Camino primitivo in August

[Aglass]

Hello
Have you done the camino primitivo in the middle of summer?
I am thinking of doing the it in August 2013. Is it possible to get space in the albergues in August ok? Are there alternatives (hostales etc)? Does it get really busy?

 

[Dave]

Hi Aglass,

August is the busiest month on the Camino Primitivo, so you can anticipate that most albergues will approach full capacity every day. Nearly every town has overflow options, though often that involves something very basic, like a sport-court. There are definitely hostales available, though not a lot (many of the towns along the way are very small).

The main point: it's totally doable, but be ready to a) sleep occasionally in overflow spaces (a sleeping pad would be useful), b) leave a little earlier in the morning and stagger your stops, avoiding some of the more popular towns, or c) book some hostales. You can also take advantage of some private albergues that allow for reservations, as in Campiello and the new place in Berducedo. My colleague walked the Primitivo in August and was struck by how willing every hospitalero was to help late stragglers find a place to sleep.

The El Pais/Aguilar guide (Spanish), as well as mine (English), have relatively up-to-date listings for albergues and hostales, with phone numbers.

El Pais/Aguilar: http://www.elpaisaguilar.es/index.php?s=libro&id=638
Mine: http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detai ... rn-caminos

Dave

 

[Aglass]

Hi Dave
Many thanks for your reply. It is really useful, as is the reference to your book. I hope you don't mind if I contact you if i decide to do it and have any other questions nearer the time
best wishes
Andrew

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Andrew,

I agree with a lot of what Dave said. One thing to keep in mind is that the numbers posted for the Camino Primitivo are unreliable, at least according to what I've been told. That's because all of the people starting anywhere between Irun and Villaviciosa are counted as being on the Norte (Villaviciosa is the turn off on the Norte for the Primitivo), even though many of them walk from Irun to Oviedo to Santiago.

I walked the Primitivo last June and the traffic was perfect for the available albergue space. I met some Spaniards who had started in August of the previous year and had stopped after a couple of days because of huge crowds. Unlike the Frances or many parts of the Norte, there's not a solid backdrop of private accommodation for use when the albergues get full. So as Dave says, that will mean overflow space on the grass or in sports complexes.

If you can go earlier in the summer, that would be my definite preference. I've walked it in both June and October and both were great times of year. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[grahamjenn]

We did it in August 2011. Being South Africans and speaking no Spanish we typically left earlier than most to make sure we got accomodation and had no problems with albergues until Cadavo, when we got accomodation in the albergue but the basketball courst was used for a large overflow. Generally overflow facilities seemed to be available and for each day closer to Santiago the lbergues seemed to fill up earlier.

For the French route ending we booked ahead for the night at Pedrusso, and pretty much raced to Melide to get accomodation in the big hostel there.

If you dont get up early, a sleeping mat is a good idea as it provides a bit of insurance.