Camino del Norte in April

[Isabeila]

I booked a flight to Biarritz the 4th of April 2018 and was originally planning on walking Camino Frances. Now I am doubting my decision and wishing to walk Camino del Norte. I have one huge question about accommodation though!

– Are the albergues on Camino del Norte open by the time I start walking?
– How many fellow pilgrims should I expect to be walking too?

I know about www.gronze.com for accommodation, but it doesn't say if they are open or not. I wish to ONLY sleep in albergues If anyone have any other information about walking Camino del Norte during April I would love to hear about it!

Thank you
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For those interested, I decided to head off to Camino del Norte and am beyond exited. If anyone will be walking around the same time as me, feel free to write me a message. Buen Camino thank you for all you input!

 

[Tincatinker]

I booked a flight to Biarritz the 4th of April 2018 and was originally planning on walking Camino Frances. Now I am doubting my decision and wishing to walk Camino del Norte. I have one huge question about accommodation though!

– Are the albergues on Camino del Norte open by the time I start walking?
– How many fellow pilgrims should I expect to be walking too?

I know about www.gonze.com for accommodation, but it doesn't say if they are open or not. I wish to ONLY sleep in albergues

If anyone have any other information about walking Camino del Norte during April I would love to hear about it!

Thank you

That link really won't help with accommodation on the Norte. I should try www.gronze.com if I were you

And Gronze does supply info on opening times. You have to click on the accommodation name to open further details. As in: https://www.gronze.com/pais-vasco/guipuzcoa/irun/albergue-peregrinos-irun

 

[Jan_D]

The Camino del Norte will be quiet in April. If you look at the statistics from last year: a total of 193 pilgrims who started in Irun finished in April, with this going up to 549 finishing in May. That averages out at about 12 pilgrims per stage, at least for the first few stages from Irun. Other pilgrims will also join along the way, but if you look at the statistics the numbers are quite low even for pilgrims starting in bigger cities like Santander or Gijon.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Many pilgrims will start over the Easter period so that you might find a few more than when Easter falls later. Many places open for Easter onwards so that should be good. As @Tincatinker says the gronze site is best place to look.

 

[NaimaA]

Hello Isabeila, I will be starting the Nirte en Irun on the 4 !! I have been reading about it and it is in beggining of April that most albergues open, specially this year being after Easter. Looking forward to meeting you along the way !!!

 

[NaimaA]

When I said the 4 , I meant to say April 4 !!!
The guide book that I have is the Rother.
Buen Camino !!!

 

[Gypsyqueen]

The Camino del Norte will be quiet in April. If you look at the statistics from last year: a total of 193 pilgrims who started in Irun finished in April, with this going up to 549 finishing in May. That averages out at about 12 pilgrims per stage, at least for the first few stages from Irun. Other pilgrims will also join along the way, but if you look at the statistics the numbers are quite low even for pilgrims starting in bigger cities like Santander or Gijon.

Hi everyone,
I will be starting around April 18th doing the Norte so from your statistics, am I right in saying there will only be about 12 or so pilgrims I may encounter ( didn't realise so few people ) ? As I'll be on my own hoping to meet others, this does affect things somewhat. Any thoughts people ?

 

[Jan_D]

Hi everyone,
I will be starting around April 18th doing the Norte so from your statistics, am I right in saying there will only be about 12 or so pilgrims I may encounter ( didn't realise so few people ) ? As I'll be on my own hoping to meet others, this does affect things somewhat. Any thoughts people ?

The statistics are the official numbers from the pilgrim office in Santiago. I looked at the total numbers of pilgrims arriving from Irun in April and May and divided it by 60 to get a daily average. According to this calculation, someone who started in Irun in April would meet around 12 people for the first few days, but then an extra 2 or 3 people would join per day in Bilbao, and then an extra 1 or 2 per day in Santander. So the numbers will steadily increase, but they will still be relatively low in April.

There are literally ten times the number of pilgrims leaving per day from St Jean Pied de Port over the same period. The Camino del Norte is very different to the Frances in terms of numbers. It only accounts for 3 to 4% of total pilgrims! So unless you meet a camino buddy/ family to walk with consistently, it is highly possible that you won't see anybody until you get to the albergue. Also, there are fewer albergues and many pilgrims decide to stay in hotels as they are very cheap. If you want to meet people, then I'd definitely recommend doing the Camino Frances, as this is very much the "sociable" camino.

 

[Edward Awad]

Hi fellow peregrinos y peregrinas!

I will be starting my camino del norte from Irun on April 22nd. My understanding from readings on this forum and other resources that albergues normally open right after Easter.

Buen camino a todos

 

[Solsito]

Hi dear peregrinos y peregrinas!

I will be starting my camino del norte from Irun on April 27nd. I plan to get to Finisterre on June 6th. I'll be flying back home on June 8th.

I have one question. My flight is from Venice to Bilbao. Does anyone have an information if there is a train going from Bibao to Irun? One girl told me she went to Irun (from Bilbao) by train, but I can't find a train-conection from Bilbao to Irun on the internet. She said she arranged everything at the Bilbao airport, but can't remember the details. Any information is very wellcome

Buen camino

 

[Deleted member 12253]

Hi dear peregrinos y peregrinas!

I will be starting my camino del norte from Irun on April 27nd. I plan to get to Finisterre on June 6th. I'll be flying back home on June 8th.

I have one question. My flight is from Venice to Bilbao. Does anyone have an information if there is a train going from Bibao to Irun? One girl told me she went to Irun (from Bilbao) by train, but I can't find a train-conection from Bilbao to Irun on the internet. She said she arranged everything at the Bilbao airport, but can't remember the details. Any information is very wellcome

Buen camino

Bus from Bilbao to San Sebastián and train from there to Irún. Train runs very frequent

 

[Anton Muhlbock]

Hi there
my partner Lori and myself will start the Norte on May 4th can't wait.ready to go

 

[Solsito]

Bus from Bilbao to San Sebastián and train from there to Irún. Train runs very frequent

Thank u

 

[brianne fitzgerald]

Hi there
my partner Lori and myself will start the Norte on May 4th can't wait.ready to go

I am leaving Irun the 7th of May. Hope to see you out there.