• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

LIVE from the Camino Cacabelos or Villafranca del Bierzo

Deanpf

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances May 2016 from Burgos to Finisterre
Sorry for the specific question but wondering if anyone has any thoughts about a great place to stop walking today out of these two?
No problem getting to either or if I push a bit I could do pereje but I don't think there's anything there.
Thank you!
Dean
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Villafranca - Albergue Ave Fenix for a good communal meal for veggies or meat eaters. Nice atmosphere and Villafranca is the nicer town IMO.
 
Villafranca del Bierzo is easier to find beds if you stop early enough, showing up later in the afternoon will make things difficult.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
If you stay in Villafranca del Bierzo and you wish a bit of private comfort and/or a very good reasonably priced meal with delicious local wine do stop at the Hostal de la Puerta del Perdon. Located on the CF opposite the castle it is a VERY comfortable stop especially on a cold winter night!

Margaret Meredith
 
Villafranca would definitely get my vote.
Or Pieros. There's a very albergue there, El Serbal y la Luna. I've never stayed there but want to some day: it gets glowing reports especially from vegetarians
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Be carefull with Ave Fenix albergue. Didnt never sleep there cause lot of pilgrims warming about bed bug. This said, I have heard they had been doing lots of efforts to clean and deinfected this albergue.
Pieros could be a good idea .
Buen Camino toyou all, honest people.
 
Either! I mean go with the flow! IMHO, Villafranca del Bierzo is nicer/has more to offer than Cacabelos but Cacabelos is nice enough and a great place to relax so none of those towns would be a bad choice.
 
Sorry for the specific question but wondering if anyone has any thoughts about a great place to stop walking today out of these two?
No problem getting to either or if I push a bit I could do pereje but I don't think there's anything there.
Thank you!
Dean
I was in
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I was in Cacabelos last night and it's nice. River with big grassy area the local kids were enjoying. But when I passed through Villafranca, I didn't just want to stay there. I want to live there! Beautiful and lots to see.
 
Vilafranca is an enchanting little city, with old houses (many with shields on the facade, indicating a former aristocratic family), an impressive castle and a modest but historically relevant Saint James church.
I stayed in Albergue León. Warm reception, good, modernized building; cofee shop in the entry.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Villafranca is my choice.

Buen Camino,

Texas guy
 
Should you decide not to stay in Pieros *insert sad face* haha I was a hospitalera there (out of choice, that's how much I liked it) so I'm biased ;) both Cacabelos and Villafranca are excellent choices and the walk between the two one of my favorite parts of the Camino. Albergue de la Piedra is very good as someone already mentioned, but so is the municipal in Cacabelos. It's one of a kind, small double rooms arranged around a churchyard (sounds strange but it works and it's cheap and cheerful)

So basically go with the flow and don't forget to have a glass of Mencía!

Oh and you can stop at Pieros for lunch or drink! :)
 
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.
And Villafranca has the wonderful church of San Francisco, near the center of town (above the plaza). You won't regret a visit there.
And tomorrow consider staying in the albergue in La Faba run by the German co-fraternity. Magical!--And it nicely breaks up the walk up to O Cebreiro.
 

Attachments

  • Cacabelos-Las Herrieras (46).JPG
    Cacabelos-Las Herrieras (46).JPG
    358.9 KB · Views: 4
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I thought Cacabelos had very welcoming locals, a nice albergue, and overall great facilities. I did moved on to Villafranca, which is a great town. I did stayed at Albergue Casa del Perdon and agree with MSpath, lovely stay, very welcoming owner who bikes/walks the Camino every year in the Winter. It was while walking the Camino that he saw the house for sale. He completed the Camino and walked back to Villafranca and bought the place! Wonderful, friendly family, strong supporters of Pilgrims. His son was on the Camino as well.
 
Last edited:
The only problem with Cacabelos is that there is no communal sitting area when the weather is cold or raining. Or that's how it was the couple of times I've stayed there. Maybe things have changed.
 

Most read last week in this forum

When I hiked the Frances Route this happened. I was hiking in the afternoon just east of Arzua. I was reserved a bed at an albergue in Arzua, so I had already hiked all the way from San Xulien...
I am finalizing my packing list for Frances, and do not want to over pack. (I am 71) I will be starting at SJPdP on April 25th to Roncesvalles and forward. I was hoping on some advise as to...
First marker starting from Albergue Monasterio de la Magdalena in Sarria (113.460 km) Start: 2023.9.29 07:22 Arrival: 2023.9.30 13:18 walking time : 26 hours 47 minutes rest time : 3 hours 8...
A local Navarra website has posted a set of photos showing today's snowfall in the area around Roncesvalles. About 15cm of snow fell this morning surprising pilgrims on the way...
Hi! I’m a first time pilgrim. Is it possible to take a taxi from Astorga to Foncebadon? Thanks, Felicia
I have been planning to return and rejoin the path from Leon next week. ( Main route) I am wondering whether it might be better to wait until later in April to rejoin the path, my hope is to...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top