First time, need some advice!

[Chris24]

Hello everyone!

I'm planning to do my first camino on the norte, and I'm a little freaked out
I have a couple of questions, and although some of them have been answered before on the forum, it'd still be nice to hear it "directly" answered to me

The main thing I'm concerned about, is the accommodation. I hear the frances is already having massive amounts of people, is it gonna be a problem on the norte too? I want to start in the middle of June, and it'd be nice to stay in albergues as much as I can. Related to this, I'm planning on spending around 650-700 euros (excluding the traveling costs), is it gonna be doable?

I'm a little shy and introverted person. I'm sure I'm gonna enjoy walking alone for the most part, but I don't want to be very lonely. Does anyone have experience traveling like this?

I'm also looking forward to seeing some caves. Are there any must see sea caves in the norte ?

Well, any other personal tips would be appreciated. This is kind of a big step for me, I've never hiked or walked alone for more than a few days. But I'm very drawn to this idea, and I feel like this is something I have to do.

Thank you for the help

 

[Dave]

Hi Chris--welcome to the Norte! I think you're going to have a great walk. In June, you'll find some of the municipal albergues open but not all. In the Basque Country in particular, some of the albergues (like in San Sebastián and Zarautz) are only open July and August. Not to worry--there are other options, like youth hostels, to help manage this. Just be prepared to pay more between Irún and Bilbao than you will in later stretches.

The crowds are not as intense on the Norte, but the accommodation is also not as abundant. As such, in the summer it does get strained. But, some albergues have overflow spaces available in the summer, and more private albergues are emerging. The old trick on the Francés applies to the Norte--if the albergues are filling up, try staying in between the stages recommended in the guidebooks.

650-700 will be tight. 650 basically equals just over 20 euros per day, if you complete the walk in 32 days. (People generally walk the Norte in 30-35 days, though obviously there's much greater variation than that.) If you can get a bed in a municipal albergue for 5 euros, that leaves 15 euros for food, which is workable if you don't hope to eat proper restaurant meals much. Unfortunately, you'll probably pay more than 5 on many occasions (and sometimes much more). Make use of kitchens and cook whenever you can, and then try to plan around the municipals.

It's possible to be lonely or to make a lot of friends. Given the smaller pool of pilgrims and the reduced albergue options, you'll likely fall in with the same general group of people for many days at a time. That can definitely help you build friendships. As a fellow introvert, I'd offer that to get the experience you want you'll probably have to push yourself to take some uncomfortable risks early on, working actively to strike up conversations with some of the new people you encounter. Once you break the ice, though, I think you'll find your social circle come together.

I hope you have a great pilgrimage.

Dave

 

[Pabloke]

Hello everyone!

I'm planning to do my first camino on the norte, and I'm a little freaked out
I have a couple of questions, and although some of them have been answered before on the forum, it'd still be nice to hear it "directly" answered to me

The main thing I'm concerned about, is the accommodation. I hear the frances is already having massive amounts of people, is it gonna be a problem on the norte too? I want to start in the middle of June, and it'd be nice to stay in albergues as much as I can. Related to this, I'm planning on spending around 650-700 euros (excluding the traveling costs), is it gonna be doable?

I'm a little shy and introverted person. I'm sure I'm gonna enjoy walking alone for the most part, but I don't want to be very lonely. Does anyone have experience traveling like this?

I'm also looking forward to seeing some caves. Are there any must see sea caves in the norte ?

Well, any other personal tips would be appreciated. This is kind of a big step for me, I've never hiked or walked alone for more than a few days. But I'm very drawn to this idea, and I feel like this is something I have to do.

Thank you for the help

The North Way's not so busy as the French Way, but less pilgrims means less albergues and less beds.

Your budget may be tight; you won't have margin for the unforeseen expenses. Minimun is about 20-25€ per day and there are 32 days/stages ("officially") You can stretch some stages in order to reduce the number.

You will meet people on the way, pilgrims, hikers and locals to chat or walk with. And you'll meet pilgrims at the albergues. The time you want to expend with them just depends on you.

Drink a lot, take several breaks and enjoy.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Budget looks very tight to me. Even on the Fraces Imwould plan kn 30€' a day, and its accomodations are much less expensive than the Norte where I cannot recall accomodations for 5-6€ much. Also there are not as many"" midpoints" between etapas, unless you consider B&Bs,,and withnyour budgetbthatbseems out of the question.

 

[Introibo]

Hi Chris

You'll be fine. Like yourself I'm backward at coming forward. I travelled out to Pamplona by train with my
first stop over in Spain being in Irun. Speaking no Spanish I found my self in a packed pub on a Sunday night
where no one spoke English. I couldn't make anything out on the menu. For a brief moment panic spread over me.
Then I was shown to a table and showered with kindness. Looking back at my notes from that day I see I wrote
"If the rest of Spain and this trip is going to be like Irun, it's going to be a great trip".

Buen Camino

 

[jpflavin1]

Hello everyone!

I'm planning to do my first camino on the norte, and I'm a little freaked out
I have a couple of questions, and although some of them have been answered before on the forum, it'd still be nice to hear it "directly" answered to me

The main thing I'm concerned about, is the accommodation. I hear the frances is already having massive amounts of people, is it gonna be a problem on the norte too? I want to start in the middle of June, and it'd be nice to stay in albergues as much as I can. Related to this, I'm planning on spending around 650-700 euros (excluding the traveling costs), is it gonna be doable?

I'm a little shy and introverted person. I'm sure I'm gonna enjoy walking alone for the most part, but I don't want to be very lonely. Does anyone have experience traveling like this?

I'm also looking forward to seeing some caves. Are there any must see sea caves in the norte ?

Well, any other personal tips would be appreciated. This is kind of a big step for me, I've never hiked or walked alone for more than a few days. But I'm very drawn to this idea, and I feel like this is something I have to do.

Thank you for the help

Chris24:

There is plenty of accommodation on this route. That said, there are not as many Albergues, so I am concerned a bit about your budget. If possible, try to plan on at least 30 euro's for each day you are walking. The back half of the Norte has more municipal and donativo Albergues than the front and a number of them have communal meals included.

You will be able to have as much or as little interaction as you want with others. This route is not as populated as the Frances but the options are also not as frequent. Therefore, you will most likely see the same people each night unless you or they take rest days.

I really enjoyed this route. If I can be of assistance in any way, please feel free to PM me.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[Chris24]

Thanks for all the answers !
Yeah, I'll probably extend my budget a little bit, it's hard to calculate it right since I'm not planning to reserve anything.

 

[jesben1]

Hello everyone!

I'm planning to do my first camino on the norte, and I'm a little freaked out
I have a couple of questions, and although some of them have been answered before on the forum, it'd still be nice to hear it "directly" answered to me

The main thing I'm concerned about, is the accommodation. I hear the frances is already having massive amounts of people, is it gonna be a problem on the norte too? I want to start in the middle of June, and it'd be nice to stay in albergues as much as I can. Related to this, I'm planning on spending around 650-700 euros (excluding the traveling costs), is it gonna be doable?

I'm a little shy and introverted person. I'm sure I'm gonna enjoy walking alone for the most part, but I don't want to be very lonely. Does anyone have experience traveling like this?

I'm also looking forward to seeing some caves. Are there any must see sea caves in the norte ?

Well, any other personal tips would be appreciated. This is kind of a big step for me, I've never hiked or walked alone for more than a few days. But I'm very drawn to this idea, and I feel like this is something I have to do.

Thank you for the help

Well since everyone addressed your other questions so well, I'll comment on the caves part....

There are the popular "altamira caves", a half hour walk from Santillana del Mar, it is a guided tour of caves with paleolithic art, however only open for tours on certain days/times of the week, very limited and when we were passing through we totally missed it. So bummed! When we go back to Spain for our honeymoon we plan on making a visit. Also the tour's are only in Spanish.

As far as public accessible caves on beaches, in Playa de Poo, the beach opens up (at a lower tide) and is almost an L shape, when you go out to the left there were a few caves, one actually went in quite a ways, be careful though, very slippery....

Also, in Pendueles (which by the way, hands down best hostel there, donation, and includes meals and laundry service done by the hospitalero, its called "aves de paso") Anyway... the beach in Pendueles reportedly has some incredible caves, but only accessible at low tide, which of course we missed, we went at high tide, still a very cool beach.

The "bufones de arenillas", somewhere around Llanes (you cannot miss it, the trail goes right past them), are fascinating as well, look them up. Basically openings from the sea to the ground, in high tide waves will cause a blowhole effect up to 20 feet high, we were there at low tide, did not see 20 foot geysers, but they are pretty amazing to see and hear, a very ominous loud roar...

In Castro Urdiales I remember a mini beach cave.

We enjoy the sea caves as well, it was our mission, no matter how tired, to get to the beach, for us that was the most rewarding part of the trip, especially after a long day of hard work. You'll find if you take the effort to walk along the beach and explore a little (and it is an effort when your feet are throbbing like they do on the camino), you will find a cave here and there. Always ask the hospitalero, if there is something to be seen they will usually know about it.

Well, Buen Camino