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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Pre-booking

TomiPlastow

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
September (2019)
My daughter and I will be starting at the end of August 2019 in Saint Jean Pied de Port. We would like to stay mostly in hostels/hotels. Any advice on how to pre book for the first few nights? Also when I first looked at this forum I saw that a lady had posted about doing the Camino with her husband in the month of September and wanting to stay mostly in hotels. How can I find her? Brand new here! Thank you in advance!
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
My daughter and I will be starting at the end of August 2019 in Saint Jean Pied de Port. We would like to stay mostly in hostels/hotels. Any advice on how to pre book for the first few nights? Also when I first looked at this forum I saw that a lady had posted about doing the Camino with her husband in the month of September and wanting to stay mostly in hotels. How can I find her? Brand new here! Thank you in advance!
To find that lady's posts is almost like searching for a needle in a haystack. Use Search function. Her nickname? Title of the thread? When was it posted? Any keywords?

otherwise you have all the basic info on accommodation along the CF here:
https://www.gronze.com/camino-frances

Or try Booking, Trivago etc.

Buen Camino!
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
Hello, and welcome to the forum,

There are many threads describing whether, how and when to book hotels/hostales, so I don't think you need to find that particular person to get the information. Notice in the upper right of your screen, a Search function. Enter "hotel september" or "hostal hotel september" or "pre book september", etc. Just keep browsing and you'll find lots of information and opinions.

As @JillGat says, booking.com is a good tool, but 12 months in advance is a long time. Many people like to pre-book their first several nights (perhaps up to Pamplona), especially if they are starting on a weekend, and then do it only a day or 2 in advance.
 
I prefer to book accommodation (not, please, pre-book, the prefix is tautologous (yes I am an old pedant)) and plan my Camino as much as possible. (It's the only thing that gets me through the British winter!)

I know that many others prefer just to see where the day takes them but, like you, I prefer to stay in hotels/hostals, in which case booking is strongly advised especially at busy times. I have done my fair share of youth hostel/dormitory sleeping and discovered many years ago that the annoying person who snores all night and keeps everyone else awake is usually me.

I use Gronze (in Spanish, but open it in Google Chrome and use the translate feature) and Godesalco (in English) to plan stages and to see what accommodation is available. Many hotels can be booked through Booking.com, but bear in mind that you will pay a small premium for this over the hotel's usual tariff and that many hotels do not release their availability until February/March each year in which case Booking.com will misleadingly list them as unavailable for the date you want.

It is often worth contacting the hotel direct, especially if you can speak a little Spanish or at least send an e-mail with the help of Google translate. You will usually get a better price. I don't usually bother with breakfasting where I am staying, (Spanish breakfast isn't exactly a gourmet feast) but find a cafe half an hour down the trail.

If you're beginning at St Jean Pied de Port, you will certainly need to book if you plan to end your first day at Orisson. If, like most people, you go over the Route Napoleon in one day, you have the choice of either staying at one of the small hotels at Roncesvalles or walking on for a further 30 min to Burguete where there are two good hotels.

Good luck and good planning!
 
My daughter and I will be starting at the end of August 2019 in Saint Jean Pied de Port. We would like to stay mostly in hostels/hotels. Any advice on how to pre book for the first few nights? Also when I first looked at this forum I saw that a lady had posted about doing the Camino with her husband in the month of September and wanting to stay mostly in hotels. How can I find her? Brand new here! Thank you in advance!

I generally use Booking.com
But if you can speak some basic Spanish, just call them. I get the phone numbers from Gronze
You have time for a few lessons ;)
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
My daughter and I will be starting at the end of August 2019 in Saint Jean Pied de Port. We would like to stay mostly in hostels/hotels. Any advice on how to pre book for the first few nights? Also when I first looked at this forum I saw that a lady had posted about doing the Camino with her husband in the month of September and wanting to stay mostly in hotels. How can I find her? Brand new here! Thank you in advance!
 
I would recommend calling yourself or if you are staying at a friendly Spanish hotel etc hand them you phone and ask them to explain the situation & request a booking. If you are booking directly as a pilgrim there is often a reduced rate, where as if you go via Booking.com or similar yes you may get a reduced rate of the published rate but will not get any further pilgrim discount. Cheers
 
Almost all hostales and hoteles are listed on booking.com and other accommodation reservation sites. You can save wandering around town by using them. Reserving more than a day in advance will put a lot of unnecessary stress on your walk. You will be walking to reach a reservation rather than walking to enjoy the day. There are only two hotels in Roncesvalles, so you may want to book one of them after you book SJPdP.

Have fun!
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
My daughter and I will be starting at the end of August 2019 in Saint Jean Pied de Port. We would like to stay mostly in hostels/hotels. Any advice on how to pre book for the first few nights? Also when I first looked at this forum I saw that a lady had posted about doing the Camino with her husband in the month of September and wanting to stay mostly in hotels. How can I find her? Brand new here! Thank you in advance!
My daughter and I will be starting at the end of August 2019 in Saint Jean Pied de Port. We would like to stay mostly in hostels/hotels. Any advice on how to pre book for the first few nights? Also when I first looked at this forum I saw that a lady had posted about doing the Camino with her husband in the month of September and wanting to stay mostly in hotels. How can I find her? Brand new here! Thank you in advance!
I am on the Camino now and I prebooked every stop to Santiago before I left home through booking.com. I am so glad I did.
 
Hi, Tomi.
I was planning our second trip second week of September 2019.
Starting from SJPP.
Found out hotel was nearly booked, you need only one room per night,
so using either booking or hotels.com I booked up to my third stage and found out that I could not book our flight, because it was to advanced, only we could book our flight 11 months prior to departure.
Canceling booking is easy.
A bit stressful, but prebooking I recommend, last Camino I booked three nights
ahead of the time worked well.
We stayed in hotel, some albergues have private room.
Good luck to find your accommodations, just in case bring your sleeping bag.
Buen Camino.
Cathy.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
I am leaving at the beginning of April and have pre-booked several places already, it kind of happened naturally and is a lot of fun. (Also considered it necessary for Santiago because I will be there over Easter)
With free cancellation everywhere and nothing to pay until a week before there is still plenty of juggling room if plans change (i.e. I am planning to walk coastal but if, for any reason, I later decide to walk central I can change this easily.
I like to read the reviews and have more freedom of choice to suit my budget. If I can't make the distance on the day I can catch a bus or taxi for the rest of the way if need be, I don't care, got nothing to prove.
Buen Camino!
 
Hi, Tomi.
I was planning our second trip second week of September 2019.
Starting from SJPP.
Found out hotel was nearly booked, you need only one room per night,
so using either booking or hotels.com I booked up to my third stage and found out that I could not book our flight, because it was to advanced, only we could book our flight 11 months prior to departure.
Canceling booking is easy.
A bit stressful, but prebooking I recommend, last Camino I booked three nights
ahead of the time worked well.
We stayed in hotel, some albergues have private room.
Good luck to find your accommodations, just in case bring your sleeping bag.
Buen Camino.
Cathy.

I am confused about why one would book hotels a year in advance.
 
Hi, Tomi.
I was planning our second trip second week of September 2019.
Starting from SJPP.
Found out hotel was nearly booked, you need only one room per night,
so using either booking or hotels.com I booked up to my third stage and found out that I could not book our flight, because it was to advanced, only we could book our flight 11 months prior to departure.
Canceling booking is easy.
A bit stressful, but prebooking I recommend, last Camino I booked three nights
ahead of the time worked well.
We stayed in hotel, some albergues have private room.
Good luck to find your accommodations, just in case bring your sleeping bag.
Buen Camino.
Cathy.
Thank you!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I found that many hotels still have unbooked rooms. I didn’t book any in advance and still found a hotel to sleep in when I wanted one instead of an albergue.

The only one I booked in advance is Orisson because it’s the only one between SJPP and Roncesvalles, assuming you want to cut that day in half and not go all the way to Roncevalles on your first day.

And September is busy, but more so after Sarria.
 
I guess I don't know about hotels. But when I walked CF in September, I never had trouble finding a nice hostal or private albergue booking one day in advance. Even after Sarria. What have others found with hotels? And do any of them really take reservations a year ahead?
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
I am confused about why one would book hotels a year in advance.

Don’t get confused over the booking, extended winter escapes, yes do need a year advance, my place was booked thru the net and I was one step late to take
same place for the coming year’s winter months.
This time just out of curiosity check SJPP to start our Camino second week of September 2019, just few places left to book.
If we need to walk we will find the way. Get tickets booked first.
I guess I was to excited to go on a Camino trail again.
Cathy.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I like to book a couple of days ahead whilst on the Camino. However, I spend the entire year previous to my trip thinking about where I want to stay. I read many reviews, especially looking for recommendations in the blogs of other pilgrims. Now here is a big plea to bloggers: please, please, please give the full name of the hostel where you had a particularly good time. It is frustrating when people speak highly of a place and don't help others to find it!
 
Has anyone had issues with booking.com - You make a reservation but when you show up it is missing? I am walking in June/July and have been researching a bit - want to prebook a few places just for ease of mind - first time traveling abroad, alone and thought it would be easier if I had a few places already lined up. My fear is I will book a place using booking.com then show up and they don't have record of it and I am screwed, in a foreign country, alone and having to figure things out - yep just a little anxious about this :)
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Has anyone had issues with booking.com - You make a reservation but when you show up it is missing? I am walking in June/July and have been researching a bit - want to prebook a few places just for ease of mind - first time traveling abroad, alone and thought it would be easier if I had a few places already lined up. My fear is I will book a place using booking.com then show up and they don't have record of it and I am screwed, in a foreign country, alone and having to figure things out - yep just a little anxious about this :)
I haven't experienced showing up and not having a booking when I've booked through booking.com, but sometimes it has taken the staff a few minutes to locate it. If you are worried I think that Booking.com has an option to contact the property with any questions or special requests. You might use that feature to get in touch to confirm that you will be there, and the approximate time frame.
 
Bookingdotcom has a very good app for a smartphone. Including a folder to keep your reservations.
Yes, that's one of the reasons that I like to use Booking.com. Lots of people suggest using Booking to find the hotels/albergues/pensiones, then book directly with the property because it can be cheaper, but I don't mind paying a little for the convenience of having all of my bookings in the same place on my phone. And sometimes I book places far ahead of time knowing that I might have to cancel the booking. It is much easier and quicker to cancel with Booking.com.
 
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Yes, that's one of the reasons that I like to use Booking.com. Lots of people suggest using Booking to find the hotels/albergues/pensiones, then book directly with the property because it can be cheaper, but I don't mind paying a little for the convenience of having all of my bookings in the same place on my phone. And sometimes I book places far ahead of time knowing that I might have to cancel the booking. It is much easier and quicker to cancel with Booking.com.


I do both . Using booking and calling directly. In my experience the bigger chain hotels have the same deal as Booking. The smaller independent family hostal / casa rural is cheaper booking directly.
 
I do both . Using booking and calling directly. In my experience the bigger chain hotels have the same deal as Booking. The smaller independent family hostal / casa rural is cheaper booking directly.
The places that I know for sure that I will be at in the next day or two I'll call or email. But the places that I book weeks or month ahead I like to do on Booking. I actually had several reservations in Santiago and finjsterry this year, because I wasn't sure of exactly when I'd arrive.
 
I have used Booking.com many, many times over the past 5 years with never a problem till this year. On arriving at Casa Grande in Alcuescar on VDLP, I had to search for the manager around town and then was told he had no record of my booking. I showed him the confirmation on my phone. It transpired that he had let my room to someone else. There was more to this story. His partner had gone off on holiday for Easter, leaving him to manage everything, including a night club. I later heard that Casa Grande was a complete shambles, dirty with unsafe wiring. The situation for me was saved when another pilgrim arrived, a Spanish man, who got the manager to drive both of us to the albergue at the monastery (Los Esclavos de Maria y los Pobres) where we were allocated the last 2 single rooms - a much better deal than Casa Grande would have been.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
My daughter and I will be starting at the end of August 2019 in Saint Jean Pied de Port. We would like to stay mostly in hostels/hotels. Any advice on how to pre book for the first few nights? Also when I first looked at this forum I saw that a lady had posted about doing the Camino with her husband in the month of September and wanting to stay mostly in hotels. How can I find her? Brand new here! Thank you in advance!
I am the person that with my husband started in September and finished in October. We stayed in private rooms the whole time. I used a couple of different tools. We are fans of booking.com. We booked out our reservations two to three at a time if possible. We used John Brierley's Camino book. We would look at the suggested amount to walk each day, the terrain, and how we felt to make our daily picks for the next few days. Booking dot com did not fail us. We tried to plan where we were going to stay closest to the main square. This was usually where a church was. We also put in fro ensuite bathroom. This whole process did not work 100% of the time. Some towns did not use booking.com and we had to look at Alburgues that were listed for the town in Brierley's guide. We then called to make a reservation. We always parted one place for the next with a reservation as to where we were going. I have my credit card listed with Booking.com so they always took my reservation without a problem. I hope this helps.
 
I am on the Camino now and I prebooked every stop to Santiago before I left home through booking.com. I am so glad I did.
I admire your fortitude! I thought I was so in shape for this. I started walking 8 months before I left. I am 66 and if I had of prebooked, I would of been taking taxis at certain parts to get to my booking as it was hard and we got really tired. I would of walked more hills and would of walked down more trails as opposed to sidewalks in town, hilly or not to prepare.
 
I am the person that with my husband started in September and finished in October. We stayed in private rooms the whole time. I used a couple of different tools. We are fans of booking.com. We booked out our reservations two to three at a time if possible. We used John Brierley's Camino book. We would look at the suggested amount to walk each day, the terrain, and how we felt to make our daily picks for the next few days. Booking dot com did not fail us. We tried to plan where we were going to stay closest to the main square. This was usually where a church was. We also put in fro ensuite bathroom. This whole process did not work 100% of the time. Some towns did not use booking.com and we had to look at Alburgues that were listed for the town in Brierley's guide. We then called to make a reservation. We always parted one place for the next with a reservation as to where we were going. I have my credit card listed with Booking.com so they always took my reservation without a problem. I hope this helps.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Wow! You found me! I found you! About how much should I budget for getting a room per day? Looking at comparing prices of on our own versus a tour company. Also how was the weather?
 
Hooray! We usually spent around E20 per person. There were three of us and usually our room averaged around E60.00 a night. It might be a little more for two as opposed to three. I came across listings that were more but really tried to stay in that range. The weather was great. We left on the 9th, stayed two days in Burgoes, Leon, and Pamplona. We usually hiked around 13 miles a day. We arrived in Santiago on the 19th of October. We had about four days of rain. The days start fairly cool and then got warm, sometimes very warm. Used sunscreen and a sleeveless quick dry shirt quite a few days. The weather changed as we got into October, colder. I did not bring a coat and so I was layering big time. I have some favorite clothing suggestions. feel free to ask me anything.
 

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