Holy year and crowds

Antonius Vaessen · Dec 18, 2021

I understood that 2022 will be a "holy year" Abadin. That probably will effect the numbers of pilgrims on the camino. My questions : 1)would this effect be the same on all caminos or would this mainly be the case for the camino frances? 2) Would this effect the camino all the way from SJPDP or mainly the last 100/200 km? (Background until now I did not want to walk the Camino Frances because of the expected crowds. I heard from many people on the Camino that it would be worthwhile to " give it a try". I am not getting younger, so I would not like to postpone my next camino to 2023. If there would be too many people on the trail I could change over in Leon to the Salvador/ Primitivo (which I walked and liked very much) or in Ponferada to the Camino Invierno)

David Tallan · Dec 18, 2021

I expect that there may be some effect on all Caminos but the effect will certainly be most pronounced on the Frances and especially in the last 100 km. The covid situation will also have an effect. How the two will net out, no one can predict.

rappahannock_rev · Dec 18, 2021

Why not consider walking the Aragones? I can heartily recommend it, if it's crowding that concerns you.... When I walked it in 2018 it was very quiet, and I doubt that it will be any busier in 2022..... I really don't think that the whole Holy Year lollapalooza will impact the Aragones very much.

Tincatinker · Dec 18, 2021

@Antonius Vaessen you are asking an un-answerable question. Two weeks ago I was contemplating the Avenue Verte from Dieppe to Paris and then the stroll south to Somport... Today I cannot even visit Dieppe for a decent Marmite Dieppoise.

Will the Frances be busy? Possibly, at least from Sarria. Will it be crowded, probably not. There will be many people wanting to walk and, I suspect, many who will defer again until the threat of Covid and the sudden imposition of travel restrictions has subsided.

oursonpolaire · Dec 18, 2021

There's a lot we cannot predict right now, but I would assume that in a Holy Year, the last 100km would be a traffic jam-- apparently it has been in the past. This is the stretch where we will see groups of Spanish and perhaps French pilgrims in large numbers. The Primitivo is a lovely and exhilirating Camino, and you can't go wrong on that.

Unless you have a spiritual reason for doing a Holy Year Camino and getting the compostela (and many do) I don't know if I would recommend the last 100km this year but that doesn't mean you can't find stretches of the Camino that would be an excellent experience.

BROWNCOUNTYBOB · Dec 19, 2021

Actually this year and next are Holy Years. My wife and I considered walking Camino Frances in 2020 to avoid the crowds, but the virus kept us home. We decided to hike CF in 2021 even though it is a Holy Year. We had no problem making advance reservations for private rooms. With the travel restrictions and entry requirements, the number of pilgrims hiking CF was the lowest we experienced in our three other caminos (2015, 2017, 2019). So I would anticipate that the pilgrim traffic in 2022 will be similar to this year. Bob

Anthony Rocco · Dec 19, 2021

Antonius Vaessen said:
I understood that 2022 will be a "holy year" Abadin. That probably will effect the nummers of pelgrims on the camino. My questions : 1)would this effect be the same on all caminos or would this mainly be the case for the camino frances? 2) Would this effect the camino all the way from SJPDP or mainly the last 100/200 km? (Background until now I did not want to walk the Camino Frances because of the expected crowds. I heard from many people on the Camino that it would be worthwhile to " give it a try". I am not getting younger, so I would not like to postpone my next camino to 2023. If there would be too many people on the trail I could change over in Leon to the Salvador/ Primitivo (which I walked and liked very much) or in Ponferada to the Camino Invierno)

Crowded? I hope so. It's been so tragic that many of us who so look forward to an annual camino walk have had to defer. Omicron, Ypsilon, Omega...who knows how many variants this virus has in store for us. To be sure, the tragedy of lost caminos for us is nothing compared to the tragedy for those who have lost loved ones. Let's hope that 2022 brings an end to this curse so we can all resume something resembling normal lives. I keep that hope alive, and with the expectation of a busy camino season have planned several options for camino walks, none of which I expect will see conga lines of peregrinos.

Canche · Dec 27, 2021

Antonius Vaessen said:
I understood that 2022 will be a "holy year" Abadin. That probably will effect the nummers of pelgrims on the camino. My questions : 1)would this effect be the same on all caminos or would this mainly be the case for the camino frances? 2) Would this effect the camino all the way from SJPDP or mainly the last 100/200 km? (Background until now I did not want to walk the Camino Frances because of the expected crowds. I heard from many people on the Camino that it would be worthwhile to " give it a try". I am not getting younger, so I would not like to postpone my next camino to 2023. If there would be too many people on the trail I could change over in Leon to the Salvador/ Primitivo (which I walked and liked very much) or in Ponferada to the Camino Invierno)

I would not walk the Frances. It is way too crowded any year and worse during a Holy Year. There are many other much nicer and less crowded options.

Canche · Dec 27, 2021

Tincatinker said:
@Antonius Vaessen you are asking an un-answerable question. Two weeks ago I was contemplating the Avenue Verte from Dieppe to Paris and then the stroll south to Somport... Today I cannot even visit Dieppe for a decent Marmite Dieppoise.

Will the Frances be busy? Possibly, at least from Sarria. Will it be crowded, probably not. There will be many people wanting to walk and, I suspect, many who will defer again until the threat of Covid and the sudden imposition of travel restrictions has subsided.

I believe the Frances will be crowded. It always is. I avoid it like the plague

trecile · Dec 27, 2021

Crowds to one person can equal camaraderie to another.

Canche · Dec 27, 2021

trecile said:
Crowds to one person can equal camaraderie to another.

Absolutely

BROWNCOUNTYBOB · Dec 28, 2021

Cindi and I walked the Camino Frances the fourth time in Sept-Oct and it was the least crowded time we walked. Love the CF and looking forward to CF #5 in 2023! Bob

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Holy year and crowds

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