How far in advance book the accommodations

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

I have read some guides and other material and in some it say specific for an albergue 1-3 days in advance for those. Other sources says 3 days in advance for municipal etc. and 1 week for private.

I get nervous about this as I really don’t like to plan that long in advance. But maybe Lana is a Camino where you have to walk “the stages” and make plans a week ahead. I have done Mozárabe and Levante with booking at most 2 days a head.

How have you who walked Lana done recently. And is everything open in April? How is it during Easter?

Maybe I should reconsider and walk somewhere else? But I’m sort of out of the longer routes.

 

[peregrina2000]

I don’t think the accommodation situation is any different on the Lana than on the Levante, Ebro, etc. On the Villajoyosa alternative, we did contact people in advance - in Torremanzanas, the hotel owner opened up a rather large facility just for us, and had to make arrangements with her sister to get us in there. Truthfully, I preferred the private places this time, so there were frequently albergue options in town that I didn’t use even though they are very highly rated. I stayed in albergues several times when there were no private options, and in those cases it’s important to let people know you are coming because the hospitaleros have jobs and families and do this on the side.

I don’t think the date of April will have an impact on availability, since there isn’t a pilgrim trade with private albergues. The pilgrim-only albergues are extremely unlikely to be full, and the private places are not geared to pilgrims.

All in all - I think that since you are familiar with the routine of untraveled caminos that go through small towns, this route is going to be well within your comfort zone.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

I have read some guides and other material and in some it say specific for an albergue 1-3 days in advance for those. Other sources says 3 days in advance for municipal etc. and 1 week for private.

I get nervous about this as I really don’t like to plan that long in advance. But maybe Lana is a Camino where you have to walk “the stages” and make plans a week ahead. I have done Mozárabe and Levante with booking at most 2 days a head.

How have you who walked Lana done recently. And is everything open in April? How is it during Easter?

Maybe I should reconsider and walk somewhere else? But I’m sort of out of the longer routes.

I always booked one day ahead (even if I didn't need to). I don't think I ever needed to book 2 days ahead. Just wanted to be sure to have a place to sleep the following day, and I never had a problem.

 

[Donovan]

I always booked one day ahead (even if I didn't need to). I don't think I ever needed to book 2 days ahead. Just wanted to be sure to have a place to sleep the following day, and I never had a problem.

Ditto for last year - I left Alicante on 25 April.

 

[peregrina2000]

The one place to watch for is Trillo or Cifuentes. There is a nuclear power reactor in the area and maintenance crews come twice a year to monitor it. Everything was full when we walked. There is an albergue in Cifuentes, and we eventually stayed in it, but it was not easy - involving a trip to the closed bar, then a chat with the Guardia Civil, then a trip to the Ayuntamiento, then a walk to the out-ot-town albergue (supposedly with instructions on where to find the key), and finally the mayor had to come out to show us where the key was hidden. We were very happy to be there, and Cifuentes is a town with some beautiful churches and plazas and very good restaurants with home cooking.

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

Thank you all. I have to decide shortly and if i manage to book a train trip to Spain. Regarding Easter I’m a bit concerned about closed places (grocery stores/bars/reataurants etc.) I have no problem with staying in hotel/pensions and private hostels. It was more a concern when it said book a week in advance but you have convinced me that it is doable. We will see where I end up. I’m really curious of Olvidado as well. Right now I might have to choose the Camino depending on how easy it is to find a train ticket/travel time from Boden, Sweden.

 

[peregrina2000]

I’m really curious of Olvidado as well.

I think you would really love the Olvidado. It has more mountain days than any other camino I’ve walked and those days are really in the mountains, probably 7 or 8 of them. But I think late March could be a little dicey with the weather, you never know about the snow up in the mountains at that date. I think the perfect time for the Olvidado is mid summer! I think a southern start is a good idea for late March, though.

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

I think you would really love the Olvidado. It has more mountain days than any other camino I’ve walked and those days are really in the mountains, probably 7 or 8 of them. But I think late March could be a little dicey with the weather, you never know about the snow up in the mountains at that date. I think the perfect time for the Olvidado is mid summer! I think a southern start is a good idea for late March, though.

Yes I assume the weather is better in the south east. And I would love to see that in some green. Only seen 50 shades of brown on Levante and Mozarabe in autumn.

Still trying to figure out how to get there though. Not flying is a bit of a hassle sometimes.

 

[peregrina2000]

And I would love to see that in some green. Only seen 50 shades of brown on Levante and Mozarabe in autumn

I walked last year in early May and the drought was really awful until we got further north, maybe as far north as Cuenca. We heard stories of huge crop failures, no wildflowers to speak of, lots of wheat fields that were never going to mature. I don’t know if the drought has eased (I think it has eassed up a big further south and west(, but the Lana area has been really hard hit.

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

I walked last year in early May and the drought was really awful until we got further north, maybe as far north as Cuenca. We heard stories of huge crop failures, no wildflowers to speak of, lots of wheat fields that were never going to mature. I don’t know if the drought has eased (I think it has eassed up a big further south and west(, but the Lana area has been really hard hit.

Oh no so still brown and brown. So sad. But at the same time I guess I don’t have to plunge rivers to get across then.

 

[DTCamino]

I’m walking April 21st for just the first 2 weeks until Cuenca and I was able to book everything for those 2 weeks.
Only 1 place made me wait until I was 5 weeks out to confirm. When I started booking 6 months in advance a lot of places showed full, but when I looked at their availability calendar I noticed they only were opening up room availability under 30 days. If you can be patient I think you can book the whole thing no problem.

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

I’m walking April 21st for just the first 2 weeks until Cuenca and I was able to book everything for those 2 weeks.
Only 1 place made me wait until I was 5 weeks out to confirm. When I started booking 6 months in advance a lot of places showed full, but when I looked at their availability calendar I noticed they only were opening up room availability under 30 days. If you can be patient I think you can book the whole thing no problem.

I think you misunderstood I don’t want to book in advance. I want to be quite free on the Camino (even if the options are more limited on once with long distance stages). If I could I would not book anything at all (that is how I have done all caminos except Mozarabe and Levante). But I understand at on some caminos there are people with lives and jobs taking care of albergues and small private establishment like pensions and hotels that could fill up.

 

[dick bird]

Other sources says 3 days in advance for municipal etc. and 1 week for private.

You don´t need to actually book the albergues, but you do need to let somebody, usually the ayuntamiento, know you are coming so that they can tell you where to pick up the key. Most albergues on this route are unstaffed, often a room next to a sports pavilion or a social centre with a couple of bunk beds in it. They key may be in the council office, a bar or you have to phone somebody to bring it for you. The numbers you need should be in the guides e.g. O´Brien or the Amigos guide.

When you pick up the key from one place, you can ask them to call the next place for you. People are very helpful along this route.

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

You don´t need to actually book the albergues, but you do need to let somebody, usually the ayuntamiento, know you are coming so that they can tell you where to pick up the key. Most albergues on this route are unstaffed, often a room next to a sports pavilion or a social centre with a couple of bunk beds in it. They key may be in the council office, a bar or you have to phone somebody to bring it for you. The numbers you need should be in the guides e.g. O´Brien or the Amigos guide.

When you pick up the key from one place, you can ask them to call the next place for you. People are very helpful along this route.

Thanks. Yes I know. Bad wording from me when I say “booking”. I just mean having to tell someone that I’ll be at a place a certain day/timeframe. I do miss the care free first caminos where I could decide when arriving to a village/town oh I like it here, I stay here for the night or oh snap I can’t do one more km so I stay here. Or ok that was a normal stage or some more but I’m not tired let’s do 10 more. And when I have to call ahead I have to plan and my brain starts to wind up again, the thing I’m escaping from when walking long distances. I love the solitude caminos and I totally understand the reality of them but usually the guide says “call 1 day before” here it said “3-5 days before”. I assume it is the weekends they are thinking of when saying 3 days in advance as the ayuntamiento needs to know if someone shows up during the weekend. But I got the answer from most that I don’t have to plan 3-5 days ahead and that sounds good.

 

[dick bird]

Or ok that was a normal stage or some more but I’m not tired let’s do 10 more.

And that isn´t often an option on the Lana; another 10km may be in the middle of nowhere. The towns and villages are few and far between for most of the route. The Olvidado is similar although a much more populated region.