sarria to SDC. How do you know when you enter Galicia? It’s raining!

 

[mvanert]

How do you pick a starting day? Are there any dates in April that I should shoot for, or avoid? Other than Easter and Holy Week

I am picking mid-week, April 19th, to resume my camino. I think staying away from the weekends when starting gives me the best time to get a rhythm going without worrying about possible crowds though I doubt there will be a crowd during April.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

How do you pick a starting day? Are there any dates in April that I should shoot for, or avoid? Other than Easter and Holy Week

For most Pilgrims it's a personal thing .
Since the day's I was younger til now , I begin my walk at the date that is most convenient at the time.

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[t2andreo]

Choosing when to walk is a lot like surfing. A surfer sits on his/her board beyond the breaking weaves assessing each coming wave to try to choose the correct wave. When the "right one" comes, the surfer works it. Notice the pattern of the waves. There is a high point and a trough, or low point.

The Camino is similar. At most all starting nodes, places with bus and rail connections to the rest of France, Spain and Europe, pilgrims will arrive on Friday and Saturday to start the next day. This causes an artificial surge of pilgrims leaving the starting node. The result, on some routes, and at some times of the year can be like the proverbial "pig in a python."

These traditional starting nodes on the Camino Frances include: Sarria, Astorga, Leon, Sahagun, Burgos, Logrono, Pamplona, Roncesvalles and Saint Jean Pied de Port.

The consequence of this departure pattern is that this larger number of pilgrims hit the same stopping places each night. This places a surge demand on accommodations. It is true that some of the surge is attenuated during each days walk, as no two pilgrims walk at the same pace, and most groups can only proceed as fast as their slowest walker. The overall result resembles a classic "bell curve" distribution plot. However, most of the starting surge usually remains intact.

The best way to counter this phenomenon is to arrange your Camino to start at the beginning node on Monday through Friday morning. Monday through Thursday is better. This places you in the trough (or low point) of the waves of pilgrims starting each weekend. DO NOT forget to adjust this pattern for national holidays, or other peculiarities that might cause a similar artificial surge in the number of pilgrims, like final exams being over and school getting out on a particular day.

Hope this helps.

 

[Carlita416]

DO NOT forget to adjust this pattern for national holidays, or other peculiarities that might cause a similar artificial surge in the number of pilgrims, like final exams being over and school getting out on a particular day.

This is one of the main reasons I'm asking! What if I landed there and all the shops were closed for a special holiday, or the place was overrun for something. I can only think of Holy Week being significant in April, but I'm not Spanish so I don't know.

Thanks for the great food for thought, pilgrims!

 

[t2andreo]

In Spain, most everything is going to be closed over the long Easter weekend, from at least Good Friday, through Easter Monday. Cafes and hotels will be open, but most retail and services will likely be closed.

This said, I defer to others who may have better specific knowledge. As others have said, Semana Santa is HUGE in Spain...and Portugal too.

 

[Carlita416]

I just saw this on Facebook .... a list of public holidays in Spain:
https://publicholidays.es/es/2018-dates/

 

[Philip Nelson]

At one time I remember reading about it being hard to get a bed in Pamplona on weekends? We plan to leave SJPP on a Wednesday with first night in Orisson which should put is in Pamplona on Saturday. Should we anticipate a problem? That will be Saturday, April 21 having departed SJPP on the 18th of April. Thanks.

 

[jsalt]

At one time I remember reading about it being hard to get a bed in Pamplona on weekends? We plan to leave SJPP on a Wednesday with first night in Orisson which should put is in Pamplona on Saturday. Should we anticipate a problem? That will be Saturday, April 21 having departed SJPP on the 18th of April. Thanks.

Hi, if you have a bed booked at Orisson for Wed night, then you will almost certainly be in Pamplona on Sat night. So you might as well go ahead and book something.

I suggest you book something in Zubiri or Larrasoana as well for Fri night, as that is an infamous bottle neck.

After Pamplona you can go with the flow . . .
Jill

 

[Deleted member 12253]

Pick a date flight walk and begin adventure. As a man of leisure and Ryanair sale never paid over for flight to Biarritz or Bilbao or Santander or vigo or Porto. Then camino