Good Friday/Easter Sunday and Monday

[mojofar]

If my planning goes correctly, I will be in Santiago on the morning of Good Friday (after 2 nights there) and planning to go to either Finnisterre or Muxia. I'm a bit concerned about Good Friday and where to be. Will there be closures? What will it be like to travel, etc. Also after an evening at either Finnisterra or Muxia I will be on my way to Madrid on Saturday. What will Easter Sunday be like in Madrid? I realize Easter - Holy Week - is a very big deal in Spain and want to be prepared.

 

[pilgrimjonas]

Hey Mojofar,

I'm afraid this will not entirely answer your questions, but maybe help somewhat.

I spent three Semanas Santas in Spain. Each on a different Camino, and each in very different kinds of towns. Every time I noticed an increase in pilgrim numbers. Yes, it is a big deal in Spain and a lot of Spaniards use this holiday for a camino. Therefore, if you want to ease your mind and be sure to get a place to stay, you should opt to make a reservation. This especially goes for larger towns (like Santiago) that attract masses additional to the pilgrim hordes That said, I never made a reservation during Semana Santa and always got a bed in an albergue. I certainly remember the metropolitan area surrounding Bilbao though, where all budget accommodations where booked out. Bumper!

As for opening hours of supermarkets and such.. It seems to depend on the place. One time, I bought extra supplies for Easter Sunday to find that the biggest supermarket in Comilla on El Norte opened up especially because of the holidays

Generally speaking, I'd recommend to visit some of the festivities. Drums and marches during sunset make for a great experience! Enjoy!

 

[Jan_D]

I would be a bit concerned about your Saturday travel plans. First of all, you will definitely need to book your transport to Madrid in advance, as there will be many, many Spaniards heading back to Madrid after walking from Sarria to Santiago during Holy Week (everyone in Spain gets the week off, and as a Catholic-majority country this is the busiest time on the Camino).

If you decide to spend the night in Fisterra or Muxia, this means you will have to make your way back to SdC in time for your bus or train to Madrid. From Muxia you would need to get the 7:30am bus (timetable here, but you can't book seating in advance). From Fisterra there are a few more options (with Monbus), but even if you got the earliest bus, you would not be able to get back to SdC before 1pm. You also unfortunately can't book in advance, and I have no idea how busy the bus is going to be on Easter Saturday. But maybe you can risk it?