Camino August/September 2015 - Accomodation?

[Lorna Buky-Webster]

Hi All

I am planning to do the whole Camino in August/September of this year as this is the only time I can do it. I know this is busiest time of year and that there can be competition for beds. I was just wondering if anyone knows if it will be so busy I won't be able to find a bed every night. I want to stay in auberges every night to avoid the cost of hotels. What do pilgrims do if they can't find a space in the auberges?

Thanks so much

Lorna

 

[TomUK]

Hi All

I am planning to do the whole Camino in August/September of this year as this is the only time I can do it. I know this is busiest time of year and that there can be competition for beds. I was just wondering if anyone knows if it will be so busy I won't be able to find a bed every night. I want to stay in auberges every night to avoid the cost of hotels. What do pilgrims do if they can't find a space in the auberges?

Thanks so much

Lorna

Hey Lorna,

I'm pretty new to this and also plan to go in September this year.

I've found (via this forum) a handy website with the stats of how many people complete the journey per month.

Based on 2014 stats:

June: 33,023
July: 39.581
August: 51,219
September: 34,458
October 23,206

Hopefully the above may help in some way.

http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgrims-office/statistics/?anio=2014&mes=10

 

[Dutch]

What do they do? They go to a pension for a private room (which they might share with another pilgrim) or they walk on to the next town and sometimes....they go back, depending on how far the next town is.

What also might happen, when its really busy, some villages provides space for the pilgrims who do not have a bed. Usually in the form of a gym with matresses.

Another thing that might happen when a village is so full, the hospitaleros will phone ahead for you to see where there is a bed available and then it even might happen that the albergues (the private ones) in the next town offer to pick you up. I've seen all of these scenarios in, for instance, Najera.

The hospitalero's of the municipals will do there utmost best to help you find a bed somewhere. They even might go as far as to offer you their bed.
Alot has to go wrong for you to become a "homeless" pilgrim, so please do not make this a big worry issue. It will all work out in the end.

 

[ManyMiles2Go]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum. My wife and I walked the Camino August/September 2013. The only time we had a problem with beds was in Zubiri. There were a bunch of day packers walking (school group, I think) and Zubiri was full when we got there late in the afternoon. We took a taxi to Pamplona, got a bed for the night (in a hotel, we were too tired to look for an albergue at that point.) Next day, we got a taxi back to Zubiri (only took a day pack ourselves that time). We walked to Pamplona and stayed in the same hotel for a 2nd night. That was the 2nd day of our Camino, and we thought we would have problems the whole way. But after that, we had no problems finding a bed in the albergues. We did not walk the Brierly Guide stages most of the way after that, though. Weather was perfect that time of the year. It did get hot in the afternoon, but we had almost NO rain to speak of. Buen Camino!!

Jim

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hi All

I am planning to do the whole Camino in August/September of this year as this is the only time I can do it. I know this is busiest time of year and that there can be competition for beds. I was just wondering if anyone knows if it will be so busy I won't be able to find a bed every night. I want to stay in auberges every night to avoid the cost of hotels. What do pilgrims do if they can't find a space in the auberges?

Thanks so much

Lorna

Hy Lorna , my wife walked the Camino in 2013 Aug./Sept. she had only once a problem. Wish you a Buen Camino , Peter.

 

[Lorna Buky-Webster]

Thanks all - this is incredbily helpful. Buen Camino!

 

[Mikel Olivares]

Hi Lorna.
Normally at this time, only have problems (not always) the pilgrims who walk many kilometers (Over 30) because they arrive too late to albergues and they are occupied by other pilgrims who have finished walking at noon.
Buen Camino.

 

[basquelady]

Hi All

I am planning to do the whole Camino in August/September of this year as this is the only time I can do it. I know this is busiest time of year and that there can be competition for beds. I was just wondering if anyone knows if it will be so busy I won't be able to find a bed every night. I want to stay in auberges every night to avoid the cost of hotels. What do pilgrims do if they can't find a space in the auberges?

Thanks so much

Lorna

We have walked from the last 10 days of Aug, into Sept, beginning of Oct for the last 2 years and found no bed problem. Occasional small hotels (hostales) but that was preference, rather than because of lack of space in albergues. We didn't always get in to the one we had in mind but never had to walk further than wanted. Don't worry, not knowing where you'll lay your head is part of the adventure!

 

[jmcarp]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum. My wife and I walked the Camino August/September 2013. The only time we had a problem with beds was in Zubiri. There were a bunch of day packers walking (school group, I think) and Zubiri was full when we got there late in the afternoon. We took a taxi to Pamplona, got a bed for the night (in a hotel, we were too tired to look for an albergue at that point.) Next day, we got a taxi back to Zubiri (only took a day pack ourselves that time). We walked to Pamplona and stayed in the same hotel for a 2nd night. That was the 2nd day of our Camino, and we thought we would have problems the whole way. But after that, we had no problems finding a bed in the albergues. We did not walk the Brierly Guide stages most of the way after that, though. Weather was perfect that time of the year. It did get hot in the afternoon, but we had almost NO rain to speak of. Buen Camino!!

Jim

You didn't mention your exact dates, but my wife and I walked about the same time -- mid-August through late September of 2013. The only place we had a problem getting a bed was also at Zubiri, but we did get a mattress on the floor of the gym, which is part of the municipal albergue there. We also kept off the Brierley stages and averaged roughly 12 miles /20 km per day, generally reaching our stopping point for the night around 2:00pm. We never had a problem finding beds in the albergues, although we did call ahead and reserve beds in private albergues after Sarria. We stayed in the small hotels called hostals in Logroño, Burgos, and León, where we took rest days. Those accommodations averaged approximately 40-42€ per night for a double room with private bath. And I agree on the weather during that time period -- it was hot in the afternoons through about mid-September, but rain-wise we had one day of very light sprinkles and an overnight thunderstorm (after we were in bed) on the meseta, a couple of mornings of fog and very light mist in Galicia, and then the heavens opened up just as we walked into Santiago. We stayed in Santiago for three days and were rained on every day while we were there.

(also) Jim

 

[fernandezr]

Hi All

I am planning to do the whole Camino in August/September of this year as this is the only time I can do it. I know this is busiest time of year and that there can be competition for beds. I was just wondering if anyone knows if it will be so busy I won't be able to find a bed every night. I want to stay in auberges every night to avoid the cost of hotels. What do pilgrims do if they can't find a space in the auberges?

Thanks so much

Lorna

I was on the Camino Frances in September of 2013 and 2014 and didn't usually have a problem getting a bed in an albergue. As one person observed, at Zubiri some people had to sleep on a pad in a gym. We did, however, usually leave before daylight and stopped walking by mid-afternoon. In the two segments of the Camino we did, we only once had to go onward to find a bed and that was at Molinaseca; I and some friends took a cab to Ponferrada, where we found plenty of room. We had already walked 35 km and were pretty tired.

 

[Dutch]

Nice Fernandez. Maybe we ran into each other without knowing it
I walked the frances also in september 13 en 14. Never had a bedproblem. Lucky me. I walk pretty fast, so even if i was the last one to leave an albergue and also go for breakfast first, i would still arrive as one of the first

Ive seen the zubiri gym. Honestly, ive seen nicer gyms when you could sleep in on the camino.
I would take the Najera gym above the najera municipal any day of the week.

 

[Camino-family]

In 2012 our family of 6 walked the camino. We did not have any problem finding beds until we arrived in Sarria. Crowdy, and a lot of young party-people who where going to walk the last 5 days to Santiago. We ended up i a big gym. cold, and no available mattress. Horrible.