How busy is the primitivo in July/August?

[SolvorMLauritzen]

Hello! I have walked three Caminos before, and love it! But on the last one I did I spent several days and night all alone on the road and in the albergues - and I didn't like it. This year I am planning to walk the primitivo in end of July -beginning of August, and am wondering if anyone here has any idea of whether there will be many other pilegrims on the road during that time? I don't mind if it is too busy - I prefer having people around...

 

[amancio]

Busy, very busy, it is the Spanish holiday time. If you have a chance, to wait till the end of August, it will be a lot more manageable.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Busy, very busy, it is the Spanish holiday time. If you have a chance, to wait till the end of August, it will be a lot more manageable.

The Primitivo "very, very buzy"? I guess it's all relative. How many people have walked it last year?

What Camino was walked in 2013: as per: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/2013-statistics-for-the-camino-de-santiago/

• Camino Frances: 151.761 (70,30%)
• Camino Portugues 29.550 (13,69%)
• Camino del Norte 13.393 (6,20%)
• Via de la Plata 9.016 (4,18%)
• Camino Primitivo 6.854 (3,17%)
• Camino Ingles 4.404 (2,04%)
• Muxia-Finisterre 454 (0,21%)
• Other Caminos 444 (0,21%)

What I do not believe here is those who have walked Muxia-Fisterre. Mind you, perhaps they mean only from Muxia to Fisterre, but even that is low.

 

[MichaelC]

Maybe they mean walking from Muxia /Finistere to Santiago? That would explain the low numbers.

 

[AlanB]

I'll be on it on July 19th (or thereabouts) I've met several people who walked it that time of year and they said it was quiet.

 

[Juanma]

Expect quite a lot of people in late July and all of August! When I say "a lot" I mean in comparison to the rest of the year in the Primitivo, of course, not in comparison to the numbers in the Frances...

I have said it several times earlier in this forum: either start walking very, very, very early to get a bed in one of the public albergues, or phone and reserve into a private one from 1 to 3 days in advance if you prefer to take your time in your walking. In the first case you might still be left out without a bed; in the second, peace of mind is assured!

By our experience last year, the first half of July was quite quiet, with a significant decrease in the number of pilgrims as compared to all of June; however, from mid July and until mid September, the Camino was crowded with pilgrims. We do not know if this happens every year (the decrease in the first half of July, I mean), or if it was just a strange thing last year...

 

[Anemone del Camino]

One thng I noticed last month is that many more people on this route walk 30 km a day without blinking than on the CF. I prefer shorter days and would therefor arrive at albergues before those who stated behind me, often 1o, many times 20 km behind me I would most likely never see them again. Oh, and this way I got to stay in albergues that were practically empty while they walked as a cohort.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

I completed my "final" camino a month ago - the Ruta del Ebro.
Now I'm just thinking [only thinking, you understand] of the Primitivo for next May!
I need to gather a lot of information over the next few months......
Buen camino!

 

[Maureen O'Donoghue]

I started from Oviedo on 10 July. Setting out this morning from Lugo (after a rest day) was the first time the route seemed busy. As I entered the main square I saw more people approaching with back packs than I had seen in the previous 9 days' walking put together. Oddly I saw no one at all beyond San Roman (more guests arrived at my Casa Rural in Ferreira later).

There wasn't enough accommodation in Cadavo Baliera on 17 July - both the Albergue and the hotel were full. This may have been a peak in demand as people try to reach Santiago for 25 July. The number of people on the route may drop thereafter.

 

[Juanma]

... This may have been a peak in demand as people try to reach Santiago for 25 July. The number of people on the route may drop thereafter.

Totally agree Maureen: we at the albergue have also noticed that: today we've had a peak in pilgrims compared to the last few days, and already since yesterday we are fully booked for TOMORROW. Makes sense, as we are 3 days from Santiago, so people staying tomorrow will arrive on the 24th, and then they will already wake up in Santiago on July 25th, the BIG day in Santiago