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Optimal time of year for this camino

F

frida1

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances April 11-May 11 2014
I have done the Camino Frances and the Portuguese from Lisbon. I'm strongly considering doing the Arles camino in 2017. I'm thinking of spring. Since I started my Frances is Pamplona, I really want to walk over the Pyrenees this time, so would like to arrive there at a time of year they are very likely to be passable. I'm also interested in walking at times that are statistically likely to be less rainy. I know weather is variable, but can anyone offer opinion or advice on what would be a reasonable starting time in April or May, if I plan to start in Montpellier and complete the walk in about 34-37 days? Thanks for any replies.
 
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I am also becoming interested in the Arles route, but I would probably do sections over time. Looking forward to replies to your post.
 
Some parts of that route are quite muddy, so I'd suggest starting in mid to late May or later, for dry mud instead of wet.

Rain itself isn't really much of a problem once you're used to it, even heavy rain, provided there's not so much of it over several days that it completely soaks the topsoil.
 
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Thanks for the reply. My main concern with rain is walking through deep and heavy mud. On the other hand, walking in very high temperatures is also difficult.
 
Has anyone walked this route starting in August? Have walked from Le Puy starting at this time and the weather was perfect. Also, meant getting into Santiago was early November, so not too cold.
 
We walked part of it in May. The weather was perfect.
 
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Take a look at www.weartherspark.com, it gives you all sorts of info on weather in graphs that make it very easy to get an idea of what to expect at different times of the year.
 
I see a new reply to this. We started this Camino April 29 and finished around June 1 in Puente. the first week or so was wet and cool, temps around 55 Fahrenheit. Those days through Haute Langedoc were fairly tough on some slippery rough trails with lots of ascent and descent. In the Pyrenees we had beautiful weather and the smooth gradual trail was wonderful.
 
Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Thanks for your replies everyone. We want to do the Robert Louis Stevenson walk first, then start from Arles. We walked from Le Puy the first time in April and the second time in August. When we started in April it was rainy and muddy. August was definitely better, so was thinking we could maybe do the RLS track halfway through August and would then be starting the Arles route at the end of August.

Do many French people walk the Arles route? Just wondering if it is as busy as the Le Puy route.
 
No. Not until after Toulouse, when it became a little busier. Very few "through" pilgrims. It was in 2011 and things may have changed. Also we detoured a fair bit.
 
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3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
We met maybe 10 pilgrims in France; only one or two were going to Puente la Reina or beyond. Most were French or Belgian. After the Pyrenees, we met 6-8 more, still most were French-speaking, a couple Spaniards. We met only 3 other Americans.
 
Thank you everyone. Sounds wonderful to not have to worry about accommodation due to numbers of pilgrims. August/ September maybe a good time to go.
 
Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
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