Booking a private room at short notice (2 weeks from now for late August)?

[alexander_fernando]

I’ve been researching the Camino for a few weeks now but suddenly need to book at short notice. I’d like to start the coastal route in late August (2 weeks from now) and was wondering is anyone knows or has experience with availability for private rooms? I will say looking and booking early next week. Any tips, suggestions appreciated.

 

[jungleboy]

These are my bookings around the same time. I don’t normally book this much in advance but it seemed prudent on this occasion. Private rooms except two nights; used Booking.com for most and contacted a couple directly (Sandra and LaCala).

Day 0 (22nd): Porto - booked Duas Naçoes (private room, €42)

Day 1 (23rd): Porto - Vila Chã (26km) - Café Sandra (private room, €30)

Day 2: (24th) Esposende (31.5km) - booked Eskimo hostel (private room, €40)

Day 3 (25th): VdC (25.1km) - booked Alex Point (private room, €42)

Day 4 (26th): VdC to Caminha (26.8km) - booked Bom Caminha albergue (private room, €45, free cancellation)

Day 5 (27th): Caminha to Oia (16.4km; ferries at 7:30, 8:30 etc) - booked LaCala Inn (albergue dormitory)

Day 6 (28th): Oia to Baiona (22.4km) - booked Estelo do Mar (albergue domitory, €16)

Day 7 (29th): Baiona to Vigo (25.3km) littoral - booked Pension Buenos Aires - €45, free cancellation

 

[dougfitz]

I would normally have suggested you book the day of your arrival beforehand, and then one or two nights in advance as you walk. If you haven't walked a camino before, it will be difficult to predict how far you will be able to walk each day comfortably at the start.
However, @jungleboy is much more likely to be aware of current conditions, and you may feel more comfortable booking with some view about what distances you can achieve. If you do that, I suggest that you consider paying a little extra to book rooms with a cancellation policy, and be prepared to recast your accommodation arrangements as you get more familiar with the distances you can sustain.

 

[Grousedoctor]

We had very good luck booking private rooms along the Costa. However, we didn’t do it so close to walking. Gronze.com will give you a pretty good idea of the places with private rooms. Many of them are directly connected to Booking.com. So, I guess the simple thing to do is to see what is available in the towns where you want to stop. Keep in mind, just because Booking.com shows no availability doesn’t mean that they are full. Just contact them by email and ask about a room. I’m now glad to have Jungleboy’s list. We stayed at two of his picks: the Bom Caminha in Caminha and LaCala in Oia. Both were great.

 

[Kanga]

When we walked the Coastal route in April we did not book more than a few hours ahead, and we always managed to find private rooms. We used a combination of the accommodation listed on the Wise Pilgrim app, booking.com, and Gronze. And sometimes serendipity (like the time we found excellent accommodation by asking at a bar), and posters along the route.

 

[alexander_fernando]

These are my bookings around the same time. I don’t normally book this much in advance but it seemed prudent on this occasion. Private rooms except two nights; used Booking.com for most and contacted a couple directly (Sandra and LaCala).

Day 0 (22nd): Porto - booked Duas Naçoes (private room, €42)

Day 1 (23rd): Porto - Vila Chã (26km) - Café Sandra (private room, €30)

Day 2: (24th) Esposende (31.5km) - booked Eskimo hostel (private room, €40)

Day 3 (25th): VdC (25.1km) - booked Alex Point (private room, €42)

Day 4 (26th): VdC to Caminha (26.8km) - booked Bom Caminha albergue (private room, €45, free cancellation)

Day 5 (27th): Caminha to Oia (16.4km; ferries at 7:30, 8:30 etc) - booked LaCala Inn (albergue dormitory)

Day 6 (28th): Oia to Baiona (22.4km) - booked Estelo do Mar (albergue domitory, €16)

Day 7 (29th): Baiona to Vigo (25.3km) littoral - booked Pension Buenos Aires - €45, free cancellation

Thankyou! Extremely helpful!!

 

[norelle]

I am on the Coastal Portugués route now. I am staying in Albergues but people trying to book private accommodations on the day or for the next day are having problems.
Tonight I am in Agucadoura at the beautiful new albergue. It is full at 3pm. I was chatting with the hospitalera and she said the whole coast is the busiest she’s ever seen it and some towns are booked out until the end of August.
I have even booked my next 2 nights in albergues.
I’m not sure if it will be the same when we cross into Spain in a few days.
And as mentioned above, if it looks full on the large booking website, you may have better luck contacting the property directly.
Good luck!
It’s a beautiful coast!