The Camino Under Covid-19

mirandagavin · Aug 7, 2020

If anyone is interested, I am trying to walk the Camino del Norte at the moment and am just past Bilbao. A friend has walked with his dog from Brussels in Belgium starting last year in September 2019. He got locked down for three months in Irun in Spain then had to return to Hendaye in France. Now we are continuing and are in Bilbao. Does anyone have any recommendations for places to stay that are welcoming and reasonably priced alongvthe way and if any will take a dog? Any small local camino businesses needing support? It is hard this year for many reasons and the camino is quieter and there is less chance to meet other pilgrims as all the public albuerges are closed.
I am also interested in any tips for solo female travellers given the current situation. I have a tent. Thanks.

Tincatinker · Aug 7, 2020

Hi @mirandagavin, welcome to the forum. You'll find the search facility useful: and meanwhile this thread https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/hostals-open.68235/#post-865138 will take you to Mike's excellent resource.

I'll confess to being a bit confused. Are you walking with your friend and his dog or travelling solo?

lt56ny · Aug 8, 2020

Your choices will be limited that is for sure. I am not sure if any of the typical camino guidebooks and websites include pet friendly places to sleep. I have never seen any municipal albergues or donativos that accepted pets although there may be some and some private ones that allow for pets to be outside. That I have seen on a few occasions. As TIncatinker noted there is that thread to help you know what places are open. As you get closer to Santiago and leaving the coast there are mostly small villages with less options especially now. You may be forced to stay in hotels/hostels and pensions that are pet friendly but you may already be doing that. Good luck, call ahead and I think there are some threads about pet friendly accommodations on the Forum. I am pretty sure I have seen mention about it for the Camino Frances. But then again there is so much more written about the CF. Good luck and you are on such a beautiful camino enjoy it.

Pierre Julian · Aug 9, 2020

The Albergue de Peregrinos de Cadavedo has a garage out the back with tents in it. A woman I met last year had a dog and they were allowed to stay in the tents. I did to and they were comfortable. The Hospitalera there was really friendly and helpful. Not sure though if it is open now. Also the municipal albergue at Soto de Luina let them put their tent up in the grounds for them and the dog.

mirandagavin · Aug 17, 2020

Tincatinker said:
Hi @mirandagavin, welcome to the forum. You'll find the search facility useful: and meanwhile this thread https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/hostals-open.68235/#post-865138 will take you to Mike's excellent resource.

I'll confess to being a bit confused. Are you walking with your friend and his dog or travelling solo?

Both but this depends on what is available. I am safer with both of them and have more opportunities to ‘wing it’, however, we have over 600s to go still so I am looking at my choices. Thanks for responding and for the warm welcome. Best Miranda

mirandagavin · Aug 17, 2020

lt56ny said:
Your choices will be limited that is for sure. I am not sure if any of the typical camino guidebooks and websites include pet friendly places to sleep. I have never seen any municipal albergues or donativos that accepted pets although there may be some and some private ones that allow for pets to be outside. That I have seen on a few occasions. As TIncatinker noted there is that thread to help you know what places are open. As you get closer to Santiago and leaving the coast there are mostly small villages with less options especially now. You may be forced to stay in hotels/hostels and pensions that are pet friendly but you may already be doing that. Good luck, call ahead and I think there are some threads about pet friendly accommodations on the Forum. I am pretty sure I have seen mention about it for the Camino Frances. But then again there is so much more written about the CF. Good luck and you are on such a beautiful camino enjoy it.

Thank you. Yes, this has been our experience so far. No municipal albuerges are open and many do not take pets, you are right. However, camping has been an option in some places and I highly recommend the Albuergue Tu Camino in Onton who allow pilgrims to pitch tents and allow dogs. They also do an evening meal and breakfast and asked us for a donation. In Santona the municipal albuergue allowed us to camp for free, at our own risk, and I could use the showers for 1.35 euros.
I am writing about the Camino del
Norte on my blog/website as we travel especially as it is such a strange time. Thanks again. Miranda

mirandagavin · Aug 17, 2020

Pierre Julian said:
The Albergue de Peregrinos de Cadavedo has a garage out the back with tents in it. A woman I met last year had a dog and they were allowed to stay in the tents. I did to and they were comfortable. The Hospitalera there was really friendly and helpful. Not sure though if it is open now. Also the municipal albergue at Soto de Luina let them put their tent up in the grounds for them and the dog.

Thank you. This is very helpful. Miranda

mirandagavin · Aug 17, 2020

lt56ny said:
Your choices will be limited that is for sure. I am not sure if any of the typical camino guidebooks and websites include pet friendly places to sleep. I have never seen any municipal albergues or donativos that accepted pets although there may be some and some private ones that allow for pets to be outside. That I have seen on a few occasions. As TIncatinker noted there is that thread to help you know what places are open. As you get closer to Santiago and leaving the coast there are mostly small villages with less options especially now. You may be forced to stay in hotels/hostels and pensions that are pet friendly but you may already be doing that. Good luck, call ahead and I think there are some threads about pet friendly accommodations on the Forum. I am pretty sure I have seen mention about it for the Camino Frances. But then again there is so much more written about the CF. Good luck and you are on such a beautiful camino enjoy it.

Thank you so much for this advice. Yes this is a beautiful, in places arduous, route. Miranda

Silvermomma · Tuesday at 7:32 PM

I use Alltrails a lot here in the US, in Iceland, on the Via Podiensis and a bit on the CF. Will it be useful on the Norte? For example, people here say the "warm up" from Biarritz to Irun (or...

Umwandert · Monday at 11:35 AM

Last May I walked the first part of the Norte in the opposite direction, from Santander to Irun. Since I only had two weeks and couldn't reach Santiago anyway, I wanted to swim against the tide...

MilenaS · Tuesday at 5:47 PM

Tomorrow I fly to Bilbao to start my 5th stint on the Camino. I did the Frances in three parts (2016, 2017 and 2022). Last year I did the Portuguese from Porto. I did the first 200 km of the...

ChrisMayou · Friday at 5:08 PM

Are supermercados or other grocery stores open on Sundays on del Norte? Are restaurants open? Specifically, I will likely find myself in these towns on Sundays: Castro-Urdiales, Comillas...

Silvermomma · Tuesday at 9:28 PM

I thought I had this all figured out, but I have ended up with 2 train tickets from San Sebastian (I don't even know if it's the airport or the town) to Irun, instead of ONE that goes all the way...

mb4869 · Thursday at 5:33 PM

I’m on day 2 of the CDN and I’m just blown away by the views. Day 1 Irun to San Sebastián, day 2 San Sebastián to Askizu Buen Camino

The Camino Under Covid-19

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