Is it necessary to book a place to sleep every day on the CF?

[shellebelle]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

 

[Anhalter]

Never left Pamplona on your date but a few weeks later. Never felt it was necessary to book a place. Yes. Never. Sometimes its a bit more convenient, but i disagree strongly with the "you-have-to-book-in-advance-crowd".

 

[shellebelle]

Never left Pamplona on your date but a few weeks later. Never felt it was necessary to book a place. Yes. Never. Sometimes its a bit more convenient, but i disagree strongly with the "you-have-to-book-in-advance-crowd".

Thanks, Anhalter - that is good to hear.

 

[trecile]

Municipal and parochial albergues generally can't be reserved, so for those you just show up.
Other places you can book a day or so ahead if you want, or just show up.

 

[Wanderwoman2]

I found it more relaxing for me to book a day in advance or even same day, just so I knew I could take my time getting there and they knew I was coming. The places weren't always full, so it wasn't necessarily necessary. But sometimes I'd end up running into tour groups who had booked out whole albergues and had to get off stage with them.

 

[shellebelle]

I found it more relaxing for me to book a day in advance or even same day, just so I knew I could take my time getting there and they knew I was coming. The places weren't always full, so it wasn't necessarily necessary. But sometimes I'd end up running into tour groups who had booked out whole albergues and had to get off stage with them.

Thanks, Wanderwoman2 for sharing your approach to finding lodging while on the Camino. I know peace of mind is important, especially at the end of a long day.

 

[J Willhaus]

Not all albergues take reservations. I usually don't make a reservation unless I know there is a pinch point or if I want to stay in a specific albergue or hotel that does take reservations. Some people are very uncomfortable not having a reservation so do what feels best for you. It feels better to me not to make a reservation.

 

[trecile]

I know that this works for some people, but I would highly recommend against booking every night before you even leave home.
This can work if you know exactly how far you are going to want to/be able to walk each day.
You are positive that you won't get sick or injured along the way.
You know that you won't want to linger in a special town or city.

 

[shellebelle]

Not all albergues take reservations. I usually don't make a reservation unless I know there is a pinch point or if I want to stay in a specific albergue or hotel that does take reservations. Some people are very uncomfortable not having a reservation so do what feels best for you. It feels better to me not to make a reservation.

I am in the same boat as you J Willhaus and don't want to hassle with making reservations daily but I wasn't sure if it's possible these days. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tincatinker]

It's best to book a room in as many places as possible then you can choose which one you want to stay in when you get there

 

[David Tallan]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

TLDR: Whether you need to make reservations depends on how flexibility you are willing to be/want to be.

There are many people here how will tell you it is not necessary and how they were able to find beds every night without booking. That was certainly my experience for much of my last Camino Frances (a little while ago, to be sure, but much more recent than 2000). Others will say that they certainly prefer to book ahead, some even for every night of their Camino before they depart. I think it depends upon how much flexibility you like to approach your Camino with.

Every day you don't book ahead you run the risk that you may need to show some flexibility in where you sleep - which albergue or CR or hotel, perhaps even which village you stop in if all of the accommodations in a village or town are full. Although I would say that not a lot of flexibility is likely to be required between Pamplona and Galicia.

Others see that flexibility as not a cost, but a benefit - having the freedom to stop where you like because you haven't previously committed to somewhere else.

 

[J Willhaus]

It's best to book a room in as many places as possible then you can choose which one you want to stay in when you get there

OK at least add an emoji so people will know that is not the best practice...

Edited: thanks @Tincatinker

 

[David Tallan]

It's best to book a room in as many places as possible then you can choose which one you want to stay in when you get there

For those to whom it is not obvious, for many reasons this is not recommended.

 

[shellebelle]

I know that this works for some people, but I would highly recommend against booking every night before you even leave home.
This can work if you know exactly how far you are going to want to/be able to walk each day.
You are positive that you won't get sick or injured along the way.
You know that you won't want to linger in a special town or city.

I don't want to plan things out too much and it's reassuring to hear from seasoned pilgrims that it is not necessary to book ahead. Thank you!

 

[C clearly]

I wasn't sure if it's possible these days.

No one knows exactly what the situation will be in May 2024. Here are a couple of threads that outline some strategies that are still valid:

• Rethink HOW and WHEN...
• A tale of two Caminos

 

[shellebelle]

TLDR: Whether you need to make reservations depends on how flexibility you are willing to be/want to be.

There are many people here how will tell you it is not necessary and how they were able to find beds every night without booking. That was certainly my experience for much of my last Camino Frances (a little while ago, to be sure, but much more recent than 2000). Others will say that they certainly prefer to book ahead, some even for every night of their Camino before they depart. I think it depends upon how much flexibility you like to approach your Camino with.

Every day you don't book ahead you run the risk that you may need to show some flexibility in where you sleep - which albergue or CR or hotel, perhaps even which village you stop in if all of the accommodations in a village or town are full. Although I would say that not a lot of flexibility is likely to be required between Pamplona and Galicia.

Others see that flexibility as not a cost, but a benefit - having the freedom to stop where you like because you haven't previously committed to somewhere else.

Thank you, David.

 

[Siegfried]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

Hi Shellebelle

You did your past Caminos in times without Smartphone
Times have changed.
It is not necessary to book everything in advance from home ( this makes no sense)
My approach and I think of many others is to book the first stay when you travel to Pamplona to be sure everything goes right. My methode was always to have look at afternoon the day before , where to stay the next day. I use Gronze.com for information. The best way is to make a short call ( english works always ) . In most cases you can make an estimation of your arrival time , or the Hostel owner explains you that your booking is valid to e.g. 16:00 unless you give an extra call to inform about your delay. In this case you don't pay in advance. You can also use booking.com for some other convenient options to make your planning for the next 1, to 2 days .
As an convinced pilgrim who is seeking simple life I like to recommend you to use only albergues
I did my caminos in September.
Best regards
Siegfried

 

[Richard A Stead]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

No. Night before and you aren’t stuck to a schedule that’s to short or long

 

[JabbaPapa]

No.

 

[shellebelle]

No one knows exactly what the situation will be in May 2024. Here are a couple of threads that outline some strategies that are still valid:

• Rethink HOW and WHEN...
• A tale of two Caminos

Thanks, C clearly, this is good info to have.

 

[Ahaj]

I book. I don’t want to be racing for a bed and I don’t want to walk in the dark of the mornings. I want to have freedom to sidetrack and visit sights and indulge my love of a good cortado and a nice meal as well as walking 30km a day. I would miss every municipal Albergue with my schedule

 

[J Willhaus]

I book. I don’t want to be racing for a bed and I don’t want to walk in the dark of the mornings. I want to have freedom to sidetrack and visit sights and indulge my love of a good cortado and a nice meal as well as walking 30km a day. I would miss every municipal Albergue with my schedule

Not necessarily true. Most places where we work as volunteers have only been full one or two nights per our 2 week volunteer period. Of course most of them also do not take reservations as there is no infrastructure to support that. Most of the time we don't even have a phone.

 

[trecile]

It is not necessary to book everything in advance from home ( this makes no sense)

I agree, yet so many people do this! They often don't end up walking the Camino because they overestimated their abilities and have to take a bus or taxi to their prebooked accommodations.

 

[Ahaj]

Not necessarily true. Most places where we work as volunteers have only been full one or two nights per our 2 week volunteer period. Of course most of them also do not take reservations as there is no infrastructure to support that. Most of the time we don't even have a phone.

That’s good to know. I haven’t yet fully booked my May/June Camino so maybe I’ll chill and take a chance

 

[trecile]

I’ll chill and take a chance

Perfect approach to the Camino!
It's taking chances and letting serendipity happen that makes the Camino a magical experience.

 

[shellebelle]

Hi Shellebelle

You did your past Caminos in times without Smartphone
Times have changed.
It is not necessary to book everything in advance from home ( this makes no sense)
My approach and I think of many others is to book the first stay when you travel to Pamplona to be sure everything goes right. My methode was always to have look at afternoon the day before , where to stay the next day. I use Gronze.com for information. The best way is to make a short call ( english works always ) . In most cases you can make an estimation of your arrival time , or the Hostel owner explains you that your booking is valid to e.g. 16:00 unless you give an extra call to inform about your delay. In this case you don't pay in advance. You can also use booking.com for some other convenient options to make your planning for the next 1, to 2 days .
As an convinced pilgrim who is seeking simple life I like to recommend you to use only albergues
I did my caminos in September.
Best regards
Siegfried

Hi Siegfried, I appreciate your advice and wisdom, especially about booking a place in Pamplona to be sure everything starts right.

 

[Robo]

I book. I don’t want to be racing for a bed and I don’t want to walk in the dark of the mornings. I want to have freedom to sidetrack and visit sights and indulge my love of a good cortado and a nice meal as well as walking 30km a day. I would miss every municipal Albergue with my schedule

Do you mean you bookl your whole Camino upfront?

 

[Robo]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

The simple answer in No.
You don't need to make reservations ahead of time.
But.....

This will no doubt cause some disagreeement ....

The reason people book ahead, is generally I believe, that they fear not getting a bed.
That is extremely rare.
There are always options, even if it means taxi to the next village. (never had to do that)

What the real fear is I think, is that they fear not gettng a bed of the 'type' they want or in a specific 'place' they want.
If you are prepared to be flexible, it becomes quite easy and actually liberating.

There are exceptions of course.
Roncesvalles and Zubiri in peak season are known choke points.
So booking those can make sense.
Or the final 100kms on the CF when very busy. (if you want private rooms)
Or during Samana Santa.
But 'normally'? No.

OK, Strong Opinion coming up!

Booking too far ahead, like 7-10 days locks you into a schedule that might not work for you for a multiple of reasons. Meeting others, wanting to walk further or less, injury etc.

Booking your whole Camino ahead, like 30-40 days is in my view sheer madness!
I have never met anyone who was able to keep to a schedule like that or was happy with a schedule like that. I've met plenty of unhappy Pilgrims though locked into a schedule like that.
They usually ended up using taxis back and forth for lots of reasons.

Confession.

I 'generally' book ahead.
But only a day or two.
Because I walk slow and usually arrive 2-4 hours after others.
And sometimes I'm keen to stay in a specific place.

But sometimes I might book on the day, as I see how I'm going.
Or not book at all. A donativo for example.
I did both on the Camino Frances last May, when it was really busy, without any problem.
Nowhere I stayed was full.

You'll find there are lots of opinions on this !

Oh, and another place I HAD to book was a Municipal Albergue on top of a mountain.
Because theyn needed to send me the code for the door to get in!
No. That wasn't full either.
I was the only one there.

 

[Ahaj]

Do you mean you bookl your whole Camino upfront?

I have done on three previous ones! I am a travel agent’s daughter and planning itineraries was in my blood well before I tackled my first Camino in my 50s!! This next one I’m thinking of the bottlenecks of the first few days til I get past Pamplona. Each to their own hey??!!

 

[Robo]

I have done on three previous ones! I am a travel agent’s daughter and planning itineraries was in my blood well before I tackled my first Camino in my 50s!! This next one I’m thinking of the bottlenecks of the first few days til I get past Pamplona. Each to their own hey??!!

Sure 100%, each to their own

But be honest, was there ever a day where you:

1. wished you had booked somewhere closer?
2. wished you had booked somewhere further?
3. for what ever reason needed a rest day or short day and had to rejig bookings?
4. met others with whom you wanted to stay, but couldn't, because you were booked elsehere?

Just curious
Or were they relatively short Caminos of 7-10 days?

If not, that is truly a Camino Miracle.
And I shall forever hold my peace


Yes, watch for those bottlenecks.

 

[Ahaj]

Sure, each to their own

But be honest, was there ever a day where you:

1. wished you had booked somewhere closer?
2. wished you had booked somewhere further?
3. for what ever reason needed a rest day or short day and had to rejig bookings?
4. met others with whom you wanted to stay, but couldn't, because you were booked elsehere?

Just curious
Or were they relatively short Caminos of 7-10 days?

If not, that is truly a Camino Miracle.
And I shall forever hold my peace


Yes, watch for those bottlenecks.

I can honestly answer you that I didn’t have those regrets- my first Camino was cut short after 2 weeks as my husband had a bike accident and I had to leg it to Oviedo ICU. I cancelled my remaining bookings and the time it took to do that is one thing that made me think about the sense in booking the whole thing.
On another Camino I was woken so often by the early risers keen to walk in the dark in order to get their pack into the queue at the next bottleneck Albergue that I might as well have joined them- tried walking in the dark once and it wasn’t for me. I find it liberating to be able to detour or take longer over breaks knowing my bed is secure even if I arrive at 5 or 6.
I’m looking forward to my Camino in May and will enjoy sharing it with my daughter for the first few days. She may not share my views on booking- we shall see!

 

[Robo]

I can honestly answer you that I didn’t have those regrets- my first Camino was cut short after 2 weeks as my husband had a bike accident and I had to leg it to Oviedo ICU. I cancelled my remaining bookings and the time it took to do that is one thing that made me think about the sense in booking the whole thing.
On another Camino I was woken so often by the early risers keen to walk in the dark in order to get their pack into the queue at the next bottleneck Albergue that I might as well have joined them- tried walking in the dark once and it wasn’t for me. I find it liberating to be able to detour or take longer over breaks knowing my bed is secure even if I arrive at 5 or 6.
I’m looking forward to my Camino in May and will enjoy sharing it with my daughter for the first few days. She may not share my views on booking- we shall see!

Glad to hear it worked well for you

 

[DBC]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

I walked from 2nd May in 2022. I booked 2-3 days ahead because a wanted a degree of certainty - but that’s me.
The last stretch from Sarria was chaos due to very large groups eg. 400 from one company doing fund raising week. This pushed the normal b&b and hotel users into using the hostels.
I had booked all of my Sarria to Santiago a week in advance.

 

[CA_Pilgrim]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

I've only done one Camino in 2022 and it was quite busy in May/June because of the penned up demand from COVID. Things were just beginning to open up then and some albergues were still not open. I prefer to stay in hotels, but did stay in albergues the much of the first two weeks for the experience.

I booked all my places to stay about a week in advance and glad I did. It gave me more choices and peace of mind knowing I had a place to stay and did not have to rush to get there each day. I did all my hotel booking through Booking.com and only chose places that were fully refundable in case something came up to throw me off schedule (which never happened). I developed a spreadsheet with the name and brief information of each place where I was staying and the 'cancel by date' for each.

It all went very smoothly for me and I will repeat the process for an upcoming Portuguese Camino this May/June except I will probably not stay at any albergues this time around.

 

[DBC]

I've only done one Camino in 2022 and it was quite busy in May/June because of the penned up demand from COVID. Things were just beginning to open up then and some albergues were still not open. I prefer to stay in hotels, but did stay in albergues the much of the first two weeks for the experience.

I booked all my places to stay about a week in advance and glad I did. It gave me more choices and peace of mind knowing I had a place to stay and did not have to rush to get there each day. I did all my hotel booking through Booking.com and only chose places that were fully refundable in case something came up to throw me off schedule (which never happened). I developed a spreadsheet with the name and brief information of each place where I was staying and the 'cancel by date' for each.

It all went very smoothly for me and I will repeat the process for an upcoming Portuguese Camino this May/June except I will probably not stay at any albergues this time around.

We walked at similar dates/times in 2022. Like you, I was hoping to do the Portugues this year in the May/June period, but have bumped it to 2025 as we have USA trip this year. Enjoy!

 

[shellebelle]

I've only done one Camino in 2022 and it was quite busy in May/June because of the penned up demand from COVID. Things were just beginning to open up then and some albergues were still not open. I prefer to stay in hotels, but did stay in albergues the much of the first two weeks for the experience.

I booked all my places to stay about a week in advance and glad I did. It gave me more choices and peace of mind knowing I had a place to stay and did not have to rush to get there each day. I did all my hotel booking through Booking.com and only chose places that were fully refundable in case something came up to throw me off schedule (which never happened). I developed a spreadsheet with the name and brief information of each place where I was staying and the 'cancel by date' for each.

It all went very smoothly for me and I will repeat the process for an upcoming Portuguese Camino this May/June except I will probably not stay at any albergues this time around.

Thanks, CA_Pilgrim for sharing your experience. Creating a spreadsheet is very smart. I hope you have a wonderful walk on the Portuguese Route.

 

[shellebelle]

I walked from 2nd May in 2022. I booked 2-3 days ahead because a wanted a degree of certainty - but that’s me.
The last stretch from Sarria was chaos due to very large groups eg. 400 from one company doing fund raising week. This pushed the normal b&b and hotel users into using the hostels.
I had booked all of my Sarria to Santiago a week in advance.

Good advice DBC, thank you!

 

[shellebelle]

The simple answer in No.
You don't need to make reservations ahead of time.
But.....

This will no doubt cause some disagreeement ....

The reason people book ahead, is generally I believe, that they fear not getting a bed.
That is extremely rare.
There are always options, even if it means taxi to the next village. (never had to do that)

What the real fear is I think, is that they fear not gettng a bed of the 'type' they want or in a specific 'place' they want.
If you are prepared to be flexible, it becomes quite easy and actually liberating.

There are exceptions of course.
Roncesvalles and Zubiri in peak season are known choke points.
So booking those can make sense.
Or the final 100kms on the CF when very busy. (if you want private rooms)
Or during Samana Santa.
But 'normally'? No.

OK, Strong Opinion coming up!

Booking too far ahead, like 7-10 days locks you into a schedule that might not work for you for a multiple of reasons. Meeting others, wanting to walk further or less, injury etc.

Booking your whole Camino ahead, like 30-40 days is in my view sheer madness!
I have never met anyone who was able to keep to a schedule like that or was happy with a schedule like that. I've met plenty of unhappy Pilgrims though locked into a schedule like that.
They usually ended up using taxis back and forth for lots of reasons.

Confession.

I 'generally' book ahead.
But only a day or two.
Because I walk slow and usually arrive 2-4 hours after others.
And sometimes I'm keen to stay in a specific place.

But sometimes I might book on the day, as I see how I'm going.
Or not book at all. A donativo for example.
I did both on the Camino Frances last May, when it was really busy, without any problem.
Nowhere I stayed was full.

You'll find there are lots of opinions on this !

Oh, and another place I HAD to book was a Municipal Albergue on top of a mountain.
Because theyn needed to send me the code for the door to get in!
No. That wasn't full either.
I was the only one there.

I really appreciate your thoughtful feedback, Robo. Thank you!

 

[shellebelle]

I book. I don’t want to be racing for a bed and I don’t want to walk in the dark of the mornings. I want to have freedom to sidetrack and visit sights and indulge my love of a good cortado and a nice meal as well as walking 30km a day. I would miss every municipal Albergue with my schedule

I also will stop for a good cortado! Thanks for your feedback.

 

[MauiGail]

Thanks each of you who responded to Shellebelle's query, for all of the comments and past experience. My friends and I are doing our first Camino (CP) starting April 16 of this year and we've been talking amongst ourselves about this just today. This thread will give us a better basis from which to make our decision. We've reserved the first several nights, (I must confess, partly because I wanted to be sure we got reservations at Casa Mattos and Fernanda's!) and we also booked our night in Santiago knowing that it may be busier than usual with the May Day holiday. Thanks again for your insight.

Bom Caminho

 

[David Tallan]

I can honestly answer you that I didn’t have those regrets- my first Camino was cut short after 2 weeks as my husband had a bike accident and I had to leg it to Oviedo ICU. I cancelled my remaining bookings and the time it took to do that is one thing that made me think about the sense in booking the whole thing.
On another Camino I was woken so often by the early risers keen to walk in the dark in order to get their pack into the queue at the next bottleneck Albergue that I might as well have joined them- tried walking in the dark once and it wasn’t for me. I find it liberating to be able to detour or take longer over breaks knowing my bed is secure even if I arrive at 5 or 6.
I’m looking forward to my Camino in May and will enjoy sharing it with my daughter for the first few days. She may not share my views on booking- we shall see!

There is a middle ground between booking the entire Camino in advance and taking every day as it comes without a reservation. That's making reservations a day or so in advance. For your first Camino, that would have sharply reduced the number of bookings you had to cancel. For the other Camino you mention with the early risers, that would keep the security of having a booking at the end of the day. And it gives more flexibility to adjust things en route. Of course, if booking everything ahead works for you, go for it! I've just been in situations on Caminos where things didn't exactly work out as planned and this kind of compromise would still have provided the flexibility to adjust the rest of the Camino that I've needed.

 

[CAshworth]

Hello, fellow pilgrims,

I plan to leave Pamplona on April 29th and I would like to stay both in Albergues and in private casa/hotels along the way. My question to all you wonderful folks with a lot more experience than me ( I walked the CF in 2000) is do I need to make reservations ahead of time? I appreciate your input and thoughts.

I'd call ahead the day before and secure a spot just to be safe.

 

[AlwynWellington]

do I need to make reservations ahead of time?

I left Saint-Jean on 1 May 2016.

I had left Le Puy about 3 weeks before and booked ahead once only on that section. Because of exertion during the day, I took a two day rest and turned up two days late. Mine host was still pleased to see me.

I did not make any bookings across Spain, leaving me to go with the flow. Yes, it did cause some anxiety on a few occasions. But, on balance, I felt that was a better option for me than to be anxious about getting to booked location. This option allowed me to adjust to the attractions and/or weather along the way.