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Recommendations for camino frances

lzbcn0

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Cumino Frances
Hi,
I am planning to go for cumino Frances in July. Wondering if I need to use the travel services or just book hotels when I am there and on the way?

At an average travel service charges $500+ for 8 days accommodation and luggage transfer service.

Any help will be highly appreciated. Thx
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
If you want to use a travel service, you can of course do so, but it is not necessary. Most pilgrims do not stay in hotels but albergues (dormitory style accommodation) and there are many to choose from. But there are hotels and similar places with private rooms also. Whatever accommodation you prefer, you can easily book it yourself. For private rooms in hotels, pensiones ect. it probably makes sense to make reservations before you go (there are less beds available than in the dormitorios) but if you're more flexible with regards to where you'll sleep, you could also just walk and see what happens, and call places 1-2 days before to make sure you'll have a bed.

From what I heard, the hotels chosen by travel tours are often off route, which is probably a bit annoying. If you make your own reservations, you can be sure you'll stay close to the Camino.

A good ressource is gronze.com.


Backpack transport is also easy to organize on your own, for a reasonable price. I have never used it, but other forum members will surely explain to you how it works.

It sounds like you'll be walking the last 100km or so?

If that's the case, don't worry too much. infrastructure is good on that section.

An albergue bed should be ~8-15€/night, not sure about hotel rooms. Backpack transport should be ~5€/day.

Happy planning and buen camino!
 
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Join our full-service guided tour of the Basque Country and let us pamper you!
Hi,
I am planning to go for cumino Frances in July. Wondering if I need to use the travel services or just book hotels when I am there and on the way?

At an average travel service charges $500+ for 8 days accommodation and luggage transfer service.

Any help will be highly appreciated. Thx
It is totally easy to manage on your own if that is what you would like to do. Utilize guidebooks, Camino Frances apps, and webpages like gronze . com (website is in Spanish - but your browser can translate - just be sure to write down albergue and town names in Spanish and not your translated to language haha).

These will give you the names of the albergues and many other lodging choices along the way. Municipal albergues usually do not accept reservations and are on a first come first serve basis. Most of the other places do usually accept reservations via phone, email, their web page, and/or through the website booking . com. You can reserve far in advance or you can reserve the night before or same day.

Most of the time - you will find lodging as you walk without problems. If for some reason you can't - many albergue owners are willing to help you find a place. If it is too far to walk - you can taxi. I never had to do this. Most people will never have to taxi to a bed.

Where should you reserve? St Jean, Roncesvalles, and perhaps Zubiri, Pamplona. If you plan to stop in Orisson/Borda (on the way to Roncesvalles) reservations are a must. After that - the crowds start to disperse and finding lodging is easier. You could go without having reservations for any of these - but there are the places more likely to be full if you don't arrive early.

Anyhow - I find the fees for travel services to do what I can do myself to be excessive. If you want luggage transfer - that can be arranged each day at the albergues just as easily.

Also - keeping your lodging options open - leads to many possibilities such as deciding to stop early or walk longer because that is what you want to do that day. Also - you may meet groups of people you want to walk with and stay with - where if you have reservations you are more likely to become separated from friends you just met.
 
Here’s how I got over my initial fear of booking it myself, in 2017. I read Macs Adventures web site and looked at where they booked, checked the locations and realized I could book it myself just as easily. Lol

I’m all for simplifying things whenever I can. I’m a book ahead person, but it’s really really easy to book it yourself.
 
Hi,
I am planning to go for cumino Frances in July. Wondering if I need to use the travel services or just book hotels when I am there and on the way?

At an average travel service charges $500+ for 8 days accommodation and luggage transfer service.

Any help will be highly appreciated. Thx
Use Booking.com, simples.
 
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
Hi,
I am planning to go for cumino Frances in July. Wondering if I need to use the travel services or just book hotels when I am there and on the way?

At an average travel service charges $500+ for 8 days accommodation and luggage transfer service.

Any help will be highly appreciated. Thx
In order not to be confronted with full or closed hostels at the planned overnight stops at the age of 75, I completely pre-booked my Camino to Burgos this year. First of all, I checked Gronze.com and looked for hostels with private rooms. I wrote to them by email or Whatsapp (phone numbers that start with a 6 are usually mobile numbers and most of them also do Whattsapp) and booked them if they were positive. Otherwise, I also made some Airbnb and Booking.com reservations. I know booking makes me inflexible, is a bit more expensive, but I don't need to join the bed race and it also gives me a wonderful feeling of knowing where I can lay my head in the evening.
 
(phone numbers that start with a 6 are usually mobile numbers and most of them also do Whattsapp)
Can others verify this? If so... this is an amazing help to someone who attempts to speak a little Spanish - but doesn't get very far! Haha.
Thanks Hans-George!
 
Can others verify this? If so... this is an amazing help to someone who attempts to speak a little Spanish - but doesn't get very far! Haha.
Thanks Hans-George!
I have done this very often successfully. Practically every mobile phone has a translation app. My Spanish is also very very limited, but writing text (in my language), having it translated by the app, copying it and pasting it into email or Whatsapp worked perfectly.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Can others verify this? If so... this is an amazing help to someone who attempts to speak a little Spanish - but doesn't get very far! Haha.
Thanks Hans-George!
With my Goole translation app, I can also translate entire conversations online very comfortably and without any problems. Select language A and language B, speak in my language, the device with speech recognition translates it as text and also online with voice output. Then I select the microphone for language B, let my conversation partner speak into the microphone and receive the translation as text and also as voice output. By the way, the app is also great for translating written texts, e.g. menus, online using the mobile phone camera.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
 

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