Avoiding the Crowd on the last 5 stages. Where to stay

[Saara]

Hi My name is Saara. I am going on 22nd April and would like to know how to avoid the crowds in the last 5 stages. It seems to be a bit painful for those walking for 4 to 5 weeks to suddenly be hit by the crowds. Is this most people's experience? And if so how can it be avoided? And where are the good places to stay in-between the five main stages

 

[Lexicos]

It’s hard to ‘avoid’ the greater number of pilgrims towards the end Saara. It’s just the way it is. But I quite like that, personally. Despite the numbers I always found accommodation, either at the main stops or in between. I doubt that late April is going to be that busy. I think you’ll be fine, if it’s accommodation you’re worried about.

 

[Pafayac]

I do not know if it is possible to avoid the crowd on the last 100 km of Camino Frances, but I have a little advice:
- don't worry: you will find accomodations (more pilgrims mean more accommodations)
- think about the target: the others should not be a problem, because, you succeed in reaching Santiago.
- try to spend your nights between larges town. Perhaps Lavacolla is better choice than O'Pedrouzo or Arzua.
- do not stop in Santiago: walking to Muxia/Fisterra will provide you with a chance to feel again the Camino spirit.

 

[J Willhaus]

Yes, just don't stay in the typical "stage" towns. There are plenty of albergues in between and lots of Xunta albergues even in small communities between Sarria and Santiago. You will be either ahead or behind the group each morning.

 

[Tincatinker]

Last time me and The Beloved passed that way I think our stages were something like Samos; Morgade/Ferreiros; Airexe-Ligonde; Melide; Salceda; Santiago. There is so much accommodation along that final 100km that it's hard to find a village that hasn't got beds available. Spend an hour on Gronze https://www.gronze.com/etapa/triacastela/samos/sarria and you can plot an infinite number of possible combinations.

I never make Albergue recommendations but I do recommend not worrying about your fellow pilgrims - no matter how many there are

 

[Roland49]

My itinary in July of 2019 was:
Sarria, Case Peltre (not fully booked)
Portomarin, Albergue Folgueira (wanted to stay in Albergue Ferramenteiro, was full)
Ponte Campaña, Albergue Casa Domingo (not fully booked)
A Rua, Esperitu Xacobeo (was new and maybe 1/3 filled)
SdC, km0 (full, had reservation)

Avoid the "classic" endpoints of the stages in the guidebooks. Portomarin was unavoidable for me, the walk was more exhausting then foreseeable.
Last year on my CP I had to alter my plans, it was extremley overcrowded on the coastal. The time I planned, I was not aware that I walk 1 week prior the catholic youth assembly in Lisbon. Even SdC was extremely packed, had to switch to an Inn, all Albergues were full.

 

[MassNative]

I walked in the fall of 2022, finishing on Nov 2nd, so the big fall wave was in front of us most of the way. But there were stall many Pilgrims walking.

The only major stage town I stayed in over the last 100+ km was Portomarin (And I had planned to skip that town too. But the albergue in Vilachá I wanted to stay in, it closed for the season early.).

After Samos, I stayed at:

Vilei (skipping Sarria)
Portomarin (town was busy, but found a room in a Hostel)
Airexe
Melide (large community mid stage, many accomodations)
Os Pendos (Nice albergue 800 meters off the camino, but a short-cut to get back on the way.)
Armenal (splurged on the small hotel here, with a restaurant.)

If I get the chance to walk this way again, I will try to skip Portomarin.

Jim

 

[trecile]

Last June I joined the Francés from the Primitivo at Melide. After lunch in Melide my walking companions and I continued on to Boente. The next day we stayed at Albergue Astrar near Santa Irene - our group we're the only pilgrims staying there that night. It's 700 meters off of the Camino, but the owner offered to drive us to a restaurant or pick up pizza for us. We opted for the pizza. The next morning there was a short cut to the Camino so we didn't have to backtrack. It was a very nice stay in a rural setting.

 

[Vacajoe]

Those crowds after Sarria tend to be large groups of walkers on organized trips who are not staying in the simpler pilgrim accommodations. If you book in hotels/hostels, then you’ll be competing with them. If you stick with the simpler dorm and bunk bed municipal albergues, they have little impact.

 

[David Tallan]

Hi My name is Saara. I am going on 22nd April and would like to know how to avoid the crowds in the last 5 stages. It seems to be a bit painful for those walking for 4 to 5 weeks to suddenly be hit by the crowds. Is this most people's experience? And if so how can it be avoided? And where are the good places to stay in-between the five main stages

When I walked in July/August 2016, there were definitely a lot more pilgrims in the last stages as we headed into Galicia, but I wouldn't call it painful at all.

In late summer I managed to pretty much entirely avoid any crowds at the end, after my Primitivo route merged with the Frances in Melide, simply by staying in Salceda and Lavacolla instead of Arzu and O Pedrouzo. I did so not intentionally to avoid crowds (as I said, my previous experience of this stretch wasn't bad) but because the walking distances that worked best for me left me in those locations. But doing so gave me plenty of solitude while I was walking this busiest part of the busiest route at the busiest time of year.

My preliminary plans for my upcoming Camino in May with my daughter has us staying in O Mosteiro (Barbadelo), Portomarin, Palas de Reis, Ribadiso de Baixo, and O Pedrouzo between Sarria and Santiago. As you can see, I am not concerning myself too much with avoiding crowds and the more standard stage ends.

One thing to remember is that, while late April/early May is a busy time in SJPP, the busy time in the last 100km doesn't start until July.

 

[Bob Howard]

"Crowds". Four full Caminos and a partial (Leon to Sarria) and I never saw the much hyped and dreaded conga line which has become conventional albeit misguided wisdom on our Forum. To the extent that there are more people between Sarria and SDC, it has had absolutely no effect on my enjoyment. And even though I have always walked in primetime May-Sept, I never got the sense that it was too crowded. If you absolutely must avoid as many other pilgrims as possible, then just depart Sarria on a Tues, Wed or Thurs. I realize my views about "crowds" are not mainstream on our Forum, but I can't seem to help myself from responding in these "it's too crowded" discussions. Here's a more comprehensive post of mine--CrowdStuff--from last year about "crowding". Yes, I have been a broken record on this for the past few years, and starting today I'm going to try real hard not to mount my "it ain't too crowded" forum pulpit in the future. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/crowd-stuff.82247/

 

[Jensjaunt]

I walked Sept/Oct 2023 from SJPD and had heard of the busy times, and change of energy yet we really only came across one really large school group - who were having such a great time it was infectious! One rainy day my walking buddy and I thought did we miss the memo? Where is everyone? We stayed off stage and that might be why…? . In case it helps w your planning here were our stops. In addition we took the Samos variant before Saria was lovely! Samos/Vilei/Portomarine/Eirexe/Melide/Salceda/Lacacolla Have a wonderful camino

 

[Walkingat70]

Hi My name is Saara. I am going on 22nd April and would like to know how to avoid the crowds in the last 5 stages. It seems to be a bit painful for those walking for 4 to 5 weeks to suddenly be hit by the crowds. Is this most people's experience? And if so how can it be avoided? And where are the good places to stay in-between the five main stages

The larger numbers are most apparent when you are walking. After weeks of solitude the auditory intrusion is a bit much.

You have to grin and bear it

 

[David Tallan]

The larger numbers are most apparent when you are walking. After weeks of solitude the auditory intrusion is a bit much.

You have to grin and bear it

Or use one of a number of strategies in this forum for avoiding it. For example, I walked the last 50km of the Frances (after the Sarria numbers were supplemented by the Primitivo numbers) in late July and didn't have to grin and bear the auditory intrusion. Simply by stopping in Salceda and Lavacolla instead of Arzua and O Pedrouzo.

 

[eils]

Here's another option:
One time I had a plane booked and I realized I would have to either walk 52km to SdC on the last day or else get a bus.
An Italian Camino-friend said she'd do it with me ("to avoid the crowds" because there WERE a lot of groups that year and she was quite introverted).
BUT, she warned, "if it starts raining, I'm stopping".
The clouds seemed to be almost on top of us the whole day (we started at about 5.30am).

But it didn't rain.

Looking back, it seems incredible that we both managed it but it just shows that:
a) after 4 weeks, you are at your fittest
b) that last part is mainly flat
c) when it's cool and cloudy - as it often is in Galicia - walking in the afternoon and doing longer distances is not only feasible but also enjoyable.

Buen Camino!

 

[Frankybaby66]

Hi My name is Saara. I am going on 22nd April and would like to know how to avoid the crowds in the last 5 stages. It seems to be a bit painful for those walking for 4 to 5 weeks to suddenly be hit by the crowds. Is this most people's experience? And if so how can it be avoided? And where are the good places to stay in-between the five main stages

You don't say which Camino you are walking. I'm guessing the CF, but don't want to presume.