doing the camino in august

[ilia novik]

hay to everyone
i am planning to do my first Camino, i chose primitivo because it is less crowded. do you know how many people walked it last year in august-September ?
and a few more questions, i decided not to carry a tent. is it possible to find an albergue or is it usually packed in this season.
anthor thing is the budget - i am planing between 30-40 euros, is it enough ?
what is usually the whether ?
do you know maybe is there any good travel equipment stores on the way?
do you think 26 days including getting to oviedo from Madrid and getting to Madrid from finestrra will be enough ?

thanks to all from Jerusalem

 

[ebrandt]

hay to everyone
i am planning to do my first Camino, i chose primitivo because it is less crowded. do you know how many people walked it last year in august-September ?
and a few more questions, i decided not to carry a tent. is it possible to find an albergue or is it usually packed in this season.
anthor thing is the budget - i am planing between 30-40 euros, is it enough ?
what is usually the whether ?
do you know maybe is there any good travel equipment stores on the way?
do you think 26 days including getting to oviedo from Madrid and getting to Madrid from finestrra will be enough ?

thanks to all from Jerusalem

Hi Ilia -- Welcome to the forum. I can't answer all of your questions but I know others will jump in. I think your budge is good and 26 is more than enough days for what you plan./ There is direct train service from Madrid to Oviedo -- its about a 5.5 hour train ride. You should be able to easily walk the Primitivo from Oviedo to Santiao in 12-14 days. And its another 3-4 to Muxia and 1 day to Fisterra.

I do not know for certain but I suspect that once you leave Oviedo the only outdoor equipment store would be in Lugo, but others might know whether there is a shop ins Salas or Tineo.

YOu might want to check out the guide I did for my upcoming camino which contains info on albergues and on other loging options. Its here.

Buen Camino,

Liz

 

[magpieinaz]

hay to everyone
i am planning to do my first Camino, i chose primitivo because it is less crowded. do you know how many people walked it last year in august-September ?
and a few more questions, i decided not to carry a tent. is it possible to find an albergue or is it usually packed in this season.
anthor thing is the budget - i am planing between 30-40 euros, is it enough ?
what is usually the whether ?
do you know maybe is there any good travel equipment stores on the way?
do you think 26 days including getting to oviedo from Madrid and getting to Madrid from finestrra will be enough ?

thanks to all from Jerusalem

Hello Ilia!
I just booked my train from Madrid to Oviedo. It is about 4 and a half hours & there where only 2 departures, an early morning (just past 7) and a mid morning (around 10). Because I'm flying in from the United States I'm losing a day. I leave on Tuesday & my flight doesn't get to Madrid until Wednesday night, I choose to stay 2 nights in Madrid & take the 7 am train to Oviedo on Friday. That gives me a little wiggle room in case my flight is delayed for any reason. I've heard that last minute train tickets can be expensive, so being on a budget I felt this was the way to go. So basically I'll be on day 5 before I start day 1 of walking from Oviedo, lol.
Hope my info helps & maybe I'll see you out there!
Buen Camino,
Maggie

 

[Juanma]

Welcome to the forum Ilia!

According to the Pilgrim's Office statistics (available always online from http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgrims-office/statistics/), last year 2126 pilgrims arrived in Santiago having walked the Camino Primitivo in August; the real figure is usually higher, as the official statistics do not consider to have walked the Primitivo those that started walking before Oviedo, such as those starting from the Frances and then taking the Salvador to Oviedo, or those starting somewhere in the Norte and then detouring down to Oviedo to walk the Primitivo instead of continuing on the Norte. September's official figure was 1359.

You must know that August is the busiest month in the year in the Camino (as Spaniards take their yearly vacation mostly in this month), and it is the month were you are most likely to have some kind of trouble finding a bed; you can avoid problems by reserving your bed into private albergues, some 2 or 3 days in advance (that should be enough, as 90% of pilgrims only reserve the day before their arrival).

The weather in August is usually hot, although being the north of Spain, you may have occasional showers. September can be also quite hot, although a bit milder and with slightly higher chances of showers.

As for travel equipment stores in the way, you have mostly Lugo and Melide (in Lugo there will probably be better prices and more choices); maybe also other small towns as A Fonsagrada, Tineo or Salas.

I think 30 to 40€ per day is a good budget; you shouldn't have any problem. But remember to get cash in big cities, as once you get into rural areas you may be walk for 2 or 3 days without seing a single ATM, and in many bars and albergues in these areas credit cards are not accepted.

Buen Camino!