Staying in the cheapest albergues

[WanderingBull]

Hello...

I am doing el camino frances with a very limited budget and would like to stay in the least expensive albergues. Any tips for this?

Also, might it be the case that some albergues will allow me to do a "work for stay" arrangement? Is this common/something that is done?

Thanks for any tips...


http://wanderingadventuresinspain.blogspot.com

 

[Dale]

Most Albergues are under 10€ and many only ask for a donation the amount you give is left up to you. The most reasonably and consistently priced are in Galicia ,the last province on the Camino Frances, all of the municipal Albergues in Galicia charge 3€ per night and I stayed in a number of them last spring and found them to be just as good as the higher priced ones.

 

[sillydoll]

Hi there,
You started a long thread on the 'work for pay' question a few months ago. You can read all the replies here on the forum:

el-camino-frances/topic4596.html

As for cheap albergues, if you have the CSJ Guide book, it will tell you if the albergues are donativo (a donation) or if and what they charge.

 

[Maggee]

I just walked the Camino from St Jean to Santiago in September and found the albergues to be very cheap and ranged normally around 5 to 6 E. If they are municipal they seemed to be cheaper ie 3 euros. You can save money by cooking your own food however. You can get all kinds of cheese, meats, pasta and sauces in the small grocery stores. Wine is cheaper than water and if you meet up with people, you can easily share meals together this way. I saw one young girl of about 18 years who travelled on her own. She never bought one thing in a restaurant or bar that I saw, always ate her own food and seemed to be on a very tight budget. Message being that the accommodation is cheap already and it is food that has more options for savings. I did not see much opportunity to make money in the alberques as they are mostly run by volunteers or one or two people who do everything themselves. This was the cheapest travel I have ever done and I averaged $33/day and I ate the pilgrims meals at every chance as it was my one splurge so I know it could be accomplished for under $20/day. Good luck..........Maggee

 

[KiwiNomad06]

The Camino has been there for hundreds of years... if you need to stay home and save for another year.... it is likely to still be there when you go!!!

 

[sussie]

One of the best value for money Albergues we stayed in, was in Arzua, the St. Apostal Albergue - it has a green sign, one the right hand side of the road when you enter Arzua. All the albergues are located close to each other. I was still brand new and sparkling clean when we stayed there in Oct 2008. It cost only Euros, and it has EVERYTHING

 

[Anniesantiago]

Many times you can stay in the churches.

My two favorites for a church stay were

Viana, where we were fed a lovely soup, given a special mass by the priest, and taken into the sacristy to see the ancient art stored there. In the morning, we were awakened by a choir singing to us outside under the moon. Here you slept on a mat on the floor.

San Nicholas was also lovely. There, you are given a nice meal, and a special treat. Here there were bunkbeds. I suggest the upper bunk to keep from getting bedbugs.

 

[Arn]

As mentioned, most albergues are already very inexpensive, with the municipal run very cheap. Food I found added to the overall cost at the more expensive, but you didn't have to eat there, thus reducing the price. Some albergues will charge you separate if you have the community supper, and or breakfast. As it got crowded, I began only paying for the supper...the reason is, that as I was a late riser (often the last out) the food was already taken with none left for me. Sadly, this is because many early risers would eat breakfast and then take another helping for lunch.

I had four days in Santiago before my flight home so I booked into the Pousadas de Compostela Hotel Virxe da Cerca. What a treat, the 15th century building was a former Jesuit residence and not cheap, but a pleasure...I saved money by stopping at the supermercado just up the street for vino, sausage, cheese, fruit, etc. Sometimes cheap is good...but a treat is fantastic!

Buen Camino
Arn

 

[Rebekah Scott]

..just don´t let the bargain-hunting become your primary motivator. Remember, often "you get what you pay for," and when it costs next to nothing, you cannot demand much, either.

Rebekah

 

[Dale]

I just stumbled on this website not sure if it has been posted previously on the forum or not. It has the basic information on most of the Albergues and a photo of most of them.

http://www.pellegrinando.it/Pagine/...es/Camino_frances_albergue/2.3.4_albergue.htm

 

[sillydoll]

Reb wrote:

just don´t let the bargain-hunting become your primary motivator. Remember, often "you get what you pay for," and when it costs next to nothing, you cannot demand much, either.

I found that the 'best' albergues were those that asked for a donation - Tosantos, Granon, Aroya San Bol, Hospital St Nicolas, Rabanall, Manjarin etc. Most of these offered an evening meal - also for a donation.
When you know that the shelter has basic facilities - perhaps mattresses on the floor, no electricity (dinner by lamplight), no running water - you have no expectations for more and, therefor, don't make any demands. In my experience, it is when you pay for something that you have expectations of getting value for money and then you might feel entitled to make demands.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Granon and Rabanal are fantastic. San Bol and Manjarin are unsanitary, with several reports of sexual assault at San Bol (I will dig out the source on this allegation). They all expect a donation.

 

[sillydoll]

Must be old news Falcon - there is a woman at San Bol now (don't know if she is a raving sex maniac!) When we were there in 2007 it wasn't unsanitary by any means. We had one of our best meals on the whole camino there - cooked by a young Italian chef.
Places change hands all the time.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The complaints on San Bol must have had an effect. That is good news. It still lacks running water and plumbing, definitely a sanitation issue. I camp a lot, so I am not squeamish, but tens of thousands of pilgrims annually if there were no plumbing and running water on the entire Camino? San Bol is fortunately an aberration, not the rule. Even the campgrounds have such amenities. There are too many good places to take a chance on San Bol, but the hospitalera will be a welcome change for everyone who wants to pull their water from the ground a few yards from where they deposit their human waste.

 

[sillydoll]

Obviously a place for the brave!
I loved staying at San Bol and at the time commented that I would love to go back and spend a week there - just to spend time exploring the ruins of the village nearby and the source of the medicinal spring. Mother earth has coped with animal and human waste for a long, long time!
San Bol is not actually on the camino path - it is a short detour away from the path. Campers spend some time there too but they pitch their tents in the glade amongst the trees. There are only beds for 10 people so I doubt that thousands of people get to stay there each year - especially with the urban legends being spread along the camino!