Greetings all - planning for April 2024

[joecollins]

I am new to this forum and like most newbies I am here to soak up as much information as possible. I live in Pennsylvania, USA and I am planning for my Camino to happen in April 2024. I will be walking from SJPDP to Santiago, pack on my back, as minimalistic as I can make it. I am fortunate that I can do my walk as fast or slow as I want. I haven’t decided if I will go on to Muxia. I have a couple of questions if anyone reads this:

1. Does Easter have an effect on the walk? I have been looking at the statistics from the Pilgrim's Office with a start date of sometime in April. Does this increase the number of pilgrims? Does this impact albergues closing for the holiday?

2. Is there a particular day of the week that is busier to start? For instance, do a greater number of pilgrims start on a weekend? This may be a more anecdotal answer without statistics to support. Just curious.

Thanks in advances for any insights. If anyone’s planning for next April give me a shout. Perhaps we can meet somewhere along the way.

Peace

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I am new to this forum and like most newbies I am here to soak up as much information as possible. I live in Pennsylvania, USA and I am planning for my Camino to happen in April 2024. I will be walking from SJPDP to Santiago, pack on my back, as minimalistic as I can make it. I am fortunate that I can do my walk as fast or slow as I want. I haven’t decided if I will go on to Muxia. I have a couple of questions if anyone reads this:

Great questions and welcome to the forum. Just be a little bit cautious when looking at the Pilgrim Office numbers. Those are the numbers of pilgrims who finished and asked for a Compostela.

The Camino Frances is 800 klms long and so people like you who start in St. Jean are at least a month ahead of the finishers.

In addition and somewhat unhelpfully, the vast majority of pilgrims who walk the Camino Frances start in Sarria and Galicia and others start at other places along the way.

These are all valid pilgrims BTW but it really complicated planning if you don't have a good understanding of this.

In some ways, if you are starting from St. Jean you are much better looking at the statistics provided by the French volunteers who man (woman) the Pilgrim centre in St. Jean.

They seem to publish their statistics about numbers starting in St.Jean somewhere on Facebook. I don't use Facebook and so I can't point you to these numbers but someone else will do that, I am sure.

Historical there are two very high but very short peaks in numbers starting from St. Jean. Historically these peaks are in May and September but this year the peak moved forward two weeks to be at the end of April.

This may well have been as a result of Easter this year falling around this time.

Easter is always a peak for Spanish pilgrims, who are the majority of walkers but usually also the ones who walk the shorter distances.

There are always exceptions and there are Spanish pilgrims who definitely walk long distances.

Enjoy your Camino.

Buen Camino

 

[Rick M]

Having thought this question through rather carefully, my best advice is to try and leave SJPP on a Wednesday or Thursday, as early in the month as you dare weather wise. Book lodgings up to Pamplona before you go. Easter is in March next year, but it is the weekend that everything, not just some things, open. Nothing closes for Easter pilgrim wise, many Spaniards do a part of the Camino that week. April is the beginning of one of the two peak times leaving from SJPP. The biggest peak traffic is in August, but that is for pilgrims leaving from Sarria, not SJPP. The first two weeks of May and the first two weeks of September are the peak seasons from SJPP.

 

[SarahTheKiwi]

Hi Joe and welcome. I have just joined as well, also intending walking April onwards to Santiago, but also Muxia if I get time. I've plotted out all the local Spanish holidays/festivities in order work around them (just me, some people want to see festivities etc but I want to avoid crowds). I've decided to start around 24 April. Depending on what flights are available from NZ this may alter my plans a day or two either side. All the best for your journey and maybe I'll see you out there!

 

[dick bird]

I suspect it wouldn´t make much difference which day of the week you started as we all walk at different speeds and distances so any crowd would tend to thin out (then bunch up again unexpectedly). If you are staying in municipal and parroquial albergues you probably won´t have many problems finding a bed, even at Easter even though it is a public holiday, except in big cities. April isn´t that busy and anyway the shortage of accommodation only seems to apply to private, bookable places. This is in contrast to past years when you´d be forced to go private only when the albergues were full. Nowadays there seem to be beds in albergues when the hotels are full. Be prepared for all kinds of weather from cold to cold and wet to hot and dry. Buen camino.

 

[joecollins]

Hi Joe and welcome. I have just joined as well, also intending walking April onwards to Santiago, but also Muxia if I get time. I've plotted out all the local Spanish holidays/festivities in order work around them (just me, some people want to see festivities etc but I want to avoid crowds). I've decided to start around 24 April. Depending on what flights are available from NZ this may alter my plans a day or two either side. All the best for your journey and maybe I'll see you out there!

Hey Sarah!
Plotting out the holidays is a great idea. I would like to find a balance between huge waves of people and ghost towns. But I will take what the Camino has in store me.
My intention is to walk as minimalistic as I can. I personal purpose to my walk but I want to be open to whomever I meet along the way. So hopefully we will cross paths along the way.

 

[ANGLICO1]

Good questions, the wheels are spinning. I like that..
My son and I started from SJPDP on 1April2023 arrived at Santigo on 5 May 2023. With the exception of the first two days I will say the weather was perfect from Roncesvalles to Santiago. When I do it again I will start one week later. The camino frances was never crowded until Sarria and rain was minimal with cool to cold 42-70f mornings (my standards I am from SoCal). As we got closer to Galicia the weather warmed slightly but it was always pleasant, rain was minimal in Galicia. I think they were experiencing a drought. We did about half Albergue half private accomodations. Infrastructure on the Camino Frances is outstanding, with the exception of the first few days due to fear of the unknown. I used the following support tools:

1. Buen Camino App
2. Whats App
3. Booking.com

Buen Camino

 

[SarahTheKiwi]

Hey Sarah!
Plotting out the holidays is a great idea. I would like to find a balance between huge waves of people and ghost towns. But I will take what the Camino has in store me.
My intention is to walk as minimalistic as I can. I personal purpose to my walk but I want to be open to whomever I meet along the way. So hopefully we will cross paths along the way.

Hey Joe - very similar here - aiming to be very minimalist. A bit scared of what that will feel like! Yesterday I visited the travel agent - everything is feeling a bit more real now! It's a bit of an undertaking organising flights from NZ.

 

[Twink]

Hello!

I too am planning my first Camino in April/May 2024 with only a light pack. My Camino began the day I said, "I want to do this!" April 28, 2023. I was torn between the Portuguese Camino from Lisbon or the Frances from St. Jean. I really like the idea of being on/near the water. But, I kept going back to the Frances. The route I mapped seems to be a good compromise for me (saving kilometers at the beginning for the end of the world... as I know it).

Ideally, I have seven weeks. I have pre-booked 14 stays across the journey. Mostly because there are places I know I want to stay after listening to podcasts for first time pilgrims, reading books, and perusing this forum (I do not use social media). I also want a mix of over night accommodations (just the thought of beg bugs makes me itch, but oh well, that is what the big black garbage bags are on my packing list for). I can also cancel any of the reservations without penalties should I be "pushed" by the power greater than myself in another direction along the way.

From what I gather, if you are caught "in a wave" of people, you can either push past them to get ahead of it or stay put until it passes.

For me, "the plan" is to fly into either Barcelona or Madrid, on Easter Sunday (arriving in Spain Monday morning), enjoy a jet lag day, take the train to Pamplona, and start walking on Thursday to Santiago. I mapped the journey, including rest days and want to arrive in Santiago on a Saturday, attend Mass on Sunday, walk to Muxia for two reflection days, and then walk the final leg to Finisterre for another rest day before taking the bus back to Santiago... flying out of Barcelona or Madrid later in the week (maybe even a side trip to Fatima).

I have already received my Credencial del Peregrino from American Pilgrims on the Camino. It sits on my desk where I can see it every morning. Sadly, there is not a chapter in my immediate area (Central Virginia), but I may connect with a chapter in the Virginia Beach area at some point. I am also tracking airfare and trying to practice Spanish for a few minutes, a few times per week. In addition, and most importantly, I am working on the physical and emotional aspects of the journey.

Now... all that said, God laughs at me all of the time and I trust the Camino will provide.

Happy planning/arranging...

Twink (aka Susan)

 

[SFHiker]

Hi Joe and welcome. I have just joined as well, also intending walking April onwards to Santiago, but also Muxia if I get time. I've plotted out all the local Spanish holidays/festivities in order work around them (just me, some people want to see festivities etc but I want to avoid crowds). I've decided to start around 24 April. Depending on what flights are available from NZ this may alter my plans a day or two either side. All the best for your journey and maybe I'll see you out there!

Hi Sarah,
I'm looking to start in late April as well. My birthday is the 26th and I was originally thinking of starting on that day but now think I may begin a week earlier. From what I'm reading everywhere, the suggestion is to start out closer to the middle of the month. Maybe we'll pass each other along the way! Be safe and enjoy your walk!

 

[SarahTheKiwi]

Hi Sarah,
I'm looking to start in late April as well. My birthday is the 26th and I was originally thinking of starting on that day but now think I may begin a week earlier. From what I'm reading everywhere, the suggestion is to start out closer to the middle of the month. Maybe we'll pass each other along the way! Be safe and enjoy your walk!

Great to catch up again. I'm now locked in for 25 April start from St Jean PDP with a booking at Borda. I've also got a jetlag day at Bayonne and overnighting at St Jean on night of 24 April. I just don't know how tired I will be (I'm in my 50th year and haven't done an OE in ages!) or whether my connections through Paris will go smoothly. Either way, it allows me some wiggle room and I'll be safe in keeping my existing accom bookings in place.

 

[barbfox5759]

Hello!

I too am planning my first Camino in April/May 2024 with only a light pack. My Camino began the day I said, "I want to do this!" April 28, 2023. I was torn between the Portuguese Camino from Lisbon or the Frances from St. Jean. I really like the idea of being on/near the water. But, I kept going back to the Frances. The route I mapped seems to be a good compromise for me (saving kilometers at the beginning for the end of the world... as I know it).

Ideally, I have seven weeks. I have pre-booked 14 stays across the journey. Mostly because there are places I know I want to stay after listening to podcasts for first time pilgrims, reading books, and perusing this forum (I do not use social media). I also want a mix of over night accommodations (just the thought of beg bugs makes me itch, but oh well, that is what the big black garbage bags are on my packing list for). I can also cancel any of the reservations without penalties should I be "pushed" by the power greater than myself in another direction along the way.

From what I gather, if you are caught "in a wave" of people, you can either push past them to get ahead of it or stay put until it passes.

For me, "the plan" is to fly into either Barcelona or Madrid, on Easter Sunday (arriving in Spain Monday morning), enjoy a jet lag day, take the train to Pamplona, and start walking on Thursday to Santiago. I mapped the journey, including rest days and want to arrive in Santiago on a Saturday, attend Mass on Sunday, walk to Muxia for two reflection days, and then walk the final leg to Finisterre for another rest day before taking the bus back to Santiago... flying out of Barcelona or Madrid later in the week (maybe even a side trip to Fatima).

I have already received my Credencial del Peregrino from American Pilgrims on the Camino. It sits on my desk where I can see it every morning. Sadly, there is not a chapter in my immediate area (Central Virginia), but I may connect with a chapter in the Virginia Beach area at some point. I am also tracking airfare and trying to practice Spanish for a few minutes, a few times per week. In addition, and most importantly, I am working on the physical and emotional aspects of the journey.

Now... all that said, God laughs at me all of the time and I trust the Camino will provide.

Happy planning/arranging...

Twink (aka Susan)

Have you pre-booked your rooms? I have walked 2 Caminos in the past and have never booked anything in advance. How will I know where I want to stay? I have always walked until I feel like stopping for the day and I am hoping that I can do that again. I feel this is kind of the point for me, to not have to make plans. I will arrive in Pamplona on the 27th of March and take a bus to St Jean Pied de Port and plan to start walking the on the 28th. Does anyone have any insight as to how crowded the Camino Frances will be in April? Thanks in advance for any input that you might have! On a side note, I am snowed in with 3 feet of snow and it is still coming down. I am looking forward to traveling to Spain from Colorado and walking to Santiago once more.
Buen Camino