How busy will Camino Frances be in June, 2023?

[Fred Gaudet]

And will it be easy to find a place to sleep?

 

[trecile]

And will it be easy to find a place to sleep?

Not super busy between St Jean Pied de Port and Galicia.
How hard it is to find a place to sleep depends a bit on how choosy you are. If you are happy staying in albergues (pilgrim hostels) you should be able to find a bed every day.
However, after you enter Galicia and especially past Sarria you will be joined by multitudes who walk the final 100 km in the summer, so be ready for a change when you get to that part.

There are a couple of interesting threads about pilgrim numbers being down on the Francés before Sarria.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/2022-pilgrim-statistics-from-leon.79184/

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/comparison-of-pilgrim-statistics-from-sjpdp-2019-vs-2022.79193/

 

[RJM]

Honestly that's a question that's impossible to predict or answer.
You're best bet is to research pilgrim numbers from past years. Go to the pilgrim's office in Santiago website and look at past year's pilgrim numbers for June.
Even then there's no guarantee that this year will be the same.

 

[good_old_shoes]

When I walked in june (2017) it was quite empty. Same in july (2019) at least until Ponferrada, where I stopped that year.

In the meseta you could walk into an albergue at 7pm without reservation and it was no problem to find a bed at all.

This july it wasn't very busy either until Galicia, where the hordes of august were on their way. Like a constant conga line.

There are many pilgrims in Galicia in summer, but many beds also, so even there, you should be fine. And june should be more quiet than august.

Of course nobody can see into the future, but as trecile said, if you're okay with sleeping in albergue dorms, most likely, there shouldn't be a problem to find a place to sleep.

In my experience the fancy new albergues fill up more quickly than the no-luxury-no-wifi parroquials, so if one place is "completo", just try another one. It might be a "downgrade" luxury wise, but it will be a place to sleep .

If you want to be sure to have a bed, make a reservation the day before (or the same day, for example when having lunch).


So in short, I wouldn't worry too much.

Happy planning and buen Camino!

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Which part of the Frances?

Around St. Jean and through until Galicia it is very unlikely to be busy unless you strike a large group walking together. Large groups walking together before Galicia are relatively rare and so you are very unlikely to have any issues.

Occasionally you might strike a local celebration day or a popular football match in the larger towns and accommodation could be scarce in that particular area.

In larger cities and towns on the weekend can sometimes also be issues.

Depending on your accommodation preferences there is probably little reason to reserve beforehand. I walked at one of the busiest times in 2019 (which has the record for most pilgrims) and had no difficulties. I stayed in mostly public albergues, sometimes private ones. I also tended to stop in off-stage towns.

One thing to consider is that it takes around a month to walk from St. Jean to Santiago and there is a big wave of walkers who start mid-May. This means that if you monitor the forum you will get lots of people saying how busy it is but they are caught up in the May wave as it flows across Spain.

If you are even two or three weeks after that wave and you leave from St. Jean then you will generally be fine and you can safely ignore the people who try to tell you how busy it is.

 

[markie6]

not as up to date as some, but from early 2020 onwards the number are somewhat skewed.

Possible that the re release of The Way movie might increase interest plus all those who were waiting for the plague to be over. September 2022 was at times as busy as I remember Sep 2019 being. Some Albergues weren't open again yet which does funnel the pilgrims towards available accomodation

I'd guess the graph gives a good idea as to when more people go. Numbers for definite you will not really know until you get there

As soon as you start these thoughts fade into nothingness and you go with the flow, figuratively and literally

buen camino

 

[Fred Gaudet]

Many thanks to all for your responses.

 

[JoAnn Reyes]

FYI Plan accordingly.....
There is a huge music festival in Monte de Grozo right outside of Santiago the weekend of June 15-17 called O Son do Camiño.
Easily over 20,000 attend. Very limited places to stay in Santiago and surrounding areas and very expensive $$$.

 

[MethaV]

And will it be easy to find a place to sleep?

Hi all Pilgrims.
So many nice walks in the world, and so little time...
I have walked the Camino Frances in September - October, the Portugues in October, the Via Podiensis in May - June and the Piemont Pyrenées in May - June. I always walk alone. In the first part of the Pyrenées from Beziers to Pamiers, I almost didn't see any other pilgrims. In all the other walks, I have made friends with a lot of other pilgrims, but it has never been crowded and never a problem finding a bed in a nice place. I will definitely hit the Camino again, the Camino Norte this September starting in SJPdP, and unfortunately not being able to do the full length so I will probably stop in Ribadesella or Gijón where I have to go to Sweden by train.
As you can see, I avoid walking in July and August, especially the Camino Frances since most people say it's crowded and sometimes impossible to get a bed (without paying a lot...). Partly also because of the heat.
There are also many other nice walks you can do during high summer. I will try the Hadrian's Wall in England next year. Juliana Trail in Slovenia, about 270 km, seems lovely. Bulgaria and Albania are other countries with very nice trekking.
Another walk that is very tempting is the via Dinarica on the Balkan. It is around 200 km so you might need up to three months to do the full length through six countries, but it is of course possible to walk for a day or a week. Visa is not needed for European citizens, but don't forget the passport since five of the six countries are not members of EU.
Ultreia! Maggi

 

[Arctic_Alex]

… I will definitely hit the Camino again, the Camino Norte this September starting in SJPdP, and unfortunately not being able to do the full length so I will probably stop in Ribadesella or Gijón where I have to go to Sweden by train.
…

A bit off topic, but how will you do your train journey? I tried to find a good connection from Sthlm to Oviedo for coming May, but it was cumbersome or seemed to me. Now I will fly Iberia instead.

 

[3MS]

FYI Plan accordingly.....
There is a huge music festival in Monte de Grozo right outside of Santiago the weekend of June 15-17 called O Son do Camiño.
Easily over 20,000 attend. Very limited places to stay in Santiago and surrounding areas and very expensive $$$.

good to know. Thats explain why average price accommodations are all booked, and the expensive one left available ):

 

[DoughnutANZ]

not as up to date as some, but from early 2020 onwards the number are somewhat skewed.

Possible that the re release of The Way movie might increase interest plus all those who were waiting for the plague to be over. September 2022 was at times as busy as I remember Sep 2019 being. Some Albergues weren't open again yet which does funnel the pilgrims towards available accomodation

I'd guess the graph gives a good idea as to when more people go. Numbers for definite you will not really know until you get there

As soon as you start these thoughts fade into nothingness and you go with the flow, figuratively and literally

buen camino

This graph is misleading if you are not walking from Sarria to Santiago because it is dominated by the huge number of Spanish pilgrims who walk from Sarria during the August summer holidays.

 

[MethaV]

A bit off topic, but how will you do your train journey? I tried to find a good connection from Sthlm to Oviedo for coming May, but it was cumbersome or seemed to me. Now I will fly Iberia instead.

Interrail - that's the answer! That will take two full days and the night train through Germany. It's by far the best and most economic way to travel through Europe, both for the wallet and the nature. I've done it a few times already. There's a splendid app called Rail Planner, where you can find and book all trains in Europe.
Good luck for the next trip!

 

[Bradypus]

Interrail - that's the answer! That will take two full days and the night train through Germany.

When I was a university student in the 1980s Interrail was only for those under-26 and all the rage for students. But I was far too nervous and too short of money to try it myself. In the years since then Interrail has been opened up to people of all ages. As a 50th birthday present to myself I bought a one-month pass and travelled from the UK almost to the Iranian border and back. Including a trip along the Turkey-Syria border at the beginning of the Syrian war. Then a few years later I bought another pass and went to northern Sweden to see the aurora borealis. There were a few days left on that pass and I used them to finish off an earlier walk to SJPDP that had been interrupted by a back injury and finished with a trip to Barcelona. If you like being spontaneous in your travels it is a marvellous way to go!

 

[Snowflake5090]

And will it be easy to find a place to sleep?

I walked in June 2022 and never once found it an issue to get a bed for the night, not even when I arrived at my destination at 5pm did I have a problem. Not saying that 2023 will be the same but personally I think your’ll be fine up until you reach Sarria and then you may need to think ahead a few days because of the influx of people (especially school children) walking the last 100km. I wouldn’t let it worry you. Buen Camino

 

[AnneMarie1]

Which part of the Frances?

Around St. Jean and through until Galicia it is very unlikely to be busy unless you strike a large group walking together. Large groups walking together before Galicia are relatively rare and so you are very unlikely to have any issues.

Occasionally you might strike a local celebration day or a popular football match in the larger towns and accommodation could be scarce in that particular area.

In larger cities and towns on the weekend can sometimes also be issues.

Depending on your accommodation preferences there is probably little reason to reserve beforehand. I walked at one of the busiest times in 2019 (which has the record for most pilgrims) and had no difficulties. I stayed in mostly public albergues, sometimes private ones. I also tended to stop in off-stage towns.

One thing to consider is that it takes around a month to walk from St. Jean to Santiago and there is a big wave of walkers who start mid-May. This means that if you monitor the forum you will get lots of people saying how busy it is but they are caught up in the May wave as it flows across Spain.

If you are even two or three weeks after that wave and you leave from St. Jean then you will generally be fine and you can safely ignore the people who try to tell you how busy it is.

I'm planning to leave in EARLY May and from Somport. I guess the goal will have to be to reach Puente la Reina ahead of the hoards leaving SJPP and then keep ahead of them. Which might be challenging because I'm planning on taking some rest days to play tourist and not walk too many miles/day, especially at the beginning as I find my legs.

 

[slmoser]

And will it be easy to find a place to sleep?

It’s already booking up, I would start reserving your first night or 2 now…

 

[AnneMarie1]

FYI Plan accordingly.....
There is a huge music festival in Monte de Grozo right outside of Santiago the weekend of June 15-17 called O Son do Camiño.
Easily over 20,000 attend. Very limited places to stay in Santiago and surrounding areas and very expensive $$$.

That's right around the time I might be arriving in Santiago. Thanks for the heads-up! I will be sure to avoid that now.

 

[trecile]

It’s already booking up, I would start reserving your first night or 2 now…

But remember that there are still places like municipal and parochial albergues that don't accept reservations.

 

[AnneMarie1]

When I was a university student in the 1980s Interrail was only for those under-26 and all the rage for students. But I was far too nervous and too short of money to try it myself. In the years since then Interrail has been opened up to people of all ages. As a 50th birthday present to myself I bought a one-month pass and travelled from the UK almost to the Iranian border and back. Including a trip along the Turkey-Syria border at the beginning of the Syrian war. Then a few years later I bought another pass and went to northern Sweden to see the aurora borealis. There were a few days left on that pass and I used them to finish off an earlier walk to SJPDP that had been interrupted by a back injury and finished with a trip to Barcelona. If you like being spontaneous in your travels it is a marvellous way to go!

When I studied for a year in Spain in the 1980s, my parents and several relatives pooled their money and bought me an Interrail pass for Christmas. I spent over month traveling and living out of a backpack and only spent something like $900. It was an amazing experience, with everything more up in the air than with the Camino, since there were no yellow arrows everywhere and we (I did this with a fellow student in my program) had to decide where to go and find places to stay with no web, smart phone, etc. But what a fantastic experience and a kind of coming of age in learning how to manage all that and be resourceful and roll with the punches. Like train strikes that shut down France, for instance.