closed albergues late October beginning of November

[zammy]

I understand public albergues will be open and most private closed.

That means having to phone ahead private ones to make sure they are open
How "bad" is it,?

 

[SYates]

Late October, beginning of November MOST albergues will still be open, both private and public ones. Closed are a few "summer only albergues" like the one in the ruins of San Anton, the one in the hermitage of San Nicolas etc. This website http://www.aprinca.com/alberguesinvierno/ will provide more and up to date information as winter draws closer. Buen Camino, SY

 

[jl]

Just letting you know Zammy that I walked the Camino Frances from mid December to mid January 2013/14. I had no trouble finding albergues to stay in within an easy distance each day, given that the shorter days of mid-winter meant that the distances I walked were shorter than in the summer months. I did stay in a couple of hotels on Christmas Eve, Three Kings Eve, and New Years Eve - mainly because I was having a rest day, and wanted to sleep in. When I got very ill at Carrion de los Condes, though leaving in the morning, I returned two hours later and was allowed to put myself to bed again even though it was out of hours. I tell you of my experience then, as I would imagine that there are likely to be even more albergues open, 3 years later, over the quiet season. Mostly, hospitaleros will tell you what is open further along the road, usually accurately. Only once was I told that an albergue was open, but found it wasn't. That was Christmas night, and a kind lady organized to give me a lift to the bar at Espanosa a kilometer up the road, where the owner opened up the albergue, turning on the heating, hot water etc, and then prepared a sandwich for me for dinner. Buen Camino Janet