For Primitivo Experts: Planning 11 days in 2018

[SuperPilgrim]

Ok Camino Primitivo experts. I have to take some Hollywood actors on the Primitivo in 2018 and we have 11 days to hike plus a few travel days to make it back and forth from Los Angeles. I've done Camino Frances three times and know it in my sleep but I know nothing of Primitivo. So here is what I need to figure out:

1) If I only have 11 days of hiking, what are the best plans for stages knowing they will want to stay in hotels whenever possible and will choose albergues only when hotels are not available.

2) Which hotels are best on the stages in question 1.

3) Which stages will not have hotels from question 1.

4) What are the must see places on Primitivo?

5) What are the best books or resources (besides this site) to learn about Primitivo?

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Take a look at the Gronze site, it lists (or should) list all available accomodations along the way.

The Primitivo is not like VDLP, the Norte or even the Frances in terms of « things to see », it is really low key in terms of monuments, letting the mountains take the space with all their glory.

This being said, as you leave Oviedo, the Naranco monuments are a good detour to make. I took the bus up there and started my Camino from there. Then you will have to decide, based on physical ability and weather if you will walk the Hospitales route or go via Pola de Allande. Hospitales is out of a movie set, just gorgeous. But can quickly become dangerous if the weather turns.

Lugo has the wall and its cathedral.

13 days is good for solid walkers. It would mean too many daily km for me. I think I walked it in 18. Would you consider not walking into Santiago, just walking from Oviedo to Lugo? Prettiest section by far.

Hotels. There are some rooms over the bar in Esclampero, an offy one in Grado. Cornellena apparently no longer has any. In Salas there is a beautiful one in the old castle and Tineo also has a beautiful hotel. Grandas has a small hotel over looking the reservoir. There is a beautiful Casa Rural in Castro, bit it was closed when I was there. Small hotels also in O Cadavo and Castroverde. A Fonsagrada will also have something. I’m sure Lugo must have something of quality. Melide you are back in ordinary places, As Seixas has a place but it still didn’t have its permit for rooms when I was there, so it was only dinner. Oh, Berducedo has a few rooms, but not many, and that is a bottleneck, so good luck with that.

Again, take a look at the Gronze site: https://www.gronze.com/camino-primitivo

I hope your Holywoodian actors are B or C listers who may be more used to lumpy beds. Can’t help hinking that in some cases they’d be more comfortable in an albergue. Only nice hotels are Salas and Tineo, and I’m sure Lugo will also have one or two since its Lugo.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Regarding guide books/sources:

Cicerone has a book that is fine. I also used Editorial Buen Camino, bit it’s in Spanish. Or online try forwalk, it allows you to get itineraries based on number of days, level of difficulty, type of places to sleep in, etc.: http://santiago.forwalk.org/en/m/1s/guide/3-the-primitive-way/route-list/#trails

 

[Kanga]

@SuperPilgrim how many people? If you want more luxurious accommodation then I'd be looking at the nearby casa rurals - not necessarily right on the route but most of them will do pick up and drop offs. This is the site that will find many (click on "buscar en el mama") http://www.toprural.com

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Take a look at the Gronze site, it lists (or should) list all available accomodations along the way.

The Primitivo is not like VDLP, the Norte or even the Frances in terms of « things to see », it is really low key in terms of monuments, letting the mountains take the space with all their glory.

This being said, as you leave Oviedo, the Naranco monuments are a good detour to make. I took the bus up there and started my Camino from there. Then you will have to decide, based on physical ability and weather if you will walk the Hospitales route or go via Pola de Allande. Hospitales is out of a movie set, just gorgeous. But can quickly become dangerous if the weather turns.

Lugo has the wall and its cathedral.

13 days is good for solid walkers. It would mean too many daily km for me. I think I walked it in 18. Would you consider not walking into Santiago, just walking from Oviedo to Lugo? Prettiest section by far.

Hotels. There are some rooms over the bar in Esclampero, an offy one in Grado. Cornellena apparently no longer has any. In Salas there is a beautiful one in the old castle and Tineo also has a beautiful hotel. Grandas has a small hotel over looking the reservoir. There is a beautiful Casa Rural in Castro, bit it was closed when I was there. Small hotels also in O Cadavo and Castroverde. A Fonsagrada will also have something. I’m sure Lugo must have something of quality. Melide you are back in ordinary places, As Seixas has a place but it still didn’t have its permit for rooms when I was there, so it was only dinner. Oh, Berducedo has a few rooms, but not many, and that is a bottleneck, so good luck with that.

Again, take a look at the Gronze site: https://www.gronze.com/camino-primitivo

I hope your Holywoodian actors are B or C listers who may be more used to lumpy beds. Can’t help hinking that in some cases they’d be more comfortable in an albergue. Only nice hotels are Salas and Tineo, and I’m sure Lugo will also have one or two since its Lugo.

A wonderful, thorough and helpful post, Anemone! I walked the Primitivo from Oviedo to Lugo in spring 2016, as many on the forum had said was the loveliest section. Definately with the limited time the OP has, it seems a no-brainer to end there. I was fortunate to have great weather on the hospitales portion and yet the very next day it became dangerous with dense fog as a walker I'd met had experienced. You have given a great list of good lodging choices. My personal favorite was Hotel Las Grandes, a small hotel above the restaurant in Embalse de Salime. The rooms were reasonably priced, updated and trendy, and their outdoor patio had unbeatable views! My second favorite lodging was in Cornellana at the Albergue de Peregrinos, located in a small newly renovated section of an old monestary. Lots of space between each set of bunks in two huge rooms with a total of only 16 from what I remember.
Just my added two cents worth!

 

[Deleted member 73892]

Ok Camino Primitivo experts. I have to take some Hollywood actors on the Primitivo in 2018 and we have 11 days to hike plus a few travel days to make it back and forth from Los Angeles. I've done Camino Frances three times and know it in my sleep but I know nothing of Primitivo. So here is what I need to figure out:

1) If I only have 11 days of hiking, what are the best plans for stages knowing they will want to stay in hotels whenever possible and will choose albergues only when hotels are not available.

2) Which hotels are best on the stages in question 1.

3) Which stages will not have hotels from question 1.

4) What are the must see places on Primitivo?

5) What are the best books or resources (besides this site) to learn about Primitivo?

Hola Superpilgrim - you're pampering them! Your experience on the Francés must have informed you by now that -
1) The best laid plans can go belly-up
2)To be spontaneous and always expect the unexpected goes without question
3)Just get on with it ;-) Let 'Em loose and stand back ) Give them some bed-bug and real Camino life experience.

Failing that, enjoy and Buen Camino . Love, Light and Nature, Keith

 

[andycohn]

You might want to re-think your plan. According to my compostela, it was 334 kilometers from Oviedo to Santiago. If you're intent on going that whole distance, that's an average of more than 30 kilometers per day, and on a day-to-day basis, the Primitivo is several orders of magnitude more difficult than the Frances, with a lot more climbing. If you're staying only in hotels or private rooms, the problem is even greater, since there aren't nearly as many hotels / private rooms as there are on the Frances, so in order to achieve your twin goals of staying only hotels and also walking the whole distance in 11 days, you're going to have to throw in a few days of 40 - 50 kilometers. Perhaps your Hollywood actors are up to that, but most people who are don't have need for a guide.
If you have only 11 days, you might consider walking only from Oviedo to Mellide (approx. 280 kilometers), where the Primitivo joins the Frances, and the route gets crazy busy. My wife and I did that stretch in 11 days in May - June of this year, staying only in hotels and private rooms. Trying to not exceed 30 kilometers on any day, our stopping points after Oviedo were Grado, Salas, Tineo, Campiello, Berducedo, Grandas de Salime, A Fonsegrada, O Cadavo, Lugo, Ferreira, Mellide. (We then took a leisurely 3 days to walk the remaining 55 kilometers from Mellide to Santiago). There's a 4 star hotel in Tineo (Palacio de Meras), a few casa rurales that are above average, and a wide range of places in Oviedo and Lugo, but otherwise the hotels / pensiones are pretty rustic.
Along with what the others have said above, there is the Wise Pilgrim guide to the Primitivo, the CSJ guide, and also Liz Brandt's pdf guide, which you can download for free on this forum.

 

[alaskadiver]

I can recommend the Hotel Mendez Nuñez in Lugo. They can get an upgraded suite if they are very needy, too Inside the walls and around the corner from the restaurants and the Cathedral is 5 minutes away
In A Fonsagrada we stayed at Casa Manolo. A clean and ver nice pension with private bedrooms an ensuite shower.
We stayed in a private albergue in Ferreira: A Nave with a private room and shower. Delicious paella for dinner.

I hope your Hollywood actors are fit and able to walk in excess of 30km per day on some steep terrain. 11 days is pretty aggressive for the Primitivo. They will need to walk fast and start early.

Make sure you know the numbers to the local taxis and location of buses so if/when they decide they've walked too much they can hitch a ride. I wish luck with this endeavor.

 

[SuperPilgrim]

Take a look at the Gronze site, it lists (or should) list all available accomodations along the way.

The Primitivo is not like VDLP, the Norte or even the Frances in terms of « things to see », it is really low key in terms of monuments, letting the mountains take the space with all their glory.

This being said, as you leave Oviedo, the Naranco monuments are a good detour to make. I took the bus up there and started my Camino from there. Then you will have to decide, based on physical ability and weather if you will walk the Hospitales route or go via Pola de Allande. Hospitales is out of a movie set, just gorgeous. But can quickly become dangerous if the weather turns.

Lugo has the wall and its cathedral.

13 days is good for solid walkers. It would mean too many daily km for me. I think I walked it in 18. Would you consider not walking into Santiago, just walking from Oviedo to Lugo? Prettiest section by far.

Hotels. There are some rooms over the bar in Esclampero, an offy one in Grado. Cornellena apparently no longer has any. In Salas there is a beautiful one in the old castle and Tineo also has a beautiful hotel. Grandas has a small hotel over looking the reservoir. There is a beautiful Casa Rural in Castro, bit it was closed when I was there. Small hotels also in O Cadavo and Castroverde. A Fonsagrada will also have something. I’m sure Lugo must have something of quality. Melide you are back in ordinary places, As Seixas has a place but it still didn’t have its permit for rooms when I was there, so it was only dinner. Oh, Berducedo has a few rooms, but not many, and that is a bottleneck, so good luck with that.

Again, take a look at the Gronze site: https://www.gronze.com/camino-primitivo

I hope your Holywoodian actors are B or C listers who may be more used to lumpy beds. Can’t help hinking that in some cases they’d be more comfortable in an albergue. Only nice hotels are Salas and Tineo, and I’m sure Lugo will also have one or two since its Lugo.

Thanks for this well written reply. We have a lot of time and at this point we are still learning and evaluating options. Adding a few more days might be the first thing to consider.

 

[SuperPilgrim]

Regarding guide books/sources:

Cicerone has a book that is fine. I also used Editorial Buen Camino, bit it’s in Spanish. Or online try forwalk, it allows you to get itineraries based on number of days, level of difficulty, type of places to sleep in, etc.: http://santiago.forwalk.org/en/m/1s/guide/3-the-primitive-way/route-list/#trails

thank you

 

[peregrina2000]

Ok Camino Primitivo experts. I have to take some Hollywood actors on the Primitivo in 2018 and we have 11 days to hike plus a few travel days to make it back and forth from Los Angeles. I've done Camino Frances three times and know it in my sleep but I know nothing of Primitivo. So here is what I need to figure out:

1) If I only have 11 days of hiking, what are the best plans for stages knowing they will want to stay in hotels whenever possible and will choose albergues only when hotels are not available.

2) Which hotels are best on the stages in question 1.

3) Which stages will not have hotels from question 1.

4) What are the must see places on Primitivo?

5) What are the best books or resources (besides this site) to learn about Primitivo?

Hi,SuperPilgrim, I walked my first Camino Primitivo in 2008 in 11 days (I was 58 yo then). https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/my-stages-on-the-camino-primitivo.4841/

I have been back several times since, and the second time I took 12 days. mainly to allow for the Hospitales option.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/back-from-the-primitivo-june-2012.14728/

With a group of newbies, I think I would add another day or two. I see @Anemone del Camino has referred you to Gronze, and that is an excellent resource. It gives you ideas for how to make it a 13 or 14 day walk. It also provides a list of almost all accommodations for each town you go through. In my experience it is the online source that is regularly the most up to date.

In places like Berducedo, you are going to have slim pickings for non-albergue options, though you could probably reserve almost the entire top floor of the bar, which has basic rooms and shared baths with very hot water.

This is a beautiful walk! Getting crowded, too, so reservations are probably a good idea. What month are you considering? Buen camino, Laurie

 

[alaskadiver]

http://www.urcamino.com/camino-primitivo this site will let you put in desired mileage and type of accommodations preferred. It will spit out an itinerary based on your needs. I found it helpful in my planning. As well as Laurie’s guide on this website, and the Wise Pilgrim app. I used Gronze too. You need to look at them all to get a good idea of what options you have.

 

[SuperPilgrim]

Hi,SuperPilgrim, I walked my first Camino Primitivo in 2008 in 11 days (I was 58 yo then). https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/my-stages-on-the-camino-primitivo.4841/

I have been back several times since, and the second time I took 12 days. mainly to allow for the Hospitales option.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/back-from-the-primitivo-june-2012.14728/

With a group of newbies, I think I would add another day or two. I see @Anemone del Camino has referred you to Gronze, and that is an excellent resource. It gives you ideas for how to make it a 13 or 14 day walk. It also provides a list of almost all accommodations for each town you go through. In my experience it is the online source that is regularly the most up to date.

In places like Berducedo, you are going to have slim pickings for non-albergue options, though you could probably reserve almost the entire top floor of the bar, which has basic rooms and shared baths with very hot water.

This is a beautiful walk! Getting crowded, too, so reservations are probably a good idea. What month are you considering? Buen camino, Laurie

Thanks so much for your post Laurie. I followed the links to your previous stages and read them in detail. My group is considering adding a few days as they want to take the Hospitales route and also want to do their best to avoid injury from long days. I'll be posting our first draft at stages soon and looking for comments. Your input is pure gold.

 

[Thornley]

Thanks so much for your post Laurie. I followed the links to your previous stages and read them in detail. My group is considering adding a few days as they want to take the Hospitales route and also want to do their best to avoid injury from long days. I'll be posting our first draft at stages soon and looking for comments. Your input is pure gold.

Laurie knows mate,
The Hospitales route could cause serious problems , especially if hot or cold prevails.
Many fit young pilgrims stopped in Grande because of what i just mentioned.
Great walk and there is a very special restraurant in Oviedo to try , 15 euro with waiters.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

My group is considering adding a few days as they want to take the Hospitales ...

Now you have me confused. Taking the Hospitales route actually shaves off a day vs going via Pola de Allande. But you still are better off planning for Pola since going up Hospitales will be a decision that can only be made on the day. If the weather is good, then you have an extra day to slow down a bit after Berducedo.

I think I walked Oviedo to Santiago in 17 days.

 

[Juanma]

...As Seixas has a place but it still didn’t have its permit for rooms when I was there, so it was only dinner...

The place in As Seixas has still no license to host people; still just working as a bar and for meals for the moment.

I don't recall any hotels in A Fonsagrada but we stayed in a private albergue: A Nave.

I guess you wanted to say "in Ferreira" and not "in A Fonsagrada", right?

SuperPilgrim: in Ferreira (27km from Lugo) you can have private rooms both in Albergue A Nave and in Casa da Ponte. In the first one you will have both the privacy of private rooms and the atmosphere of an albergue, including a communal dinner.

 

[alaskadiver]

The place in As Seixas has still no license to host people; still just working as a bar and for meals for the moment.


I guess you wanted to say "in Ferreira" and not "in A Fonsagrada", right?

SuperPilgrim: in Ferreira (27km from Lugo) you can have private rooms both in Albergue A Nave and in Casa da Ponte. In the first one you will have both the privacy of private rooms and the atmosphere of an albergue, including a communal dinner.

Omg, Juanma. Of course I meant Ferreira. I will correct that post! Thanks.

In Fonsagrada we stayed at a pension called Casa Manolo. Private room with nice sized ensure bathroom and shower.