Albergue Beds - Then and Now

[carryoncouple]

We walked the Camino Frances in spring of 2013, mostly without reservations. With all the additional online information now available to Pilgrims, is it still possible to easily find a bed at the end of each day without planning ahead?

 

[Deleted member 43985]

Hi! What time of the year are you planning for? That will likely play a big part in the answers you receive.

If spring again then it is possible but you can find yourself looking sometimes at your 2nd, 3rd or 4th choices in some areas especially during Easter and after Sarria. Summer is possible but often very limited choices and I'd personally be planning a couple days ahead now based on all reports I've read. Fall is now a similar (or worse) challenge to spring, having become very popular. Winter is a breeze!

Best advice I've seen lately (thanks to @t2andreo and others) is ensuring you avoid Brierley stage ends and focus on small towns and Albergues in between.

Good luck and Buen Camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There will be about 75,000 more compostelas this year than in 2013. Accommodation infrastructure has not increased that much, so I would say that bed availability is not the same! If you walk late into the afternoon, there probably will be problems in many places.

 

[OTH86]

You might also think about private accommodations - private rooms in some albergues, hostals, casa rurales, pensions, hotels - maybe not as social, but they are options. I believe there are more of them now than in 2013, but probably not enough. Consider phoning ahead later in the day when you're more sure of your destination. Buen Camino!

 

[David Tallan]

I walked last year with my son in July and August, certainly not low season. I did book beds the first couple of nights. After that we had no trouble just finding a place until Triacastela. At Triacastela we had to try three places before finding a bed (not that it took so long). The first two places were comoletely reserved. After that, we regularly booked a day or two in advance (except in O Pedrouzo where we heard that the albergue we had picked gave preference to peregrinos on longer Caminos - having walked from Roncesvalles we were told there would be no problem just showing up).