advice - budget accommodation for a group

[Pilgrim-S-414]

Hi, I need some advice on budget accommodation for a group of pilgrims. The idea is to organise a Camino for group of 40 pilgrims starting in Carrión de los Condes and arriving at SdC at July 25th 2018. The group will be walking but our bus will follow us all the way, for logistical support.
We don't want to overwhelm albergue capacity at individual stages (for other pilgrims) so the idea is to book private albergues, where possible, for a smaller part of the group. The larger part of the group will either sleep in the bus/outdoor or in an indoor space on the floor (if we mange to find one)
Tour organisers I've contacted all offer hotels or private rooms which is beyond our (very basic) budget.

Has anyone had experience with similar group pilgrimages and can offer advice and/or suggestions for accommodation?
Many thanks in advance.

 

[SYates]

One suggestion would be to contact town halls (for the use of sport halls /polideportivos) which would mean to sleep on the floor but having basic facilities (toilet/shower) available.

Second, I would aim at arriving the 24th July latest as the big festivities (including fireworks) are that day.

Buen Camino, SY

 

[Kanga]

If you have a bus for transport, please consider booking accommodation a few kilometres to the side of the path. It will be much cheaper and there are lots of small towns that would really appreciate the business, and it leaves accommodation on the path free for those who are walking (and who don't have the option). It obviously needs looking at a map, but you will find plenty of villages and towns within 5 or 10 km of the path - too far for a walker but only minutes in a bus.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

You might do well going with an albergue that travels with you, a bus with beds. They exist. A German touring company called Rotel (Rolling hOTEL) might have a bus available. For a short description see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotel_Tours and for the company's website visit http://www.rotel.de/

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Municipal and parochial albergues generally exclude pilgrims with chase vehicles, so you will need to focus your search on private albergues. Youth groups of your size and larger are regular features from Sarria onward, though they carry their own packs. Typically there are chaperones for every four to six youth because more than that becomes an exercise in herding cats! You will never get forty people moving together, so your plan should include that reality. You could break up into smaller groups each night and find accommodation more easily. I don't envy your project!

 

[jmcarp]

You might do well going with an albergue that travels with you, a bus with beds. They exist. A German touring company called Rotel (Rolling hOTEL) might have a bus available. For a short description see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotel_Tours and for the company's website visit http://www.rotel.de/

That's a great idea. I've seen Rotel buses on a couple of occasions here in the US (once in New England and once at Zion NP in Utah). My immediate thought on seeing them was "That looks like a rolling albergue--what a great idea!" The bus carried a complete camp-style kitchen in one of the storage bays, and the driver/cook prepared breakfast and dinner for the group every day. The people on the tours seemed to be having a wonderful time.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Talk about creating a bed race making it sure everyone else walking in that wave is stressed out about having a bed. I don't envy them. 40 beds is often all there is in a town. And in high season no less.

 

[RENSHAW]

Talk about creating a bed race making it sure everyone else walking in that wave is stressed out about having a bed. I don't envy them. 40 beds is often all there is in a town. And in high season no less.

I have a feeling that this ain't going to happen - nice dream - with no cash to support and then one needs to get there first? I am sure that there are many folks out there that want to take their entire Sunday School class on an experience of a lifetime .........still I wish the OP all the best ............ may it somehow happen for them?

 

[RENSHAW]

Hey!! I mean it !!! live the dream - who knows ..........it may Happen?

 

[Felipe]

Have you considered camping places? Lots of space, not cramped bedrooms, recreational areas, bonfire, singing moments chance.
Yours is a great project. It just requires good planning.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I lead groups on the Camino.
Groups of 7-14.
I shudder at the thought of leading FORTY!
In fact, I think this post is going to give me nightmares!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Also, try booking.com and people's ideas of staying OFF the Camino is a good one. Often you only have to go 5-10 miles off the route to find inexpensive lodgings.
But good luck finding lodging for 40!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

From a Boy Scout leader:

I just finished a Camino from St Jean to Finisterra earlier this summer and remember looking to this forum for advice on camping before I left so I wanted to share my experience carrying a tent and trying to camp during our hike. I was also the leader of the group of Boy Scouts that was discussed briefly on this forum earlier in the summer so our group of hikers was 21 people. Here's a few details on our experiences out there.

Of our 37 nights on trail I stayed in my tent 31 times. I carried a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 and overall it performed very well. It was easy to set up, very light weight, kept out bugs, had a small footprint, and held up well to some of the strong storms that blasted us on our journey. We stayed at very few, if any, commercial campgrounds, and usually just stayed in gardens, public parks, and pastures along the way. We always started out by asking about some public land at the municipal albergue and if we couldn't find anything that way we would ask some people around town and were usually able to camp in a pasture near the edge of town. We also found that people were less receptive to camping in the eastern portion of the Camino but as we moved west where there were more pilgrims there were usually designated spots or grass where pilgrims could camp given that there was often an overflow.

I found that staying in tents didn't really affect our ability to socialize with fellow hikers along the way. We were able to hang out with whomever we liked during the afternoons and evenings at the local cafes and simply retired to our tents at night when they retired to their beds in the albergues.

We saw some hikers that had some bad experiences with bed bugs at albergues from time to time so it was nice to have the option to avoid that possibility all together.

Tents also gave us flexibility for when we went to bed and when we woke up. We could go to bed as early or late as we wanted and not have to worry about disturbing anyone or being disturbed. We could also wake up as early or late as we wanted without having to worry about other hikers schedules. Also, there was only one hiker in our group that snored, and I would just not set my tent up next to his.

We saw many hikers rushing through the day simply to make sure that they got one of the limited beds in the albergues and we also saw some hikers having to press on late in the day if they arrived in a small town and the only albergue was full and they weren't carrying tents. The tents gave us the flexibility to choose our target town, then spend a few minutes finding a piece of grass, and not have to worry about how crowded the albergue was.

Lastly, no one would want a group of 21 people descending on an albergue and taking the limited beds, so it was just as easy for us to set up in the nearby pasture, and leave the beds for the other hikers.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience of camping on the Camino and I'd be glad to answer any questions for anyone else that is looking to camp along the way.

Buen Camino

 

[SYates]

Hi, I need some advice on budget accommodation for a group of pilgrims. The idea is to organise a Camino for group of 40 pilgrims starting in Carrión de los Condes and arriving at SdC at July 25th 2018. The group will be walking but our bus will follow us all the way, for logistical support.
We don't want to overwhelm albergue capacity at individual stages (for other pilgrims) so the idea is to book private albergues, where possible, for a smaller part of the group. The larger part of the group will either sleep in the bus/outdoor or in an indoor space on the floor (if we mange to find one)
Tour organisers I've contacted all offer hotels or private rooms which is beyond our (very basic) budget.

Has anyone had experience with similar group pilgrimages and can offer advice and/or suggestions for accommodation?
Many thanks in advance.

Just had a brain wave ;-) (happens occasionally) contact this parish/monastery (Czech, English and Spanish spoken) https://www.augustiniani.cz/farnost/farnost-sv-tomase-v-praze-na-male-strane

For English contact Father William, I know that this parish has done group pilgrimages in the past, so they might have some useful info. Buen Camino, SY

 

[RENSHAW]

From a Boy Scout leader:

I just finished a Camino from St Jean to Finisterra earlier this summer and remember looking to this forum for advice on camping before I left so I wanted to share my experience carrying a tent and trying to camp during our hike. I was also the leader of the group of Boy Scouts that was discussed briefly on this forum earlier in the summer so our group of hikers was 21 people. Here's a few details on our experiences out there.

Of our 37 nights on trail I stayed in my tent 31 times. I carried a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 and overall it performed very well. It was easy to set up, very light weight, kept out bugs, had a small footprint, and held up well to some of the strong storms that blasted us on our journey. We stayed at very few, if any, commercial campgrounds, and usually just stayed in gardens, public parks, and pastures along the way. We always started out by asking about some public land at the municipal albergue and if we couldn't find anything that way we would ask some people around town and were usually able to camp in a pasture near the edge of town. We also found that people were less receptive to camping in the eastern portion of the Camino but as we moved west where there were more pilgrims there were usually designated spots or grass where pilgrims could camp given that there was often an overflow.

I found that staying in tents didn't really affect our ability to socialize with fellow hikers along the way. We were able to hang out with whomever we liked during the afternoons and evenings at the local cafes and simply retired to our tents at night when they retired to their beds in the albergues.

We saw some hikers that had some bad experiences with bed bugs at albergues from time to time so it was nice to have the option to avoid that possibility all together.

Tents also gave us flexibility for when we went to bed and when we woke up. We could go to bed as early or late as we wanted and not have to worry about disturbing anyone or being disturbed. We could also wake up as early or late as we wanted without having to worry about other hikers schedules. Also, there was only one hiker in our group that snored, and I would just not set my tent up next to his.

We saw many hikers rushing through the day simply to make sure that they got one of the limited beds in the albergues and we also saw some hikers having to press on late in the day if they arrived in a small town and the only albergue was full and they weren't carrying tents. The tents gave us the flexibility to choose our target town, then spend a few minutes finding a piece of grass, and not have to worry about how crowded the albergue was.

Lastly, no one would want a group of 21 people descending on an albergue and taking the limited beds, so it was just as easy for us to set up in the nearby pasture, and leave the beds for the other hikers.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience of camping on the Camino and I'd be glad to answer any questions for anyone else that is looking to camp along the way.

Buen Camino

WOW!!