Cost of albergues? What do you get at a private albergues? How much can I expect to spend every da

[denis52]

Half asleep. Sorry.

 

[ELHS220]

Most of the municipals were €5-7; privates €8-10ish. Some privates have single and double rooms as well, at a higher cost. Municipals generally don't do reservations; most privates do, especially if you are sending your pack ahead to them via courier service. Privates tend to be less crowded, more modern, etc. The book A Village by Village Guide to Hiking the Camino de Santiago has better pricing info than does Brierly. I had both books.

 

[HeidiL]

Added note: If the albergue is "Donativo" it does NOT mean it's free. You're supposed to leave as much as you would leave at a paying place; more, of course, if you had dinner and/or breakfast.

Helping out (doing dishes, swabbing shower floors etc) is good and appreciated! Don't expect hotel service for €6 a night...

 

[Anniesantiago]

What you "get" at both private and municipal albergues is a bed with a sheet on it, and possibly a blanket, if you're lucky.
You get a shower, usually hot, but not always.
You may or may not get kitchen privileges.
In a municipal, you are less likely to be allowed in if you use pack transport.
A private may be cleaner, but not always.
A private may have fewer beds per room, but not always.
You can usually book ahead at a private.
You cannot book ahead at most municipals.
You may or may not get a meal at either.
Both municipal and privates will almost always provide you with a sink with cold water for washing clothes and a line to dry.
You must provide your own cold water washing soap - bar soap is my preference - something like Fels Naptha.
Privates may have a washing machine, in which case soap is provided.

In a municipal, (and some privates) you will be greeted by a hospitalero who may or may not be a volunteer,
and who may or may not be kind or grouchy.

Prices range greatly from "donativo" which, as someone else mentioned does NOT mean "free."
What it means is that you pay what you can honestly afford.
Please be generous.
The money you give today often feeds the pilgrims that show up tomorrow.
If I'm getting a mat on the floor, I pay €6. If they're feeding me I pay €8-10.

I love staying in the parochial refuges, such as the one in Viana.
Though it is donativo, I will pay €10 there because they treat me so kindly and serve a nice dinner.

Municipals tend to be less expensive, but for me are often preferred.
For instance, I prefer the clean municipal in Astorga to a private I know of which is constantly bedbug ridden.

If you book a private ROOM, not albergue, you will most likely get linens, towels included.
You will pay more, but you will not sleep in a room with 4 to 50 other pilgrims.
On the other hand you will miss the wonderful experience of community.

 

[Anniesantiago]

One last thing... you will get OUT of the Camino what you put IN to the Camino.

My best advice is not to expect anything and to be grateful for what you do "get."

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

One last thing... you will get OUT of the Camino what you put IN to the Camino.

My best advice is not to expect anything and to be grateful for what you do "get."

That is well said.
Wish you well , Peter.

 

[Angie94]

One last thing... you will get OUT of the Camino what you put IN to the Camino.

My best advice is not to expect anything and to be grateful for what you do "get."

Well said Anniesantiago!

I try to live by the idea of "the higher my expectations the lower my serenity will be; and on the flip side...the lower my expectations the higher my serenity will be! At least that's how it works for me most of time - not all of the time...but most of the time.

 

[CanPete]

There are times, when reading a thread, that I think a well thought through comment says it all and, really, no further comments are required (Anniesantiago ...), other than Kudos maybe

It becomes a " THOROUGHLY THOUGHT THROUGH THREAD " .... (Try saying that 10 times as fast as you can)

;o)

Buen Camino ! ! !

 

[Anniesantiago]

There are times, when reading a thread, that I think a well thought through comment says it all and, really, no further comments are required (Anniesantiago ...), other than Kudos maybe

It becomes a " THOROUGHLY THOUGHT THROUGH THREAD " .... (Try saying that 10 times as fast as you can)

;o)

Buen Camino ! ! !

::laughing:::

 

[zzotte]

Anniesantiago great comments I have nothing to add

Zzotte

 

[stevelm1]

Coming in late to the conversation but I stayed in private rooms mostly and they cost between 25 and 35 euros each night (one person), for most places add 5 on those prices for two people. Parador's ran around 100+ per night (pilgrim rate). They may or may not include breakfast, dinner may or may not be on site and is not included in the price. I was looking for solitude on the walk, sleeping in a dorm was not what I wanted for my Camino. Too each their own. I am planning on walking again and may check out the dorms just to "experience" them, but I had my barracks experience in the military and do not have a lot of fond memories of sleeping like that.

 

[Kanga]

Well said @Anniesantiago - covers the lot. All I can add is that experiences do vary enormously; one person's favourite place is another person's nightmare.

 

[Victoria_Peregrina]

The number of people in the room is not always correlated with the quality of experience. I had some fantastic experiences of sharing a room with 20-30 other pilgrims. I had some less pleasant experiences of staying in a room for four people. For example, in Astorga, a friend and I were in a room for four people. We went out for dinner and when we returned at 9pm the other couple was already asleep. We did not use any lights and went to bed as quietly as we could. At 5am or so, the couple got up and started packing using their headlamps. The lamps sent light in all directions, creating random spikes on my buff used as an eye mask. Their packing also created random spikes in the noise level.

Psychological research on perception shows that random fluctuating stimuli are more potent than persistent levels of similar stimuli. I would have been less bothered by them turning on the central light, making a consolidated packing effort and leaving. But this is a diversion.

Essentially, when you have many people in a room, you have some level of community enforcement and greater compliance with the community norms. When you have a small number of people, some pilgrims (not all) tend to behave more selfishly.