- Time of past OR future Camino
- Francés, Norte, Salvador, Primitivo, Portuguese
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This is certainly my strategy, intending to start around 15th May 2024 from Burgos, walking shorter stages (shortest day is 8 km and longest is 18 km) over four weeks (with a couple of rest days) and stopping in Sarria because I am not "needing" to go to Santiago de Compostela again. I also will be staying in donativo and municipal albergues the whole way. I am confident I will be able to find a place each night.Try not to start on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and try to avoid the traditional "stages". Look out for holidays and festivals and try to avoid starting on these dates. You also don't have to start in SJPDP but could start in Roncesvalles, Pamplona, Logrono, etc. These places are easier to access from Madrid.
I am a volunteer hospitalera and I can say that our donativo albergues are often overlooked because they can't be reserved and people cannot ship their bags to these types if albergues. If you are winging it and carrying your own pack you may want to seek out these places. There are several on the Camino Francis and they are identified in gronze.com.
Yes, and you can break the stages more easily by staying in Valcarlos and going a bit further than Roncesvalles as that is a big choke point.I started from StJPdP in April. At that particular time (2012) it ruled out the Napoleon route due to bad weather...but I had already pre-decided to take the Valcarlos route due to a knee concern.
I really enjoyed the Valcarlos route & thought it was a wonderful introductory day (ending in Roncevalles) for my first ever long distance walk.
My advice to first timers?...there are always options...so don't be afraid to explore them & use them.
As I have written several times before, the pilgrims office at St Jean, and the albergue in Roncesvalles should publish their numbers on a daily basis just like the Pilgrims Office in Santiago doesAs those of us who have been active on this forum for a number of years know, the first two weeks of May and September are ALWAYS the busiest for starting from St Jean Pied de Port. Unfortunately, new pilgrims don't usually have this information, and sometimes see the statistics from the Pilgrim Office in Santiago that show that July and August are the busiest months, so think that they can avoid the "bed race" by going in May or September.
I am not sure why this should happen. I did look to see if you had offered an explanation for this previously, and all I found was a post from earlier this year:As I have written several times before, the pilgrims office at St Jean, and the albergue in Roncesvalles should publish their numbers on a daily basis just like the Pilgrims Office in Santiago does
I don't see ex-post reporting being useful, but if you were thinking about collecting vacancy data from these places, that would give people a better idea of whether there is any prospect of getting a bed at them. You might have to work on how that is done for albergues that don't take bookings, but certainly something like that with a live ticker type feed on the SJPP Pilgrim Office web site, for example, would be useful.I wish St Jean Pied de Port and Roncesvalles would publish their daily numbers like Santiago does.
Then you can see exactly what's going on.
As I have written several times before, the pilgrims office at St Jean, and the albergue in Roncesvalles should publish their numbers on a daily basis just like the Pilgrims Office in Santiago does
I'm glad others are prepared to call out some of these 'suggestions'. Thank you.Telling others (who are actually working hard to support and facilitate pilgrims) what they should do / must do / ought to do (imo) is not a usefull strategy when walking during busy times.
Besides, I think the people in the Pilgrim Office and Roncesvalles albergue (volunteers, by the way) may have other things to do than publishing daily statistics, particularly during busy times.
To remain within the subject of this thread, A strategy when walking in busy times may well include the realization that people working in albergues are busy as well.
I like November and December. It’s very easy to enjoy walking when you’re by yourself.We've had several threads recently about the current (busy) situation on the Camino Francés. As those of us who have been active on this forum for a number of years know, the first two weeks of May and September are ALWAYS the busiest for starting from St Jean Pied de Port.
Unfortunately, new pilgrims don't usually have this information, and sometimes see the statistics from the Pilgrim Office in Santiago that show that July and August are the busiest months, so think that they can avoid the "bed race" by going in May or September. But busy season in Santiago doesn't really correlate to busy season for the ~700 km on the Camino Francés before Sarria, as detailed in this thread: A tale of two Caminos
I wanted to start a more constructive thread to help those who do want to walk the Francés during these busy times, or to offer suggestions for other times of the year that may be more pleasant on the Francés. It's certainly not impossible to enjoy the Francés in May and September, but different strategies may be needed.
Please make recommendations for the Francés only, as other routes have their own busy periods.
I agree with this statement. This is a video (not very good but you get the idea) is a video I sent to my wife after walking up the hill from Castrojeriz. It is not the most fun walk early in the morning but walking up that hill especially as the sun is rising is spectacular.I like November and December. It’s very easy to enjoy walking when you’re by yourself.
Wow! This is huge! Could @wisepilgrim put out an app for the Camino Madrid within the next month, please?I will put a plug in for the WisePilgrim app, which can format a WhatsApp message to send if you don't have the language skills to make an enquiry in person.
It can also be risky towards the end of the Camino Frances, especially in July and August.it [not pre-booking] is a high risk strategy before Pamplona at certain times of the year when that section of the CF becomes popular. I have experienced this at Easter and in early May. Others report that September is also risky.
If one doesn't have the Spanish, befriending a Spanish pilgrim can also be helpful.f) If all fails, walk into a bar, have a nice drink, find out where the next place with a bed is, and get a taxi there.
g) Sometimes when talking to the locals or hospitaleros of the places that are 'completo', beds suddenly appear from nowhere ;-)
8 of us slept in the entryway of the church. Outside. Without a sleeping bag or mat. From there on it was often necessary to sleep on the hard floor of gyms. Nice? Not really but there was no other option so you did it.
November does indeed look like a great time to walk for all of the reasons you mention. Thank you for the vidéo. Buen CaminoI agree with this statement. This is a video (not very good but you get the idea) is a video I sent to my wife after walking up the hill from Castrojeriz. It is not the most fun walk early in the morning but walking up that hill especially as the sun is rising is spectacular.
View attachment 146470
The natural landscape is obviously different. Much starker than spring or late summer. especially on the Meseta. But there is a beauty and awesomeness to the Meseta during this time of the year. One wonderful aspect of walking in November on is you have a real opportunity to walk peacefully and alone for almost the entire day if you chose to. Since there are fewer albergues open there will still be ample opportunity to meet wonderful pilgrims at night to share stories, get to know, have great communal meals or go out and enjoy a night together eating dinner and chatting. It is still as beautiful and green in Galicia. Weather can be anything from one day to the next. But it is never too cold and thankfully never hot. A great time to walk.
This is an excellent point from @David Tallan. Not relying on any one of the strategies others and I have outlined, but being able to pick one that best suits the circumstances at the time, is going to be far more flexible. More, and this might just be pop psychology, you reduce the risk of wasting your emotional and mental reserves if you can start doing something, almost anything perhaps, rather than starting to get angry and disappointed because you cannot find a bed where you are. Depending on how far you have walked and how difficult it might have been, you will be physically, emotionally and mentally drained. You don't need to add to that.The message being: you don't have to pick a strategy and use it throughout your Camino. You can switch it up to whatever suits the moment.
User tip for the readers who don't already know, Easter is not on the same weekend each year. It moves according to a lunar calendar calculation (which I don't pretend to understand) so it pays to look up "Easter" with the desired year on the search engine of your choice on the internet, or possibly consult a written table if you know of one. This person arrived in Sarria on Palm Sunday that year, the start of the busiest time of Lent/Easter season.For me, as others have said, staying in the “in between” places really helped.
Checking the Spanish holiday time table is also great advice above- I arrived in Sarria on the Sunday at the beginning of the Semana Santa week, after 700km of lovely quiet walking on the camino Francés. It was “an experience”…. In retrospect, I should have planned better….
Easter according to western church tradition is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March. What could be simpler?It moves according to a lunar calendar calculation (which I don't pretend to understand)
You'd think so. Wars have been fought over the date of Easter (remembering my earliest English history).Easter according to western church tradition is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March. What could be simpler?
Couldn’t be simpler really. 21 March is the Spring Equinox and that full moon which follows is the Paschal moon. All of which one could figure out by observation alone.Easter according to western church tradition is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March. What could be simpler?
The Table of Kindred and Affinity is a personal favourite.During more tedious sermons I’m sure many of us have resorted to having a look at the appendices to the BoCP
Oh yes, that’s a must-read. Although TBH I only go to evensong these days where we just stick to the script and avoid any sermons. Someone turned up with a guitar at the morning service about six years ago and some new form of text was adopted. I’m a bit of a traditionalist.The Table of Kindred and Affinity is a personal favourite.
Agree!I've copied and modified something I wrote in another thread, I hope that is okay?
For me (as someone who prefers to wing it and not make reservations), the easiest solution is to make sure that I don't end up in a place with no beds available. That simple. Sounds funny but has worked for me so far. Even during easter, even in summer on the last 100km, even during a holy year.
That's what I do:
a) Walk distances that allow me to still continue a bit further if necessary (I want to be able to add another 5-10km or so at the end of the day). So should there not be a bed in the town I wanted to stop in, I can still walk to the next one.
b) Stop midday or for a second breakfast in a town with a walk-in or "no reservations possible" albergue and lots of choice regarding accommodation in general. Ask myself, do I want to walk further today, or do I need a half/short/rest day? If I'm very tired I can just check into the albergue (first come - first served, so no problem if I arrive early). If I want to continue and walk a longer day,
c) Check that the next town is still within my preferred walking distance and that there are several albergues there, so that the likeliness of getting a bed there is high.
d) Check if shortly after that town (<5km), there's another albergue, just in case, or
e) If I want to be absolutely sure to have a bed in the village I intend to walk to, call and ask how busy they are and if possible make a reservation. This is a good solution especially if you want to walk a very long day and arrive late, if you know you'll be too exhausted to walk further to the next albergue/village, or if the village where you want to stop has only few beds and the next place is far away.
f) If all fails, walk into a bar, have a nice drink, find out where the next place with a bed is, and get a taxi there.
g) Sometimes when talking to the locals or hospitaleros of the places that are 'completo', beds suddenly appear from nowhere ;-)
h) If you only bring a silk liner for sleeping that reduces your options. So when walking during busy times, bring a light foam mat and a decent sleeping bag. If there's only room on the floor of a sports gym or fire station or in the albergue garden / on their terrace ect., that will be helpful (add a tarp or tent if you love camping and you also have campsites as extra option for accommodation. There are a few official ones, with warm showers and all, for example in St. Jean, not far from Roncesvalles, after Estella, in Castrojeriz, in Sarria, in Portomarin, in Arzua, in Santiago... some of them are quite luxurious and even have a pool and a bar/restaurant!).
Ect.
So. Keep in mind that sometimes you might need plan b-h) to find a bed, but usually there is one, or at least a spot on the floor ect.
Now with this wall of text it looks like a lot of effort, but this process usually takes about the amount of time that is needed to drink a coffee or a beer, depending on whether it's done during breakfast or lunch time.
Of course this kind of strategies are no guarantee to find accommodation. It's just what has worked for me, personally, so far. On the Francés and other routes as well.
For some people of course all this doesn't work, because of health reasons, need for private rooms and private bathroom ect. Then you can still make reservations.
In the end we all develop our own strategies I guess, and everybody has to find out for themselves what works for them and what doesn't.
The Camino always provides.I walked into Zubiri last year, Sunday May 15th, at 16:30 and got a bed in the first albergue i knocked (the one on the right side after the bridge). Because people with reservations did not show up.
Later that day, i have been told, that the municipal did not fill till around 18:00.
The night before i had been sternly warned by "more experienced pilgrims" that if i had not at least booked everything till Pamplona i would be sleeping under the stars....
Apperently saying "screw it, i'm going to do it anyway" can be a strategy. It's a gamble, but it can work.
When I walked Sarria-Santiago last august it was one giant conga line from about 6am-mid day. It felt like a pilgrim tsunami! But later in the afternoon and evening I saw almost no other pilgrims walking anymore and it was very quiet.
So if you have reservations at a place that acccepts a late arrival, that can also be a strategy.... sleep long... good breakfast ... start walking later, add a second breakfast and a good lunch... and then enjoy a relaxed afternoon and evening walk.
This is very helpful advice! Thank youOne thing I'd also like to add is that there are not only seasonal waves, but there can be a wave within the day, too.
Often many pilgrims start around the same time of the day, maybe at 6/7/8 depending on time of the year. Breakfast at the albergue, then everyone leaves to walk. That creates a pilgrim wave that can make the way seem more crowded than it actually is.
On the other hand, if you avoid that wave it can feel less busy than it actually is.
Since most pilgrims start early and stop early, in the afternoon and evening you often walk almost alone, even during busy times.
When I walked Sarria-Santiago last august it was one giant conga line from about 6am-mid day. It felt like a pilgrim tsunami! But later in the afternoon and evening I saw almost no other pilgrims walking anymore and it was very quiet.
So if you have reservations at a place that acccepts a late arrival, that can also be a strategy.... sleep long... good breakfast ... start walking later, add a second breakfast and a good lunch... and then enjoy a relaxed afternoon and evening walk.
Or start very early before the wave if that's your thing and you're an early riser by nature (just make sure not to make too much noise if in a dormitory), then do some sightseeing, or smell the roses in a nice park midday or take a nap on a bench or in the grass while the big wave is rolling by, and continue later in the day when it is more quiet again...
For example, I arrived in Santiago very late last year. From maybe 3pm on there were basically no other pilgrims on the trail even though it was august and a holy year. It was a long but lovely last day. I arrived just in time to watch the amazing sunset in Monte do Gozo at the pilgrim statues for the first time, with only a handful of other people there, and walked through the city lights to the campsite (late check-in possible!) with a big smile on my face.
So, even when there are massive crowds, there can still be quiet moments or even hours to enjoy.
I have an email booking for September in a pinch point town. Have heard from the owner to confirm we are coming, as she said there have been many requests for the rooms. She asks us to reconfirm a few days before - extra work for us and for her, but understandable.I am currently in an airport in the US on my way to Pamplona to start walking the Frances next Tuesday. I have booked all my accommodations in advance, some on Booking and some by email or WhatsApp. For those I booked via email or whatsapp, I have been getting messages from them confirming that I will be there. So it looks like places are being proactive to hopefully not have situations where people reserve beds and don’t show up.
J. Willhaus- are you aware if there is a list consisting of ONLY donativos and municipals?Try not to start on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and try to avoid the traditional "stages". Look out for holidays and festivals and try to avoid starting on these dates. You also don't have to start in SJPDP but could start in Roncesvalles, Pamplona, Logrono, etc. These places are easier to access from Madrid.
I am a volunteer hospitalera and I can say that our donativo albergues are often overlooked because they can't be reserved and people cannot ship their bags to these types if albergues. If you are winging it and carrying your own pack you may want to seek out these places. There are several on the Camino Francis and they are identified in gronze.com.
Well, if these albergues are actually there to "help" pilgrims, they should think about doing it. And, I really don't care when they publish it. Perhaps they can publish it in the middle of the winter when they are doing nothing. This suggestion would help them fill their albergue when it isn't full and to eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people. It's a win for the albergues.Telling others (who are actually working hard to support and facilitate pilgrims) what they should do / must do / ought to do (imo) is not a usefull strategy when walking during busy times.
Besides, I think the people in the Pilgrim Office and Roncesvalles albergue (volunteers, by the way) may have other things to do than publishing daily statistics, particularly during busy times.
To remain within the subject of this thread, A strategy when walking in busy times may well include the realization that people working in albergues are busy as well.
Did you miss the part that most of these people are volunteers?Well, if these albergues are actually there to "help" pilgrims, they should think about doing it. And, I really don't care when they publish it. Perhaps they can publish it in the middle of the winter when they are doing nothing. This suggestion would help them fill their albergue when it isn't full and to eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people. It's a win for the albergues.
I have never understood your point here. The Camino routes do not have some central management structure that allows them to move pilgrims around to start and walk their camino in some well ordered way to match the supply of accommodation. I certainly cannot see how publishing ex post statistics is going to affect this in any day to day sense.Well, if these albergues are actually there to "help" pilgrims, they should think about doing it. And, I really don't care when they publish it. Perhaps they can publish it in the middle of the winter when they are doing nothing. This suggestion would help them fill their albergue when it isn't full and to eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people. It's a win for the albergues.
No, I didn't miss the part about these people being volunteers.Did you miss the part that most of these people are volunteers?
And how exactly can they "eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people?"
Oooh! Maybe there could be a centralized organizing body that issues permits for walking Camino. That way every available bed could be allotted.And that's how you eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people.
This is already happening to some (unmeasurable) extent with more people planning on starting in April than in prior years.No, I didn't miss the part about these people being volunteers.
Listen, these people compile the numbers anyway but the just don't
release them. I was on another thread like this where a volunteer
released two weeks worth of numbers from Roncesvalles just to show me if
I went two weeks earlier the numbers would have been much lower.
And that's how you eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people.
@isawtman, that's an interesting theory: that there would not be so many people walking on a certain day or in a certain week if albergues would invest in human resources and IT resources to release daily figures of occupation.No, I didn't miss the part about these people being volunteers. Listen, these people compile the numbers anyway but the just don't release them. I was on another thread like this where a volunteer released two weeks worth of numbers from Roncesvalles just to show me if I went two weeks earlier the numbers would have been much lower. And that's how you eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people.
I don’t know how the Camino is governed from a marketing / sales standpoint but filling the ‘off peak’ times is a challenge that faces many a tourist commercial organisation. It strikes me as a largely fixed cost business so any efforts to smooth the demand curve maybe a good idea!No, I didn't miss the part about these people being volunteers.
Listen, these people compile the numbers anyway but the just don't
release them. I was on another thread like this where a volunteer
released two weeks worth of numbers from Roncesvalles just to show me if
I went two weeks earlier the numbers would have been much lower.
And that's how you eliminate periods when the Camino has too many people.
The regional Government of Galicia where the Camino Francés ends has invested many €€€'s into promoting their Caminos de Santiago in a way that pilgrims and other visitors are more spread out both geographically and seasonally, and they've had some success.I don’t know how the Camino is governed from a marketing / sales standpoint but filling the ‘off peak’ times is a challenge that faces many a tourist commercial organisation. It strikes me as a largely fixed cost business so any efforts to smooth the demand curve maybe a good idea!
Good to hear! Sounds well managed. Well done to all concerned. I guess the litmus test is ‘occupancy level’, beds occupied vs avaiable beds,, or maybe revenue per bed occupied or revenue per available bed. Anyway sense there might be some ‘off peak opportunity’ but many will know better then me!The regional Government of Galicia where the Camino Francés ends has invested many €€€'s into promoting their Caminos de Santiago in a way that pilgrims and other visitors are more spread out both geographically and seasonally, and they've had some success.
The regional Government of Navarre where the Camino Francés starts don't see an issue in this respect and say that there are more than enough beds for pilgrims and other visitors in the region at all times of the year.
First-time pilgrims expect, or are told to expect, a bed at any time of their choosing and in any place of their choosing, and it has to be cheap, too. This is a well-established narrative which causes disappointment for a few (relatively very few out of tens of thousands of pilgrims per year and on relatively few days out of the 365 days of the pilgrimage season) when they hit Roncesvalles on their first day and find that they have to walk on or take a taxi to find a bed a few kilometres away from Roncesvalles.
I didn't see those graphs ahead of time. All I knew was September is one of the busiest months. I thought maybe that was because Americans came over on the Labor Day Weekend. So, if I went there before the Labor Day Weekend, I would be okay. If I would have seen those graphs ahead of time, I most likely would have started a week or two earlier. That being said, it would be great if they published that every year so you don't have to use 2013 numbers, and also so you can pick out any trends that are happening.@isawtman, that's an interesting theory: that there would not be so many people walking on a certain day or in a certain week if albergues would invest in human resources and IT resources to release daily figures of occupation.
According to the link in your signature line, you walked from SJPP to Roncesvalles during the first week of September 2022 and did not get a bed because the Roncesvalles albergue was full, right? Did you not know beforehand that this could happen I wonder. It has been widely known for a good ten years at least that the first week of September is one of the busiest weeks of the year in the first sections of the Camino Francés - see copy of a forum post of May 2014 below. This fact is certainly known on this forum. It is repeated in the very first post of this thread. What is your explanation why prospective pilgrims don't inform themselves better and plan their departure date accordingly?
The two graphs shown below, posted in May 2014, refer to the numbers of pilgrims registered in the SJPP pilgrim office in the year 2013. Calendar week 36 has the highest weekly number. In 2013, week 36 was the week from Monday September 2 to Sunday September 8.
View attachment 162487
Source: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/how-many-people-start-the-camino-yearly-from-sjpp.26540/post-212250
Still It would be great to see SJPP Pilgrim Office and Roncevalles numbers from last year so you can make an informed decision. But I still think my best advice is to book the first few days. Book St Jean/Orisson, Roncesvalles/Burguette, Zubiri/Larrasoana. Then if Zubiri/Larrasoana is all booked up on the night you are there, book Puente La Reina for the night after Pamplona. You usually don't have to book Pamplona unless there is some sort of festival going on.This is a 60+ posts thread that has been awoken from its slumber with a post about a suggestion or a demand for more detailed occupancy statistics.
It is January 2024 now and we are approaching the April / May 2024 season on the Camino Francés for those who intend to start from SJPP and Roncesvalles. Even if it were to happen that webpages will be built where albergues publish their daily occupation numbers and tourism actors change their publicity campaigns and target groups and this were to serve any practical purpose for prospective pilgrims ... it is not going to happen within the next two to three months of this year.
If this is your first time and it is all unfamiliar: Try to make the best of the tips at the beginning of this thread and adapt expectations about availability and occupancy rates of accommodation between SJPP and Pamplona and your strategies for the first three to four daily sections of the Camino Francés during the spring of 2024. You'll get the hang of it very quickly after your first few days on the pilgrimage road to Santiago. Buen Camino!
The point is, even if the graphs were published more often most people would probably not know about them - as you didn't.I didn't see those graphs ahead of time. All I knew was September is one of the busiest months. I thought maybe that was because Americans came over on the Labor Day Weekend. So, if I went there before the Labor Day Weekend, I would be okay. If I would have seen those graphs ahead of time, I most likely would have started a week or two earlier. That being said, it would be great if they published that every year so you don't have to use 2013 numbers, and also so you can pick out any trends that are happening.
A little playing with the filters on the Santiago pilgrim office statistics pages will give you monthly arrival figures for those who named either place as their starting point. And as @trecile just pointed out the monthly departures from SJPDP for the past few years are also publicly available:Still It would be great to see SJPP Pilgrim Office and Roncevalles numbers from last year so you can make an informed decision.
If someone asks @Monasp nicely, perhaps they will publish weekly statistical data again? It might help a little bit to dispel the notion that the summer months are high pilgrim season in the SJPP to Pamplona area.It would be nice if they would publish the weekly departure statistics again for us statistics nerds.
They obviously made an attempt at redesigning their website ... I can't find their yearly statistics either but I found two weekly graphs from 2009 and 2010 that I had not seen before. The two peaks in May and September have been around for at least 15 years! For the historical data nerds amongst us:The SJPdP Pilgrim Office website used to have statistics, but I can't find that section.
The earliest detailed figures I've seen were the ones from Roncesvalles in 1987 that you posted some years ago. Right at the start of the Camino revival. The peak months then were July and August - massively more than May or September. A very different demographic walking at that time. The largest age group being under-25s - students walking in vacation time. Much the same for my first Camino.It is interesting to see the peak in the 2009 and 2010 graphs around the beginning of August which has now disappeared.
A difficult thing to attempt. Partly because there is no overall authority managing the very diverse infrastructure of the Caminos. Nothing like the national trail system in some countries where permits are required and numbers controlled. Some of the factors which determine whether a particular time of year is "peak season" or "off season" are non-negotiable anyway: although the main walking season has been greatly extended in recent years weather in winter will always be a deterrent to walking for many. For younger pilgrims school and university vacation times are fixed and a limiting factor. Part of the explanation for the surprisingly large percentage of Korean pilgrims in midwinter.just speculating as to desire or possibility to ‘smooth the peaks’ and make off season part of folks considerations.
Thank you very much for responding. It was more an open question so good to get an informed view to how things are and the challenges. In many countries where governments or their agencies invest money on promoting tourism, the need to demonstrate a return to the ‘public’ is even greater than private companies, who have to just satisfy shareholders. I wasn’t sure if there was transparency around this. Thanks again.A difficult thing to attempt. Partly because there is no overall authority managing the very diverse infrastructure of the Caminos. Nothing like the national trail system in some countries where permits are required and numbers controlled. Some of the factors which determine whether a particular time of year is "peak season" or "off season" are non-negotiable anyway: although the main walking season has been greatly extended in recent years weather in winter will always be a deterrent to walking for many. For younger pilgrims school and university vacation times are fixed and a limiting factor. Part of the explanation for the surprisingly large percentage of Korean pilgrims in midwinter.
I appreciate your feedback. I am just curious again: Were you aware of the fact that the beds at the Roncesvalles albergue can be booked and paid beforehand? I am asking because I think that this is a strong point of this forum: Sharing both individual first-hand experience and collective knowledge gained from individual experience and based on solid information from other sources.Still It would be great to see SJPP Pilgrim Office and Roncevalles numbers from last year so you can make an informed decision. But I still think my best advice is to book the first few days. Book St Jean/Orisson, Roncesvalles/Burguette, Zubiri/Larrasoana.
Looking at the SJPDP statistics for last year that seems plausible to me. They recorded 10,132 pilgrims at the office in September. So an average close to 340 per day. Not all that many alternative places to stay around Roncesvalles and Burguete and they often tend to be a second choice for people who cannot find a bed in the Colegiata. If 300 people leave SJPDP then I would not be surprised to find 183 beds in Roncesvalles full that night.The author quotes the manager of the albergue as saying that the albergue was "completo" from 1 September until the long Spanish weekend of 12 October: "We filled our 183 beds," says Mari Sol. I find this a little hard to believe, perhaps the author misunderstood something.
Yes around that time I had started and was told the gym in SJPDP was used a few times as the town was full. Most here advise newcomers to book the start and then not worry.Wow, on Sunday 4 September 2022, the Roncesvalles albergue had 178 reservations. (Their number of regular albergue beds is 183).
I found my 1990 Camino diary recently. I reached Roncesvalles on 27 August (I had a false memory of it being earlier in the summer). At mass that night there were 7 priests, a congregation of 8, and 3 pilgrims including myself receiving a blessing. I have a vague memory of there being 9 of us in the dormitory that night but it might have been fewer. Place has changed a bit since....Yes around that time I had started and was told the gym in SJPDP was used a few times as the town was full.
I was aware that I could book at Roncesvalles prior to my first Camino in 2021. I do not remember whether I learned that through a forum or whether I googled available accommodation in Roncesvalles, but I filled out the form online and paid for my bed a few weeks in advance.I appreciate your feedback. I am just curious again: Were you aware of the fact that the beds at the Roncesvalles albergue can be booked and paid beforehand? I am asking because I think that this is a strong point of this forum: Sharing both individual first-hand experience and collective knowledge gained from individual experience and based on solid information from other sources.
On a Camino FB page, someone reported that in response to an inquiry about booking, they were told that the particular albergue was closed in July because of climate change; specifically, that because of the hotter summers, fewer people were walking during those months.It is interesting to see the peak in the 2009 and 2010 graphs around the beginning of August which has now disappeared. I guess it reflects the "aoûtiens" - a French expression for people who go on their summer holiday in August in contrast to those who go in July. I guess that there has been a shift in the weight of the various nationalities of the international pilgrim demographic starting in SJPP with the result that this peak is no longer visible.
I have seen similar reports from the Via de la Plata but not the Frances or the Portugues. Very high temperatures and water shortages can be a major factor on the route. And for safety reasons very few people walk it in summer.On a Camino FB page, someone reported that in response to an inquiry about booking, they were told that the particular albergue was closed in July because of climate change; specifically, that because of the hotter summers, fewer people were walking during those months.
I have seen similar reports from the Via de la Plata but not the Frances or the Portugues. Very high temperatures and water shortages can be a major factor on the route. And for safety reasons very few people walk it in summer.
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