Bed in Roncesvalles May 7th

[Smiler 49]

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

 

[Robo]

There are 5 locations in Roncesvalles as far as I know.

The Albergue
The Hotel beside it. http://www.hotelroncesvalles.com/
The Casa de los Beneficiados (small apartments)
I have used that twice. very nice.
La Posada
Casa Sabina
all have food in-house.


Others sometimes walk on to Burguete.

Gronze is a great resource:
https://www.gronze.com/etapa/saint-jean-pied-port/roncesvalles

 

[mspath]

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.

Albergue-Camping Urrobi | Albergue de Peregrinos en Camping Urrobi | Gronze.com

Información del albergue de peregrinos Albergue-Camping Urrobi, en Camping Urrobi: Precio, plazas, características, etc...

www.gronze.com

Good luck and Buen camino!

 

[Deleted member 67185]

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.

 

[Smiler 49]

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

 

[Kathar1na]

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!

 

[Smiler 49]

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.

 

[Kathar1na]

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.

 

[Smiler 49]

Will do. Thanks for the tip. Was planning to leave around 0730

 

[Kathar1na]

Was planning to leave around 0730

Good time. Although sunrise is at 06:52 on 7 May in SJPP .

 

[Smiler 49]

Good time. Although sunrise is at 06:52 on 7 May in SJPP .

Bit of a night owl, so 7.30 is pushing the boat out far enough for me. Will still be on Irish time

 

[Suzanne A]

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.

 

[trecile]

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

 

[Kathar1na]

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.

 

[ouroboros]

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 at Roncevalles for May 9 and got a reserved bed....booked o er a week ago though

 

[rappahannock_rev]

The one time I stayed at the Roncesvalles albergue (2012) I was astonished by it's size.... Hard for me to think that it would ever be full...

 

[Deleted member 67185]

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.

 

[C clearly]

The one time I stayed at the Roncesvalles albergue (2012) I was astonished by it's size.... Hard. For me to think that it would ever be full...

Part of the facility was closed just a few years ago, so fewer beds are available now.

 

[tpmchugh]

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

 

[Smiler 49]

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.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

What time of year was that Dave? I persume with numbers going up, it can hardly have improved.

It was the 3rd week in September both years.

 

[Smiler 49]

Thanks. Well I promise to let you know if same in May this year!

 

[trecile]

It was the 3rd week in September both years.

I have a friend that walked during that time period last year, and she was turned away from Roncesvalles. I don't know what time she got there, but she had walked from Orisson. She ended up staying in Burguete.

 

[AlexanderAZ]

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.

 

[Kathar1na]

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.

 

[tomishy]

We were in zubiri yesterday and that and surrounding towns were booked out

 

[Smiler 49]

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

 

[Kathar1na]

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!!!

 

[Smiler 49]

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!

 

[Frank66]

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!)

 

[Smiler 49]

My body state will determine the budget!

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Are they no longer using the "old" albergue? (Which I never got the chance to stay in, drat....)

 

[Robo]

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.

 

[Smiler 49]

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.

 

[Kathar1na]

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.

 

[Smiler 49]

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!

 

[domigee]

Alternatively, ask the first pilgrims you meet when you start walking. One of them is bound to have the Brierley.
Buen camino!