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Camping along the Camino Frances?

Me and my walking partner love the idea of camping along the route. What options are there to set up a really basic bivouac on the warmer nights along the way? Can you just set up any where off the beating track?

What are the dangers to consider when camping like this?

Thanks
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
http://www.santiago.ca/PDF/CAMPING.pdf

I have also been looking into this. This is a list of camp sites. It seems there will be rare occassions of wild camPing for most of the camino. Also there are rules in Spain eg. No fires. No camping within 2km of a campsite or city. I am planning to still wild camp as much as I can but you don't know what the situation is like until you get there. Also someone else on a previous thread has posted a full map with locations of site marked on it
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Go for it!

I have a few pages devoted to camping in my book but here is an extract:

Wild camping is legal in Spain but with some restrictions. You are not allowed to camp in "urban" areas, these areas are prohibited for military or touristic reasons, or within a 1km of an official campsite. Basically this means you cannot camp on tourist beaches, but if you are sensible and "wild camp" nearby, having some sensitivity to the rules, you can camp almost anywhere in the countryside. Avoid places called "Parques Naturales" because it is forbidden to place a tent there.

There are few ‘wild’ camping places on the Camino Frances as the route passes through many private and state owned farms and vineyards but you can always set up camp out-of-sight somewhere in the countryside. Some albergues allow camping on their properties and there is wild camping in a few villages such as Rabanal, O Cebreiro, Sarria etc.

Maps: For a map of all the camping sites in Spain:
elCaminosantiago.com/PDF/Map_Spain_Campings.pdf
Zoom in to about 400% on the map on page one and look at the green tent icons. You can also look at page two ‘per autonomia’ for camping locales.
 
I know a few people who camped their way along the Camino Frances from SJPP to Santiago and on to Fisterra, from September to the end of October (I walked then in 2010 and 2011). I also saw others I didn't get to meet. There were some cold nights along the way! But being under the Milky Way with warm enough clothes and sleeping bag is amazing.
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
My husband and I did the Camino in Sept and Oct 2011 and camped six times. Camping can be more expensive than staying at an albergue, but it offers privacy not found there. We carried a hubba-hubba tent that is light and easy to assemble, mats, and, of course, sleeping bags. Even on the colder nights I managed to stay warm by wearing my fleece clothing.

We stayed at the following places:

- Roncesvalles, in the field behind the hotel. Register at the abbey.
- Caming Urrobi 2 km from Espinal/Aurizberri
- Albergue de Peregrinos Padres Reparadores, in the courtyard, Puente la Reina
- La Playa in Lagroño
- Camping Camino de Santiago, Castrojeriz
- Albergue Tesin (in field across the street) Rabanal del Camino

Our guide listed other campground, but they were not convenient to the Camino. Who wants to walk an extra 3 or 4 km and back? Have fun, enjoy your walk and camping.
 
Hi

Camping in France, is completely possible though the extra weight for such a long trip isnt ideal.
In Spain there really isnt to many places to camp, wild or on a campsite. If u havent got a tent already dont buy one. The cost of accommodation really isnt that expensive in Spain and the extra money you will spend, though very little is completely worth it. Having meals and sharing stories with the friends youve met is priceless and apart of the experience.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Are there private hotels at most the stops along the way ?
There are private accommodations regularly along the camino, and some albergues have private rooms. The choices are hostales and hoteles, which are pretty similar, and pensions, which are private rooms, either in homes or associated with a bar or restaurant. There is the occasional casa rurale, which is usually a farm bread and breakfast.
 
Last year between SJPP and Burgos I stayed in just 3 hostels of various sorts, twice sharing a room with 11 others and once sharing with just one. All other times I found a hotel or pension or whatever. It was easy. If you get the Miam Miam DoDo guide it's even easier. It's coverage of places to stay is most comprehensive I've seen, and you can usually make a reservation just a day ahead.

I had friends who once found themselves arriving in a town without a reservation. They went to a pension and it was full, but the owner made a phone call and they stayed in a spare room in someone's apartment. This happened more than once and worked out.

I enjoyed my shared experiences, and enjoyed the luxurious sleeping privacy even more.
 
Got some camping questions. I'm a fairly experienced camper/backpacker (though nothing like the 500 miles I'm hoping to go from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to SdC.
1. Price. Seems like it waffles between cheaper and more expensive. Any thoughts?
2. Safety. 20-something girl hiking alone (hoping to meet new people along the trail and probably meeting up with friends in Burgos or Leon). How safe is it for me to camp in the official campgrounds solita?
3. Mosquito net/tent. I am not planning on bringing a tent but a pole-free mosquito net. I need to hang it from a tree. Are there many bugs or do you guys sleep outside sans tent/mosquito net? Are there usually trees, etc from which I can hang my net at campgrounds?
4. Should I bring my pocketrocket stove, or did you all mostly buy food @ restaurants/cafes/supermercados?

Main hopes for camping are to enjoy the outdoors and save some $. All thoughts welcome!

Thanks,
Claire
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Hi Claire, I will be walking the Camino in May.
I will be bringing a tent the Vango banshee 200
I am doing my Camino in memory of my husband.

I will certainly be keeping an eye on any answers you get. When will you be leaving?

Hope to hear from you soon

Buen Camino

Andrea ;)
 
Got some camping questions. I'm a fairly experienced camper/backpacker (though nothing like the 500 miles I'm hoping to go from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to SdC.
1. Price. Seems like it waffles between cheaper and more expensive. Any thoughts?
2. Safety. 20-something girl hiking alone (hoping to meet new people along the trail and probably meeting up with friends in Burgos or Leon). How safe is it for me to camp in the official campgrounds solita?
3. Mosquito net/tent. I am not planning on bringing a tent but a pole-free mosquito net. I need to hang it from a tree. Are there many bugs or do you guys sleep outside sans tent/mosquito net? Are there usually trees, etc from which I can hang my net at campgrounds?
4. Should I bring my pocketrocket stove, or did you all mostly buy food @ restaurants/cafes/supermercados?

Main hopes for camping are to enjoy the outdoors and save some $. All thoughts welcome!

Thanks,
Claire

Hi Claire - now that you have done your camino, can you respond to your questions? I have the similar ones! Mostly I am trying to determine how often I'll be able to camp, if I can wild camp or officially camp for as cheap/cheaper than the albuergues, and if I'll need more than a sleep sack (we are a couple) at night in a tent? We are going in July. Thanks!!
 
A friend of mine who carried a tent with the same intentions gave up and mailed the tent and a few other weighty and non-used items home.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I took a bivvy bag and camped some nights (but never at a campsite). Some people enjoy the company of the albergues some enjoy the solitude and freedom of camping. If you walk late/wild camp, you will probably find people in all sorts of weird places, including sleeping inside hollow tree trunks.

Other than in cities you can wild camp pretty much every night, the main problem is going to be finding somewhere that hasn’t been used as a toilet. In Galicia there are lots of signs saying no camping which I respected but it was fairly easy to find a track walk a couple of 100m off the main route and find somewhere to camp – from the flattened tent shaped grassy spots many places are obviously well used for wild camping. Some people camp in the pilgrim picnic areas but I preferred somewhere more out of sight.

The only problem I really had was once place where I stayed near a village - Spanish children seem to have more life in them most and don’t seem to go to bed before midnight so your quiet country spot might not be that quiet.

I took a lot of insect repellent because I normally get badly bitten but I didn’t find mosquitos to be a problem, flies were more of an issue in some areas but I adopted the local approach of carry a fly swatting branch to wave them away.

I usually ate the menu of the day at lunch time. Unless you are on a tiny budget or travelling for the year I wouldn’t bother with a stove unless you need hot drinks as soon as you get up.
 
Like it or not: Wild camping is forbidden in most of the Spanish counties (autonomies) the Camino passes through PLUS there isn't anything like common land alongside the Camino. Each piece of land has an owner, so camping on their ground without permission is trespassing. Please be respectful to the country, and its laws, you are walking through. Buen Camino, SY
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
SYates is completely correct about Spanish rules. Do stick to albergues. It will also contribute to the economy, and you can afford it. The rules in Norway are quite different: You are allowed to camp for max 3 days on any spot not fenced in, whether private or state owned. It is called "all man's right". Makes for a lot of freedom, indeed.
 
Agree, SYates: The cost of vino in Norway is so high, we can barely afford clothing for our children. Indeed, Spanish vino prices and Norwegian "All Man's Right" would create Heaven, if you also could get affordable pan & choriso!:)

PS: Very good, informative link there, SYates!
 
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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
@alexwalker Let's found a new country then! Where everybody is free to roam and where the essentials of live (bread, cheese, chorizo and wine) are reasonably priced. Where everybody could just pick from the earth what she provides. Wouldn't that be great! SY
 
@alexwalker Let's found a new country then! Where everybody is free to roam and where the essentials of live (bread, cheese, chorizo and wine) are reasonably priced.
:) Well, if you read your own link, you can see that living from the land (berries, but not hunting/fishing) is a right inland in Scandinavia (a small fee will allow you to fish trout etc., and a higher fee may allow you to hunt). Fishing in saltwater is free all over but there is not saltwater along the Olav's Way, f.ex.

But Spain is nearest to our Heaven: Cheap wine, food, and albergues. And beautiful people, despise their current troubles (which I must admit hurt me, personally). It (the Camino) is a wonderful concept, for which we all should be thankful for towards the Spaniards, IMHO. ;)
 
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Got some camping questions. I'm a fairly experienced camper/backpacker (though nothing like the 500 miles I'm hoping to go from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to SdC.
1. Price. Seems like it waffles between cheaper and more expensive. Any thoughts?
2. Safety. 20-something girl hiking alone (hoping to meet new people along the trail and probably meeting up with friends in Burgos or Leon). How safe is it for me to camp in the official campgrounds solita?
3. Mosquito net/tent. I am not planning on bringing a tent but a pole-free mosquito net. I need to hang it from a tree. Are there many bugs or do you guys sleep outside sans tent/mosquito net? Are there usually trees, etc from which I can hang my net at campgrounds?
4. Should I bring my pocketrocket stove, or did you all mostly buy food @ restaurants/cafes/supermercados?

Main hopes for camping are to enjoy the outdoors and save some $. All thoughts welcome!

Thanks,
Claire
You may also want to check out Six Moons designs. I have one of their Gatewood Capes that weighs about a pound, it also doubles as a poncho and, if you want you can add a bug screen insert with a bathtub floor about 11 oz. Both for under two lbs plus subtract the normal rain gear you would have to carry otherwise and it's not bad.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I don't know if you'd call it camping, but you can discreetly blow up your sleeping pad and sleep like a baby in a warm sleeping bag on many a cathedral stone bench or wherever. People balk at this but the quietest among us do so peacefully and leave the place we lied down to sleep that night even cleaner and better the next morning than when we first approached it as sanctuary and refuge, and no man or woman was the wiser. Our only observer was the guardian angel overlooking us that night. Rest easy, dear pilgrim...
This is good to know! And the police do not bother you? Awesome info.
 
I don't know if you'd call it camping, but you can discreetly blow up your sleeping pad and sleep like a baby in a warm sleeping bag on many a cathedral stone bench or wherever. People balk at this but the quietest among us do so peacefully and leave the place we lied down to sleep that night even cleaner and better the next morning than when we first approached it as sanctuary and refuge, and no man or woman was the wiser. Our only observer was the guardian angel overlooking us that night. Rest easy, dear pilgrim...


Outside or inside?
 
I've camped along the Camino Francis a few times when my MCS kicked up and I was unable to sleep indoors. My advice is to walk through a village, get your food, and camp someplace on the other side right out of town. Also, there ARE some albergues who will allow you to camp in their yards. This is a VERY old blog post from 2011 - I'm not sure if the links are still good. I should probably test them all. But for now, anyone wanted to camp might useful info here.

 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-

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