Booking accommodation in Easter week?

[annasofie]

Hi!

I'm setting out on my first Camino in the end of March from Burgos. My boyfriend can only get a few days of work, and is planning to meet me in Sarria (the 16th of April) and we'll do the rest of the walk together. That means we will arrive in Santiago either Easter day (21st) or the day after which is also a holiday. I'm unsure if it is needed to book ahead for that last strech (Sarria - Santiago)? We were thinking to at least do it for Santiago, but we would also like to sleep between Sarria and Santiago

And do you have other recommendations walking at that time of year?

Thank you!

 

[dgallen]

You'll be walking during one of the busiest weeks on the busiest sections so highly recommend that if you can delay your arrival in Sarria a few days, most of the crowd will be a few days ahead of you. Many schools and universities have the week off before Easter, along with everyday work folk and Camino is hugely popular for a 5 day walk. Sarria to Santiago will be very, very busy. Accommodations of any kind will be full and the trails, the bars, the restaurants will be packed. Since this is a late Easter this year, you'll probably have even more pilgrims then years past (with exception of holy years).

By delaying a few days you will avoid the biggest rush of local pilgrims who all want to be in Santiago on Easter day. Finding a place to stay in Santiago during Easter weekend may be almost impossible and really expensive (since Santiago for non walking pilgrims is also a popular Easter destination too). The good news is that many of the private albergues start opening in anticipation of Easter, so more beds will be available. A good way to check how busy places are is to hop onto Booking.com and check vacancies and prices at hostels, hotels etc. on various dates at major evening stopping points from Sarria. You may find that a couple days after April 16th from Sarria, accomodations start to clear along the way.

 

[Anamya]

Hi Anna

You should look for some accommodation options in advance, indeed. As @dgallen said, it is the busiest part of the route in an incredibly busy time of the year. See if you can find some "cancelation free" options in sites like booking.com and Agoda. be flexible to stay in albergues or maybe other types of accomodation, such as small hotels.

Also, be prepared for a rise in price on those dates. I'll be starting my walk on Easter weekend from Santander, and prices were waaaay above the average in previous caminos. I also noticed that spike while doing my Camino Portugues in 2017.

Despite that, it will be an awesome experience! Buen Camino!

 

[alaskadiver]

We’re walking The Invierno route from Ponferrada to Santiago starting Easter week (Wednesday). I booked almost everyday for the next week after seeing how full everything was and this was back in November! Granted, my route only has a handful of albergues, so the places I was looking at were pensiones. But it certainly gives an idea of how busy that time of year gets. All of Spain is on vacation.
Definitely book a place in Santiago-if you can find anything available for booking.

 

[annasofie]

You'll be walking during one of the busiest weeks on the busiest sections so highly recommend that if you can delay your arrival in Sarria a few days, most of the crowd will be a few days ahead of you. Many schools and universities have the week off before Easter, along with everyday work folk and Camino is hugely popular for a 5 day walk. Sarria to Santiago will be very, very busy. Accommodations of any kind will be full and the trails, the bars, the restaurants will be packed. Since this is a late Easter this year, you'll probably have even more pilgrims then years past (with exception of holy years).

By delaying a few days you will avoid the biggest rush of local pilgrims who all want to be in Santiago on Easter day. Finding a place to stay in Santiago during Easter weekend may be almost impossible and really expensive (since Santiago for non walking pilgrims is also a popular Easter destination too). The good news is that many of the private albergues start opening in anticipation of Easter, so more beds will be available. A good way to check how busy places are is to hop onto Booking.com and check vacancies and prices at hostels, hotels etc. on various dates at major evening stopping points from Sarria. You may find that a couple days after April 16th from Sarria, accomodations start to clear along the way.

Thank you for your reply! The issue is that my boyfriend is one of those Spanish work folk and he has his holiday right there (along with the rest of Spain). We are considering if he can get of work 23rd and 24th so we can arrive a day or two later to Santiago, but that is the furthest it can be streched. But if he can't we will just have to deal with the situation as it is, and book soon

 

[Anniesantiago]

For Easter week I'd be booking yesterday, not tomorrow.