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OBSOLETE COVID THREAD Any reason for concern about post covid surge in 2022?

OBSOLETE COVID THREAD
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MarkPix

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Time of past OR future Camino
2022
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
 
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A selection of Camino Jewellery
I think you have asked the impossible question.

If you are the sort of person that likes order and certainty perhaps a Camino might be a bit awkward for you - things happen, blisters weather tendonitis, a place to linger. Many people like to "wing" the Camino and perhaps book a day or 3 ahead depending on lots of factors, and until recently booking Community albergues in Spain was not a thing.

But if booking is what you like to do wait a year or 2.

My pack is ready for March next year but I suspect I won't be going and certainly would not book anything at all.

Maybe I am not your typical traveller but I never use a travel agent.
 
My Magic 8 Ball says; "Reply hazy, try again". ;-). Seriously though, I would expect it to be very busy. One thing Covid-19 has shown is that it is full of surprises. What ever you do make sure you buy tickets and make reservations that allow you get refunds or changes. I booked my rooms in advance for my Camino Ingles this past August because of, well you know, Covid. It was a moving experience for me and I met lot of wonderful people while walking. What ever you do Buen Camino.
 
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If you are using booking.com I suspect many accommodations have not yet put their availability that far ahead. You will probably have better luck contacting the establishment directly or else waiting for a few more months

Welcome to the Forum, @MarkPix!

I would agree with this. Many, many places do not release their beds for reservations until just a few months out. I'd wait a couple months and keep an eye on things. It may be that you might have to wait until January, too, to get an even more accurate picture for May 2022.
 
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If you are using booking.com I suspect many accommodations have not yet put their availability that far ahead. You will probably have better luck contacting the establishment directly or else waiting for a few more months
That's really helpful auburnfive. Makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Lots to learn here for my first Camino.
 
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
Actually there’s been a bit of a post Covid 2021 surge on the chemin d St Jacques Le Puy to Conques. I arrived sept 20 assuming I could book a day in advance and be fine and that was definitely not the case. I prebooked for the next 10 days and had to try several places for each night. Many Europeans are making up for their cancelled 2020 plans. I’d prebook just so it’s not stressful for you.
 
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How many people over-estimate daily mileage that their body can handle, then fall behind in hotel schedule and have to cancel? These rooms/beds are then available to anyone present with cash in hand.

Any hotel in Spain or other parts of Europe that I have entered with no vacancy have always called around town to find a place for me. One hotel owner in Santiago called around 3 or 4 place and finally found a room for me an my brothers. She then personally walked us around the block to the other hotel.

The key is to be present, flexible and with cash in-hand. Maybe it is a not-so-good albergue one night, the next night maybe a private room with private bath.

COVID may require you to be even more flexible. Maybe you might need a taxi to the hotel and back to the Camino.

Joseph and Mary found a place when there was no room at the inn!


-Paul
 
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
If I or anyone could predict this with any certainty I would be in Las Vegas making zillions betting on sporting events. Whatever you think will happen gives you a 50% chance of being at least partially correct. ;)
 
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
My husband (U.S.) is on the Frances now. He booked rooms prior to leaving in SJPP, Roncevalles (the hotel), Akreeta (just past Zubiri - shown in the movie, The Way), and Pamplona. Once he got into Spain, he booked ahead the next three nights using booking.com. So far, he has not had an issue finding accommodations, and he said, he hasn't observed any boarded up (closed) businesses since our last Camino Frances in '18.
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
How far past zubiri is arkretta
 
My husband (U.S.) is on the Frances now. He booked rooms prior to leaving in SJPP, Roncevalles (the hotel), Akreeta (just past Zubiri - shown in the movie, The Way), and Pamplona. Once he got into Spain, he booked ahead the next three nights using booking.com. So far, he has not had an issue finding accommodations, and he said, he hasn't observed any boarded up (closed) businesses since our last Camino Frances in '18.
Thanks much. I hope your husband has a great Camino.
 
I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations.
As others have said, we simply don't know what will happen in May 2022. For that very reason, I would be reluctant to hand over my trip planning to a travel service.

"Going it alone" can include prebooking. You don't need a travel service to do that, although of course that is an option many people prefer.

With not too much effort, you can do the bookings yourself for the first few days (say, to Pamplona) and be sure that the cancellation policy allows you to cancel up until a few days or week before your planned arrival. Then wait until April to get a better sense of what is happening. However, it will likely be enough to book a few days in advance after you are on the Camino.
 
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Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
I dd not read all of the posts above so Zi may be reinforcing what some have already written.

1). Tour company services generally overpriced.
2). There are easy, free , internet sites to help you plan the camino plus a bunch of folks here who are camino experts and willing to assist you.
3) Much availability on booking sites won’t be available for nextSpring probably until the end of this Fall season.
4) If you want bags sent ahead in may to coincide with yore reservations use Correos.com.
 
It might help anyone hunting for Arkretta or Akreeta on Godgle maps or other sources to spell the name correctly. Akerreta is 5.5 klicks after Zubiri. Off Camino, about 1 klick south of Larrasoana.
Really 5.5 km, really it seemed like a lot less than that straight up a slow rising road, but then it was always early in the morning every time I walked past it. I always stay at Palo Avelino in Zurbiri, it has a nice vibe.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
The most recent projections are that the virus could mutate several times yet before a sufficient innoculation rate has been reached. This could go on past 2025.

The virus will continue to circulate and mutate as long as there is a place for it to propagate. And I also hear that Antarctica is not immune either.
 
How far past zubiri is arkretta
About 5K as I recall. In 2016 and this time, my husband walked the distance after reaching Zubiri. In 2018, we took a taxi from Zuberi, after lunch, to Akreeta.
 
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The most recent projections are that the virus could mutate several times yet before a sufficient innoculation rate has been reached. This could go on past 2025.

The virus will continue to circulate and mutate as long as there is a place for it to propagate. And I also hear that Antarctica is not immune either.
You are full of "great news" all of the time
 
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As others have said, we simply don't know what will happen in May 2022. For that very reason, I would be reluctant to hand over my trip planning to a travel service.

"Going it alone" can include prebooking. You don't need a travel service to do that, although of course that is an option many people prefer.

With not too much effort, you can do the bookings yourself for the first few days (say, to Pamplona) and be sure that the cancellation policy allows you to cancel up until a few days or week before your planned arrival. Then wait until April to get a better sense of what is happening. However, it will likely be enough to book a few days in advance after you are on the Camino.
Great. Thanks. This helps a great deal.
 
I have not yet walked- I have a question.

Do I understand correctly that a couple of miles north from the CF there is a major auto highway with exits and motels and everything (wink)? Can only speak for me, but if the choice was to sleep on a porch, hike for another (who knows how far), of taxi back/forward, I might just opt for the "taxi up" to an Ibis with a full bathroom.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Ah Don, those early morning kilometers. They’re always so much shorter than the ones that stretch out into the after-lunch afternoon 😉
Can more true words be spoken???? How many mornings have I started out and then stopped for a coffee. Glancing at Gronze or my Wise Pilgrim app I see wow can't believe I walked 8 kilometers that was quick. Later that day after I stopped for a snickers bar and drink that I ate on the wall of little church in the middle of wherever. Glance at Gronze or my Wise Pilgrim app and say to myself just 3 K to go. Start walking and after what seems like forever i reach the top of the hill and that town I want to sleep in is so far in the distance I am numb with exhaustion and with my favorite camino sage words "What the F$%K I can't believe this S*#t! As a groan and mumble and drag myself into the town!!!
 
Do I understand correctly that a couple of miles north from the CF there is a major auto highway with exits and motels and everything (wink)?
The Camino is a collection of trails, side trails and walks along highways, over hills and dale. In some places there is a nearby highway exit with motels, but it is not a uniformly parallel highway. You would need to compare a road map with a map of the camino, in order to confirm. In any case, along the Camino Frances, you are never more than a 30 minute taxi from lodging. The only question would be whether that accommodation has room for you on that day.
 
I have not yet walked- I have a question.

Do I understand correctly that a couple of miles north from the CF there is a major auto highway with exits and motels and everything (wink)?
It's an interesting idea but my impression, based on my limited experience as a traveller on foot, on buses, in taxis and in rental cars*), is that the auto highway and motels, if there are any motels at all, do not play a role in the daily business of the pilgrim looking for accommodation.

The motorways in the north of Spain are fairly new, much of it was built after 1970 or is still being built, the traffic density is low, and I guess there is not much of a need for motels, and they are fairly rare.

As @C clearly said already, plenty of lodgings in the towns and villages along the Camino trail itself and it is easy to call a taxi to get you there if you've run out of steam to walk any further on that day and want a bed with a roof over it.

*) I hasten to add: Buses, taxis and cars were mostly used for getting to a starting point or returning home from a given point on the Camino, not so much for moving along the trail. :cool:
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
I'm not sure that what you see as sold out is a predictor of anything.

The number of foot pilgrims has steadily increased by a few percentages year after year. Especially Galicia was prepared to receive a whopping number of 500,000 pilgrims this year - up from 350,000 pilgrims in 2019 (pre-Covid). I doubt that this number will be reached in 2022, even if there is bit of a surge due to cancelled trips in '20 and '21.

Besides, a large number of Camino pilgrims is made up by Spanish pilgrims, and they did walk in '21. Over 130,000 pilgrims so far this year who didn't cancel their trip.

The Caminos, especially the popular ones like the Frances and Portugues, will be busy next year because that's the way it is - Camino walking is becoming more and more widely known and becoming more and more popular. And May is a popular and busy month for international pilgrims anyway. If the restrictions on municipal and other albergues is lifted by May 2022, ie if or when they can use their full accommodation capacity again, then 2022 will be just that: yet another busy Camino year. At least that's my prediction. And my advice would be the same as always: book the first few nights, especially if you start with the section SJPP-Pamplona, and then either book ahead for the next day or for a few days if you want private rooms, or don't book at all if you are happy with shared dormitory accommodation.
 
Can more true words be spoken???? How many mornings have I started out and then stopped for a coffee. Glancing at Gronze or my Wise Pilgrim app I see wow can't believe I walked 8 kilometers that was quick. Later that day after I stopped for a snickers bar and drink that I ate on the wall of little church in the middle of wherever. Glance at Gronze or my Wise Pilgrim app and say to myself just 3 K to go. Start walking and after what seems like forever i reach the top of the hill and that town I want to sleep in is so far in the distance I am numb with exhaustion and with my favorite camino sage words "What the F$%K I can't believe this S*#t! As a groan and mumble and drag myself into the town!!!
I remember crossing the AP68 at Hospital de San Juan de Acre and Navarrete seemed to move further away the closer we got!

And when you do get there you have to stagger up that flight of steps - the final insult!

 
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
My wife and I just returned from the Camino yesterday. I pre-booked myself, using Booking.com, our three week trip. We only stayed in hotels or private rooms in albergues, but didn’t see any place that was full. I’ve walked four other Caminos, booking ahead twice and “winging it” twice. I actually do like the certainty of a room or bed at the end of the day, but the spontaneity of the Camino really makes it special too. It’s probably too early to know what the Camino will be like next spring.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
I'm not sure that what you see as sold out is a predictor of anything.

The number of foot pilgrims has steadily increased by a few percentages year after year. Especially Galicia was prepared to receive a whopping number of 500,000 pilgrims this year - up from 350,000 pilgrims in 2019 (pre-Covid). I doubt that this number will be reached in 2022, even if there is bit of a surge due to cancelled trips in '20 and '21.

Besides, a large number of Camino pilgrims is made up by Spanish pilgrims, and they did walk in '21. Over 130,000 pilgrims so far this year who didn't cancel their trip.

The Caminos, especially the popular ones like the Frances and Portugues, will be busy next year because that's the way it is - Camino walking is becoming more and more widely known and becoming more and more popular. And May is a popular and busy month for international pilgrims anyway. If the restrictions on municipal and other albergues is lifted by May 2022, ie if or when they can use their full accommodation capacity again, then 2022 will be just that: yet another busy Camino year. At least that's my prediction. And my advice would be the same as always: book the first few nights, especially if you start with the section SJPP-Pamplona, and then either book ahead for the next day or for a few days if you want private rooms, or don't book at all if you are happy with shared dormitory accommodation.
Thanks Kathar1na... This is a really well thought out response. I appreciate it. Booking from SJPP thru Pamplona and then working just a day or two ahead is a great plan.
 
2021 was meant to be a Holy Year. Because of all the uncertainty around COVID, I believe the Pope decided to extend the Holy Year thing to 2022. Being a heathen myself, I have no idea what that entails, but as I understand it a Holy Year on the Camino tends to bring out more of those doing it for religious reasons. Couple that with everybody wanting to get back to the Camino, and those just itching to do their first, and I expect 2022 will be a busy one.
 
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I am planning to walk the Portuguese in April/ May 22. I waked the Frances in 19 with no pre booking and had little trouble finding a bed. Given the post Coivd situation though, although I still intend not to make any advance bookings I may include a lightweight mattress and groundsheet in case I have to sleep out doors on occasion. What are the rules on this in Portugal?
 
I remember crossing the AP68 at Hospital de San Juan de Acre and Navarrete seemed to move further away the closer we got!

And when you do get there you have to stagger up that flight of steps - the final insult!

Ah yes I remember those stairs well. I took them much better at 58 then I did at 67 after a long day!
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I wonder how many new pilgrims there will be now that Google has promoted the Camino on their home page!
 
I wonder how many new pilgrims there will be now that Google has promoted the Camino on their home page!
I noticed that Google did this in cooperation with the Xunta de Galicia which is the regional government of Galicia.

They might have done it anyway but I wonder whether it is part of the Xunta's touristic-economic efforts of promoting Galicia as a destination due to the Holy Year 2021/2022. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they put off their initial promotion plans. I remember having read that they then decided to concentrate promotion of the Camino de Santiago, as well as of Galicia and Compostela in general, on the domestic (Spanish) audience for this year 2021 and expand it to the international (global) audience for next year 2022.

If and when there is a significant surge in pilgrim numbers in 2022 that goes significantly beyond the 2019 level, then I guess it will be largely due to these promotion campaigns - i.e. even more articles on Camino walking in the media everywhere, internet, TV, press, events - and it will be less caused by a "pent-up demand" of those who could not walk in 2020 and in 2021.

Sometimes I have the impression that the majority of forum members would have walked in 2020, in 2021 AND in 2022 anyway because they walk every year or every other year, so they will not contribute to any increase in numbers. :cool:
 
I wonder how many new pilgrims there will be now that Google has promoted the Camino on their home page!
When did Google have a home page. When I open google it is white with a few of my icons that somehow ended up there from some websites.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
I would use a travel service. Booking is hard now. 2022 will be worse with less Covid concerns and still a Holy YeT
 
I am planning on walking Camino Frances from SJPDP in May '22. I'm trying to decide whether to use a travel service and prebook accommodations or go it alone. I'm already seeing accomodations sold out for my dates in some locations. Does anyone have a sense for what the Camino might look like in '22. Feels like there could be a surge with all the trips cancelled in '20 and '21.
Really, who knows and how would this population know ?
maybe ask the same question on the WHO forums for some real advice with a basis of fact …
 
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