Camping along the Via Francigena

[jsalt]

Hi, I am looking for some advice please on camping along the Via Francigena between Jun and Sep next year. I haven’t actually gone into the fine details yet of where there are campsites; lots of time still, although any recommendations in the meantime much appreciated. The main question is we are three ladies, all retired; very good friends, having met up on a previous camino, and since walked another camino together, and now planning this one. We would like to remain friends and sharing one 3-man tent between us for 3 months might be pushing it . Also, if one (or two) has to drop out for some reason along the way (it happens), the other two (or one) have to carry the additional weight . Carrying a one-man tent might just be too heavy for each of us. What do you think? Any ideas of how we should do this? Any particular tent recommendations also much appreciated. We will be walking in summer, so we are not worried about being cold at night, but we will be concerned about rain, so we think we should have waterproof equipment. Help! Jill

 

[jirit]

I walked from Switzerland to Rome and I think I might have seen 2-3 campsites or signs for nearby campsites.
Basically the opportunities for camping are very limited if not simply non existent.

Free wild camping is illegal in Italy and I would not recommend doing it.

 

[jsalt]

Hi Jirit, thanks for your reply. Once we get into Switzerland and Italy I understand that pilgrim hostels are more abundant, so we could then ditch the tent(s). We’re not interested in wild camping as we like a hot shower every evening, followed by a visit to the nearest bar! We’re thinking more of the long trek through France (4 to 5 weeks), and the French are great lovers of camping, so we’re hoping there will be enough campsites along the way to warrant carrying tents. I won’t be able to afford to do this route if we have to stay in a pension or hotel every night. Jill

 

[mspath]

Jill,

For good info and many links re the Via Francigena as it crosses France check out this French web.
http://laviafrancigenaenfrance.fr/

Happy planning and Bon chemin!

 

[jsalt]

Jill,

For good info and many links re the Via Francigena as it crosses France check out this French web.
http://laviafrancigenaenfrance.fr/

Happy planning and Bon chemin!

Great, many thanks! I hadn’t seen this website so far. Looks like I will have to brush up on my schoolgirl French, but looking forward to browsing through it. Jill

 

[SYates]

Better than (wild) camping might be actually a cheerful knock at the local priests door and asking for a soft bit of parish hall floor ;-) Buen Camino, SY

 

[mspath]

Furthermore when/if you are getting near Reims do PM me. We can offer you simple hospitality in our new pilgrim albergue on the farm next to the Marne river.
Of course a glass or two of local champagne will be offered!

 

[NavyBlue]

the French are great lovers of camping

Yes, they are, but North-East France is not a top destination ! Check carefully before taking this option.

 

[jsalt]

Furthermore when/if you are getting near Reims do PM me. We can offer you simple hospitality in our new pilgrim albergue on the farm next to the Marne river.
Of course a glass or two of local champagne will be offered!

Oh, wow, thank you, Margaret, we will definitely do that. Is your albergue brand new? I haven’t seen any mention of this before . Jill

 

[jsalt]

Yes, they are, but North-East France is not a top destination ! Check carefully before taking this option.

Ah, thank you, this is exactly what I am trying to find out. What other options are there in north east France? I just cannot stay in hotels every night. Chambres d’hotes can be more expensive than hotels because they usually want you to do “demi-pension”. Unfortunately, that is not value for money when one is vegetarian. What do other pilgrims do through France on the Via Francigena? Or do you have to have lots of money to walk from Canterbury to Rome? Will I have to give this camino up as a bad idea? Jill

 

[mspath]

Oh, wow, thank you, Margaret, we will definitely do that. Is your albergue brand new? I haven’t seen any mention of this before . Jill

We offer l'accueil pèlerins à domicile. See further info here.
It would be a pleasure to meet/greet/host you at the farm!

 

[jennysa]

Hi, I am looking for some advice please on camping along the Via Francigena between Jun and Sep next year. I haven’t actually gone into the fine details yet of where there are campsites; lots of time still, although any recommendations in the meantime much appreciated. The main question is we are three ladies, all retired; very good friends, having met up on a previous camino, and since walked another camino together, and now planning this one. We would like to remain friends and sharing one 3-man tent between us for 3 months might be pushing it . Also, if one (or two) has to drop out for some reason along the way (it happens), the other two (or one) have to carry the additional weight . Carrying a one-man tent might just be too heavy for each of us. What do you think? Any ideas of how we should do this? Any particular tent recommendations also much appreciated. We will be walking in summer, so we are not worried about being cold at night, but we will be concerned about rain, so we think we should have waterproof equipment. Help! Jill

Ii I am walking into Rome tomorrow and I would definitely not recommend camping. The VF is tough - very tough. long distances with no facilities in between. I would not like to make things even more difficult for myself by trying to struggle with carrying a tent, trying to find some where to pitch it etc. This is nothing like the Camino.

 

[jsalt]

Ii I am walking into Rome tomorrow and I would definitely not recommend camping. The VF is tough - very tough. long distances with no facilities in between. I would not like to make things even more difficult for myself by trying to struggle with carrying a tent, trying to find some where to pitch it etc. This is nothing like the Camino.

Hi Jenny, thanks for your response. Have you walked all the way from Canterbury? (If so, congratulations!) What kind of places did you stay at in France, which your rands could stretch to? Jill

 

[jennysa]

Hi Jenny, thanks for your response. Have you walked all the way from Canterbury? (If so, congratulations!) What kind of places did you stay at in France, which your rands could stretch to? Jill

Hi Jill - we have walked 22 days starting in Switzerland and taking a bus in the middle a d walking from San Gimignano. In Italy the new routes take you way out for long distances with no bars along the way and often no water. It is excrutiatingly hot and when you finally get to your destination all you want is some cold water and a shower and clean clothes. You walk mainly on roads that are very hard on the feet and as Geoff Collier says, many of the days are designed for a Sunday hiker as a one-off hike and not for the long distance walker who really wants the shortest route. He reached Rome today and has written brilliant daily reports on the VF facebook page and its worthwhile looking at his earlier posts. I think camping on the VF is only for the youngsters and i dont think i saw more than 2 or 3 campsites in 22 days. We all have swollen feet, terrible blisters, achilles tendon problems etc. I have walked the Camino 5 times and it is like child's play in comparison

 

[Kanga]

This is exciting news. Might give me a focus for my next Camino.

Furthermore when/if you are getting near Reims do PM me. We can offer you simple hospitality in our new pilgrim albergue on the farm next to the Marne river.
Of course a glass or two of local champagne will be offered!

 

[jsalt]

Hi Jill - we have walked 22 days starting in Switzerland and taking a bus in the middle a d walking from San Gimignano. In Italy the new routes take you way out for long distances with no bars along the way and often no water. It is excrutiatingly hot and when you finally get to your destination all you want is some cold water and a shower and clean clothes. You walk mainly on roads that are very hard on the feet and as Geoff Collier says, many of the days are designed for a Sunday hiker as a one-off hike and not for the long distance walker who really wants the shortest route. He reached Rome today and has written brilliant daily reports on the VF facebook page and its worthwhile looking at his earlier posts. I think camping on the VF is only for the youngsters and i dont think i saw more than 2 or 3 campsites in 22 days. We all have swollen feet, terrible blisters, achilles tendon problems etc. I have walked the Camino 5 times and it is like child's play in comparison

Hi Jenny, thanks for your feedback of the walk through Switzerland and Italy.

I am beginning to get it, that there are not many campsites on the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome.

Have spent the last few hours checking out the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome Accommodation List (http://www.pilgrimstorome.org.uk/) for the France section. There are about 6 or 7 campsites, and quite a number of gites, youth hostels, private homes, and dedicated parishes that offer pilgrim accommodation, so it’s beginning to look doable without having to stay in too many hotels.

I think that if the weather is good, and we do have a campsite option, we will use our ponchos as tents, so we don’t have the extra weight, and we save on our accommodation costs. I am hoping to test out my “poncho tent” on the Voie Littorale at the end of Sep.

Have a great time in Rome! Jill

 

[domigee]

Hi, I am looking for some advice please on camping along the Via Francigena between Jun and Sep next year. I haven’t actually gone into the fine details yet of where there are campsites; lots of time still, although any recommendations in the meantime much appreciated. The main question is we are three ladies, all retired; very good friends, having met up on a previous camino, and since walked another camino together, and now planning this one. We would like to remain friends and sharing one 3-man tent between us for 3 months might be pushing it . Also, if one (or two) has to drop out for some reason along the way (it happens), the other two (or one) have to carry the additional weight . Carrying a one-man tent might just be too heavy for each of us. What do you think? Any ideas of how we should do this? Any particular tent recommendations also much appreciated. We will be walking in summer, so we are not worried about being cold at night, but we will be concerned about rain, so we think we should have waterproof equipment. Help! Jill

Hi Jill, just seen your post - a bit late...
Are you still going this Summer? If not, ignore this!
I did camp on the French part, in campsites where there were some, the rest in gîtes' gardens/fields when they were booked up. The owners let us use the bathroom/facilities.
The tent: I had a Terra Nova Laser 1, very light (just under 1kg) but carried a few extra strong pegs (and they were needed!). Rather pricey but luckily they had a sale on (the new super duper light one was just being launched). I also walked with a peregrino met on previous caminos but sharing a tent would definitely have wrecked our friendship!
The main problem was buying food, you'll find that most small shops/cafés have closed down. If you run out of water, go to a cemetary, there is always a tap with drinking water.
Rain: it didn't rain much in France, instead there was a heat wave (July 2014) : 36 deg in Arras I remember, not your usual temperatures in Northern France I encountered downpours in Germany though and all I had was a poncho. Protected me and my rucksack but yes, legs and feet got wet. Nothing you can do in such heavy rain, came to no harm, just buy or beg for old newspapers to dry your boots with oh and make sure your sleeping bag in safe in a dry sack.
I posted my tent back home once in Austria as the weather was too appalling by then! You could post yours once you leave France?
Anything else I can help with, just ask. My blog was lost though so I have to rely on memory - which is not so great !
Dominique

 

[jsalt]

Are you still going this Summer? If not, ignore this!

Hi Dominique, great to get your reply, thank you so much! I haven’t quite given up the idea, but, no, I am not going this summer after all. France is so very, very expensive; a pitch in a campsite costs twice as much as an albergue in Spain, and I just cannot afford it. However, I am still thinking of walking from Rome to Santiago in 2018. Thanks for your post!
Jill

 

[Mitch123]

Ii
I am walking into Rome tomorrow and I would definitely not recommend camping. The VF is tough - very tough. long distances with no facilities in between. I would not like to make things even more difficult for myself by trying to struggle with carrying a tent, trying to find some where to pitch it etc. This is nothing like the Camino.

Hi, has this changed at all? I will be walking the Italian section of the Francigena next year and want to keep costs down as much as possible so want to camp as much as I can

 

[roving_rufus]

Camping makes life alot easier in France giving alot more options and reducing costs if you are prepared to carry a tent. But the rules on wild camping in France and Italy are different, with Italian ones more strigently against wild camping. There are more pilgrim accommodations in Italy. There have been folks who have camped through Italy though.

 

[Bradypus]

Hi, has this changed at all? I will be walking the Italian section of the Francigena next year and want to keep costs down as much as possible so want to camp as much as I can

@timr or @Harington might be able to advise you on this as very active members of the CPR. As far as I can tell there has been no real change in the provision of camping sites in Italy. The development of the VF has followed the example of the Caminos and been centred around ostellos and private accommodation. It was never conceived as a backpacking trail for campers and I don't think there is any intention to go in that direction.

 

[jennysa]

Hi, has this changed at all? I will be walking the Italian section of the Francigena next year and want to keep costs down as much as possible so want to camp as much as I can

 

[jennysa]

That was written some time ago and the infrastructure has improved since then but I am not sure about camping. The signage has improved considerably but it is not like the Camino.

 

[timr]

@timr or @Harington might be able to advise you on this as very active members of the CPR. As far as I can tell there has been no real change in the provision of camping sites in Italy. The development of the VF has followed the example of the Caminos and been centred around ostellos and private accommodation. It was never conceived as a backpacking trail for campers and I don't think there is any intention to go in that direction.

Welcome @Mitch123

Thanks @Bradypus . I have walked from Canterbury to Thessaloniki, without ever camping - though I have had accommodation on a campsite occasionally - so I am not well qualified to comment, specifically.

But it is quite commonly quoted by those who DO camp along the VF that after France/Switzerland they have sent their tent home as it is not so useful from there on. From GSB on there are more ostelli (often run by the local parish, or by male or female religious - that is monks and nuns) similar to the situation in Spain.

Although I am very fond of the forum here, for polite discourse and useful and interested commenters, you will find more traffic these days here on Facebook. You will likely get a response there from someone with recent camping experience. The accommodation options are generally much more numerous in Italy although I never had a problem finding accommodation in France (pre-Covid).

ALL advice needs to take into account the post-Covid situation although the impression I have is that things have in many ways got back to normal, at least in Italy.

In general, the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome is a useful resource for information.

 

[Former member 92300]

Hi, has this changed at all? I will be walking the Italian section of the Francigena next year and want to keep costs down as much as possible so want to camp as much as I can

So - I haven't walked it - YET. But I intend to walk this summer. This year, I will only do Canterbury to Aosta - and will likely do Aosta to Rome to Lecce next summer (or in reverse since it will only get hotter as I walk). But I have been researching Italy too since I plan to finish the walk as soon as I can go back.

After much research on the France/Switzerland sections - I have decided to pre-book as much as I can. This is totally not something I would do on the Camino. On the Camino, I do pre-book a select few places (like Orisson), but the majority of the Camino I try not to pre-book more than a day in advance so I can have lots of flexibility. In France/Spain - accommodation is so much more expensive and sparse - that "winging it" could be financially detrimental. So, what I did is base my itinerary according to how many kms I can walk/per day depending on the expected terrain. I mixed in some average and very long days (normal/double stages- mostly in France) with some very slow hard/more scenic hike days (Switzerland)

I am booking dorm rooms when I can, but there are very few in France and Switzerland, so most accommodations are private rooms. I found that some campgrounds have affordable "bungalow" style accommodations and one even has a dorm - so when those are available (and affordable), I am opting for those. There are some campgrounds where I am booking just a tent space. But - to save weight and to improve my ability to stealth camp - I decided to buy a "hooped bivy". It is a bivy sack but has a lightweight pole that you put in above your head to keep the bivy from laying directly on your head at night. This way - my profile is even easier to hide than in a small/ultralight tent. It also packs smaller and is slightly lighter than a 1 person ultralight tent. But again - I won't be tent camping multiple days in a row and with stealth camping, I don't want to be seen.

In all - I am going to spend 47 nights along the Via Francigena route from Canterbury to Aosta. Of those, I have 5 nights booked at campgrounds but will sleep in a bed (dorm room or bungalow). I have 3 booked nights where I will sleep in a tent at a campground. I have 2 nights where I will have to stealth camp because I can't find anywhere affordable to reserve any type of accommodation. And I have 5 more nights where I am still hoping to get a bed but can't reserve this far in advance - and if I can't get a bed, I will stealth camp or go to a nearby campground. In the end - I might be camping in a bivy no more than 10-11 nights. (I have 1 expensive accommodation that I might cancel and stealth camp)

In my research of Italy - I am seeing way more dorm rooms and other more affordable accommodations available. If I had more dorm rooms available, I would skip camping and would NOT bring a tent or bivy. I suggest looking through the website gronze.com to see what is available on each stage - and if you can affordable to stay in dorm rooms and less expensive private rooms, that would be the way I would go.

 

[good_old_shoes]

I haven't walked the Francigena, but met several people walking towards Rome last year in France, when I walked to Santiago from home. Every single one of them carried a tent and did use it regularly from what they told me. I also carried a tiny bivy tent which I used almost every night for my walk through all of France.

In France there are many campsites in general. Wild camping, as long as it's done with respect for nature and locals, is usually no problem and tolerated. If you talk to the locals they might even show you a good spot to set up your tent for the night. The french love hiking, biking, and camping. Often even small villages have a "Camping municipal" which sometimes isn't much more than a patch of grass next to the village's sports area or multi-purpose-/party building with a small sanitaire building (shower/toilet), but all a pilgrim needs, and cheap.

So at least in France it might be helpful to carry a tent, especially if you're on a budget.


Ahhh... I should read more carefully. Just saw that the question was regarding the italian part . Sorry!