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Bed in Roncesvalles May 7th

Smiler 49

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino F April 2019
I tried to book in pilgrims hostel, but they are booked out. I have seen other options on booking.com, but they all seem to be outside of Roncesvalles. Does anyone have any recommendations of places not out of the way and close to food. Thanks in advance for any much appreciated advise
 
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As Robo suggests walk on to Burguete which has food after checking what Gronze.com suggests. If all else fails this camping spot after Burguete offers pilgrim accommodation and food.

Good luck and Buen camino!
 
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€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I tried to book in pilgrims hostel, but they are booked out. I have seen other options on booking.com, but they all seem to be outside of Roncesvalles. Does anyone have any recommendations of places not out of the way and close to food. Thanks in advance for any much appreciated advise

Keep in mind that if lodging is full at your planned stopping point, and if you are too tired to walk the additional distance to a different town, then you can take a bus or taxi. Even if you need to go away from the Camino for the night. Just arrange to taxi back the next morning to where you had stopped.
 
Thanks so much all of you for your help. The taxi idea does open up more options. I will get cracking on this and see what suits me best
 
I tried to book in pilgrims hostel, but they are booked out.
The albergue (pilgrims hostel) in Roncesvalles has currently 183 beds available for pilgrims, spread out over 3 floors. Only beds on floor 1 can be booked, the beds on the other floors are attributed on a first come first served basis. There is currently a high demand for beds but I see that you plan to arrive on 7 May which is a Tuesday. You may get a bed at the Roncesvalles albergue when you arrive. Buen camino!
 
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The albergue (pilgrims hostel) in Roncesvalles has currently 183 beds available for pilgrims, spread out over 3 floors. Only beds on floor 1 can be booked, the beds on the other floors are attributed on a first come first served basis. There is currently a high demand for beds but I see that you plan to arrive on 7 May which is a Tuesday. You may get a bed at the Roncesvalles albergue when you arrive. Buen camino!

Interesting. I don't want to be booking ahead if possible and rather see where the day takes me. This is good news as hopefully it won't mean a bubble all the way and I might just turn up and see what the Camino provides.
 
Interesting. I don't want to be booking ahead if possible and rather see where the day takes me. This is good news as hopefully it won't mean a bubble all the way and I might just turn up and see what the Camino provides.
Start early. Yesterday (1 May) and the day before (30 April) the Roncesvalles albergue was full early in the afternoon. In Burguete, they opened a sports hall as an emergency albergue. But I think you picked a good date for your start. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Pamplona can be a bit of a bottleneck. But as others have said, there are taxis to take you to a bed (and back) if all else fails.
 
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.
I tried to book in pilgrims hostel, but they are booked out. I have seen other options on booking.com, but they all seem to be outside of Roncesvalles. Does anyone have any recommendations of places not out of the way and close to food. Thanks in advance for any much appreciated advise
I thought you could not book out this early. I just tried to book for my date of May 9th and it was denied.
 
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I thought you could not book out this early. I just tried to book for my date of May 9th and it was denied.
I booked the Roncesvalles albergue back on March 22 for my May 12 arrival. It's possible that all of the beds that they have available for reservations are fully booked by now. They still have a good number of beds available for walk ins
 
I thought you could not book out this early. I just tried to book for my date of May 9th and it was denied.
Some people have problems booking with their credit card because their bank has not enabled a security feature that is required by the payment operator who processes the payment on behalf of the albergue.

The Roncesvalles albergue allows bookings for any day between now and 6 November 2019.

At the time of writing, there are still more than 15 beds available that can be booked for 9 May 2019.

It is possible to email the Roncesvalles albergue and they may send details for payment by Paypal plus a small fee. For this payment procedure, the credit card's security feature does not need to be activated.
 
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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Twice (2017 and 2018) I have arrived at Roncesvalles from SJPdP by 4: 00 pm and saw pilgrims being turned away by the Hospitaleros who were also trying to arrange taxis for those not able to walk to the next towns up the road. Both times I had made reservations several months in advance for that first day of walking, and ended the day by being thankful that I had.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I tried to book in pilgrims hostel, but they are booked out. I have seen other options on booking.com, but they all seem to be outside of Roncesvalles. Does anyone have any recommendations of places not out of the way and close to food. Thanks in advance for any much appreciated advise
Just because it is booked out does not mean it is full. They reserve beds for people arriving without a booking. I believe they only book the first floor but second floor is for 'walk ins'. If you have enough fuel in your tank, there are two good albergues in Espinal just 6.5 km further on. The albergue I stayed in in Espinal served dinner in the attached bar so food not a problem
 
Twice (2017 and 2018) I have arrived at Roncesvalles from SJPdP by 4: 00 pm and saw pilgrims being turned away by the Hospitaleros who were also trying to arrange taxis for those not able to walk to the next towns up the road. Both times I had made reservations several months in advance for that first day of walking, and ended the day by being thankful that I had.

What time of year was that Dave? I persume with numbers going up, it can hardly have improved.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
A friend of a friend that is with the Camigas FB group reported yesterday over 100 people were turned away at Roncesvalles and no beds available up to and including Zubiri.
 
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It's been the same for at least several years now: Roncesvalles albergue has to turn pilgrims away and the hotel and guesthouses at Roncesvalles are full, too, during "pilgrimage peak periods" and that's not during the summer months, contrary to what many people believe. In Roncesvalles, it regularly happens around the 1st of May for example. This weekend (4-5 May 2019) will be very busy, too.
 
We were in zubiri yesterday and that and surrounding towns were booked out :(
 
It's been the same for at least several years now: Roncesvalles albergue has to turn pilgrims away and the hotel and guesthouses at Roncesvalles are full, too, during "pilgrimage peak periods" and that's not during the summer months, contrary to what many people believe. In Roncesvalles, it regularly happens around the 1st of May for example. This weekend (4-5 May 2019) will be very busy, too.

K, you have been very helpful and informative. If I am arriving in Roncesvalles on the 7th, should I just see what it's like when I arrive or prebook? I would be prepared to walk on, but not to Zubiri
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Here's what one can tell from the booking page of the Roncesvalles albergue:

There are around 120 beds available for walk-ins (I don't know the exact number but it's in the hundreds). First come, first served.

Around 60 beds (again, I don't know the exact number) can be booked in advance. Of these, currently:

4 May - no availability
5 May - no availability
6 May - 6 beds available for booking
7 May - no availablity
8 May - 9 beds available for booking
9 May - more than 15 beds (could be many more!) a.f.b.
10 May - more than 15 beds (could be many more!) a.f.b.

If you can't get a bed in Roncesvalles, you can walk on or get a taxi to one of the next villages or to Pamplona, then either continue from there or take taxi or bus back to where you stopped walking. I follow one FB group where pilgrims expressed surprise that, on 30 April or 1 May, the church in Roncesvalles was not opened for pilgrims to sleep in although someone had asked for it. So don't count on this. If you want to sleep somewhere outside and are not carrying gear for it, I'd suggest you check the weather report first. Buen camino to everyone!!!
 
Thanks again. At this stage, I am going to relax and remember there are always options. To everyone who replied and offered advice, thank you for your appreciated help. Especially you, K!
 
I tried to book in pilgrims hostel, but they are booked out. I have seen other options on booking.com, but they all seem to be outside of Roncesvalles. Does anyone have any recommendations of places not out of the way and close to food. Thanks in advance for any much appreciated advise
Hiya, it depends on your budget. There is a hotel that is actually part of the Roncesvalles monastery complex (at least there was in 2016). I remember trying not to be jealous of the fortunate few who had reservations there. Unless it has changed, you can't book the main albergue at Roncesvalles, so not sure about it being fully booked - its first come, first served . . . .
I think the key is (in my opinion) to book a night at Refugio Orisson which is only around 8km out of SJPDP. This forces you into a short first day (helps you stay injury free), gives you the opportunity to meet the community that you will be walking with for the next few weeks, and means you have a head start on those leaving from SJPDP when you walk to Roncesvalles the following day.
Buen Camino (really, really wish I was there!)
 
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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
We were in zubiri yesterday and that and surrounding towns were booked out :(

We had the same issue last year. At this time.
May would seem to be the busiest month, and Roncesvalles to Zubiri appears to be one of the greatest 'bottlenecks' on the CF these days during busy months.
We had booked just beyond Zubiri and were told that on that night, there were no beds at all between Zubiri and Pamplona.
People were getting taxis to Pamplona.

The log jam cleared after Pamplona.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I just tried to book the hostel again last night and succeeded in getting a bed. However, it is showing as full again now. Maybe they had a cancellation or two. Either way, sorted for the night.

A different question, but does anyone know a way of seeing the stage stops in the Briely guide. Just so I can avoid them if I am finding bed shortages. I don't have the guide.
 
A different question, but does anyone know a way of seeing the stage stops in the Briely guide. Just so I can avoid them if I am finding bed shortages. I don't have the guide.
These endpoints are not unique to John Brierley and his guidebook, they are more or less universal. Have a look at these popular Spanish websites, it is easy to understand where each stage starts and ends even without knowing a word of Spanish:

http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/frances/ - 31 stages
https://www.gronze.com/camino-frances - 33 stages

Brierley's guidebook has 33 stages.
 
Thanks K. I should have guessed that they were universal. Off to Cork airport in an hour and will be in SJDP, later on in the day. Time for one more gear check and lightening the load!
 
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