Departures from St. Jean Pied de Port?

[grayland]

Are there stats from the Pilgrim Office in SJPP regarding the daily or weekly registrations?

Do we know the estimate of the number walking to Roncesvalles (Orrisson) each day in the summer?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/statistiques-des-pelerins/

 

[SYates]

The French Friends have some some here: http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/statistiques-des-pelerins/

But it seems not for this year. Bon Chemin, SY

 

[Kitsambler]

Wow - that clearly shows how popular May and September are!

 

[MileHighPair]

This is really great info. The most common misconception I hear from first time pilgrims is that May and September are not going to be busy on the Camino. While it is true that they are not the busiest if measured by numbers entering Santiago, it is obvious from these statistics that if measured by pilgrims in St. Jean/Roncesvalles, they are the absolute busiest. And if you pay attention to comments on the forum and/or FB pages, the crowded nature of the Camino in May and September will be verified (at least the first part of the Frances). Look at the huge drop off from September to October, Wow.

 

[Gareth Griffith]

I set off off on the 13th April 2016 and it didn't seem that crowded to me. 6,600 divided by 30 = roughly 220 per day. We walked up to Orission after a coffee and a leisurely wander round SJPdP and although the odd person passed us and we passed the odd person here and there it was hardly ram jam solid on the walk. The next day about 30 of us set of from Orisson and after a while we were left behind by the fast walkers and going over the top we were part of a straggling group but never once fellt we were part of a mass of thousands. I left Roncesvalles the following morning in the dark before breakfast and was on my own before being joined by a couple of Spaniards and a Korean girl walking on her own. We stopped for breakfast at the next village where the café owner confirmed that September was the busiest month as far as he was concerned. Thereafter it was case of there was people to talk to if I wanted but also there were periods of splendid isolation.
I also came across many people that were doing the Camino a fortnight at a time over several year.

 

[t2andreo]

The annual "high season" runs from Easter to about mid-September. During this time most folks tend to use their vacation or holiday time.

Also, there are many national holidays across Europe, and some in other countries too from Easter through early September. People use these holidays as a starting point to conserve their personal holiday time to do Camino. "Bridge days" are frequently in play here. As a result, there are spikes in Camino traffic around these national holiday weeks.

Also, once universities and most all schools let out for the summer months, by mid-June, things really heat up, literally and figuratively.

The "high season" continues until the schools and universities are back in session by mid-September. Most folks have finished their annual vacations / holidays by then as well.

As always, the "trick" is to figure out where the pulses or peak surges will occur and then plan your departure around those dates. You want to be a day or two behind, or ahead of these surges.

From Saint Jean Pied de Port, if you could further parse the September numbers from the Pilgrim Office, I believe you will find a very large "pulse" or peak surge, departing within the first two-weeks of the month. The seasonal drop-off occurs around mid-month. The monthly total remains very high, but the distribution within that month is skewed towards the early part of the month.

I am thinking about doing my 2018 Camino from Saint Jean PdP as my sixth Camino. My thought is to depart around or just after 15 September, and to reach Santiago towards the end of October.

 

[rosswall]

I once saw a graph on the forum showing weekly departures fron St Jean but can not locate it. Any suggestions?
Thanks