Camino del Norte in April

Isabeila · Mar 8, 2018

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
______________________________________________________________________________________________

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 · Mar 8, 2018

Isabeila said:
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 · Mar 8, 2018

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 · Mar 9, 2018

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 · Mar 9, 2018

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 · Mar 9, 2018

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

Gypsyqueen · Mar 11, 2018

Jan_D said:
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 · Mar 11, 2018

Gypsyqueen said:
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 · Mar 17, 2018

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 · Mar 18, 2018

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 · Mar 21, 2018

Solsito said:
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 · Mar 21, 2018

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

Solsito · Mar 28, 2018

as gaillimh said:
Bus from Bilbao to San Sebastián and train from there to Irún. Train runs very frequent

Thank u

brianne fitzgerald · Apr 2, 2018

Anton Muhlbock said:
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.

ChrisMayou · Friday at 5:08 PM

Are supermercados or other grocery stores open on Sundays on del Norte? Are restaurants open? Specifically, I will likely find myself in these towns on Sundays: Castro-Urdiales, Comillas...

mb4869 · Apr 25, 2024

I’m on day 2 of the CDN and I’m just blown away by the views. Day 1 Irun to San Sebastián, day 2 San Sebastián to Askizu Buen Camino

Bippo · Apr 25, 2024

Hi! I’m a Camino newbie planning on walking Camino del Norte this May-June. I have previous hiking experience and do well on longer distances and so on, but not any super recent multi day long...

Silvermomma · Sunday at 9:06 PM

Elevation map shows this is really steep! What’s the best way from downtown Hondarribia up there? Then wish me luck on the Purgatorio—I am a nervous wreck.

OutdoorsyGal · Monday at 10:21 PM

My group of six arrives in Irun on May 20 and we're starting our Camino on May 21. Since it's the beginning of the busy season, I'm wondering if we should order trekking poles from Amazon Espana...

Mlambere · Tuesday at 9:48 PM

On the Norte...started Morgo headed to Santilanna del mer...today...wonderful walk.... 1st 7k and last 7k ...the middle industrail zone was meh. Just past polonca met loverly local spanish...

Camino del Norte in April

Isabeila

New Member

Tincatinker

Veteran Member

Jan_D

Active Member

Tia Valeria

Veteran Member

NaimaA

Member

NaimaA

Member

Gypsyqueen

Member

Jan_D

Active Member

Edward Awad

Peregrino Ed

Solsito

New Member

Deleted member 12253

Guest

Anton Muhlbock

Anton

Solsito

New Member

brianne fitzgerald

Active Member

Latest Camino Photo

Most read last week in this forum

Food on Sundays

Camino del Norte

Stops on Camino del Norte

Best way from Hondarribia to Santuario Guadeloupe?

Buy hiking poles in Irun or Amazon deliver?

Lambere 3 caminos norte first

Similar threads

Camino del Norte in April

New Member

Veteran Member

Active Member

Veteran Member

Member

Member

Member

Active Member

Peregrino Ed

New Member

Deleted member 12253

Guest

Anton

New Member

Active Member

Most read last week in this forum

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency