Norte advice

[PilgrimFiona]

Some Pension / food suggestions

Getting out of of Biarritz airport was tough. Buses kept refusing pilgrims. Ended up getting an Uber to Bayonne. If you get to Biarritz train station you can catch a local train to Bayonne.

Bayonne - Hostel 20 €30 bunk

Saint Jean De Luz - Albergue Chemin de Saint Jacques. Owner Denis very helpful. €10 per bunk. Authentic camino, lights out 10pm.

Irune - Pension Bowling €45 single room

*walk out of Irun, very steep steps, a lot of mud but small boat crossing in passe was enjoyable*

San Sebastián - Pension Anne old town €65 room tel. 943421438. Best Pintxo

Zarautz - Pension Ekia €85 single room, €115 double room, pricey but this town was booked out with surf camps. Lovely walk out to Getaria along the coast road. Highlight of the Camino. El Torino Italian restaurant good.

*coming out of Zarautz, there are 2 Camino routes, one will divert you down into Getaria, the other will by pass. I had to opt for bus to Bilbao, then walked to castro due to time restrictions*

Castro Urdiales - Pension Jade €45 single room tel: 601083484, fish restaurant El Puerto at the harbour.

Santander - Pension Angelines SNEUU HOSTEL Tel 942312584 €90 triple room, €150 single and double room. Pricey but again Norte accommodation has not been cheap.

Highlights:
Getaria (coast road, Balenciaga museum)
Zarautz
Santillana del Mar (Day trip from Santander €3 bus at bus station, medieval village)

 

[PilgrimFiona]

Some Pension / food suggestions

Getting out of of Biarritz airport was tough. Buses kept refusing pilgrims. Ended up getting an Uber to Bayonne. If you get to Biarritz train station you can catch a local train to Bayonne.

Bayonne - Hostel 20 €30 bunk

Saint Jean De Luz - Albergue Chemin de Saint Jacques. Owner Denis very helpful. €10 per bunk. Authentic camino, lights out 10pm.

Irune - Pension Bowling €45 single room

*walk out of Irun, very steep steps, a lot of mud but small boat crossing in passe was enjoyable*

San Sebastián - Pension Anne old town €65 room tel. 943421438. Best Pintxo

Zarautz - Pension Ekia €85 single room, €115 double room, pricey but this town was booked out with surf camps. Lovely walk out to Getaria along the coast road. Highlight of the Camino. El Torino Italian restaurant good.

*coming out of Zarautz, there are 2 Camino routes, one will divert you down into Getaria, the other will by pass. I had to opt for bus to Bilbao, then walked to castro due to time restrictions*

Castro Urdiales - Pension Jade €45 single room tel: 601083484, fish restaurant El Puerto at the harbour.

Santander - Pension Angelines SNEUU HOSTEL Tel 942312584 €90 triple room, €150 single and double room. Pricey but again Norte accommodation has not been cheap.

Highlights:
Getaria (coast road, Balenciaga museum)
Zarautz
Santillana del Mar (Day trip from Santander €3 bus at bus station, medieval village)

 

[davejsy]

Wow some of those prices are quite eye opening!
I've spent a lot of time in NW Spain over the last 10 years on road trips, and definitely noticed the cost has increased massively everywhere over the last few years. I must say though when we went at Easter we stayed in some nice places, and the most expensive was €115 a night View attachment DSC04766.JPGbut that was for a 2 bedroom house in the mountains which was pretty epic, other places around Bilbao we paid €55 for 2 bedroom cute apartment, and in Hontoria in Asturias (which I guess must be on the Norte route) we stayed at this beautiful place: Hotel Hontoria for less than €100 for two of us and two dogs! It included the most amazing breakfast.

 

[PilgrimFiona]

Yes I agree, Pensions use to be a affordable alternative to albergues, from my experience not so much anymore. The pensions are just as expensive as hotels with 1 star pensions charging up to €90 a double room.
Looked like Spanish tourist on summer holidays filling up most of the rooms. It was not a cheap trip like caminos from previous years.

 

[davejsy]

Yes I agree, Pensions use to be a affordable alternative to albergues, from my experience not so much anymore. The pensions are just as expensive as hotels with 1 star pensions charging up to €90 a double room.
Looked like Spanish tourist on summer holidays filling up most of the rooms. It was not a cheap trip like caminos from previous years.

Yes I think NW Spain in general has become infinitely more popular amongst the Spanish since COVID, and there are a lot of people now cashing in on the demand that wasn't there before. It is spoiling some places though (and I acknowledge the irony that I am a tourist also!), my trips have always been done early Spring or Autumn so generally I miss most of the crowds and certain aspects are cheaper as it's not high season. But this year at Easter was pretty chaotic in some places, places that previous Easters were virtually empty.

 

[Anniesantiago]

The prices are still better than anything you could find in the USA in my opinion.
I recently drove from Oregon to Georgia and back and not one hotel was less than $100, unless it was a fleabag dump. Prices in Spain are a bargain.

 

[wynrich]

We walked the Norte in April 2018 and 2019 and found prices very reasonable (a little more than the Frances but not a lot) and places to stay plentiful. EXCEPT Semana Santa (Easter week) when prices doubled and we had to reserve early to have a place to stay. We are going back in 2024 and hoping that off-season prices will be better than what you found. Were you there during August? That would probably be the busiest tourist season on the Norte and thus the most expensive.

 

[PilgrimFiona]

Started 1st September and walked for a week. I spoke to local Spanish people who told me September can still be holiday season for Spanish people and schools do not start back until mid September.
If doing it again I think your right, off season would be best. Thinking Oct,Nov,March,April. Avoid summer months.

 

[Happyinharrogate]

Some Pension / food suggestions

Getting out of of Biarritz airport was tough. Buses kept refusing pilgrims. Ended up getting an Uber to Bayonne. If you get to Biarritz train station you can catch a local train to Bayonne.

Bayonne - Hostel 20 €30 bunk

Saint Jean De Luz - Albergue Chemin de Saint Jacques. Owner Denis very helpful. €10 per bunk. Authentic camino, lights out 10pm.

Irune - Pension Bowling €45 single room

*walk out of Irun, very steep steps, a lot of mud but small boat crossing in passe was enjoyable*

San Sebastián - Pension Anne old town €65 room tel. 943421438. Best Pintxo

Zarautz - Pension Ekia €85 single room, €115 double room, pricey but this town was booked out with surf camps. Lovely walk out to Getaria along the coast road. Highlight of the Camino. El Torino Italian restaurant good.

*coming out of Zarautz, there are 2 Camino routes, one will divert you down into Getaria, the other will by pass. I had to opt for bus to Bilbao, then walked to castro due to time restrictions*

Castro Urdiales - Pension Jade €45 single room tel: 601083484, fish restaurant El Puerto at the harbour.

Santander - Pension Angelines SNEUU HOSTEL Tel 942312584 €90 triple room, €150 single and double room. Pricey but again Norte accommodation has not been cheap.

Highlights:
Getaria (coast road, Balenciaga museum)
Zarautz
Santillana del Mar (Day trip from Santander €3 bus at bus station, medieval village)

Thanks for these very helpful notes. I start next Tuesday so it’s all very relevant for me. My current plan is to take the number 3 bus from Biarritz airport to Hendaye. Is this the bus you experienced problems with and what was it that led the bus rejecting pilgrim passengers? Was it the bulk of the rucksacks? I may need to rethink my transport in light of your experience.

 

[PilgrimFiona]

Thanks for these very helpful notes. I start next Tuesday so it’s all very relevant for me. My current plan is to take the number 3 bus from Biarritz airport to Hendaye. Is this the bus you experienced problems with and what was it that led the bus rejecting pilgrim passengers? Was it the bulk of the rucksacks? I may need to rethink my transport in light of your experience.

Yes the bus number 3 is correct. Myself and a good few other pilgrims tried to get on the bus at the bus stop and each driver said that the bus was not going in the direction of Bayonne/ Biarritz. Yet the sign on the front of the bus read Bayonne. It was strange. They did not speak English but we all ended up ordering private taxis / Ubers to get out of the airport. There is a taxi rank as you come out of the airport go right. (Left for buses) the taxis were cheap enough to Bayonne only €10. Then from there go to the Bayonne train station and get the local train out to handaye again it was only €3/4 euro.

 

[trecile]

If doing it again I think your right, off season would be best. Thinking Oct,Nov,March,April. Avoid summer months.

I walked the Norte and Primitivo in late May/June this year, and there were much fewer pilgrims than when I walked it in July. Some albergues didn't open until June 1st, and a couple not until July 1st.

 

[David Harper]

The prices are still better than anything you could find in the USA in my opinion.
I recently drove from Oregon to Georgia and back and not one hotel was less than $100, unless it was a fleabag dump. Prices in Spain are a bargain.

Agreed! I recently drove from Texas to the west coast and hotels that were sub $100, had climbed significantly. It was difficult to find anything below $150, I ended up using rest areas and slept in my car a few nights.

 

[Happyinharrogate]

Yes the bus number 3 is correct. Myself and a good few other pilgrims tried to get on the bus at the bus stop and each driver said that the bus was not going in the direction of Bayonne/ Biarritz. Yet the sign on the front of the bus read Bayonne. It was strange. They did not speak English but we all ended up ordering private taxis / Ubers to get out of the airport. There is a taxi rank as you come out of the airport go right. (Left for buses) the taxis were cheap enough to Bayonne only €10. Then from there go to the Bayonne train station and get the local train out to handaye again it was only €3/4 euro.

Thanks Fiona. I had heard that the number 3 bus went direct to Hendaye from the airport which is what I am going to try and get on, rather than going via Biarritz station. Hoping this might work.

 

[Tincatinker]

Getting out of of Biarritz airport was tough. Buses kept refusing pilgrims. Ended up getting an Uber to Bayonne. If you get to Biarritz train station you can catch a local train to Bayonne.

I am utterly confused (easy for an elderly Tinker) but why would you want to travel to Bayonne from Biarritz airport if your intention is to walk the Camino Norte? St Jean-de-Luz is practically in walking distance and even an Uber driver will be able to find it most times though most people would just catch the train or the buses.

 

[trecile]

I am utterly confused (easy for an elderly Tinker) but why would you want to travel to Bayonne from Biarritz airport if your intention is to walk the Camino Norte? St Jean-de-Luz is practically in walking distance and even an Uber driver will be able to find it most times though most people would just catch the train or the buses.

St Jean de Luz is within walking distance. I started my Camino del Norte from the lighthouse in Biarritz, and spent the first night at the very nice pilgrim hostel in St Jean de Luz. Two pretty easy days of walking along the coast in France before tackling the climb after Irun.

 

[Mycroft]

Some Pension / food suggestions

Getting out of of Biarritz airport was tough. Buses kept refusing pilgrims. Ended up getting an Uber to Bayonne. If you get to Biarritz train station you can catch a local train to Bayonne.

Bayonne - Hostel 20 €30 bunk

Saint Jean De Luz - Albergue Chemin de Saint Jacques. Owner Denis very helpful. €10 per bunk. Authentic camino, lights out 10pm.

Irune - Pension Bowling €45 single room

*walk out of Irun, very steep steps, a lot of mud but small boat crossing in passe was enjoyable*

San Sebastián - Pension Anne old town €65 room tel. 943421438. Best Pintxo

Zarautz - Pension Ekia €85 single room, €115 double room, pricey but this town was booked out with surf camps. Lovely walk out to Getaria along the coast road. Highlight of the Camino. El Torino Italian restaurant good.

*coming out of Zarautz, there are 2 Camino routes, one will divert you down into Getaria, the other will by pass. I had to opt for bus to Bilbao, then walked to castro due to time restrictions*

Castro Urdiales - Pension Jade €45 single room tel: 601083484, fish restaurant El Puerto at the harbour.

Santander - Pension Angelines SNEUU HOSTEL Tel 942312584 €90 triple room, €150 single and double room. Pricey but again Norte accommodation has not been cheap.

Highlights:
Getaria (coast road, Balenciaga museum)
Zarautz
Santillana del Mar (Day trip from Santander €3 bus at bus station, medieval village)

Keep the info coming, please!

 

[Rdelgado]

Highlighting to the Peregrinos a wonderful Albergue and one you should consider staying at just after Guernika.... it's Albergue Gerekiz. Be warned the Albergue Pozuetas is crammed and not as clean... they also dissuade you from coming to Gerekiz.... not an honest establishment. All of us had a wonderful night sleep, meal and hospitality was wonderful. 19 Euro for night stay, 10 Euro for dinner, 3 Euro for breakfast. Buen Camino!

PS don't mention the neighboring business to the Pozuetas

 

[bks]

The prices are still better than anything you could find in the USA in my opinion.
I recently drove from Oregon to Georgia and back and not one hotel was less than $100, unless it was a fleabag dump. Prices in Spain are a bargain.

Please remember that accommodation may be a bargain for you but that is not the case for everyone, especially for our youth!! Your willingness to pay more contributes to driving up prices and pushes those less able to pay (young people) to the side! This summer while I was hiking in France, I came across French students who had to "wild camp" most of the time. Once in a while they stayed in an official campgrounds. They couldn't afford to stay in "Youth Hostels" as they are unaffordable due to the fact that they are filled with those able to pay more and reserve beforehand and most of those people are no longer youths!

P.S. You may have noticed that most hotels in the US belong to chains which is not the case in Europe. These conglomerates have pushed out the mom and pops and made profit the #1 criteria for operating. This is also happening in Europe but not yet to the extent that it has happened in the US.

 

[Anniesantiago]

They may be a bargain for you but not everyone is flush!

I guess it depends on your definition of "flush."
You have said:

"Concerning walking the Primitive in late Sept/early Oct. I'm leaving Oviedo, also with my son, around the same time and I'm unconcerned about whether or not it's safe. It will be!! Perhaps we will meet along the way.

"Route:: I"m starting in Sint Jacobiparochie, Netherlands on June 10th. and walking through Nijmegan and then down through to Maastricht on one of the Dutch Caminos. At Maastricht this Camino meets the connection to the French GR 5. The connection runs through Belgium and Luxemburg. In France...

"Over the last few years I hiked the Arles route (from Arles to Spain) , the Le Puy route (from le Puy to Pamplona) and the GR653D (from Briancon to Arles) All these Camino routes are in France, over a variety of terrain

"I walked from Saint-Jean-Pied-de Port through Roncesvalles to Espinal in early October 2022. I wasn't interested in sleeping in a huge dorm or being forced to wake up at 6:00 am (even though I get up early) so I avoided staying in Roncesvalles."

It appears by your posts you've walked many routes, from the Netherlands, the Primitivo, the Arles route and the Camino Frances.

I just think it's interesting to be able to afford to fly but not to expect to pay such low amounts for accomodation.
I can't find a hotel room in Montreal for less than $100.
Why should you expect to pay less in Spain?

 

[bks]

I guess it depends on your definition of "flush."
You have said:

"Concerning walking the Primitive in late Sept/early Oct. I'm leaving Oviedo, also with my son, around the same time and I'm unconcerned about whether or not it's safe. It will be!! Perhaps we will meet along the way.

"Route:: I"m starting in Sint Jacobiparochie, Netherlands on June 10th. and walking through Nijmegan and then down through to Maastricht on one of the Dutch Caminos. At Maastricht this Camino meets the connection to the French GR 5. The connection runs through Belgium and Luxemburg. In France...

"Over the last few years I hiked the Arles route (from Arles to Spain) , the Le Puy route (from le Puy to Pamplona) and the GR653D (from Briancon to Arles) All these Camino routes are in France, over a variety of terrain

"I walked from Saint-Jean-Pied-de Port through Roncesvalles to Espinal in early October 2022. I wasn't interested in sleeping in a huge dorm or being forced to wake up at 6:00 am (even though I get up early) so I avoided staying in Roncesvalles."

It appears by your posts you've walked many routes, from the Netherlands, the Primitivo, the Arles route and the Camino Frances.

I just think it's interesting to be able to afford to fly but not to expect to pay such low amounts for accomodation.
I can't find a hotel room in Montreal for less than $100.
Why should you expect to pay less in Spain?

I'm aware that's it's cheaper to sleep in Spain, France, etc. than in North America but I believe it's important to be conscience about what others can afford, particularly the youth and be humble about it!! Many of our youth can no longer afford to stay in "Youth Hostels" because we older and flush individuals (including myself) consider them to be "bargains". We are willing to pay a bit more (and reserve beforehand) and that only drives up the costs for everyone and pushes out those less able to afford steeper prices, particularly the youth.

 

[davejsy]

I'm aware that's it's cheaper to sleep in Spain, France, etc. than in North America but I believe it's important to be conscience about what others can afford, particularly the youth and be humble about it!! Many of our youth can no longer afford to stay in "Youth Hostels" because we older and flush individuals (including myself) consider them to be "bargains". We are willing to pay a bit more (and reserve beforehand) and that only drives up the costs for everyone and pushes out those less able to afford steeper prices, particularly the youth.

I kind of get where you are coming from. Its a bit like I don't like just how busy NW Spain is getting now compared to when I first started going over 10 years ago, theres just too many tourists (I include Spanish in that), but of course the irony is that I'm also a tourist! So on the face of it I'm part of the problem I don't like.

And in realation to your point; people and local authorities are now cashing in on this increasing demand, and it is hard to blame them for this, but it is ruining the dynamics of some of these places - and of course not all locals/communities are happy with the problems that accompany this new source of wealth.