Booking or Nonchalant Approach with Accommodation

[handler]

Good day everyone,

I'm going on my first Camino Frances pilgrimage on September 15th, and I am going to arrive in Saint Jean the day before. At first I chose this date/month because I thought that September is less crowded than the other summer months, but after looking at the statistics of the arrival of pilgrims to Saint-Jean in 2019, I realized that September is the most "full" month (more than 11 thousand pilgrims).

I don't like the idea of booking accommodations and racing for bed each day, because that would ruin the charm of the Camino for me. I like hiking/walking till 4-5pm and I have planned to only rely on public albergues available for pilgrims.

I would like to know if it is really necessary to book the accommodation in Saint-Jean? At the moment, I searched a bit on Gronze and almost all accommodation is already booked for the 14th of September in Saint-Jean, which doesn't give me too much hope that I will be able to get a place to sleep on the first day.

Despite the fact that I like spontaneity, I would not like to spend the first day in an expensive hotel or on the street. For the rest of the days, I have no problem sleeping outside if I can't find an affordable place in the afternoon. I would also like to know if, in my case, it makes sense to take a tent and/or tarp with me/or maybe nothing at all.

I thank for you comprehensive answers in advance.

Have a great day.

 

[trecile]

As you noticed, September is THE most popular month for pilgrims starting from St Jean Pied de Port. For that reason, I recommend booking the first few days up to Pamplona. After that there are more intermediate towns and the pilgrim traffic spreads out.
I think that you will be able to feel more nonchalant those first days if you aren't worried about a place to sleep.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Book St. Jean and go allow your Camino to unfold from there.

 

[J Willhaus]

My husband started in Burgos last year in early September and walked to his albergue service as a hospitalero on Caldazilla de los Hermanillos. No trouble finding beds at that time when albergues were at half capacity. He did run into a bit of a squeeze in early October past Leon around the Spanish National holiday weekend, but always found a bed. He stayed in a combination of albergues (municipal, private, parroquial) private rooms, and a few hotels. The donativo albergues in that stretch were pretty empty and at times he was the only guest.

 

[jungleboy]

There doesn’t seem to be any reason not to book SJPdP since you already know your arrival date. Why risk it?

A couple of other points:

I don't like the idea of booking accommodations and racing for bed each day, because that would ruin the charm of the Camino for me.

The ‘bed race’ is when you don’t book and have to ‘race’ against other pilgrims to arrive somewhere and try to find an available bed.

I like hiking/walking till 4-5pm and I have planned to only rely on public albergues available for pilgrims.

If by public albergues you mean municipal albergues, you can’t book these in advance anyway.

 

[C clearly]

Despite the fact that I like spontaneity, I would not like to spend the first day in an expensive hotel or on the street.

I think that is exactly what most of us feel, which is why the common advice is to book for the difficult first few days, and then play it by ear.

What time will you arrive in SJPP? It seems that the municipal albergue in SJPP does not take reservations, so if you arrive early enough in SJPP, you might get lucky. However I would expect a line-up there, and I understand that the whole town does fill up at that time of year!

You asked about taking a tent or tarp. I have no experience with this, and would not want to do it myself, but if I were 50 years younger, on a strict budget, and wanted to walk spontaneously until 4-5 pm, in September, I would seriously consider taking something that would give me bare minimum shelter if necessary.

Booking in SJPP still seems to me to be the simplest solution, even though the lodging costs are more expensive there than on most of the Camino.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

my first Camino Frances pilgrimage on September 15th, and I am going to arrive in Saint Jean the day before

The public albergue can be found here https://goo.gl/maps/9krAs2PQDA3YtMix7 and does not take reservations. If you are in France then their phone number is 06 17 10 31 89 or +33 6 17 10 31 89 outside France. This email may get a response contact@terresdenavarre.fr The Gronze says that they open at 2:00pm and they take Pilgrims with credentials on a first come first bedded basis. The Gronze says "Before going to the hostel we must register at the association's office, at number 39 on the same street." That is 39 Rue de la Citadelle and is at https://goo.gl/maps/YLLf2WjYWkigQmP19 on Google Maps.

If you are in SJPdP without a reservation then call into the Pilgrim Office just a short walk down the same street at https://goo.gl/maps/pfNYgnUEJb6v3vdt9 and ask for help there. They have been known to find accommodation when everyone else thinks that SJPdP is full.

If you arrive without a reservation then try to arrive before lunch and then I would go to the Pilgrim Office first and ask there and depending on what they say then buy a takeaway snack and wander across the road to number 39 and enquire about the public albergue and decide your next steps from there.

If you get there later then I would try the albergue first because there is often a queue to get into the Pilgrim Office and only if the Public Albergue is full would I then go ask for help at the Pilgrim Office.

Let your Camino unfold before you.

 

[Anamiri]

Good day everyone,

I'm going on my first Camino Frances pilgrimage on September 15th, and I am going to arrive in Saint Jean the day before. At first I chose this date/month because I thought that September is less crowded than the other summer months, but after looking at the statistics of the arrival of pilgrims to Saint-Jean in 2019, I realized that September is the most "full" month (more than 11 thousand pilgrims).

I don't like the idea of booking accommodations and racing for bed each day, because that would ruin the charm of the Camino for me. I like hiking/walking till 4-5pm and I have planned to only rely on public albergues available for pilgrims.

I would like to know if it is really necessary to book the accommodation in Saint-Jean? At the moment, I searched a bit on Gronze and almost all accommodation is already booked for the 14th of September in Saint-Jean, which doesn't give me too much hope that I will be able to get a place to sleep on the first day.

Despite the fact that I like spontaneity, I would not like to spend the first day in an expensive hotel or on the street. For the rest of the days, I have no problem sleeping outside if I can't find an affordable place in the afternoon. I would also like to know if, in my case, it makes sense to take a tent and/or tarp with me/or maybe nothing at all.

I thank for you comprehensive answers in advance.

Have a great day.

I'd book the first 3 days. I walked in September 2016 booking only St Jean, was lucky to get a bed in the next 2 days purely because I walked fast and arrived early. Zubiri was booked out early, I later met people who arrived by 3pm, and had to taxi on, as the place was full. Arriving at 4-5 pm will probably be on the late side.
The first 2 days are tough walking, dont be fooled into thinking that day 2 looks easy because its all downhill. The last part as you ascend, and then drop down into Zubiri is challenging due to the terrain.
After Pamplona it does get easier as there are more accommodation options.

 

[El Ramon]

I'd book the first 3 days. I walked in September 2016 booking only St Jean, was lucky to get a bed in the next 2 days purely because I walked fast and arrived early. Zubiri was booked out early, I later met people who arrived by 3pm, and had to taxi on, as the place was full. Arriving at 4-5 pm will probably be on the late side.
The first 2 days are tough walking, dont be fooled into thinking that day 2 looks easy because its all downhill. The last part as you ascend, and then drop down into Zubiri is challenging due to the terrain.
After Pamplona it does get easier as there are more accommodation options.

Good point about Zubiri being booked early, I've heard from lots of pilgrims that they were shut out there, and had to cab to find a place.

 

[handler]

Thank you all. After reading your responses, I booked an overnight stay in Saint-Jean yesterday, and for the next few days I will try to get to albergues earlier in the afternoon.

I'd book the first 3 days. I walked in September 2016 booking only St Jean, was lucky to get a bed in the next 2 days purely because I walked fast and arrived early. Zubiri was booked out early, I later met people who arrived by 3pm, and had to taxi on, as the place was full. Arriving at 4-5 pm will probably be on the late side.
The first 2 days are tough walking, dont be fooled into thinking that day 2 looks easy because its all downhill. The last part as you ascend, and then drop down into Zubiri is challenging due to the terrain.
After Pamplona it does get easier as there are more accommodation options.

I am going to skip Zubiri (an probably also Roscenvalles), as I would like to avoid crowds that like to follow Brierley's stage plan. I am going to walk to Zabaldika next day to avoid crowds at Zubiri.

 

[Anhalter]

I started in mid May and also had only SJPDP and Orisson pre-booked. Despite being told by practically everyone that you absolutely must pre book up till at least Pamplona i had absolutely no problem whatsoever getting beds without reservation. Sometimes i felt a bit lucky, as apparently the guys who held the reservation did not turn up and hence i had their beds.

I am going to skip Zubiri (an probably also Roscenvalles), as I would like to avoid crowds that like to follow Brierley's stage plan. I am going to walk to Zabaldika next day to avoid crowds at Zubiri.

I planned on staying somewhere between Roncesvalles and Zubiri as well. Not many options there and what i came along was closed. I felt quite good and kept walking, but in hindsight walking Orisson to Zubiri on day 2 was a bad idea. So better look very closely at the options available on that strech.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I am going to walk to Zabaldika next day to avoid crowds at Zubiri

One of my favourites

 

[naplesdon]

When you said "expensive" hotel in SJPdP, Hotel Central immediately jumped into my mind and it is not that expensive and has a lovely dining area overlooking the Nive. It appears you found a place anyway.

 

[xin loi]

Never pre booked on any of my 5 Caminos...but had to sleep on the floor a few times. But there are places where you sleep on the floor that are incredible places with incredible people. More to a place than fancy furniture and soft beds. And there is/wasa a municipal camping place in SJPDP.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Definition can be a great help as to how the time is spent / arranged.

If this is truly a pilgrimage, let the Camino provide. A time like this will change you. On the spectrum of, "just a hike," to a,"conscious religious pilgrimage," there is also a, "let the good time roll," to a deeper understanding of Spanish History and Religion.

Perhaps giving the Camino a chance to provide, weighs more heavily on religious intent, trusting it to happen, but it also adds immensely to the adventure, and when it happens, belief and confidence is bolstered and growth become possible.

Buen Camino!

 

[Tincatinker]

Thank you all. After reading your responses, I booked an overnight stay in Saint-Jean yesterday, and for the next few days I will try to get to albergues earlier in the afternoon.
I am going to skip Zubiri (an probably also Roscenvalles), as I would like to avoid crowds that like to follow Brierley's stage plan. I am going to walk to Zabaldika next day to avoid crowds at Zubiri.

Where are you planning to sleep between St Jean and Zabaldika? I'm guessing you're not planning a 55km+ first day on your Camino unless you're biking it.

 

[Martin Doyle]

I have walked 4 times from St Jean and after flying from W/Canada I need certainty for my first few nights sleep. I would not skip Roncesvalles. I think it is the first introduction to being in the Pilgrim experience. I now book to Pamplona. After that it evens out.

 

[trecile]

. I like hiking/walking till 4-5pm and I have planned to only rely on public albergues available for pilgrims.

On busy stretches (such as SJPDP to Pamplona in September) you are almost guaranteed not to find a bed if you arrive that late. I remember reports of 400 pilgrims a day departing SJPDP in early September 2019. There simply are not enough beds in the next towns for that many people

Definition can be a great help as to how the time is spent / arranged.

If this is truly a pilgrimage, let the Camino provide. A time like this will change you. On the spectrum of, "just a hike," to a,"conscious religious pilgrimage," there is also a, "let the good time roll," to a deeper understanding of Spanish History and Religion.

Perhaps giving the Camino a chance to provide, weighs more heavily on religious intent, trusting it to happen, but it also adds immensely to the adventure, and when it happens, belief and confidence is bolstered and growth become possible.

Buen Camino!

Where you sleep and how and when you arrange your accommodations has nothing to do with whether you are a pilgrim or not. Nor does whether or not you carry your own backpack. These are simply personal preferences.

If it makes a difference to you, fine. But there is no one size fits all approach.

Intent makes the pilgrim.

 

[mspath]

The evening blessing in the Roncesvalles monastery church is a poignant experience for all; don't miss this age-old tradition.

During easier years in fair weather and foul I have climbed the Valcarlos route 10 times and stopped at Roncesvalles. At the end of each exhausting day it was a pleasure to arrive at the monastery and attend in the ancient Romanesque church the evening blessing either with many others or as the single pilgrim.

If you choose to attend you will remember it always.....Buen camino!

 

[JimG59]

The evening blessing in the Roncesvalles monastery church is a poignant experience for all; don't miss this age-old tradition.

During easier years in fair weather and foul I have climbed the Valcarlos route 10 times and stopped at Roncesvalles. At the end of each exhausting day it was a pleasure to arrive at the monastery and attend in the ancient Romanesque church the evening blessing either with many others or as the single pilgrim.

If you choose to attend you will remember it always.....Buen camino!

I hadn’t considered going to the evening mass, but I realise the Casa accommodation is almost next door. So it’s a definite for me to get me on my Camino Way. My wife will treasure this Mass if we do indeed get to it.

 

[C. Carmichael]

Good day everyone,

I'm going on my first Camino Frances pilgrimage on September 15th, and I am going to arrive in Saint Jean the day before. At first I chose this date/month because I thought that September is less crowded than the other summer months, but after looking at the statistics of the arrival of pilgrims to Saint-Jean in 2019, I realized that September is the most "full" month (more than 11 thousand pilgrims).

I don't like the idea of booking accommodations and racing for bed each day, because that would ruin the charm of the Camino for me. I like hiking/walking till 4-5pm and I have planned to only rely on public albergues available for pilgrims.

I would like to know if it is really necessary to book the accommodation in Saint-Jean? At the moment, I searched a bit on Gronze and almost all accommodation is already booked for the 14th of September in Saint-Jean, which doesn't give me too much hope that I will be able to get a place to sleep on the first day.

Despite the fact that I like spontaneity, I would not like to spend the first day in an expensive hotel or on the street. For the rest of the days, I have no problem sleeping outside if I can't find an affordable place in the afternoon. I would also like to know if, in my case, it makes sense to take a tent and/or tarp with me/or maybe nothing at all.

I thank for you comprehensive answers in advance.

Have a great day.

Book ahead. You can manage your walking time. No one cares how you do your Camino but you. Enjoy, any way you do it.
We used Booking.com in May on the Camino Portuguese. Easy. Some hard days. Shared bathrooms maybe 4 times.
Don’t stress about your Camino walk. Again, just enjoy.
This was our second. A third is in the planning stage and we are 71 yo. God bless.

 

[lt56ny]

There doesn’t seem to be any reason not to book SJPdP since you already know your arrival date. Why risk it?

A couple of other points:


The ‘bed race’ is when you don’t book and have to ‘race’ against other pilgrims to arrive somewhere and try to find an available bed.


If by public albergues you mean municipal albergues, you can’t book these in advance anyway.

I don't like the idea of booking accommodations and racing for bed each day, because that would ruin the charm of the Camino for me.

Another point about public albergues. They often tend to fill up quickly and as you now know this is the most crowded month to walk. There will usually be only one municipal albergue and maybe a parochial albergue or donativo. These also tend to fill quickly. Walking until 4 or 5PM may make it more difficult to find a bed. I would also book in Roncesvalles in September. If you are leaving on a day that has a larger number of pilgrims than usual leaving from SJPP that albergue could fill up too. People tend to leave early from SJPP as it is a very long and for most, a difficult day. You are also probably very aware of the horrendous summer Spain and France have experienced with dangerously high temperatures. It can still be brutally hot in mid September and I hope if that is the case you will start earlier in the morning and stop earlier in the afternoon. One year I was on the Meseta about the second week of October and there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were above 90 every day.
Finally I would say to leave you expectations and ideas about what the camino is like and its magic and charm. Let the Camino show you what charm, magic, joy, sadness, and experience you will receive and give. I know it will enrich your Camino greatly.

 

[xin loi]

Another point about public albergues. They often tend to fill up quickly and as you now know this is the most crowded month to walk. There will usually be only one municipal albergue and maybe a parochial albergue or donativo. These also tend to fill quickly. Walking until 4 or 5PM may make it more difficult to find a bed. I would also book in Roncesvalles in September. If you are leaving on a day that has a larger number of pilgrims than usual leaving from SJPP that albergue could fill up too. People tend to leave early from SJPP as it is a very long and for most, a difficult day. You are also probably very aware of the horrendous summer Spain and France have experienced with dangerously high temperatures. It can still be brutally hot in mid September and I hope if that is the case you will start earlier in the morning and stop earlier in the afternoon. One year I was on the Meseta about the second week of October and there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were above 90 every day.
Finally I would say to leave you expectations and ideas about what the camino is like and its magic and charm. Let the Camino show you what charm, magic, joy, sadness, and experience you will receive and give. I know it will enrich your Camino greatly.

you now know this is the most crowded month to walk.

Really??? Looking at a couple sites on the internet do not indicate that. And even then FOUR times more people ONLY walk from Sarria than from SJPDP . I walked in September twice and other than the LARGE crowd after Sarria, I did not find the rest of the Camino Frances to be as crowded as walking it in June.

 

[C clearly]

you now know this is the most crowded month to walk.

Really???

I assume that you are questioning the first statement, which was a quotation from a prior post.

September IS the busiest month for departures from SJPP. See this thread, which I have no reason to disbelieve. The advice is generally that the crowds disperse after Pamplona, and then there is much less issue with accommodation. But the situation in the first few days from SJPP can be difficult, also depending on the day of week. Our forum member who is a regular hospitalero at Roncesvalles confirms this.

 

[trecile]

you now know this is the most crowded month to walk.

Really??? Looking at a couple sites on the internet do not indicate that. And even then FOUR times more people ONLY walk from Sarria than from SJPDP . I walked in September twice and other than the LARGE crowd after Sarria, I did not find the rest of the Camino Frances to be as crowded as walking it in June.

September is the most popular month to start from SJPdP as these two graphs show.

 

[hueppi]

Remember that Casa Paderborn in Pamplona
a) is open
b) does not take reservation, walk-in only
c) will open around 1 pm
d) limited number of beds, thus no guarantees

¡Buen camino!

 

[lt56ny]

you now know this is the most crowded month to walk.

Really??? Looking at a couple sites on the internet do not indicate that. And even then FOUR times more people ONLY walk from Sarria than from SJPDP . I walked in September twice and other than the LARGE crowd after Sarria, I did not find the rest of the Camino Frances to be as crowded as walking it in June.

I don't know what got you so upset about my statement. I based it on the charts and graphs others have posted as well as the fact that I was told the same thing talking to people in the Pilgrim office when I have received my compostelas. There is an overflow of people who start in the later part of August but spend a great deal of their camino walking in September. Maybe from your one (or more) experience (s) you have not found this to be the case. When you start and where you start and the general flow of pilgrims will have a great deal of impact on the number of pilgrims each one of us encounter. So if you didn't see a difference that is great and that is unique to your experience. I personally will not walk in any of those months because June or September there are too many people for me. I just walked the VDLP/Muxia/Finisterre last year from mid-October until about December 10th. I did not see more than about 25 pilgrims until I got to Astorga. That was just fine with me. Your perception of crowded is obviously very different from my own. Neither is right or wrong they are just our preference. This October I will walk the Aragones and then probably go over to the Madrid and then from Astorga who knows. I doubt I will see even 20 pilgrims on those caminis. That is heaven for me. I like the solitude. We all have our own ideas, our own preferences and our own perceptions. We should all respect that differences and perceptions are just that and are often very different.

 

[Kathy F.]

On my second Camino, I arrived in SJPdP without a reservation because I had started at another town two weeks earlier, and didn't know what day I would arrive in SJPdP.

I went to the tourist information office (not the pilgrim office) and told them my situation in my halting Spanish. They found a wonderful room for me, with a meal, and I was able to stay 2 days before continuing on to SdC.

In fact, the lady of the house even gave me a ride halfway up to Orrison the day I left, after seeing me at Mass that morning.

My experience has been that the Camino provides. . . .
And that the Tourist Office in a town is often a very good, overlooked, resource.