Walking in March

Stefaan said:

Hello, I'm walking the second part of the Camino Frances. Started in 2014 in SJPDP to Léon. Starting to walk 21 of March from Léon to Santiago. Other pelgrims on the way then? Somebody has experience with walking in march? Stefaan 48y Belgium

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I am thinking of starting my walk 1st April but from Porto.

The number of pilgrims in March is not large, so you will find a small group forms easily. A lot of places will be closed, so everyone ends up in the same albergues. The weather is cool/cold, and there can be snow in the high places. O Cebreiro, for example, just had a fair amount of snow, but it is almost cleared today. There may be more.

We are leaving SJPDP on March 19th. Perhaps we will meet.

You will find plenty of pilgrims but it won't be crowded. Weather can vary from very cold to warm. I pack a merino wool base layer, shirt, fleece and rain jacket/pants for winter caminos. The layers allow me to handle anything from snow to cold winds. When it warms up, I just take off layers. In late March you may even experience days of very warm spring weather so don't forget the sunscreen. I have walked in January, February and March. I always found open albergues and bars in reasonable walking distance on the Camino Frances. Get the list of albergues that are open during March to help in your planning. In general, I found albergues always open at the traditional Brierly stages with some of the albergues in smaller towns closed. There was always a bed available so no need to worry about reservations. I loved walking in the cooler weather. I found that there was less rain and mud than the spring months.