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Avoiding pre-booking possible during spring?

SoydeIndia

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
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Hola fellow pilgrims!

I am planning to walk the Camino Frances next year from Pamplona with my spouse (open to April, May or June). I've been reading about the rush to get a bed and it has me a bit worried - ideally I would like to complete the walk with minimal prebooking. At the same time, I am not likely to get up at 5 am to walk, it's more likely that I am on the road at 7. I suffer from anxiety a little bit, and would not like the stress of having to get a bed to take away from my walk.

We are from India and not used to cold weather. What would you suggest as a good balance to managing the crowds and the weather? Pre-booking certain cities only? Is May possible or would it be better to start in April? Avoid the Frances altogether and walk the Portugese way instead?

Gracias!

edit - adding a few details. We hope to walk about 20 km a day. We are in our 30s and have average fitness levels. We do not plan on sending our packs ahead.
 
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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.
Start walking in late May/June to avoid cold weather (maybe the occasional chilly morning or evening is all). Pre book in Pamplona and Santiago. The rest of the Way, no worries.
 
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Start walking in late May/June to avoid cold weather (maybe the occasional chilly morning or evening is all). Pre book in Pamplona and Santiago. The rest of the Way, no worries.
Thank you RJM, this sets my mind at ease
 
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I'll start as a firsttimer this year in May and decided not to prebook - except for SJPdP, Orrison & Roncevalles.

After that, I'll just walk with no booking ahead.

Should I find that there are bedraces and I cannot handle it well, then I can still change my mind and book my next accommodation either the day before or the same morning before starting to walk.

But I sincerly hope this will not be necessary, because I would like to stay as free as possible and stop wherever it suits me exactly that day.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
ideally I would like to complete the walk with minimal prebooking. At the same time, I am not likely to get up at 5 am to walk, it's more likely that I am on the road at 7.
The problem may be that you hope the camino will conform to you rather than the other way around.:):)

You can't always get what you want. It is easier to change what you want than what will be offered. There are strategies for easily getting a bed. Get up early. Stop early. Stop in midpoint towns. Reserve. It is not wise to reject ALL the possibilities. Don't reject the life preserver because you want a lifeboat.
 
You can't always get what you want. It is easier to change what you want than what will be offered. There are strategies for easily getting a bed. Get up early. Stop early. Stop in midpoint towns. Reserve. It is not wise to reject ALL the possibilities. Don't reject the life preserver because you want a lifeboat.

Couldn't agree more. Personally I would book somewhere to stay when you arrive to relax into being a new country/adjusting to the new timezone. After that, take it as it comes, booking isn't a sin! It's super hard not to get wrapped up in other people's anxiety about getting a bed even if you're quite chilled. It's *much* harder if you're anxious about things anyway. This doesn't get talked about enough on the forum but if you are fairly wealthy (i.e. most people on the camino) the not getting a bed problem really isn't an issue - there are beds for almost everyone almost everywhere but if there isn't a bed you can buy your way out of the problem with a taxi or a hotel and if there are two of you the cost difference wont be so great.
 
You’ll hear plenty of folks moaning about bed-races and the need to prebook, but just ignore them as you’ll end up in the same place as them most of the time without stressing over it. Walked April/May 2019 and only prebooked Leon and Santiago because I wanted to stay two nights instead of just one. Don’t let the mob dynamics scare you into worrying about it. (Walking in June, though, might be a different story - I can’t speak to that)
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
April will be less busy than May, with the exception of Semana Santa.
And of course it will be chillier.
But it's a lovely month to walk, and the sun is not up until 7-ish anyway.

I'd say (based on having walked the Frances in both months) book your first night and go from there, without boxing yourself in by over-planning. Even in May when it was pretty crowded, I didn't book and was fine - but made a point of staying in towns that were between the popular stopping places.
Expect anxiety about this (if that is your tendency), but see if you can just let it be there and take the leap anyway. One of the great lessons of the Camino is how we tend to be enslaved by fear. And how unnecessary it is, in the end.
Buen Camino!
 
I'll start as a firsttimer this year in May and decided not to prebook - except for SJPdP, Orrison & Roncevalles.

After that, I'll just walk with no booking ahead.

Should I find that there are bedraces and I cannot handle it well, then I can still change my mind and book my next accommodation either the day before or the same morning before starting to walk.

But I sincerly hope this will not be necessary, because I would like to stay as free as possible and stop wherever it suits me exactly that day.

I think I will do this as well. Let us know how it goes. Buen camino!
 
The problem may be that you hope the camino will conform to you rather than the other way around.:):)

You can't always get what you want. It is easier to change what you want than what will be offered. There are strategies for easily getting a bed. Get up early. Stop early. Stop in midpoint towns. Reserve. It is not wise to reject ALL the possibilities. Don't reject the life preserver because you want a lifeboat.

Thanks, I think I'll try a combination of getting up early, staying at mid-stage towns and praying ;)
 
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April will be less busy than May, with the exception of Semana Santa.
And of course it will be chillier.
But it's a lovely month to walk, and the sun is not up until 7-ish anyway.

I'd say (based on having walked the Frances in both months) book your first night and go from there, without boxing yourself in by over-planning. Even in May when it was pretty crowded, I didn't book and was fine - but made a point of staying in towns that were between the popular stopping places.
Expect anxiety about this (if that is your tendency), but see if you can just let it be there and take the leap anyway. One of the great lessons of the Camino is how we tend to be enslaved by fear. And how unnecessary it is, in the end.
Buen Camino!

Thank you for understanding, and the advice. I'm hoping to get my anxiety a little bit under control on this trip, and taking things as they come should be a good start!
 
It is a transaction -crowds come with milder, more pleasant weather. You can't really have it both ways.
If your priority is a not so crowded walk, you could start mid-April. That means some moderately cold days, light rains, but less people in the paths; no need to wake up and leave at 5 AM, nobody does that when it is very cold and foggy outside. Starting May, you can expect sunnier days. The last 100 km section, Sarria to Compostela, is always more crowded.
Reserve your first day to have peace of mind, see the situation, and decide if reservations are worthwhile. My last time, since I was with my spouse and felt responsible for the logistic, I reserved mid-morning, every day, when I had a reasonable idea about where I would like to make a stop. That made it nicely.
Anyway, be particularly attentive in Holy Week (Semana Santa), where throngs go to the Camino,
 
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Let me know how it goes, Alex. Buen camino!

Aww, nearly forgot to reply here!

It went very well for me this year. I did book in advance on the same day on few occasions when I knew I would be quite late on that day (after 5 in the evening) or when I wanted some specific and nice place to stay. I did it by phone for private albergues and for somewhat more upscale accommodation I did it via booking.com
 
Aww, nearly forgot to reply here!

It went very well for me this year. I did book in advance on the same day on few occasions when I knew I would be quite late on that day (after 5 in the evening) or when I wanted some specific and nice place to stay. I did it by phone for private albergues and for somewhat more upscale accommodation I did it via booking.com
Thank you for the update, Alex! I think I'll aim for April-May myself and see how it goes!
 
Aww, nearly forgot to reply here!
Ooops, me too.

I started May 22nd, walked till the end of June and did not have any problems finding a bed - I did book the first two nights after arrival though. I sometimes booked ahead, like Alex, when I expected to arrive late. I usually did not stay at the stops suggested by Brierly & Co, in the small places inbetween it was no problem finding a place to stay and found some real gems that way too.
 
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I will be curious to see how this goes for you,. I am looking at September, which i hear is busy. Don't know as much about Spring.
 
We are in the middle of our camino, well San Martin del Camino and haven't booked anything yet, an early start mid afternoon in sjpdp, and about 4th in que, thing is its so good to walk very early to avoid the heat and have the sun rise behind you, just wow.
So 6am to 6.30 we just walk briskly, have a decent break and no troubles getting an Alburgie. Then shower, wash clothes a d a full afternoon in an amazing Spanish Town /city.
Also the places we stay you can't prebook like the donativo where they take you to the cave church, vino tinto is affecting my memory, but amazing food and communal meal ect.
Off topic this is an amazing experience, I wasn't even looking forward to coming on
Buen camino
 
I will be curious to see how this goes for you,. I am looking at September, which i hear is busy. Don't know as much about Spring.
I finished around two weeks ago, and indeed it was busy. I didn't pre-book anything though except for Santiago (and even that changed last second because of an issue with the hostel upon arrival). I only found two albergues to be full my entire Camino, and both were in the same town; a very large tour group booked them. There was a pensión available though so it worked out. If you're more comfortable pre-booking, you could try doing it in the mornings. I tried to keep things fairly open in case I needed to stop earlier than expected, etc.

Buen Camino!
 
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