Places to stay

[Mel Landaluce]

So I am a planner and I have booked out hotels that have free cancelations because I am afraid of not having places to stay. I have found a few more places along the way with hostels and such but should I cancel most of my reservations? Is there plenty of places in the towns to stay? We are traveling May 21-June 28.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you may have. This is our first time, we are very excited and don't want to stress but enjoy our travels.

 

[SYates]

My personal advice would be to book maximal the first one/two nights and then go with the flow - over-planning might kill spontaneity ;-) and as you have posted in the Camino del Norte sub-forum I assume you plan to take that Camino, which shouldn't been too overrun in May/June.

Buen Camino, SY

 

[grayland]

I totally agree with Sy.
Pre booking every night will set you on a rigid schedule that will be very difficult to adhere to. Walking further, stopping early, injury delays and many other factors usually cause the schedule you set from home to change.
This is one of the joys of the camino....just doing things as they come to you...letting it happen. There are many places to stay.
You indicate that you plan to stay in hotels and places other than albergues. It is the albergues that sometimes fill up during the busy season. Other accomondations are almost always available.
If you find that you may need to make reservations it is most common to do it the same day while walking and you know the actual stopping point for that day.

A serious problems for the hotels, pensions, and private albergue owners now is that people are making reservations (with free cancelations) and then not showing up because they changed their plans. Many people are going so far as to make several reservations for the same night at different potential stopping points and then not bothering to cancel the ones not used. This is a real problem for owners. I would not be surprised to hear that many are no longer accepting reservations along the Camino Frances.

Treat it as an adventure...get to your starting point with a reservation for the first night....get up in the morning and start walking. It really is very simple and just happens. Don't stress about having a place to sleep.

 

[zzotte]

As they said don't get too stressed out, just be aware that depending on the location it can be difficult to find a place to stay on Friday, Saturday and Sunday usually the prices triple around the coastal area up to Bilbao, I mean you will find a place to stay just be prepared to dish out the cash. The North is not depended on pelegrinos which in Basque translates to "Cheap spenders want everything for free" hahaha

Zzotte

 

[Mel Landaluce]

OK, I will just do it. I don't want to over plan but as I started doing research it didn't look like a lot of options out there for pilgrims so that is why I was booking the hotels because they all were filling up. I am just going to "go with the flow". Thanks everyone, so excited for this adventure with my husband!

 

[jsalt]

Hi Mel, as you are a planner, and this is your first camino, I suggest you keep your bookings. As you say: the less stress the better. But make a note of the latest time that you can cancel each booking. (The hotels on booking.com will charge your credit card if you don’t cancel and don’t pitch up.) As you progress along the camino you will get a feel of the availability of hostel accommodation from chatting with the other pilgrims you meet. You will then be in a better position of whether to cancel your upcoming bookings or not. There is free wifi in most bars and hotels. I have recently walked the Norte, and I booked my first night in Irun, and my last night in Santiago (as I had a flight home the next day), and I had no trouble at all in finding a bed in an albergue, or a pension, or an apartment, every night inbetween. BUT, I walked in Oct/Nov. May/Jun will be busier. So keep your bookings. Walking with a partner is a whole different scenario from walking alone. If you are with a loved one, then you will both probably prefer pre-booked private accommodations (I know my husband would). If you are walking alone, then you would probably prefer to stay in albergues with the new friends you make along the way (I know I would). A whole different scenario and a completely different camino. Jill

 

[grayland]

There are many, many, small hotels, pensions, etc that will not show up in a google search...but are very easy to find as you walk into villages.
Many bars have rooms above the bar for rent.

 

[jsalt]

There are many, many, small hotels, pensions, etc that will not show up in a google search...but are very easy to find as you walk into villages.
Many bars have rooms above the bar for rent.

Not on the Norte

 

[grayland]

Actually, I stayed in very few albergues on the Norte. I never had a problem finding a
Room in any village...as I said...pensions, hotel, above bars, etc.

The problem with the OP's prebooked reservations (in my opinion) is that they are now hobbled with stops that they have scheduled from home with no experience with their distance comfort.
The Norte is still just not that busy as far as non albergue accomondations are concerned.
Easy to make a reservation a day or two ahead if nervous or if needed.

Just an opinion, of course.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

OK, I will just do it. I don't want to over plan but as I started doing research it didn't look like a lot of options out there for pilgrims so that is why I was booking the hotels because they all were filling up. I am just going to "go with the flow". Thanks everyone, so excited for this adventure with my husband!

Take a look at the Eroski andGronze sites, they will give you the options for pilgrims. Portugalete was one place where a pension was the only option at the time of the year I was walking, but the pension was losted in guides.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

On theNorte there are hardcore walkers who waltz in late atermoom into the evening. As long as you show up by mid-afternoons the odds are good you will get a bed. Guernika may also be an issue because everyone wants to stay there. I would book a bed at the juvenil the night before, or earlier if you plan on arriving there Friday or Saturday, as it is open to all, not jist people with a credencial.

 

[Addicted]

Walked the Frances in Sept 2015 and only pre booked a couple nights , walked to Muxia and Finisterra as well and booked nothing with no problems finding an albergue . Walked Portugal in late Oct 2015 and did not book any night, no problems encountered . Walked Primitivo in Sept 2016 and again did not pre book any Albergues . The ones we did book were simply because others we met along the way would book so they would ask for two extra beds for my wife and I .
Walking Norte starting Sept 3. 2017 and will not be booking any albergues . Flying low and by the seat of your pants is at times when great things happen. Lol

 

[Niels]

So I am a planner and I have booked out hotels that have free cancelations because I am afraid of not having places to stay. I have found a few more places along the way with hostels and such but should I cancel most of my reservations? Is there plenty of places in the towns to stay? We are traveling May 21-June 28.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you may have. This is our first time, we are very excited and don't want to stress but enjoy our travels.

It's all about preferences. There is a bundle of albergues on the Way, which I wouldn't miss for the World, roughly put. Then there are lots of very nice albergues, and there are lots of not so nice ones, which could make those days memorable in the bad way!

I'd try to make it a priority to reach the first option. Try to check out your own options, including some of the wonderful pensions and small hotels as Well. Two pensions/ hotels standing out for me were La Casona in Noja and l'Arcu in La Vega de Leces. I did prefer to book from day to day whenever possible, which shouldn't be that much of a problem in your period.

Buen Camino. No matter what, it'll be an experience for life, which you'd love to return to, I'm sure.

 

[rometimed]

It's a bit different, I think, since this is a holy year... but in 2015 I walked from May 21st to June 24th and only 1 day did the town I come to have no rooms... and that was because I started past 10 AM and skipped a town so I got to where I wanted to end at 2:45 PM and all 3 albergues in town were full. That was a long long day (50 KMs walking) into Los Arcos. Once I got there a Spanish women grabbed me in the square and rented me an amazing Apartment room with a bath for about $25, including some cereal and juice and things.

Oh and I had no reservations at all, other than in Orisson on the first night.

 

[Tia Valeria]

If you have flexible booking and an internet enabled device then you could check out latest change/cancellation dates and make alterations as you go. However as posted earlier remember that charges can be occurred for late changes or no-shows. Week-ends on the coast tend to be busy, but otherwise it should be easy to phone ahead, or use internet to book, just a night in advance. If you decide to cancel just make sure that you keep the actual phone numbers for your chosen hotels so that you can contact them direct. I useful trick that we have found invaluable on return trips.

We needed security of accommodation with some flexibility on distance walked etc. We booked the next night each day when we had arrived at that days destination. Sure of a bed, flexible enough for distance of next days walk and freedom to walk or stop over if we wanted. Also to use albergues (some are bookable others not) or pension/hotel. Places often recommended by our hosts for next stop. If your Spanish is poor then folk will usually help you with booking. Either offer them your mobile, to make the call, or else to pay for their phone call.

You might want to keep any time you have booked in Santiago if it already ties in to flights etc home.

 

[Thornley]

So I am a planner and I have booked out hotels that have free cancelations because I am afraid of not having places to stay. I have found a few more places along the way with hostels and such but should I cancel most of my reservations? Is there plenty of places in the towns to stay? We are traveling May 21-June 28.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you may have. This is our first time, we are very excited and don't want to stress but enjoy our travels.

SY is again correct.
I would book as far as San Sebastian and maybe the next day .
There are a few tricky days after that in distance / weather.
They will always book ahead for you and there are many , many places available .

 

[Redvespablur]

We used booking.com to book first week and then used our Buen Camino app to identify small hotels and tried to keep booked out a week or so.

Tons of accommodation that is not on booking.com or without web page but has email and with aid of google translate quite easy to communicate with.

Primitivo was unexpectedly busy this May so we were grateful to have bookings as along this route there is not a lot of surplus accommodation or alternate stages.

 

[Jim Michie]

You may consider booking ahead in towns near a beach. I found several albergues filled with "pilgrims" who, appeared to me, there to take advantage of the low cost accommodations and were taking the train between towns and then spending the day on the beach. I was always able to find a room, but there was several days I had to walk to the next town (without a beach) to find a room.

 

[peregrina2000]

OK, I will just do it. I don't want to over plan but as I started doing research it didn't look like a lot of options out there for pilgrims so that is why I was booking the hotels because they all were filling up. I am just going to "go with the flow". Thanks everyone, so excited for this adventure with my husband!

Hi, Mel,
Welcome to the forum. I walked the Norte in 2007 and plan to go back next year. I'm surprised to see how many more accommodation options there are. I walked in May the first time and never had a reservation anywhere. I'm hoping to repeat that in 2017. You've gotten a lot of good advice here, and I agree with those who recommend against a lot of advance booking.

One thing to keep in mind -- if you get on booking.com or some other website and see that the hotels are filling up for your dates, remember that booking has access to only a very few of a place's rooms. I would be very surprised if any hotels/pensiones, etc, along the Norte are filled now for June (maybe with the exception of some big holiday weekends).

The Norte is different than other caminos because it also has a very large tourist trade. Tourists are the coin of the realm more than the pilgrims, which is very different from the Camino Frances for instance. Though that means there are fewer pilgrim-specific accommodations, it also means there are lots more tourist accommodations, so you will be fine if that's where you plan to stay anyway!

I think you'll be very happy with your decision to "go with the flow!" Buen camino, Laurie