Walking the Camino in December/January

[Gonçalo Mota]

Hi there!

So, I'm going to walk the Camino Frances for the first time, starting in 13 of December. My idea is to walk the French path till Leon, then take the Camino Salvador to Oviedo and there start the Camino Primitivo to Melide, where, once again, I'll be walking the Camino Frances to Santiago. If everything goes according to plan, I'll prolong the way to Finisterre/Muxia.
Right now I'm trying to make a list of the Avaiable albergues along the way. Quite troublesome because i've found contraditory information.

Anyone know a site/list where I can find this information (open albergues along the Camino Frances, Salvador, Primitivo, Finisterre during December/January)? This question it's quite important regarding the fact that, in low temperatures, despite the fact that it's very romantic, it's quite troublesome to sleep with the sky as my roof...

Any "must be at" place or albergue?

Any strategic advice, regarding the climate and terrain conditions?

What about a tent? Do you think it may come in handy, despite the aditional weight?

Cooking set up (camping stove and pot) it's a must?

What about money? Is it better to take some cash, or it's easy to find ATM's in the villages?

Anyone know the average cost of the Way, given the fact that I'll be always trying to stay in the less expensive albergues?

That's it. For now at least eheheh.

Many thanks

Gonçalo Mota

 

[mspath]

Welcome to the Forum!

Be sure to read what others and I have written re Winter Walking in this earlier 2015 Forum thread. Each link leads to further useful info.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/a-winter-camino.35819/

Winter is a great time to walk but you must be prepared.
Good luck and Buen camimo!

 

[SYates]

...
Anyone know a site/list where I can find this information (open albergues along the Camino Frances, Salvador, Primitivo, Finisterre during December/January)? This question it's quite important regarding the fact that, in low temperatures, despite the fact that it's very romantic, it's quite troublesome to sleep with the sky as my roof...

Any "must be at" place or albergue?

Any strategic advice, regarding the climate and terrain conditions?

What about a tent? Do you think it may come in handy, despite the aditional weight?

Cooking set up (camping stove and pot) it's a must?

What about money? Is it better to take some cash, or it's easy to find ATM's in the villages?

Anyone know the average cost of the Way, given the fact that I'll be always trying to stay in the less expensive albergues?

An up to date list for albergues open in winter on the Camino Francés can be found here: http://www.aprinca.com/alberguesinvierno/

Must be albergues/places depends entirely on what you consider important to you, if you are a bit more specific, we might come up with some ideas/tips.

Be aware that snow can cover way marks and be extra careful in that case.

Tenting out in winter might be too cold unless you take the adequate gear with you, but it shouldn't be necessary, at least on the CF, others will chime in regarding the other caminos.

I personally wouldn't take cooking gear.

ATMs are widely spread and your guide(s) will advice you when there is a 'hole'. Make sure to take two cards, both with PIN codes.

On the CF you can get by with 25 Euro/day if you prepare your own food and limit luxuries.

Buen Camino, SY

 

[Gonçalo Mota]

Thanks SY for your reply. About what I "consider important"... Reggarding Albergues I guess that peculiar places (in a good way), or places where you've felt really nice by staying there. I've read about this ones: Refugio de Manjarin Albergue Templario de Tomas, Albergue La Mochila, Albergue “San Francisco de Asís” de la Parroquia de Tosantos. Regarding places, I guess that ones with exquisite natural beauty, history, good people, spiritual feeling... I'm quite open to suggestions

(by the way, sorry for my not so good english. I'm portuguese)

Many thanks

 

[SYates]

No worries, I am German ;-)

To your list I would add and offer some remarks:

Manjarin is a very special place, but you need a good amount of tolerance to the unusual, also if you insist on 100% cleanliness, it isn't your place, it is rustique, but I do think they have toilets now ... Don't get me wrong, I love that place (say hello to Tomas from me) but it isn't for the faint of heart.

Tosantos will be closed when you pass, due to lack of heating.

Other places that may interest you:

Logroño - the parroquial refugio in the church of Santiago el Real
Grañon - both, the one in the church and the Casa de las sonrisas (which isn't on the above list, but should be open)
Fromista - Albergue Betania (Lourdes maintains the list I linked above and can give you tips on which albergues are open currently)
Mansilla de las Mulas - Albergue Municipal

Buen Camino, SY

 

[Gonçalo Mota]

Once again thank you for your comments.
And no worrys. I go along with rustique, unusual, and not so clean. ahahah

Your regards shall be delivered

Gonçalo

 

[LauraK]

Please make sure you check weather reports when you reach Leon. The Salvador is higher altitude and could be dangerous to walk if there is snow or ice. There are fewer albergues and I am not sure if all of them are open during the winter. You may be the only one walking the Salvador at that time of year. I walked the CF in winter and found that, while there were much fewer people, I ended up with a small "Camino family" that I met off and on throughout the CF. I usually walk alone for the solitude but ended up walking with the group the last week into Santiago...it was very special. You might plan for the Salvador but leave your options open to decide in Leon which direction to take based on weather and the relationships you have developed. Also, if you take the Salvador you will miss the Manjarin albergue that you mentioned in your previous post.

 

[Gonçalo Mota]

Thank you LauraK for your comments and for sharing your opinions. For sure I'll leave my options open and probably I'll end up not walking the Camino Salvador and the Camino Primitivo. I've been thinking about that and maybe it's better, in many ways, to walk only the Camino Frances and Finisterre. But yeah, I'll leave that decision for Leon.

 

[Deleted member 43985]

Hi there!

Anyone know a site/list where I can find this information (open albergues along the Camino Frances, Salvador, Primitivo, Finisterre during December/January)? This question it's quite important regarding the fact that, in low temperatures, despite the fact that it's very romantic, it's quite troublesome to sleep with the sky as my roof...

Any strategic advice, regarding the climate and terrain conditions?

What about a tent? Do you think it may come in handy, despite the aditional weight?

Cooking set up (camping stove and pot) it's a must?


Many thanks

Gonçalo Mota

Hi Goncalo

Great sounding plans!

I walked CF in Jan/Feb and with the exception of Belorado I found open Alburgues at all necessary intervals. I found Brierley's guidebook to be accurate about 95+% of the time as to which were open year round. Combine with the photocopy sheet you'll receive in SJPDP and you should feel very good about not needing a tent. A little research in various posts in this forum and you can cross reference to 'favorite Albergues' posted by many Peregrinos.

A very warm sleeping bag on the other hand is a necessity as some of the Albergues had absolutely no heat or blankets available. I took a -7c bag and was well served by it and never suffered unlike some around me did on the coldest nights. One small piece of gear I will take on my next winter Camino is a set of Yaktrax Diamond Grip's for my shoes. There were many times when black ice was present along the roads which I needed to walk on because the snow was simply too deep to walk the trails. These easily slip on your boots, are comfortable to walk with and will give you great grip and combined with trekking poles, will keep you safely upright!

Regarding a stove/pot set, my experiences found many of the Albergues open at that time of the year had a kitchen but not all had (decent) cookware. I'm not a fan of using non-stick pots/pans that have been carved up badly and the teflon is flaking off into your food so I ate out much of the time. If you are the same but plan to cook a lot perhaps a small, very lightweight pot (I have a lightweight MSR camping pot with locking lid I use when I'm camping in the mountains) might be a well used addition to you pack but again, I am picky that way so maybe this wouldn't be worth the weight to you.

Enjoy the solitude of a winter Camino. Buen Camino

 

[hampshire!tim]

What she said, no need of tent or cooking gear.

You could have some lovely sunny days, but you could have some quite chilly and rainy weather. Have clothing for a variety of conditions, including some emergency equipment such as foil blanket (very small weight and size and you probably won't need it, but ...). Best to use your weight capacity on light warm clothes and rain gear.

I have never had enough energy to do any cooking and there are cheap options for "eating out", which will immerse you more in the experience and the local environment.

Take some cash but debit/credit card (tarjeta) are widely accepted.

 

[DavidBoise]

As others have mentioned about the El Salvador, the Primitivo is both more sparsely supported by albergues and villages with ATMs were farther apart. It is also higher in elevation with lots of ups and downs (esp. before Lugo) that would be made more difficult if snow were present (e.g., the Hospitales route would be a wonderful snowshoe trek, but most peregrinos don't carry them).

 

[Gonçalo Mota]

Thank you all for the comments and advices! Really really nice and handy.

Just one last thing. What's the best way to get from Hendaye to SJPP? I'm guessing it's by train, but just cheking. Where can I check the schedules of the trains leaving Hendaye to SJPP? Is it possible (and preferable) to buy the ticket online some days before?

 

[mspath]

The train for SJPdP leaves from Bayonne not Hendaye. It is a TER local train line 62. If you are coming from Paris by train Bayonne is the stop before Biarritz and Hendaye is the end of the line at the old French/Spanish frontier.

In December from Bayonne to SJPdP there are 4 TER line 62 trains a day at 07:45, 11:10, 14:56 and 18:06. Journey time is roughly 1 hour. You can buy the ticket in the station either from a live agent or via a card machine. There are no reserved seats on the TER so prior booking is not necessary. For more info see this TER web http://www.ter.sncf.com/aquitaine

Bon voyage and Buen camino!

 

[Gonçalo Mota]

I'm coming from Lisbon (Portugal) and so I have to stop at Hendaye and only then I'll take the train to Bayonne and SJPP. Do you know where i can check the timetables of the trains Hendaye - Bayonne - SJPP (and possible buy the ticket online beforehand)?

 

[mspath]

Using the TER link that I provided above for trains from Hendaye to Bayonne it appears that there is a train every half hour throughout the day. The journey time from Hendaye to Bayonne is very short. You can purchase your ticket in the Hendaye station either from a live agent or a credit card machine. No reservations are necessary.... By the way both the Hendaye and SJPdP stations are small and easy to navigate. Staff are used to helping multitudes of tourists and pilgrims.

 

[Gonçalo Mota]

Well I guees that's it. Thank you all for sharing you advices, experiences, comments, etc... They sure were (and will be) handy. If you remember something else that I forgot to ask, fell free to comunicate

Best regards