• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

OBSOLETE COVID THREAD April too early?

OBSOLETE COVID THREAD
Status
Not open for further replies.

Pilgrim2023

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2021
I have been reading a lot in Spanish that the country will be opened after easter. I hope to start from France but not sure of the border situation with Spain, but is there any border posts?

I realise albergues might not be open, but I can see on booking .com that there are many hotels open now along the route.

Before anyone says, I will have had both vaccine shots.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
It would be helpful if you would cite the sources you have been reading. Most of the information I have seen suggests that Spain may open its borders to tourists in September/October.

As a bye-the-bye I can currently book a room on Berking.con for a local hotel in my home town. A strange opportunity given that the premises are boarded up and affixed with a prominent For Sale sign.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
@WalkerForever, I agree with @C clearly that you must have better access to information about the ins and outs of restrictions on entry into Spain and restrictions on mobility within Spain than all of us together as you live in Spain's neighbour country Portugal, read news in Spanish and are obviously a resident or even a national of Portugal. In addition, here you are likely to receive information about conditions that apply to other forum members but not to you.

As to what you presumably want to know: I happened to have come across a recent article in El Pais that explains why Spain is closed to domestic tourism but open to Europeans and while regional borders remain largely sealed, 274,242 foreign travelers arrived in January thanks to different rules adopted by central and regional authorities.

I think the article also addresses differences between travel across Spain's air borders, sea borders and land borders. In short, Navarra won't and can't stop you from walking from France into Navarra. And Spain could but doesn't and hasn't done so for quite a while. However, like most of the discussions around this topic during the past months and weeks, the discussion is mainly of theoretical interest, without much practical value for readers of this forum.

Article here in English (translated by El Pais) and in Spanish.
 
Last edited:
It would be helpful if you would cite the sources you have been reading. Most of the information I have seen suggests that Spain may open its borders to tourists in September/October.

As a bye-the-bye I can currently book a room on Berking.con for a local hotel in my home town. A strange opportunity given that the premises are boarded up and affixed with a prominent For Sale sign.

There is a lot of reports in the British press about Spain being open for tourism from May.

Where is the information that suggests September or is it opinion/personal views?
 
@WalkerForever, I agree with @C clearly that you must have better access to information about the ins and outs of restrictions on entry into Spain and restrictions on mobility within Spain than all of us together as you live in Spain's neighbour country Portugal, read news in Spanish and are obviously a resident or even a national of Portugal. In addition, here you are likely to receive information about conditions that apply to other forum members but not to you.

As to what you presumably want to know: I happened to have come across a recent article in El Pais that explains why Spain is closed to domestic tourism but open to Europeans and while regional borders remain largely sealed, 274,242 foreign travelers arrived in January thanks to different rules adopted by central and regional authorities.

I think the article also addresses differences between travel across Spain's air borders, sea borders and land borders. In short, Navarra won't and can't stop you from walking from France into Navarra. And Spain could but doesn't and hasn't done so for quite a while. However, like most of the discussions around this topic during the past months and weeks, the discussion is mainly of theoretical interest, without much practical value for readers of this forum.

Article here in English (translated by El Pais) and in Spanish.
Thanks, that's confirmed that I could walk from France into Spain.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I have been reading a lot in Spanish that the country will be opened after easter. I hope to start from France but not sure of the border situation with Spain, but is there any border posts?

I realise albergues might not be open, but I can see on booking .com that there are many hotels open now along the route.

Before anyone says, I will have had both vaccine shots.
You ask the question - April is far too early. Figures everywhere remain high, There is uncertainty about whether the vaccines stops transmission. It is frustrating but we all need to be responsible and wait. I think 2021 is not a year to do a Camino or indeed go anywhere but your own country.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I have been reading a lot in Spanish that the country will be opened after easter. I hope to start from France but not sure of the border situation with Spain, but is there any border posts?

I realise albergues might not be open, but I can see on booking .com that there are many hotels open now along the route.

Before anyone says, I will have had both vaccine shots.
I have had my vaccines also. Just because you have the vaccine it is far from determined how difficult or easy it would be for you to pass the virus on to someone else. Is there a reason you can't wait? I am not being rude I just wonder what the rush is. Do you know if the variants to the virus will sufficiently protect you and others from the vaccine you received? There seems to be a possibility, how great no one can say if another strain of the virus will appear and render the vaccine you received ineffective. As someone else said that you live in Portugal. Why don't you go to source information to find out what you can and cannot do. I am sure there is a plethora of information from the Spanish government and from the autonomous regions you walk through. Obviously you speak Spanish pretty well that will definitely make it much easier. Remember a major tenet and lesson we learn as Pilgrims is generosity and thinking of others and their health and safety as much if not more than our own. Buen Camino
 
Where is the information that suggests September or is it opinion/personal views?
It is all personal opinion and hope. The authorities should have "plans" for various scenarios, and of course they know their hoped-for plan, but even they don't know which plan they will be implementing in the end.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I have been reading a lot in Spanish that the country will be opened after easter. I hope to start from France but not sure of the border situation with Spain, but is there any border posts?

I realise albergues might not be open, but I can see on booking .com that there are many hotels open now along the route.

Before anyone says, I will have had both vaccine shots.
I am waiting to hear the news. I will get my 2nd vaccine in a week and after that I will start to plan my trip. Can’t wait to go!
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
There is a lot of reports in the British press about Spain being open for tourism from May.

Where is the information that suggests September or is it opinion/personal views?
The are reports in the British press about all sorts of things; some of them, occasionally, even accurate. I'll wait for the Spanish government to announce that there are no Covid related restrictions in place in Spain.
 
I noticed on the website of the Roncesvalles albergue that had been closed all winter, with even their so called winter albergue space closed this winter season: Ya puede realizar su reserva para estancias a partir del 1 de mayo del año 2021. The fact that you can doesn't mean that you should or that it's a good idea or that the reservation will be of any use to you in the end, though.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
It's possible for resident of Galicia to walk Caminos now, so perhaps there is no need for the pessimism over whether it's possible to walk in April and beyond? The pandemic is obviously on the retreat. Galicia would not allow this otherwise.

The Camino de Santiago, within your region

What is expected is that mobility is possible within communities, especially those in which the virus has managed to stop. Many are the regions that have already decided to eliminate perimeter closures by municipalities or areas, allowing mobility throughout their territory or part of it, as is the case of Castilla y León or Galicia.

Thus, a pilgrim could return to the Camino de Santiago, although only the journey within their community (as long as it does not establish internal mobility limitations).

In Galicia, for example, those who legally reside in the community and in those municipalities included in the area of medium restrictions will be able to do the Camino. Thus, they will be able to walk all the Paths that pass through Galicia except the Portuguese, English and Fisterra-Muxía."

 
I think I might as well read what’s at the bottom of my tea cup than a badly updated promo blog of the Postal Office 🙃. I mean “Este martes, 16 de febrero” - this Tuesday, the 16th of February??? Residents of Galicia may be able to walk all the Caminos in Galicia except the Camino Ingles and Fisterra-Muxia???
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
I had a scheduled flight from the US to Madrid on 13 April, moved from May 2020 to Oct 2020. Yesterday I received an email from United advising me that my flight had been cancelled. Rescheduling for October.
 
It's possible for resident of Galicia to walk Caminos now, so perhaps there is no need for the pessimism over whether it's possible to walk in April and beyond? The pandemic is obviously on the retreat. Galicia would not allow this otherwise.
You are misrepresenting the message of the article to which you linked. The overriding point is that restrictions continue, and the ability to walk Caminos is very limited at the present. There is some very balanced advice for those who are thinking of walking soon.
 
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.
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
"The foreign ministry statement said new legitimate reasons for travel would include the fact that one person in a couple – both married or in civil partnership – is living abroad for professional reasons.

Other legitimate reasons include families living abroad but who have children in school in France, couples with children abroad and in France, students taking an exam, as well as people returning to their principal residence if that is in France.

The ministry said it still strongly recommends limiting international travel as much as possible.
"

I don't see "walking a Camino" on that list.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Maybe it's too early ; maybe not.

The two likeliest dates for the ending of most lockdowns in Spain are April 9th and May 9th.

But your guess is as good as mine as to the actual dates ; though the State of Alarm will end on May 9th, and so likely will even the most persistent lockdowns.

The land border between France and Spain is not closed ; though there are internal travel restrictions in Catalonia particularly.
 
Just 7 countrys , and the rest off the restrictions are staying.
Mainly that's just the 6PM curfew and some weekend lockdowns in some places.

The issue travel-wise is if the countries in question are authorising outbound travel.
 
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.
To each their own. Simple as that NicP.
I guess that’s my point- as an individual, you get to decide to do what ever you like, even if it is medically or scientifically ill advised. As a doctor, I have an obligation to assist you with the foreseeable consequences of that decision, and then also have to deal with how your decision impacts on me.... so yeah, each to their own is a nice ideal, however the reality has turned out a little different....
 
Fantástic forum.....as a person Who lives here ..now cataluna from Monday we can travél anywhere in cataluna not outside, however this is a big step ... You can come from France with your neg test etc...things are changing here constantly but in a positive way ! My only personal opinión is by may there Will be an agreement regarding Who Can come here or not as there is a EU VAC cert which Will be rolled out before summer for económico reasons !
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I guess that’s my point- as an individual, you get to decide to do what ever you like, even if it is medically or scientifically ill advised. As a doctor, I have an obligation to assist you with the foreseeable consequences of that decision, and then also have to deal with how your decision impacts on me.... so yeah, each to their own is a nice ideal, however the reality has turned out a little different....
If the relevant governments / authorities permit pilgrims to travel the various ways then it should be up the individual to decide whether and when to travel. We could of course all wait for you to give us the green light from NZ. Judging someone by your own opinion doesn't define them, rather it defines you. ✌🏻
 
If the relevant governments / authorities permit pilgrims to travel the various ways then it should be up the individual to decide whether and when to travel. We could of course all wait for you to give us the green light from NZ. Judging someone by your own opinion doesn't define them, rather it defines you. ✌🏻
Exactly! Good luck to you!
 
I guess that’s my point- as an individual, you get to decide to do what ever you like, even if it is medically or scientifically ill advised. As a doctor, I have an obligation to assist you with the foreseeable consequences of that decision, and then also have to deal with how your decision impacts on me.... so yeah, each to their own is a nice ideal, however the reality has turned out a little different....
Doctor, I hate to respectfully disagree with you but I must. You do not have an obligation to assist me or advise me unless I am your patient. If you get into your car and I get into mine how I drive could impact your life, or how you drive your car can impact me. But that is not the issue. Let me ask you if you or any of your family smokes. By the CDC’s own figures, each year more than 480,000 Americans will die of smoking related issues. Direct issues, more than COVID. Do you or any of your immediate family or professional associates smoke? My guess is yes. Please let me make decisions that will effect me. I cannot worry about how everything I do will affect everyone else. You can look after yourself.
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
This thread started with a question - perhaps naive - about whether April was too early to plan to walk. That question has been addressed to the extent it can, until April arrives.

Everyone has their own style of waiting and hoping, patiently or impatiently, planning or not planning, feeling in a hurry or calmly ignoring time. But no one on this thread has suggested that they intend to ignore the evidence and the public health guidance.

The argument is getting a bit personal, is heading off topic, and it is providing no new information or real insight, so I will close the thread.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top