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A quieter Camino, Maybe?

DenWhite

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Leon-SdC 2018 / SJPdP - SdC 2022.
After our first and 'test run' Camino from Leon to SdC mid 2018 we decided before we finished that a full distance Frances was on the agenda. Initially planned for 2021 until we became aware of the holy year, have decided on Aug/Sept 2022. Is the year following a holy year back to normal or is it even a bit quieter?Love meeting people quietly.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Really, we have no idea of what the year following that holy year will bring. It depends on what popular movie or book, or promotion might take place, for one thing. However, if I were you, I would not keep postponing my camino on the basis of such a prediction. Just do it whenever is convenient for you, and make the necessary plans. If you are concerned about it being too crowded, remember that July and August are the busiest months for Sarria onwards, while May and September are the busiest from SJPP. Why not wait until the end of September and walk into October? It is a great time to walk.
 
Really, we have no idea of what the year following that holy year will bring. It depends on what popular movie or book, or promotion might take place, for one thing. However, if I were you, I would not keep postponing my camino on the basis of such a prediction. Just do it whenever is convenient for you, and make the necessary plans. If you are concerned about it being too crowded, remember that July and August are the busiest months for Sarria onwards, while May and September are the busiest from SJPP. Why not wait until the end of September and walk into October? It is a great time to walk.
Thanks for your thoughts. Best Camino window is 2021 or 2022 with holiday leave so have settled on the later. It is not dependant on 'traffic' more so availability of services etc, was just curious if anybody had some first hand knowledge of a follow up after a holy year.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
was just curious if anybody had some first hand knowledge of a follow up after a holy year.
It will have been 11 years since the previous Holy Year and there have been huge changes on the Caminos. Holy Years are pretty infrequent anyway and I don't think that anyone can make any very useful predictions from past experience of them.
 
It will have been 11 years since the previous Holy Year and there have been huge changes on the Caminos. Holy Years are pretty infrequent anyway and I don't think that anyone can make any very useful predictions from past experience of them.
Yes I was conscious of that and the fact that I struggle at times to remember where I put my keys let alone details from 11 yrs ago.;
 
Yes I was conscious of that and the fact that I struggle at times to remember where I put my keys let alone details from 11 yrs ago.;
I know that feeling Dennis.,(lol)
Ie (Where did I leave my keys? or where is my phone?).

Good reason to continue with the earliest available date. It’s still doable in 2021 - just choose ‘non peak ‘ period & pre plan /book etc if you’re worried about accommodation ..
Buen camino
Annie
 
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If I was solo i'd be gone tomorrow but there is collective consultation to take into account, plus life's everyday curve balls to catch or deflect. But still taking on board everything said, all of which is good advice.
 
Maybe you could just make your plans for 2020-21-22 (whenever suits) and see how things are when you get there. If it’s too busy you could switch to a quieter camino like the Madrid for example- and perhaps consider the Invierno from Ponferrada.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
After our first and 'test run' Camino from Leon to SdC mid 2018 we decided before we finished that a full distance Frances was on the agenda. Initially planned for 2021 until we became aware of the holy year, have decided on Aug/Sept 2022. Is the year following a holy year back to normal or is it even a bit quieter?Love meeting people quietly.

Typically, each Holy Year represents a new upwards threshold in the "normal" numbers, so that the year following a holy year is the first year of "the new normal" with greater numbers than in previous "old normal" years. The year before the next Holy Year can be the one to aim for in this respect.

Though paradoxically, you'll be likely to meet fewer people in August than September.
 
My first Camino Frances was in the spring of 2011, the year after the 2010 Holy Year, and we were told that walking the year following a Holy Year was great because fewer people were walking and very likely more accommodations had been created to handle the increase in pilgrims and many of the current accommodations had been spruced up. We never experienced a shortage of beds and the number of other pilgrims walking was just right for meeting and mixing with others. It was a wonderful introduction to the Camino Frances...and I can’t seem to stop!
 
My first Camino Frances was in the spring of 2011, the year after the 2010 Holy Year, and we were told that walking the year following a Holy Year was great because fewer people were walking and very likely more accommodations had been created to handle the increase in pilgrims and many of the current accommodations had been spruced up. We never experienced a shortage of beds and the number of other pilgrims walking was just right for meeting and mixing with others. It was a wonderful introduction to the Camino Frances...and I can’t seem to stop!
Thanks Marylynn, great to hear of your experience which has reinforced what I thought maybe the case. May well be worth the extra wait. PS, keep this just between you and me otherwise could be busier than the holy year!
 
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Typically, each Holy Year represents a new upwards threshold in the "normal" numbers, so that the year following a holy year is the first year of "the new normal" with greater numbers than in previous "old normal" years. The year before the next Holy Year can be the one to aim for in this respect.

Though paradoxically, you'll be likely to meet fewer people in August than September.
Don't think I have the luxury to wait that long, but an interesting mathematical analysis. Thanks JabbaPappa.
 
Here’s a graph to illustrate what JabbaPapa wrote. If you remove the Holy Year statistics from the curve, it’s an almost perfect proportional rise from one year to the next. A spike in Holy Year is followed by a decrease from the Holy Year, but the numbers exceed the last pre-Holy Year, if that makes any sense.


Of course, this is only a graph of the numbers of compostelas issued by the cathedral, but I think it’s a very accurate representation of how the crowds go.
 
Here’s a graph to illustrate what JabbaPapa wrote. If you remove the Holy Year statistics from the curve, it’s an almost perfect proportional rise from one year to the next. A spike in Holy Year is followed by a decrease from the Holy Year, but the numbers exceed the last pre-Holy Year, if that makes any sense.


Of course, this is only a graph of the numbers of compostelas issued by the cathedral, but I think it’s a very accurate representation of how the crowds go.
Yes, makes sense but also reinforces that the numbers post the year after a holy year are less albeit above the average. All food for thought. Also while I'm on the page: Happy New Year to all and of course Buen Camino.
 
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I know that feeling Dennis.,(lol)
Ie (Where did I leave my keys? or where is my phone?).

Good reason to continue with the earliest available date. It’s still doable in 2021 - just choose ‘non peak ‘ period & pre plan /book etc if you’re worried about accommodation ..
Buen camino
Annie
If you have an android phone you can use your smart speaker to find it for you, it will make it ring on full volume even of you have it set to silent. It is probably the most common thing I use on my Google smart speaker.
 
If you have an android phone you can use your smart speaker to find it for you, it will make it ring on full volume even of you have it set to silent. It is probably the most common thing I use on my Google smart speaker.
That sounds like a great feature - for android owners. (Mine is an iPhone).
 
Dear pilgrim to be, you are a patient man! As you say in English, "you cannot have your cake and eat it", but I personally would not be able to hold the wish to do the Camino for such a long time!
Buen camino!
 
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.
Dear pilgrim to be, you are a patient man! As you say in English, "you cannot have your cake and eat it", but I personally would not be able to hold the wish to do the Camino for such a long time!
Buen camino!
Not quite a pilgrim to be have left my mark from Leon to SdC. 2022 is working out perfect as we will be celebrating my wife's 60th. What better place to be? At our stage in life time flashes by.
 
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Impossible to predict how busy the Camino will be when you walk it. I have walked it before during the more popular months and sometimes found myself sharing large albergues with only a few fellow pilgrims and even alone now and then.
 
Really, we have no idea of what the year following that holy year will bring. It depends on what popular movie or book, or promotion might take place, for one thing. However, if I were you, I would not keep postponing my camino on the basis of such a prediction. Just do it whenever is convenient for you, and make the necessary plans. If you are concerned about it being too crowded, remember that July and August are the busiest months for Sarria onwards, while May and September are the busiest from SJPP. Why not wait until the end of September and walk into October? It is a great time to walk.
Do a different Camino like the Norte which is prettier anyway
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
After our first and 'test run' Camino from Leon to SdC mid 2018 we decided before we finished that a full distance Frances was on the agenda. Initially planned for 2021 until we became aware of the holy year, have decided on Aug/Sept 2022. Is the year following a holy year back to normal or is it even a bit quieter?Love meeting people quietly.
Having recently walked from beginning September into October it was anything but quiet. So many pilgrims and every day a rush for beds. A pilgrim tsunami it was called.
 
Having recently walked from beginning September into October it was anything but quiet. So many pilgrims and every day a rush for beds. A pilgrim tsunami it was called.
Will be a bit earlier than that. Plan to finish early Sept Que ser ra ser ra.
 
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