Camino del Norte or Camino Frances

[Umi]

Hello,
I am planning to start my solo pilgrimage next May and this is my first camino De Santiago pilgrimage. I am undecided whether to walk Camino Del Norte or Camino Frances. So I have a few questions ....

○I have heard that Camino del Norte has fewer albergues than camino frances, so is it possible that I will have to choose the more expensive accommodations? I want to save as much money as possible. would it be cheaper to walk through camino frances and pay less for accommodations?

○I am also hoping to meet other pilgrims, but in camino del norte, is it difficult to meet pilgrims and not have much opportunity to talk to anyone?

○Is it possible that the albergue of camino francés will be so crowded that I won't be able to stay there?

○What is the weather like in May on the Camino del norte pilgrimage route? Is there a lot of rainy weather? Is it cold?

I love the sea and am curious about the caminf del norte route along the coast, but is there albergue available(I’ve heard some albergue season off so they still closed in May)? I'm worried about the overall cost of accommodation compared to the French route. However, although I would like to interact with people, I don't like to be too crowded. I would appreciate any recent information you could give me.

Thanks for reading.

 

[trecile]

I have heard that Camino del Norte has fewer albergues than camino frances, so is it possible that I will have to choose the more expensive accommodations? I want to save as much money as possible. would it be cheaper to walk through camino frances and pay less for accommodations?

It's true that the Camino del Norte has far fewer inexpensive pilgrim albergues, and accommodations are generally more expensive. It requires more careful planning to stay in affordable places.

I am also hoping to meet other pilgrims, but in camino del norte, is it difficult to meet pilgrims and not have much opportunity to talk to anyone?

There will be other pilgrims on the Norte in May, but nothing like on the Francés where you will be spoiled by choice.

Is it possible that the albergue of camino francés will be so crowded that I won't be able to stay there?

Unlikely, though there can be quite a bottleneck the first few days out of SJPdP until you get past Pamplona - I recommend booking those days ahead for a May Camino.

What is the weather like in May on the Camino del norte pilgrimage route? Is there a lot of rainy weather? Is it cold?

There can be cool rainy weather. I started on the Norte this year around May 20, and had about two hours of rain before I turned off onto the Primitivo a few weeks later.

This is a good site for historical weather information

Camino de Santiago - forecast and historical weather

Get a personal daily weather forecast for the Camino de Santiago for the exact dates you're planning to go. Or browse to pick the best time of year.

caminoweather.com

 

[David Tallan]

trecile gave a great answer to your question. I will just add that, based on the reports from this year in May on the Francés, the more inexpensive accommodations are the least likely to fill up. We were reading of the (less expensive) albergues that don't take reservations still having unoccupied beds where the bookable ones and private rooms were filled up.

 

[Willdtrout]

I walked Frances last winter and just finished Norte last week. I started Frances from SJPdP in January and then started Norte in late April. I walked half of Norte then had to leave so I came back three weeks ago to finish it (Oct/Nov).

My choice would be Frances simply because it felt more like a pilgrimage to me. Norte is incredibly beautiful. Especially the first half from Irun but that wasn’t enough for me. A winter Frances Camino had about the same number of pilgrims as my time(s) on Norte. Norte definitely isn’t set up for pilgrims like Frances is but it is still pretty easy to choose accommodation. In May it shouldn’t be a problem at all.

In reality though choose what is calling you. If it’s the ocean then Norte from Irunshould be your choice. And take all the optional coastal routes if you’re up for a harder challenge

 

[Umi]

It's true that the Camino del Norte has far fewer inexpensive pilgrim albergues, and accommodations are generally more expensive. It requires more careful planning to stay in affordable places.

There will be other pilgrims on the Norte in May, but nothing like on the Francés where you will be spoiled by choice.

Unlikely, though there can be quite a bottleneck the first few days out of SJPdP until you get past Pamplona - I recommend booking those days ahead for a May Camino.


There can be cool rainy weather. I started on the Norte this year around May 20, and had about two hours of rain before I turned off onto the Primitivo a few weeks later.

This is a good site for historical weather information

Camino de Santiago - forecast and historical weather

Get a personal daily weather forecast for the Camino de Santiago for the exact dates you're planning to go. Or browse to pick the best time of year.

caminoweather.com

Dear trecile,
I am very grateful for your kind and detailed advice. I am sure these answers will help me with many of the questions of my first pilgrimage. If you don't mind, I would like to know if there are any good websites on selecting albergues when booking in advance both Camino Frances and del Norte. Thank you.

 

[Umi]

trecile gave a great answer to your question. I will just add that, based on the reports from this year in May on the Francés, the more inexpensive accommodations are the least likely to fill up. We were reading of the (less expensive) albergues that don't take reservations still having unoccupied beds where the bookable ones and private rooms were filled up.

Dear David,

I really appreciate your words and further information about latest Camino Frances albergue situation. Regarding Frances albergue, which sites do you recommend if I book one bed or private room in advance?
Thank you!

 

[trecile]

Gronze is the best site for finding accommodations. It's only in Spanish, but if you use the Chrome browser it will automatically translate to English or the language of your choice.

It has the contact info for each property and links to booking.com for those that use that platform.

El Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

Bienvenido a Gronze, tu Guía del Camino de Santiago: Información práctica, actualizada y participativa de los principales Caminos de Santiago.

www.gronze.com

 

[Umi]

I walked Frances last winter and just finished Norte last week. I started Frances from SJPdP in January and then started Norte in late April. I walked half of Norte then had to leave so I came back three weeks ago to finish it (Oct/Nov).

My choice would be Frances simply because it felt more like a pilgrimage to me. Norte is incredibly beautiful. Especially the first half from Irun but that wasn’t enough for me. A winter Frances Camino had about the same number of pilgrims as my time(s) on Norte. Norte definitely isn’t set up for pilgrims like Frances is but it is still pretty easy to choose accommodation. In May it shouldn’t be a problem at all.

In reality though choose what is calling you. If it’s the ocean then Norte from Irunshould be your choice. And take all the optional coastal routes if you’re up for a harder challenge

I am very appreciate your kind reply based on your experience both Frances and Norte. I am concerned about the Norte route because I love the ocean scenery. You mentioned that it is still pretty easy to choose accommodation on Norte route, does that mean that I can find accommodation as cheap as I can find on Frances? Thank you!

 

[Umi]

Gronze is the best site for finding accommodations. It's only in Spanish, but if you use the Chrome browser it will automatically translate to English or the language of your choice.

It has the contact info for each property and links to booking.com for those that use that platform.

El Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

Bienvenido a Gronze, tu Guía del Camino de Santiago: Información práctica, actualizada y participativa de los principales Caminos de Santiago.

www.gronze.com

Thank you for sharing me this website.
I will check it out soon!

 

[David Tallan]

Dear David,

I really appreciate your words and further information about latest Camino Frances albergue situation. Regarding Frances albergue, which sites do you recommend if I book one bed or private room in advance?
Thank you!

As trecile says, Gronze.com is the website. Buen Camino and Wise Pilgrim also offer good apps for this purpose. The Wise Pilgrim app will compose WhatsApp message in Spanish to ask for a reservation, if the albergue or hotel is on WhatsApp (as more and more are).

 

[Willdtrout]

I am very appreciate your kind reply based on your experience both Frances and Norte. I am concerned about the Norte route because I love the ocean scenery. You mentioned that it is still pretty easy to choose accommodation on Norte route, does that mean that I can find accommodation as cheap as I can find on Frances? Thank you!

I think in general Frances is less expensive. In part because it is more geared for pilgrims. I think on Norte you’ll find hostels but not as cheap as municipal albergues. I also think food on the coast is more expensive.

I’m not sure how much though