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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

March on the Camino

pattil

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Walking the Camino Frances in April 2020.
My husband and I are planning our first Camino and will arrive in SJPDP at the beginning of March. Yes, March! Work schedules and commitments being what they are, that's when it has to be.

I'm looking for a reality check in terms of snow/ice, especially crossing the Pyrenees. We live in Central NY and are used to a lot of snow and cold, but we don't walk miles and miles up/downhill in it. We definitely have the appropriate clothing but does anyone have thoughts on other specialty gear we might need for that time of year?

Also, my husband uses a CPAP machine at night, so we'll be looking for hotels,private homes that let out rooms, B&Bs, etc. If anyone has a good source for finding private accommodations, we'd certainly appreciate the assist.

To everyone - thanks for all of the great information that you so willingly share!
 
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Gronze.com has info on pensiones and suchlike places to stay (that aren't cavernous cowboy bunkhouses) as well as other information. If using chrome for browsing, you can translate the page. (Bearing in mind that place names are translated along with other words!) I think there are other web sites with info, too...Eroski? And you can go to the Turismo in any town that has one and they'll be happy to tell you about options.
 
My husband and I are planning our first Camino and will arrive in SJPDP at the beginning of March. Yes, March! Work schedules and commitments being what they are, that's when it has to be.

I'm looking for a reality check in terms of snow/ice, especially crossing the Pyrenees. We live in Central NY and are used to a lot of snow and cold, but we don't walk miles and miles up/downhill in it. We definitely have the appropriate clothing but does anyone have thoughts on other specialty gear we might need for that time of year?

Also, my husband uses a CPAP machine at night, so we'll be looking for hotels,private homes that let out rooms, B&Bs, etc. If anyone has a good source for finding private accommodations, we'd certainly appreciate the assist.

To everyone - thanks for all of the great information that you so willingly share!
www.gronze.com is an excellent resource for identifying all accommodation opportunities along the Frances. Beware the ilk of Berking.con where you may find yourselves in the same Province as the camino but nowhere in sight of it. The WisePilgrim guide books and Apps are also highly recommended by members. St John Brierley's guide is also comprehensive. All these resources will help you plan.

The Route Napoleon from St Jean pied de la Porte will be closed until at least the end of March so be guided to the beautiful Route Valcarlos which will give you an easy two days to Roncesvalles. You may still encounter both snow and ice in which case local advice, from the Pilgrims' Office ( Bureau de Pelerin ) in St JdpdP should be followed. General advice is follow the road.

Speciality gear. Crampons, ice axes, coupling ropes - no. Do you really want to carry all that gear for 500 miles and use it twice?

Be aware that Holy Week begins 5 April in 2020 in Spain and that is a time that many Spaniards and other European Catholics choose to walk. Depending on your actual timings you may find yourselves on the most popular stretch of the Frances, Sarria to Santiago, at the most popular time to walk it. As, by then, seasoned peregrinos this should not present you with a problem just an opportunity (though booking ahead might bring some relaxation too).

Buen camino
 
My husband and I are planning our first Camino and will arrive in SJPDP at the beginning of March. Yes, March! Work schedules and commitments being what they are, that's when it has to be.

I'm looking for a reality check in terms of snow/ice, especially crossing the Pyrenees. We live in Central NY and are used to a lot of snow and cold, but we don't walk miles and miles up/downhill in it. We definitely have the appropriate clothing but does anyone have thoughts on other specialty gear we might need for that time of year?

Also, my husband uses a CPAP machine at night, so we'll be looking for hotels,private homes that let out rooms, B&Bs, etc. If anyone has a good source for finding private accommodations, we'd certainly appreciate the assist.

To everyone - thanks for all of the great information that you so willingly share!

There are some commonly used resources for finding private accommodation.

I use:
The Breirley Guide (scanned onto my phone)
The Miam Miam Dodo Guide, again, scanned onto my phone. (In French, but easy to follow)

How is your Spanish?

The easiest one to use of course is booking.com
No Spanish Required.

After that, get the details of whatever place you want to book, and send an email to book.
I have a standard email translated with Google into Spanish.
Google can translate the reply of course.

Lastly, call them.

My wife came with me last year and insisted I learn enough Spanish to (1) Book a room on the phone and (2) Ask for Directions and (3) call an ambulance!

That was all covered in 3 private lessons of 1 hour. Well worth the investment.

It proved very useful, as accommodations will often ask you to contract them if you are running late.
Another standard phrase I learnt.

Lastly, and most important in my view.

DO NOT book too far ahead! The next day is enough, 2-3 days is ample.
Stuff happens, and you may want to speed up or slow down, or skip a section.
If you book too far ahead to have limited all your options.

March is not a busy period, so you won't find places book out, like they do in peak months.
 
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I live in Ithaca, NY, and walked in late March/April, and again in April/May. It was cool sometimes chilly in the mornings and then warm in the afternoons. I took layers. No special gear needed. When it was windy I put on my rain pants-- I took one micro-fleece lined pair of pants, and one pair of pants for the warmer afternoons. We walked into Spring. :)
 
My favorite app for finding places to stay is Hipmunk - It aggregates information from hotel chains, booking engines, and Airbnb into one place. You can view available rooms as a list or have them displayed a map. You can filter and sort the results by type / brand / price / etc. I find that the map view is handy because, as a walker, I need to find a bed that's not too far off the route that I'm following.

If you want you can click through from Hipmunk to the booking engine to make a reservation - and I guess that's how Hipmunk makes money. But if you prefer to call hotels directly or use your preferred booking engine, you can still use Hipmunk for the initial search. It costs nothing.

I don't work for Hipmunk and nobody is paying me for plugging it - Give it a try and see if you like it.
 
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Buen camino, @pattil !
I'm one of the oddballs who voted March as the best month to walk the camino.
If you are starting in early March, you will see spring emerge - it is wonderful; the fruit trees are in bloom. There are not so many people as in April, but there is plenty of companionship.

With the early Easter, you may end up on the busiest part of the camino at a busy time. Either go around it by walking the Invierno when you get to Ponferrada, or be prepared. I rarely book ahead, but there are times when that's useful. At this point I would book Roncesvalles - when I got there at about 5PM (in 2015) there were a surprising number of people who had arrived from Pamplona, intending to start their walk the next day. The few of us who came up the Valcarlos Route from SJPP were lucky to get bunks.

About gear. Don't do overkill. There may well be snow on the part of the way leading over to Ibañeta, and then right after Roncesvalles, but by the time you get there it's pretty flat. So you won't need crampons or ice axes. But definitely take poles. I had boots for those days and was glad to have them - and took them out again crossing the Sierra de la Demanda where there was snow again and a LOT of mud. But otherwise even boots are overkill. Depending on the weather you can take what you'll need to get comfortably over to Pamplona and then mail the heavy stuff to Santiago. And you won't need a heavy sleeping bag - other than San Juan de Ortega, the albergues are a comfortable temperature.

Hotels/B&Bs/Pensiones? Gronze (as others have said) is a good source. It's best to book directly for both you and the proprietor - even if Booking.com and Hotels.com say a place is full, there may still be free rooms if you call.
View media item 2554
 
We walked in March last year starting from SJPDP, walking via Valcarlos. About half way up the mountain it started to snow. I would say it was a moderate to heavy fall - but I am from Australia! We departed Roncesvalles on a reasonably sunny day but the fields were covered in snow. At Zubiri we had 25cm of snow overnight. But.... There was a massive cold snap across the whole of Europe when we were there.

We did not take sleeping bags, instead staying in private accom; I found most of it on Booking.com. We were in Burgos for Easter which was lovely. From memory, places started opening up again from about mid March which made it easier to book accom at the smaller places and more importantly, to get our cafe con leche.

No special equip - we walked in trail shoes (not boots) and they were fine (good quality gortex shoes). Having said that - I would highly recommend a Buff or neck-warmer. There were strong icy winds blowing off the mountains on some days..

Here is a pic of our boys walking out of Roncesvalles (I'm in the foreground, our boys up ahead)

It was a lovely time of the year, hope you have a great walk.
 

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Also, my husband uses a CPAP machine at night, so we'll be looking for hotels,private homes that let out rooms, B&Bs, etc. If anyone has a good source for finding private accommodations, we'd certainly appreciate the assist.
I walked with a CPAP in 2016. My wife and I used a combination of public and private albergues, B&B and one serviced apartment. Most people had no problem with the small amount of noise it made, but at one stage someone took exception to having it on in the room. Gronze and Booking.com were our primary sources for private accommodation. There are others, including a range of apps, that have details of accommodation options along the way.

I always told the hospitalero who had booked me in that I needed to be near a power point if I was in a dormitory. Fortunately, there was never an occasion where someone had to move to achieve that. A couple of times I wasn't able to get a bottom bunk, or let my wife have the bottom bunk. Having the machine on the top bunk wasn't ideal, but we did manage.
 
Last edited:
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My husband and I are planning our first Camino and will arrive in SJPDP at the beginning of March. Yes, March! Work schedules and commitments being what they are, that's when it has to be.

I'm looking for a reality check in terms of snow/ice, especially crossing the Pyrenees. We live in Central NY and are used to a lot of snow and cold, but we don't walk miles and miles up/downhill in it. We definitely have the appropriate clothing but does anyone have thoughts on other specialty gear we might need for that time of year?

Also, my husband uses a CPAP machine at night, so we'll be looking for hotels,private homes that let out rooms, B&Bs, etc. If anyone has a good source for finding private accommodations, we'd certainly appreciate the assist.

To everyone - thanks for all of the great information that you so willingly share!
You will need warm clothing and can expect either snow or rain or both. You will also probably have to take the alternate route to Roncesvalles due to the weather conditions on the Napoleon route over the Pyrenees.
 
Everybody talk about Pyreneene, but there can be snow from Burgos also and up to O Cebreiro as well. I walked in March some years ago and had snow all these places. C7F88BB0-FE0A-41B8-8449-C1CCDC4A6CF5.jpegE9280218-0C7A-42EC-9CA3-5A6A559D294D.jpeg
 
My husband and I are planning our first Camino and will arrive in SJPDP at the beginning of March. Yes, March! Work schedules and commitments being what they are, that's when it has to be.

I'm looking for a reality check in terms of snow/ice, especially crossing the Pyrenees. We live in Central NY and are used to a lot of snow and cold, but we don't walk miles and miles up/downhill in it. We definitely have the appropriate clothing but does anyone have thoughts on other specialty gear we might need for that time of year?

Also, my husband uses a CPAP machine at night, so we'll be looking for hotels,private homes that let out rooms, B&Bs, etc. If anyone has a good source for finding private accommodations, we'd certainly appreciate the assist.

To everyone - thanks for all of the great information that you so willingly share!
We walked in early march in 2014 and the Napoleon route was closed due to snow. We took the Valcarlos route and had to go on the road for some of the time. At one point it snowed so much that some walkers, later in the day had to abandon the walk and hitch rides. But it really doesn’t matter, all part of the Camino magic :)
On B&bs etc, there is an app called My Camino Bed which we found very useful - it has the full range of accomodation from albergues to paraders.
Buen Camino.
 
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I walked from SJPP starting March 1 of 2019, and the weather was perfect! Sunny days every day until a bit of rain the last two coming into Santiago. You never know. :)
There wasn't much choice of Albergues. You will hear of what is open and make it there. Buen camino!
 
You might look into Stephen Jones Camino de Santiago 2018 videos on You-Tube for reference. He walked Feb-March 2018 so that might give you some ideas regarding the weather. I know it was cold (& snowy) in April 2018 too!

Excellent suggestion! YouTube is quickly becoming my favorite resource for the Camino. I've not run across this particular pilgrim yet, so thanks for the tip.
 
We walked in early march in 2014 and the Napoleon route was closed due to snow. We took the Valcarlos route and had to go on the road for some of the time. At one point it snowed so much that some walkers, later in the day had to abandon the walk and hitch rides. But it really doesn’t matter, all part of the Camino magic :)
On B&bs etc, there is an app called My Camino Bed which we found very useful - it has the full range of accomodation from albergues to paraders.
Buen Camino.
Wow, that's a lot of snow. But I agree, that's all part of the magic. We'll take it as it comes. Thanks for the resource suggestion!
 
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www.gronze.com is an excellent resource for identifying all accommodation opportunities along the Frances. Beware the ilk of Berking.con where you may find yourselves in the same Province as the camino but nowhere in sight of it. The WisePilgrim guide books and Apps are also highly recommended by members. St John Brierley's guide is also comprehensive. All these resources will help you plan.

The Route Napoleon from St Jean pied de la Porte will be closed until at least the end of March so be guided to the beautiful Route Valcarlos which will give you an easy two days to Roncesvalles. You may still encounter both snow and ice in which case local advice, from the Pilgrims' Office ( Bureau de Pelerin ) in St JdpdP should be followed. General advice is follow the road.

Speciality gear. Crampons, ice axes, coupling ropes - no. Do you really want to carry all that gear for 500 miles and use it twice?

Be aware that Holy Week begins 5 April in 2020 in Spain and that is a time that many Spaniards and other European Catholics choose to walk. Depending on your actual timings you may find yourselves on the most popular stretch of the Frances, Sarria to Santiago, at the most popular time to walk it. As, by then, seasoned peregrinos this should not present you with a problem just an opportunity (though booking ahead might bring some relaxation too).

Buen camino
All great information. Very helpful and most appreciated. Thank you!
 
I live in Ithaca, NY, and walked in late March/April, and again in April/May. It was cool sometimes chilly in the mornings and then warm in the afternoons. I took layers. No special gear needed. When it was windy I put on my rain pants-- I took one micro-fleece lined pair of pants, and one pair of pants for the warmer afternoons. We walked into Spring. :)
Hello Neighbor! I live in Cortland. Thanks for the feedback. Just what I needed.
 
Buen camino, @pattil !
I'm one of the oddballs who voted March as the best month to walk the camino.
If you are starting in early March, you will see spring emerge - it is wonderful; the fruit trees are in bloom. There are not so many people as in April, but there is plenty of companionship.

With the early Easter, you may end up on the busiest part of the camino at a busy time. Either go around it by walking the Invierno when you get to Ponferrada, or be prepared. I rarely book ahead, but there are times when that's useful. At this point I would book Roncesvalles - when I got there at about 5PM (in 2015) there were a surprising number of people who had arrived from Pamplona, intending to start their walk the next day. The few of us who came up the Valcarlos Route from SJPP were lucky to get bunks.

About gear. Don't do overkill. There may well be snow on the part of the way leading over to Ibañeta, and then right after Roncesvalles, but by the time you get there it's pretty flat. So you won't need crampons or ice axes. But definitely take poles. I had boots for those days and was glad to have them - and took them out again crossing the Sierra de la Demanda where there was snow again and a LOT of mud. But otherwise even boots are overkill. Depending on the weather you can take what you'll need to get comfortably over to Pamplona and then mail the heavy stuff to Santiago. And you won't need a heavy sleeping bag - other than San Juan de Ortega, the albergues are a comfortable temperature.

Hotels/B&Bs/Pensiones? Gronze (as others have said) is a good source. It's best to book directly for both you and the proprietor - even if Booking.com and Hotels.com say a place is full, there may still be free rooms if you call.
View media item 2554
Excellent information - thank you! The timing of Easter was not on my radar. Great tip.
 
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We walked in March last year starting from SJPDP, walking via Valcarlos. About half way up the mountain it started to snow. I would say it was a moderate to heavy fall - but I am from Australia! We departed Roncesvalles on a reasonably sunny day but the fields were covered in snow. At Zubiri we had 25cm of snow overnight. But.... There was a massive cold snap across the whole of Europe when we were there.

We did not take sleeping bags, instead staying in private accom; I found most of it on Booking.com. We were in Burgos for Easter which was lovely. From memory, places started opening up again from about mid March which made it easier to book accom at the smaller places and more importantly, to get our cafe con leche.

No special equip - we walked in trail shoes (not boots) and they were fine (good quality gortex shoes). Having said that - I would highly recommend a Buff or neck-warmer. There were strong icy winds blowing off the mountains on some days..

Here is a pic of our boys walking out of Roncesvalles (I'm in the foreground, our boys up ahead)

It was a lovely time of the year, hope you have a great walk.
Wow! That sounds heavenly.... we LOVE snow. Odd, I know. Thanks for the information and great tips!
 
I walked with a CPAP in 2016. My wife and I used a combination of public and private albergues, B&B and one serviced apartment. Most people had no problem with the small amount of noise it made, but at one stage someone took exception to having it on in the room. Gronze and Booking.com were our primary sources for private accommodation. There are others, including a range of apps, that have details of accommodation options along the way.

I always told the hospitalero who had booked me in that I needed to be near a power point if I was in a dormitory. Fortunately, there was never an occasion where someone had to move to achieve that. A couple of times I wasn't able to get a bottom bunk, or let my wife have the bottom bunk. Having the machine on the top bunk wasn't ideal, but we did manage.
Wow! Great to know that the CPAP wasn't much of an issue in the Alberges. I'm pleased to hear that. Thank you for tips!
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
You will need warm clothing and can expect either snow or rain or both. You will also probably have to take the alternate route to Roncesvalles due to the weather conditions on the Napoleon route over the Pyrenees.

Napoleon is closed in March, but the advice would be the same for Valcarlos :)
 
Hello Neighbor! I live in Cortland. Thanks for the feedback. Just what I needed.

Hey-- We should get together for coffee! -- We did need mittens a few mornings, but just used our second pair of socks. -- Also-- Easter Week (week before Easter), is important to know about. Shops are closed, mail is different, some places are packed.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
www.gronze.com is an excellent resource for identifying all accommodation opportunities along the Frances. Beware the ilk of Berking.con where you may find yourselves in the same Province as the camino but nowhere in sight of it. The WisePilgrim guide books and Apps are also highly recommended by members. St John Brierley's guide is also comprehensive. All these resources will help you plan.

The Route Napoleon from St Jean pied de la Porte will be closed until at least the end of March so be guided to the beautiful Route Valcarlos which will give you an easy two days to Roncesvalles. You may still encounter both snow and ice in which case local advice, from the Pilgrims' Office ( Bureau de Pelerin ) in St JdpdP should be followed. General advice is follow the road.

Speciality gear. Crampons, ice axes, coupling ropes - no. Do you really want to carry all that gear for 500 miles and use it twice?

Be aware that Holy Week begins 5 April in 2020 in Spain and that is a time that many Spaniards and other European Catholics choose to walk. Depending on your actual timings you may find yourselves on the most popular stretch of the Frances, Sarria to Santiago, at the most popular time to walk it. As, by then, seasoned peregrinos this should not present you with a problem just an opportunity (though booking ahead might bring some relaxation too).

Buen camino
All sound advice from Tincatinker, the only thing I would add is that walking poles would be useful if you encounter snow and ice. I walked in mid-March to early April last year (arriving Santiago on the 6th) and encountered a lot of ice & slush at Foncebadón and Cruz de Ferro. I also (unwisely) ignored the advice that Tomas gave me at Manjarín and followed the Camino to O Cebreiro instead of the road, and ended up ploughing through deep snow (see photo). Doable, but tiring.
Lesson learned, listen to those who know! I’ll also be walking the Camino again at that time Pattil (hopefully arriving Easter Sunday) so hope that our paths cross and, even if they don’t, wishing you both an amazing and ‘buen’ Camino :) .
F2637771-6802-418D-B9A3-C5414673EAD6.jpeg
 
Hey-- We should get together for coffee! -- We did need mittens a few mornings, but just used our second pair of socks. -- Also-- Easter Week (week before Easter), is important to know about. Shops are closed, mail is different, some places are packed.
That sounds like a great idea. I'd love to meet for coffee and hear all about your Camino!
 
All sound advice from Tincatinker, the only thing I would add is that walking poles would be useful if you encounter snow and ice. I walked in mid-March to early April last year (arriving Santiago on the 6th) and encountered a lot of ice & slush at Foncebadón and Cruz de Ferro. I also (unwisely) ignored the advice that Tomas gave me at Manjarín and followed the Camino to O Cebreiro instead of the road, and ended up ploughing through deep snow (see photo). Doable, but tiring.
Lesson learned, listen to those who know! I’ll also be walking the Camino again at that time Pattil (hopefully arriving Easter Sunday) so hope that our paths cross and, even if they don’t, wishing you both an amazing and ‘buen’ Camino :) .
View attachment 65494
WOW! and some more wow! I do hope that we bump into you in the spring. We're planning to leave SJPDP around March 4-6, depending upon all sort of things. If we don't manage to meet, Buen Camino!
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Thanks
WOW! and some more wow! I do hope that we bump into you in the spring. We're planning to leave SJPDP around March 4-6, depending upon all sort of things. If we don't manage to meet, Buen Camino!
[/QUOTE
Thanks pattil! I’ll be setting off on the 12th March and aim to average 25km/day. I very much hope we meet too but, like most things, the Camino will ultimately decide :) . Best wishes to you x
 

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