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How busy are the albergues on the Francés?

bananarama

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances 2016
Frances 2017
VdLP 2022
Frances 2022
Hi

I'm thinking of cycling the French Way in late August, and I'm looking for some feedback on the current status of albergues, because there are two competing factors: Pandemic vs Holy Year.

I've glanced the forum, and it's not entirely obvious how busy the albergues are. So for example: how busy is the main Burgos albergue? Is booking, in general, adviced?

Thanks in advance for you feedback

Oscar
 
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It depends on where, and it depends on when.
The when factor is related to the usual waves of pilgrims that start in SJPP and Roncesvalles on weekends, they ripple across the camino pretty regularly. If you avoid these peaks you will find a much different scene. Being on bike means that you can almost certainly dodge these peaks.

The when is more related to pilgrimage as domestic tourism. Spaniards have returned to the camino in large numbers, but largely stick to the last 100km. Recent reports in Castilla y León said that the albergue occupancy was about 30% of 2019. A bike won't make a difference once you get to Galicia, especially in late August as the holiday season is winding down. I have not looked at the calendar, but expect that the biggest period in August will be such that the biggest peak will be arriving in Santiago on the last weekend of the month. This might be the only section you should think about having a reservation... and certainly in Santiago.
 
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Oh dear I'm very rusty, what you said I already knew, but completely forgot! I'm starting to remember now, for example, my wife and I did the French Way back in 2017, and we chose to arrive in SJPP on a Monday to miss the weekend rush. We never made it to Santiago though, stopped at Ponferrada, so good to know about the last 100km and booking at Santiago.

Thanks for the refresher
 
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A friend just passed through Estella this morning so after being on the Camino for nearly a week, reports seeing no more that a couple dozen people a day. It is not very busy at all.

Also, with Variant Delta spiking in many countries right now, the real concern may be the change of Lockdowns between now and how that could affect international travel. Here in Canada, I do know that the US / Canada border will remain closed to land travel for the foreseeable future, as decreed by President Biden yesterday. It was supposed to open Aug 9, till the most recent variant began popping up. If people would just get vaccinated, we could start getting some semblance of normalcy.
 
It truly is hit or miss with Albergues (all accommodations) and what and is not open. It's a good idea to use some of the websites that list them to book ahead anywhere from 1-4 nights ahead. Some small towns have everything open while bigger ones are quite limited and visa versa. There is no rhyme or reason to what to expect which is likely why you are having difficulty gauging it through the forum chats. We've had to use every form of accommodation and be very flexible.
 
Michelle/didi2L Thanks for letting me know, this is good information, a dozen people a day is very quiet, so what I'll probably do is wing it until I get to the outskirts of Galicia, and from then on I'll book ahead.
 
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Good question ?

How to predict August/September is tough as many pilgrims like myself has awaited going and is ready in early autumn.

I came in on the 25th of July on foot from Frances aswell so this is my general take on it;

Book ahead of possible
At least check availability in beforehand as influx/demand is unpredictable these Covid times

With a bike youre fine doing neither if flexible and willing to move further on when Murphy’s law abide.

ULTREIA
 
I thought I should post an update to my plans, which have gone through a lot of changes because of Covid rules changes, and also because I don't want to build a bike box in Santiago. If anyone has some feedback, things I should be aware of, etc I'm more than happy to hear:

Fly to Gibraltar, cycle across to Seville, start the Via de la Plata, and once I get to Santiago, cycle along the Frances to SJPdP, and then cycle north to Cherbourg to catch the overnight ferry back home.

I've had a look at the temperatures in southern/western Spain and I should be OK (I hope) with plenty of water and factor 50+ sun cream for kids.
 
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