No room in the Inn

[micamino73]

What happens if there is no room at the Inn on the camino Frances.

Do you move on to another town?

I will be arriving to the Albergues in the afternoon 15:00 - 16:00

Please share your experiences.

 

[tyrrek]

Hi Micamino73!

I think it depends on your priorities. Options include;
1) Just move on to the next one, as you mention.
2) Stay in a hostal, possibly sharing a room with similarly afflicted pilgrims to reduce the cost.
3) Get a taxi/bus to somewhere with rooms nearby, and get them to drop you back off on the Camino the next morning.
4) I can't think of a fourth option, but somebody will.

Walking in April/May last year I think I only came across this problem a couple of times. The first was Hornillos so I walked on to Hontanas and the second was Sarria where I stayed in a hostal. Even when there was 'no room at the inn' in Hornillos I think there was still the option of sleeping in the sports hall, but I'm too old for that these days and would rather walk another 10km.

If you do find yourself in that situation, others probably will be as well. I suspect none will sleep in a ditch.

Buen Camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Many town have more than one albergue or refugio. So you can check to see if there are other places.
You can ask to sleep in the church or churchyard if the weather is good.
You can sleep under a bridge (no kidding!)
Check with the fire department... sometimes there is a sports hall.
You can check at the bar or ask other locals. They often know of people with rooms for rent.
You can walk or taxi on to the next town.
Sometimes if they are full, they will be kind enough to offer suggestions.
Other times they will not... just depends on who is there.
But I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Just go.. it'll be fine

 

[sillydoll]

The really busy months are from May to October. Either side of those months you rarely have any trouble finding beds.

 

[grayland]

It is really important to understand that running into a "full" albergue is not common and you will probably never have it happen.

We seem to talk about it more than it really occurs and I think that it scares many new Pilgrims into thinking that it will be a common problem. There are almost always alternatives available with little hassle. Don't let the worry of finding a bed ruin your Camino.

It is like bedbugs....lots of talk about them but most of it is third hand and not many people on the forum actually report that they encountered them first hand. It does happen...but we talk about it more than it happens.
Someone will post right away about how they ran into a full albergue at some time in the past or how they got bitten by something....but I bet there are not many. :wink:

 

[annakappa]

Since walking yearly since 2007, we have only found on two occasions that the Albergue was full (both Municipal ones) in Calzadilla de la Cuesa and in Villacázar de Sirga. On each occasion we found a much better solution in the same villages. Anne

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Maybe I've been lucky, walking in April and May. I have NEVER found a full albergue - but I've found a few totally empty ones!
As mentioned there are almost always alternative forms of accommodation, so don't let that deter you for a single moment.
Buen camino!
Stephen
http://www.calig.co.uk/camino_de_santiago.htm

 

[Heidi Lyshol]

The only "no room at the inn" story I can tell you ended at a very nice, but quite cheap hotel. We had a lovely dinner, did our laundry in the bath, and slept until 10 the next morning. Absolutely lovely.

A friend of mine ended up in a small village where all the inns were full - but the hospitalera phoned the local priest who gave three weary pilgrims permission to sleep in a back room of the church and came over with breakfast for them in the morning.

There is always room at the inn!

 

[newfydog]

One time we hit Logrono on a dia festiva. We had already decided to stay in a nice hotel, but it was full. We were sent on a scavanger hunt, from hotel to hotel, each one full, but each one determined to find us a place. Finally we found a nice hotel, but I'd left my bag at one of the full places, a small bag with just my money, passport camera, etc.

We got to retrace all our visits until we found it, safe and sound at the front desk. St James looks after us all I guess.

 

[grayland]

It all adds to the adventure and memory.

 

[zammy]

Check the accomodations list and reserve in advance in private albergues, they are relatiely cheap and much better , plan your distance every day before hand and this way you can walk more every day till late afternoon , knowing for sure you have a bed to sleep and you don't have to rush ahead.
I enjoyed a lot walikng on the deserted camino after 1300 when every one else had to rush to stand in line at the albergues. It was fantastic, quiet and peaceful.

 

[sun is shining]

You'll be fine! We had a few times the dreaded "no room" situation while walking the Camino in high season last summer - and every time we found a much. much better option right around the corner. Once a extra 5km walk resulted in one of my favourite camino evenings drinking wine and playing table soccer with locals in a tiny bar.

I was particularily scarred not to find accomodation on the last 100km so we planned accordingly and stayed in between the big stops like sarria and melide. Usually stopping a few km before or after these main stops meant that we found lovely, little, not overcrowded albergues. So many people race between the main towns and overlook the little gems dotted along the way.

 

[glennb]

Then you sleep in a manger.