How late is too late to start (in the season)?

[Kiwi-family]

Almeria to Santiago.
Obviously early April is the ideal time to start this route in order to enjoy the wildflowers.
However, if you could not start until May 20-something, you might miss the flowers - but will you also miss the heat? Or is that too late?
If you were to walk in autumn, how early can you start and not be crippled by heat? Is it possible to walk from Almeria all the way to Santiago and have the final stages not be cold or is a spring start essential for that?

 

[duncanwhyte]

I began on 22 of March from Almeria and got to Merida 16 April. Staying in Granada for 3 nights. So approx 3-4 weeks.

The early mornings were cold, up to midday pleasant. By 2 the heat had built and by the evening very hot for about 2 hours. But this was useful for laundry. The evenings were pleasant, getting cold again in the early hours. Cold breezes blow down from the Sierra Nevada and help cool you down.

But I was backpacking with camping kit. So I could stop if needed. Some other walkers had to stop on the long stretches and finish by taxi. I think carrying a large pack shaded me from the worst of the sun.

The walk did not present any real technical challenges or exhausting ascent and descent. The going was firm and dry underfoot.

Nely in Almeria is the goto start point as her team will get you to Granada. They arrange accommodation for you.

I arrived in one town beyond Cordoba and asked about accommodation and the barman found my details on his computer. So I think the info gets about as we are all customers for the trade.

I camped because some of the albergues had closed or no longer took in passing trade.

I did not carry on after Merida. But many were on the Plata and done it several times.
So April To May would be fine to continue onto Santiago.

 

[Robo]

I can only comment about Merida onwards. But for what it's worth.....
I left Seville 25th March this year........walking slowly over short stages.
I got to Merida on 4th April.
Salamanca 18th April.
Zamora 22nd April.
Then North to Astorga getting there 28th April.

I have to say it was warm.
After the first week I started leaving pre dawn to avoid the heat post midday, and suddenly discovered other Pilgrims! I had seen none up to then.

Later in April it was warm, but it's all relative.
I was starting about an hour before dawn 6:30 am ish.
It was quite cool, 8-9 C. And I'd need a light jacket for the first 2 hours.
As soon as the sun started to come up it warmed fairly quickly.
So I'd get 3-4 hours at a good pace done before it got too hot.
By midday it would be 20C but feel a lot hotter.
The sun was a real scorcher. I used my umbrella a lot.
And as the sun is behind you it works well.
By mid afternoon it was reaching 24-25.
Highs of 28 C or so could occur later around 4-6 pm.
And this is late April.

I see you've walked the VdlP already, so this might not be of much help.

About 2 weeks behind me there was a heat wave that I was glad to have missed.

So a start in late May. Hmm. I wouldn't do it.
But depends how you cope in the heat I guess.
Or how early in the mornings you start.
Means carrying more water too of course.

This was the first time for me walking in the dark and I actually found it OK.
I have a good head torch and took care.
It was like having my own street light.
Though if the terrain was very rough, I might not try it in the dark.
Obviously can't comment on the Ameria to Merida bit but as you would know, the VdlP is 'generally' a really good walking surface.

Happy planning.....

Hopefully we'll get some more feedback and insights.

 

[maritr]

Almeria to Santiago.
Obviously early April is the ideal time to start this route in order to enjoy the wildflowers.
However, if you could not start until May 20-something, you might miss the flowers - but will you also miss the heat? Or is that too late?
If you were to walk in autumn, how early can you start and not be crippled by heat? Is it possible to walk from Almeria all the way to Santiago and have the final stages not be cold or is a spring start essential for that?

I’d say it’s too late. Maybe not for the first part until Granada, but to walk the inner Andalucía and Extremadura in June is risky. You could get real massive heat. I walked the Mozárabe from Granada in 2011 and from Almería last year. Was in Córdoba may 12th the first time and the heat was killing! Realised I had started too late as I had too much heat from about there onwards and on the Plata.
Last year it was all good. Started in late April. But you never know when there’s an ola de calor (heat wave) and so I had like two of them on the way. But had passed the real south when temperatures there rose to over 40 degrees (Celsius)! And that was in the first part of may. We still often had to start walking in the dark to get to the destinations before the worst heat.
So my recommendation is to start in April if possible.
By the way I loved this Camino, especially the first part until Granada! And Nely and the organisation she belongs to are real gems! You must contact them. (Asociación Jacobea de Almería Granada Camino Mozárabe)
Hope you’ll enjoy this Camino!

 

[maritr]

Sorry! Wrong date on my first walk! I was in Córdoba the twelfth of June! Not may.

 

[peregrina2000]

Southern Spain had some massive heat in April 2023 and then again in June. So even April starts might hit the wall of heat. But I think your chances for really hot weather are much greater with a late May start in Almería.

I personally wouldn't walk in the south in late summer/early fall. Still very hot, and very brown. Those two together make for lots of slogging. Having said all of that... I started in Alicante on May 11 this year and had no scorching heat all the way to Burgos. More than a few mornings, I wished I had brought my lambs wool gloves.

The variation and unpredictability make it hard to predict the best walking time, but I think that if this is the Camino you want to walk and those are the only times you can go, I would pick May over late summer.

 

[RussB]

In 2022 I started in Almeria 2nd May , it was hot all the way to Galicia , but as long as you start early and can carry enough water all ok . Depends how you are in the heat .

 

[JabbaPapa]

How late is too late to start?​

No such thing.

The Camino persists, whatever your personal circumstances or worries.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Almeria to Santiago.
Obviously early April is the ideal time to start this route in order to enjoy the wildflowers.
However, if you could not start until May 20-something, you might miss the flowers - but will you also miss the heat? Or is that too late?
If you were to walk in autumn, how early can you start and not be crippled by heat? Is it possible to walk from Almeria all the way to Santiago and have the final stages not be cold or is a spring start essential for that?

I can't comment about walking all the way to SdC, as we have only walked to Mérida on the Camino Mozárabe.

So for what it's worth, last year we started from Almería on 22 September. We did a side trip to Jaén (wholeheartedly recommended), and we walked short stages to Castro del Río, when we had to interrupt our Camino because of a death in the family.
The weather was nice, but obviously no flowers.

We came back to the Mozárabe and started from Almería on 26 April. We walked to Baena, and took a bus to Málaga and walked back to Baena. We then continued to Mérida where we arrived on 19 June.
We did short stages, so never really suffered from the heat. Mind you, the locals told us the weather was unusually cooler than normal.
We enjoyed plenty of wild flowers, and the scenery around us was green, as opposed to brown and burnt last year in autumn.

That doesn't really answer your question, but hopefully our experience might help.

¡Buen Camino!

 

[Kiwi-family]

That doesn't really answer your question, but hopefully our experience might help.

¡Buen Camino!

Thank you! I actually read all your posts yesterday and jotted down your "intermediary" stopping places. I like to know all options available and then make my decisions about where to stop once I am there. Your input has been invaluable.

How late is too late to start?​

No such thing.

The Camino persists, whatever your personal circumstances or worries.

Totally agree with you and so the question should really be "how late is too late to start in order to avoid the heat?"

And thank you @peregrina2000 for your analysis...and everyone else who has contributed their experience too. I am inclined to abandon my romantic notion that I should wait until after my youngest turns 18 (on May 18) to embark on my camino on which I will reflect on my nearly three decades of home education- besides, flights are so much cheaper in March so I am likely to get a green light from The Home Finance Officer on that count!

 

[Rita Flower]

Thanks so much for you question.
It seems the Camino is calling me for April next year - that’s what came to mind a few days ago.
I would like to walk the Frances again but the Mozarabe has also been calling me since before I walked VdlP last year.
I am thinking now that I can leave the Francés till I am really old and slow.
Your question has confirmed for me that an April Camino Mozarabe might be the perfect thing.
Now just to check on flights from Australia …..

 

[jo_nz]

Almeria to Santiago.
Obviously early April is the ideal time to start this route in order to enjoy the wildflowers.
However, if you could not start until May 20-something, you might miss the flowers - but will you also miss the heat? Or is that too late?
If you were to walk in autumn, how early can you start and not be crippled by heat? Is it possible to walk from Almeria all the way to Santiago and have the final stages not be cold or is a spring start essential for that?

Hi fellow Kiwi. We walked Mozarabe Malaga to Santiago 5 June 2017 start.
We mostly started pre dawn say 6/6.30 to get some k’s in before the heat. Was a fabulous experience and as long as you have enough water on board! We did have a day where our water situation and heat were extremely dangerous and there were wild fires around . In the afternoons it was frequently late 30’s/40 but that’s good to get the washing dry!! The further north we traveled, the cooler it got of course! Arrived in Santiago 24 July!

 

[peregrina2000]

We enjoyed plenty of wild flowers, and the scenery around us was green, as opposed to brown and burnt last year in autumn.

Thanks for pointing this out. I should have though through my comments a bit more. There are actually not huge expanses of agricultural fields on the Mozárabe — they happen more on the caminos that start further north and east — the Catalán, the Lana, the Ebro, the Madrid. Those big agricultural uni-croplands are the primary sources of huge big brown swaths.

The Mozárabe has lots and lots of olive groves, which I absolutely love walking through, and they will not be brown, nor will the vineyards, nor will whatever trees are around.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Thanks so much for you question.
It seems the Camino is calling me for April next year - that’s what came to mind a few days ago.
I would like to walk the Frances again but the Mozarabe has also been calling me since before I walked VdlP last year.
I am thinking now that I can leave the Francés till I am really old and slow.
Your question has confirmed for me that an April Camino Mozarabe might be the perfect thing.
Now just to check on flights from Australia …..

If you can leave in March I think you'll find flights are cheaper! At least they are from across The Ditch.

@jo_nz that's useful info thanks. As a solo female walked I will not be comfortable walking pre-dawn (I did it on the Madrid route and realised it's not for me), so your experience helps me to see it will be best to start sooner in the year if I possibly can.

 

[laineylainey]

I walked the first bit of the Mozarabe to Granada as a birthday treat in December. Fabulous yo see the Sierra Nevadas covered with snow. Chilly in the morning and then lovely sun warmth mid day.

 

[TomasWS]

Almeria to Santiago.
Obviously early April is the ideal time to start this route in order to enjoy the wildflowers.
However, if you could not start until May 20-something, you might miss the flowers - but will you also miss the heat? Or is that too late?
If you were to walk in autumn, how early can you start and not be crippled by heat? Is it possible to walk from Almeria all the way to Santiago and have the final stages not be cold or is a spring start essential for that?

Perhaps I was lucky, but when I walked the Camino francés, I found October to be ideal - not too hot and not too cold. That said, the current unusual climate conditions need to be considered.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Perhaps I was lucky, but when I walked the Camino francés, I found October to be ideal - not too hot and not too cold. That said, the current unusual climate conditions need to be considered.

I, too, have loved walking the northern routes in October, but this time I'm considering the Mozarabe, and an October start there makes for a late November arrival in Galicia, which is getting decidedly chilly and wet!