FPN
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Portuguese ('14), last 110k French ('13), French or Silver (future)
Hi, Everyone --
I walked the last 100 km of the French Way in spring of 2013 with friends. Loved it SO much that I did the entire Portuguese Way by myself in the summer of 2014. (It was amazing and VERY uncrowded, especially between Lisbon and Porto, and then after Porto pleasantly populated. Highly recommend!)
I met an Irish couple along the Portuguese Way that just kept exclaiming during the last few days as we entered Santiago about how "free of people" it was. They kept saying things like, "If we were on the French Way, this would be a PARADE." They could not get over how crowded the French Way was. (But I've forgotten what month they said they hiked it.)
I need some real talk here -- how crowded is the trail itself if I start off in the last two weeks of May through the end of June? (I'm not worried about the albergues -- I know a lot of people consider this "cheating" or "not the authentic camino," but I like to arrange through a travel agency to stay in modest hotels. I hate hostels with a fiery passion, and now that I am in my early 30s, can afford cheaper hotels.)
So just in terms of walking -- how crowded was it, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest? *Was* it a parade? Did you feel like you could have some "alone time" during the day, or were there too many people? (I don't need total solitude or anything -- I just don't want to feel like I am in a cattle herd.)
Note: I would start earlier in the year, but I am an American teacher and simply cannot start earlier than late May due my school not letting out until then.
I walked the last 100 km of the French Way in spring of 2013 with friends. Loved it SO much that I did the entire Portuguese Way by myself in the summer of 2014. (It was amazing and VERY uncrowded, especially between Lisbon and Porto, and then after Porto pleasantly populated. Highly recommend!)
I met an Irish couple along the Portuguese Way that just kept exclaiming during the last few days as we entered Santiago about how "free of people" it was. They kept saying things like, "If we were on the French Way, this would be a PARADE." They could not get over how crowded the French Way was. (But I've forgotten what month they said they hiked it.)
I need some real talk here -- how crowded is the trail itself if I start off in the last two weeks of May through the end of June? (I'm not worried about the albergues -- I know a lot of people consider this "cheating" or "not the authentic camino," but I like to arrange through a travel agency to stay in modest hotels. I hate hostels with a fiery passion, and now that I am in my early 30s, can afford cheaper hotels.)
So just in terms of walking -- how crowded was it, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest? *Was* it a parade? Did you feel like you could have some "alone time" during the day, or were there too many people? (I don't need total solitude or anything -- I just don't want to feel like I am in a cattle herd.)
Note: I would start earlier in the year, but I am an American teacher and simply cannot start earlier than late May due my school not letting out until then.