Request for preferences in Months and SJPDP

[barryg]

I'm trying to get my wife's passport, so that I have the CHOICE to leave in September, as opposed to April. It may not arrive in time, but if I do have the choice:

Which is the busiest month of the two?
Which is the coldest month of the two?

And. . .how far into October would you have to go, before the Albergues all closed up?

I walked from Pamplona to SDC a year ago plus in June and it was perfect weather, but very crowed, what with all the schools having their students hike a portion of the trail--loud talking, loud music, no room in the inn, etc.

Which do you think is the best of these three months: September, October (or 9/15 to 10/15), or April.

Thanks for any info, as always.

Warmly,

Barry

 

[NorthernLight]

Private albergues generally are shut down by Nov 1, but there are variations. Municipal albergues tend to remain open year round. After Nov 1 there are still enough albergues open, you just have less flexibilty in stopping between them. But the bed race disappears and you stop worrying about getting there by 2.

I'm an October fan. But April has the wild flowers and storks nesting.

 

[trecile]

Here's a graph showing pilgrims starting from SJPDP. That biggest spike is the first week of September. I believe that April is probably colder than September. I have heard of snow as late as May and June.

 

[C clearly]

how far into October would you have to go, before the Albergues all closed up?

They never all close up. Past mid-October, a number do start to close, but there are always enough to accommodate pilgrims at reasonable distances. Past mid-October, you should check in advance if you are counting on staying in a village in-between major points.

Here's a graph

I am curious, @trecile if you have a source where this is updated.

 

[trecile]

I am curious, @trecile if you have a source where this is updated.

I'm sorry, I don't. Someone else had posted it on the forum some time ago.

 

[trecile]

I am curious, @trecile if you have a source where this is updated.

Okay, I just did a little research, and found this site, which has the stats from 2018 for St Jean Pied de Port (open in the Chrome browser to translate to English)

Les statistiques 2018 du bureau des pèlerins de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port - Pèlerins de Compostelle

Analyse de l'évolution entre 2012 et 2018 et des statistiques 2018 du bureau des pèlerins de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.Par Fabienne Bodan, auteure, webmaster.

pelerinsdecompostelle.com

Here's the graph from that site. May edged out September as the most popular starting month.



And
Breakdown by month

• January: 1.628
• February: 2.181
• March: 11.056
• April: 22,068
• May: 40,665
• June: 45,685
• July: 50,868
• August: 60,415
• September: 47.006
• October: 35,602
• November: 7.651
• December: 2.553

 

[trecile]

Here's some more information from another page, that was linked to from the first one that I posted

The main trends of the 2018 Santiago Camino reported by gronze.com

• Porto is ahead of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port for the first time as a starting point.
• The number of people entering Sarria continues to increase (one point compared to 2017), with 27% of the total in 2018.
• The number of pilgrims from Ponferrada, Astorga, León, Burgos or Pamplona is decreasing.
• The most popular route is Caminho Portugués de la Costa, followed by Camino Inglés.
• The attendance of Camino Francés continues to drop, and for the first time falls below the 60% mark (56.88% in 2018).

Tendances du Camino de Santiago 2018 - Pèlerins de Compostelle

Antón Pombo vient de publier sur le site espagnol gronze.com une analyse des tendances du camino de Santiago 2018. Traduction des principaux éléments.

pelerinsdecompostelle.com

 

[nycwalking]

I vote October.

 

[Telboyo]

I vote for April, because I like the optimism of spring.

 

[Devereaux]

I did September 15 from SJPDP to CdeS in 2018. Had great weather and it was not too crowded until Sarria. Then, I made calls ahead (though I did pre-book Orisson and Roncesvalles). I did run into some student groups here & there after Burgos but they seemed to disappear after a few hours like day walkers.
I vote for September!

 

[Monasp]

I'm trying to get my wife's passport, so that I have the CHOICE to leave in September, as opposed to April. It may not arrive in time, but if I do have the choice:

Which is the busiest month of the two?
Which is the coldest month of the two?

And. . .how far into October would you have to go, before the Albergues all closed up?

I walked from Pamplona to SDC a year ago plus in June and it was perfect weather, but very crowed, what with all the schools having their students hike a portion of the trail--loud talking, loud music, no room in the inn, etc.

Which do you think is the best of these three months: September, October (or 9/15 to 10/15), or April.

Thanks for any info, as always.

Warmly,

Barry

I think the best is octobet (9/15 to 10/15) because it's not too hot, it's not too cold and there is not too many people.

 

[spreadsheetdirtbags]

I'm trying to get my wife's passport, so that I have the CHOICE to leave in September, as opposed to April. It may not arrive in time, but if I do have the choice:

Which is the busiest month of the two?
Which is the coldest month of the two?

And. . .how far into October would you have to go, before the Albergues all closed up?

I walked from Pamplona to SDC a year ago plus in June and it was perfect weather, but very crowed, what with all the schools having their students hike a portion of the trail--loud talking, loud music, no room in the inn, etc.

Which do you think is the best of these three months: September, October (or 9/15 to 10/15), or April.

Thanks for any info, as always.

Warmly,

Barry

I walked ~September 5th to ~October 10th (need to check exact dates). No issues with any closed Albergues, even on the Finisterre & Muxia route, but it was quite a but chillier and wetter on the coast.