Accommodation costs

[Lindie Namibia]

Hi all!
My question is regarding finances. I'm from Namibia (close to South Africa) and have walked the Camino Frances and Finesterra in 2016 and Camino Real in 2017. I would like to know how the pilgrim accommodation costs in Italy compare to Spain. ..our exchange rate at the moment is N$ 16 / 1E. I'm wondering if I can travel on the same budget basically as the 2 previous times.
Regards from sunny Africa
Lindie

 

[grayland]

The costs are considerably higher on the via Francigena.
There is not a well established accommodation infrastructure like there is on the Camino Frances or the the other Spanish caminos. There are pilgrim accomodations...but they are much fewer and spread out. Planning budget sleeping is an important part of planning on the VF.

Others can point you to blogs and sites that will help get a clearer picture of the availability and costs.

 

[MarkWoods]

Hi Lindie. I walked the entire Via Francigena (Canterbury to Rome) last year.

The Italian section had good pilgrim accomodations starting around Santhia. From Santhia to Rome I paid 10 euro on average for a simple pilgrim hostel. Sometimes 15, and 5 on one occasion. They do not include food for that price, just a clean bed, shower, and use of a kitchen.

Most of the pilgrim hostels are donation based. So in reality, you can pay whatever you want. But most folks paid 10 euro. Even in Rome there is 10-15 euro pilgrim stays. But the limit is two days.

There were only a few towns without a pilgrim hostel. Sarzana was one. I found a nice bed and breakfast near the train station for 40 euro in Sarzana.

Enjoy the Via Francigena. It is amazing!

Mark

 

[Harington]

Hi Lindie. I walked the entire Via Francigena (Canterbury to Rome) last year.

The Italian section had good pilgrim accomodations starting around Santhia. From Santhia to Rome I paid 10 euro on average for a simple pilgrim hostel. Sometimes 15, and 5 on one occasion. They do not include food for that price, just a clean bed, shower, and use of a kitchen.

Most of the pilgrim hostels are donation based. So in reality, you can pay whatever you want. But most folks paid 10 euro. Even in Rome there is 10-15 euro pilgrim stays. But the limit is two days.

There were only a few towns without a pilgrim hostel. Sarzana was one. I found a nice bed and breakfast near the train station for 40 euro in Sarzana.

Enjoy the Via Francigena. It is amazing!

Mark

Hmmm, the beds were not always clean! But I'd say your costings are about right. Many of the convents offer dinner, bed and breakfast (single room) for around €25, and that is good value.

 

[Lindie Namibia]

Thank you very much for the advice! I still have a bit of time to make up my mind where to go and I appreciate all the info!
Have and great ( work) week ahead!
Lindie

 

[mick53]

Hi all!
My question is regarding finances. I'm from Namibia (close to South Africa) and have walked the Camino Frances and Finesterra in 2016 and Camino Real in 2017. I would like to know how the pilgrim accommodation costs in Italy compare to Spain. ..our exchange rate at the moment is N$ 16 / 1E. I'm wondering if I can travel on the same budget basically as the 2 previous times.
Regards from sunny Africa
Lindie

My wife and I walked it in 2017. Food in Italy is much more expensive as is the accommodation...

 

[Sue Blue Mountains]

The costs are considerably higher on the via Francigena.
There is not a well established accommodation infrastructure like there is on the Camino Frances or the the other Spanish caminos. There are pilgrim accomodations...but they are much fewer and spread out. Planning budget sleeping is an important part of planning on the VF.

Others can point you to blogs and sites that will help get a clearer picture of the availability and costs.

Which accommo guide did you use, if you used one?

 

[jaksample]

Hi Lindie. I walked the entire Via Francigena (Canterbury to Rome) last year.

The Italian section had good pilgrim accomodations starting around Santhia. From Santhia to Rome I paid 10 euro on average for a simple pilgrim hostel. Sometimes 15, and 5 on one occasion. They do not include food for that price, just a clean bed, shower, and use of a kitchen.

Most of the pilgrim hostels are donation based. So in reality, you can pay whatever you want. But most folks paid 10 euro. Even in Rome there is 10-15 euro pilgrim stays. But the limit is two days.

There were only a few towns without a pilgrim hostel. Sarzana was one. I found a nice bed and breakfast near the train station for 40 euro in Sarzana.

Enjoy the Via Francigena. It is amazing!

Mark

We only have about 21 days this time. Any ideas where I should start? We can only do about 20-22km's a day. I am paying for myself and my 12 and 18 year old so I need as cheap as possible. Do you remember if the pilgrims accomidations for around 10 euros were available the last 21 days?

 

[MarkWoods]

Hi Jaksample.
Yes, for the last 21 days of the Via Francigena the true pilgrim accommodations are about 10 euro. They are very basic bunk beds that are managed by the local church or religious institution. Just make sure you have a credential with stamps.

Food can be cheap too if you seek out small groceries.

Even in Rome I found a 10 euro pilgrim stay. But the limit was two nights.

 

[jaksample]

Hi Jaksample.
Yes, for the last 21 days of the Via Francigena the true pilgrim accommodations are about 10 euro. They are very basic bunk beds that are managed by the local church or religious institution. Just make sure you have a credential with stamps.

Food can be cheap too if you seek out small groceries.

Even in Rome I found a 10 euro pilgrim stay. But the limit was two nights.

Thank you !! I read in other places it was about 40 euros a day per person just for accommodations so I can pretty much decided we just couldn't do it. If I only walked the last 21 days to Rome and stayed in pilgrim accommodations, how many euros / or dollars do you think I would need per day for food, bed, everything total per person. I just don't want to get my hopes up if I just can't afford it.

 

[MarkWoods]

I used this site a lot. Dig around it and you will find a spreadsheet of accommodations that is periodically updated by other pilgrms. Some entries are a bit old, but others were very accurate. The low cost pilgrim stays are not easy to find sometimes. Gotta have patience. Same with the low cost food. I often walked around a bit to find it.
https://www.csj.org.uk/via-francigena/

My average cost in Italy was about $45 US per day for everything (shelter, food, toiletries, wine, beer, a few tourist site fees, etc.). I could have done it a little cheaper if necessary, especially if I spoke Italian.

It is a wonderful walk. Both spiritually and culturally. Met many very nice pilgrms and locals. Such a wonderful country.