• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

LIVE from the Camino West from Logrono

mollsballs

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances '21
I just started the Camino Frances from Logrono and will hopefully be making it to Santiago by late November. I'm a first time Peregrina, which may not have been the best decision in COVID, so wanted to share the situation for others planning to start the Camino Frances soon!

Logrono --> Najera

A long, 28 KM day to start my Camino, but I made it in the end. I booked Albergue Albas in Logrono ahead of time on Booking and found the hostel to be fairly full, primarily of non-peregrino/as. They are also doing self-check-in so you will need to call or book ahead to stay here. Because of the self-check-in, you cannot get a credential here but was able to get one at the municipal albergue for 2 Euro.

Today was a holiday in Spain, so most shops and restaurants were closed. This apparently is common on Mondays even on non-holidays. I ultimately found a small cafe at the second roundabout in Logrono where I was able to snag a tortilla, but that seemed to be the only place along the route open that morning. Navarrete similarly had about one restaurant open but there is also a Carrefour open 7 days a week and on holidays where you can grab food.

The Camino is not very crowded right now, but there are still a decent number of pilgrims. I ran into around 20 people on the walk today. I had called ahead to Puerta de Najera to book a bed for tonight but actually found that to be unnecessary. There are only about 5 other people here and the front desk is open from 2 pm to 10 pm.

I may just wing it on accommodation for the first couple of nights and start calling ahead in mid-November when more places start closing. I hope this is helpful! Buen Camino!
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
mollsballs,
Welcome to the Forum and thanks for your update of the current situation. Information such as your's is so very useful for others starting off during the near future. Please do continue to write when you can.
Stay safe, Gute Reise, and Buen camino!
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I just started the Camino Frances from Logrono and will hopefully be making it to Santiago by late November. I'm a first time Peregrina, which may not have been the best decision in COVID, so wanted to share the situation for others planning to start the Camino Frances soon!

Logrono --> Najera

A long, 28 KM day to start my Camino, but I made it in the end. I booked Albergue Albas in Logrono ahead of time on Booking and found the hostel to be fairly full, primarily of non-peregrino/as. They are also doing self-check-in so you will need to call or book ahead to stay here. Because of the self-check-in, you cannot get a credential here but was able to get one at the municipal albergue for 2 Euro.

Today was a holiday in Spain, so most shops and restaurants were closed. This apparently is common on Mondays even on non-holidays. I ultimately found a small cafe at the second roundabout in Logrono where I was able to snag a tortilla, but that seemed to be the only place along the route open that morning. Navarrete similarly had about one restaurant open but there is also a Carrefour open 7 days a week and on holidays where you can grab food.

The Camino is not very crowded right now, but there are still a decent number of pilgrims. I ran into around 20 people on the walk today. I had called ahead to Puerta de Najera to book a bed for tonight but actually found that to be unnecessary. There are only about 5 other people here and the front desk is open from 2 pm to 10 pm.

I may just wing it on accommodation for the first couple of nights and start calling ahead in mid-November when more places start closing. I hope this is helpful! Buen Camino!
Really interested to hear about your route. We were first timers and did STPDP to Logrono 2 weeks ago. The weather fantastic snd now we are back hone we can’t quite believe we completed our first leg.
We plan to restart in Logrono next spring and go 1/2 way to Santiago. Then later in 2022 we hope to finish in Santiago.
Enjoy your journey and I hope the weather remains good for you.
Buen Camino
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
I just started the Camino Frances from Logrono and will hopefully be making it to Santiago by late November. I'm a first time Peregrina, which may not have been the best decision in COVID, so wanted to share the situation for others planning to start the Camino Frances soon!

Logrono --> Najera

A long, 28 KM day to start my Camino, but I made it in the end. I booked Albergue Albas in Logrono ahead of time on Booking and found the hostel to be fairly full, primarily of non-peregrino/as. They are also doing self-check-in so you will need to call or book ahead to stay here. Because of the self-check-in, you cannot get a credential here but was able to get one at the municipal albergue for 2 Euro.

Today was a holiday in Spain, so most shops and restaurants were closed. This apparently is common on Mondays even on non-holidays. I ultimately found a small cafe at the second roundabout in Logrono where I was able to snag a tortilla, but that seemed to be the only place along the route open that morning. Navarrete similarly had about one restaurant open but there is also a Carrefour open 7 days a week and on holidays where you can grab food.

The Camino is not very crowded right now, but there are still a decent number of pilgrims. I ran into around 20 people on the walk today. I had called ahead to Puerta de Najera to book a bed for tonight but actually found that to be unnecessary. There are only about 5 other people here and the front desk is open from 2 pm to 10 pm.

I may just wing it on accommodation for the first couple of nights and start calling ahead in mid-November when more places start closing. I hope this is helpful! Buen Camino!
Thank you for your post - I am out of touch with what accommodation is costing in covid times would you please add those in. stay safe
 
Najera --> Santo Domingo de Calzada

Most places in Najera were closed when I left in the morning around 7:45, but fortunately a directly on the route in Azofra about 1.5 hours away was open and had tortilla, cafe, and sandwiches for pilgrims. My torilla, cafe con leche, and muffin cost about 4.5 EUR. The rest of the route was devoid of restaurants/places to eat so I recommend eating early and carrying snacks.

I stayed at Albergue Cofradia del Santo in Santo Domingo de Calzada, which cost 11 EUR for the night. It had hot showers and was very spacious considering it normally fits hundreds of pilgrims but had less than 50 this night. Santo Domingo had many more amenities than other towns and Bar Piedra down the road from the hostel had a pilgrim's menu for 15 EUR that included a starter (the paella is more like a main course), main course, dessert, and wine. They gave me not just a glass of wine, but an entire bottle for myself. While I was tempted to drink the whole bottle of delicious rioja wine, I stopped myself at two glasses and gave the remainder to another table of pilgrims. I think this was the wise decision considering walking hungover is no bueno.

Santo Domingo de Calzada also had grocery stores so I recommend stocking up on snacks here for the road the next few days. (See below for why)

Fun fact: There are live roosters in the church due to a weird but funny story about Saint Dominic. (Don't tell PETA. Or maybe do?) Pilgrims can enter for a discounted 4 EUR.

Santo Domingo de Calzada --> Belorado

This day was primarily road-side walking and not my favorite day so far. Thankfully I had an audiobook to distract me from the continually passing trucks. It appeared that all shops/restaurants between Santo Domingo de Calzada and Belorado were closed and I was very happy to have brought snacks.

Thankfully places were open in Belorado when I arrived in the afternoon, so I got a patatas bravas to hold me over until dinner. I am staying in Albergue Cofradia del Santo tonight, which opens at 1:15 pm. I did not book ahead and had no issues. The cost is 10 EUR per night for a dorm and you can also ask for dinner for an additional 9 EUR which includes a starter, main, dessert, bread, and water. However, you could also find dinner options outside if that's preferred.

Belorado has some nice street art so it was nice to take a stroll through the town.

Weather: It got significantly chillier today and will be raining for the next week or so. I highly recommend rain gear for any pilgrims starting soon and I'm thinking I'll need to break out my down jacket soon. Though, I'm trying to hold off on using the down coat until I hit the higher elevation.

Food: For my fellow vegetarians, I've been able to stick to my vegetarian diet so far, but that's only because I've been flexible with seafood. If things don't have meet, then they often have fish or eggs so far.

Word to the wise: Pack less than you think you need! Think you need that extra shirt? You don't. I started the camino with a 30 lbs (14 kg) pack. Thankfully, I'm fairly fit and used to carrying a backpack, so I was able to manage the first couple of days, but there was no way I was making it to Santiago with this pack. Thankfully, Correos, the Spanish postal system, has a special system for pilgrims where they will ship things to Santiago and hold it there for pilgrims. I shipped about 9 lbs (4 kgs) of stuff to Santiago and they will hold it there for 30 days for a cost of 28 EUR. Totally worth it. My body is already happier.
 
Belorado --> San Juan de Ortega

The route today had much less roadside walking, largely walking through forest, which was very enjoyable minus the occasional drizzle. We were also able to find food on the route at a large albergue in Villafranca de Oca. If you keep following the trail slightly up the hill, you'll find the entrance on the right. It was packed with pilgrims, being the only food place on today's route, and we've all gotten to know each other by now, so it was like a high school reunion. They also had a fire going, which was so pleasant. It was hard to leave in the end. But soon after we were walking the 12 KM to the next town and my endpoint for the day.

I consider myself lucky today because I have a place to stay tonight. There is one albergue open in San Juan de Ortega with only 7 beds. I called ahead the afternoon before on a whim and luckily snagged a bed for 15 EUR. There was a lot of panicked searching for accommodations among pilgrims last night after realizing that the albergue in San Juan de Ortega was full. Everything in Ages is closed, but there are another 10 beds available in Atapuerca 6 KM further on the route. Others have opted to walk south to Santovenia de Oca where they were able to book a room.

This point forward, I will probably start booking ahead to avoid this situation. However, I tried calling Albergue Casa del Cubo in Burgos for tomorrow and found they don't take reservations. Fingers crossed there are beds tomorrow!
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
San Juan de Ortega --> Burgos

Today was a bit of a slog. It started nicely with a walk through the forest and some small towns, but the second half was almost exclusively road walking leading into Burgos. I grabbed breakfast at the albergue in San Juan de Ortega, not sure what would be open along the way. However, there was one cafe open in Atapuerca, 6 KM past San Juan de Ortega, where several pilgrims ended up stoping for breakfast.

Past that, everything appeared closed until I reached the outskirts of Burgos, where everything was open. It was another 10 KM of road walking into the city from here. If I were to do it again, I would probably try the Castanares variation before Villafria. While not the official route, it's apparently much more scenic than the official route. Otherwise, I might take a bus into the city, but I didn't want to do this on my first camino because that felt like cheating. All the pilgrims and I agreed that today was the worst stretch of walking we've done so far.

There were plenty of beds available at Albergue Casa de los Cubos and I new get why it has Cubos in the name. It was a very nice albergue with each peregrino/a having their only cubby hole and sink to share between two people each. It was 10 EUR for the night. They also had 3 washers and 2 dryers available for 4 EUR and 3 EUR, respectively.

Burgos --> Hornillos del Camino

Today's walk was much more pleasant than yesterday. You start the walk through some scenic areas of Burgos before exiting the city in favor of farmland. There was one bar open across the street from the albergue serving breakfast as I left, but I opted to wait to eat. Interestingly, while leaving Burgos, I noticed a large building to the right that looked a bit like either an old train station or palace, but apparently has been converted into a penitentiary according to Google Maps.

There was a bar/albergue open in Tardajos 11 KM away from Burgos that was serving breakfast, sandwiches, and drinks. After that, there wasn't anything open until Hornillos del Camino. There's only one albergue open in the town right now, which has space for 15 people. I booked ahead in case, as did others and at the time of writing this, there are only two beds left. The albergue has beds for 10 EUR but will also provide dinner and breakfast for another 10 EUR. There appear to be one or two other bars open in the town for food, but I opted for the albergue dinner because who doesn't love a home cooked meal?
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Hornillos del Camino --> Castrojeriz

This was a short, mostly flat day. Nothing was open in town when I left around 8:30 am, so I waited until Hontanas about 10 KM away to find food. There was one cafe/bar open almost immediately upon entering the city. After this, there was no stops until the endpoint for the day in Castrojeriz.

I booked ahead in Castrojeriz as there were only two albergues open, but that was unnecessary. Everyone was able to find a bed. I was actually lucky and snagged a private room for the cost of a dorm bed at Albergue Al Camino Verge de Monserrat since I was the only woman staying in the albergue. It was 10 EUR for the night.

Albergue A Cien Lugas had a pilgrim's menu for dinner for 11 EUR and was one of only two places open for dinner in town.

Castrojeriz --> Fromista

Aside from the steep ascent outside Castrojeriz, this stage was another mostly flat day. A Cien Lugas was open for breakfast when I left Castrojeriz at 8 am, but I walked 10 KM to Itero de la Vega and ate there instead. There was one bar/cafe open in the town immediately upon entering it. Nowhere else did I encounter food on this stage.

Another pilgrim told me there's a boat that will take you along the canal from Boadilla del Camino to Fromista, but it only leaves at 1 pm. Unfortunately, I started too late in the day to make this, but might be of interest for early risers. However, the walk along the canal leading into Fromista is still nice.

I stayed in Albergue Luz de Fromista for 11 EUR that night as it was one of only two places that appeared to be open. Dinner options were also limited as it was Monday, but we were able to find a pilgrim's menu at the bar across the street that served starting at 8 pm and only cost 11 EUR.

Fromista --> Carrion de los Condes

Another easy day made even easier by beautiful weather. However, I found no food along the way either in Fromista or any other town, so I highly recommend bringing snacks. There was one cafe in Poblacion de Campos, hidden on a side street, that had snacks and coffee, but no cooked food, not even a tortilla, so I decided to pass.

There's a variant beginning at Poblacion that I walked a bit of before reverting to the normal path. The variant is nice if you want to avoid the roadside walking but is a bit longer. There is only one albergue open in Carrion de los Condes but it does not accept reservations. The cost is 10 EUR for the night. most restaurants appear to be open in town and there was one around the corner from the albergue where I could grab a snack upon arriving in town.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Carrion de los Condes --> Terradillos de los Templarios

Thanks to everyone for the warning about the 17 KM to the first stop of the day! There was one grocery store open in Carrion de los Condes until 9 pm the night before so I grabbed some food to keep me fueled in the morning. Leaving Carrion, there was one cafe open around 8 am but I opted to continue on without stopping.

Once I made it to Calzadilla de la Cueza, there was one cafe open on the left side of town, a bit off the camino. But it was hard to miss because there was a big sign advertising it was open.

I continued on to Terradillos de los Templarios and stayed at Albergue Jacques de Molay, which cost 10 EUR for the night in a bunk bed. The albergue also has a cafe, which is helpful because there are no food places open in the town. They had a pilgrim's menu for 10 EUR and even gave us a free pitcher of wine.

Terradillos de los Templarios --> El Burgo de Ranero

Today was a very long day, going 30 KM. There were no cafes open between Terradillos de los Templarios and Sahagun 12 KM later, but thankfully the albergue had a breakfast starting at 7:30 am for only 3 EUR. In Sahagun, there were several cafes open where you can stop for lunch.

Normally, I would have stopped in Bercianos del Real Camino for the day to make the day's walk more manageable, but the one albergue open there is closed on Thursdays (just my luck). Many pilgrims were unaware of this and then had to swallow the pain of walking another 7 KM, so heads up for all future winter pilgrims! While it was not listed on the Winter Albergues list, the albergue in the next town, El Burgo Ranero, is actually still open. There are no employees and it's donation based, so a bit different than other albergues I've encountered so far. But the town has a grocery store and the albergue a kitchen, so you can still feed yourself. If you're luck like I was, there will be an Italian pilgrim who will make a delicious pasta dinner for everyone. The albergue also has a fire place, washing machine, and even a small library.

El Burgo de Ranero --> Mansilla de Las Mulas

From El Burgo de Ranero, you can either make the 38 KM trek to Leon or split the distance across two days. I opted for the latter. There are two albergues open in Mansilla de Las Mulas, one municipal and a private. The private one, Gaia Albergue, is 10 EUR for a bunk bed. There is a cafe next door open where you can likely get dinner, but the albergue also has a full kitchen. There was one cafe open at the entrance of Reliegos, but that was the only food option along today's walk.

Tip: I've been using the Winter Albergues list, which has been a huge help (thanks to everyone who shared it!). But I've found that it's not an exhaustive list of open albergues right now. In each Ledigos, Bercianos del Real Camino, and Mansilla del Mulas, pilgrims were able to find either albergues or accommodations not listed on the site. In my case, the albergue in El Burgo de Ranero was not listed as open but I called the number listed in the BuenCamino app and found it to be open, though not staffed. If there's a town in particular where you would like to stay but the albergue is not listed, it's worth calling ahead to see if it's actually open, which is what I've started doing.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Mansilla de Las Mulas --> Leon

There was nothing open in Mansilla de Las Mulas when I left around 8 am, so I walked 6 KM to Puente Villarente before finding an open cafe. Just after the bridge, there was a large one open on the left side of the road where most every pilgrim seemed to stop. The rest of the day went by quickly and I was in Leon by 1 pm. As expected, food and accommodation was no problem in Leon. The biggest challenge was waiting until 8 pm to eat dinner since that seemed to be when most restaurants opened.

Note that shops are closed on Sunday in case you want to stock up on snacks for the next leg of the Camino. If you can only arrive on a Sunday and must do your shopping then, then look for Carrefour Express since they seem to be open every day of the week.

Leon --> San Martin del Camino

There were several cafes open when walking through Leon after 8 am, so finding breakfast was no problem. There were also cafes open in La Virgen del Camino about 7 KM outside of Leon. I am staying in Albergue Vieira, which has beds for 10 EUR. The hostel is very empty, so reservations do not appear to be necessary for now. The owner will also make dinner for 12 EUR and breakfast for 5 EUR since most places appear to be closed in town and she will make a vegetarian meal upon request.
 
San Martin del Camino --> Astorga

This was the last relatively flat stage of the camino. Albergue Vieira had a buffet breakfast available for 5 EUR, but I opted to wait and eat later on the route. There was both a bar and supermarket open in Hospital de Orbigo when I arrived around 9:30 where pilgrims could grab food. There was no other food on the route after this from what I could see. The Buen Camino app has two routes available for the route after Hospital de Orbigo and I highly recommend taking the variant. It's a tad bit longer but gets you away from the busy road, which I desperately wanted.

There was one big albergue open in Astorga, Siervos de Maria, which was only 7 EUR for the night. Despite being a bigger town, dinner options in the city were somewhat limited and we only found one bar and pizza place near the albergue. However, in the morning, there were plenty of cafes open for food.

Astorga --> Foncebadon

The route got much harder on this leg as we started hitting the mountains. As I mentioned above, there were plenty of food options at 8 am in Astorga. Murias de Rechivaldo, less than 5 KM outside of Astorga, also had a cafe open just upon entering the town. Otherwise, I didn't see any other food available until Rabanal del Camino.

Some pilgrims opted to stop in Rabanal del Camino for the night because it has many more resources (albergues, restaurants, stores) than Foncebadon, the next town on the route. Rabanal del Camino even has Korean ramen if you want to have some non-Spanish food. However, I continued on and I think I made the right decision. The hill from Rabanal del Camino to Foncebadon is very steep and I would have hated doing that on top of another ascent and then a huge descent the next day.

Foncebadon, while not as resourced as Rabanal del Camino, still had everything pilgrims need. The municipal albergue, Domus Dei, was still open and only asked for a donation for the night - and the donation was worth it because the showers were very hot! Monte Irago was still open for food and had a pilgrims menu for 10 EUR. They even made the menu fully vegetarian as there were several of us not eating meat, but there was some serious grumbling from the Spaniards I ate with. The albergue component of Monte Irago was technically closed, but they offered a bed there if I was unable to find one at the municipal albergue, which may be helpful for other pilgrims in a jam.

Foncebadon also had a beautiful sunrise and sunset, so I highly recommend pilgrims make the trek up the day before!

Foncebadon --> Ponferrada

This was definitely the hardest stage I've hit so far, but also the most fun! Finally I'm out of the flat walking and into the mountains and hills. The descent was especially hard at some points and I'm very happy for sunny weather because I could see the rocks on the descent being treacherous in wetter weather. Monte Irago had a breakfast buffet available for 5 EUR but I decided to walk the 11 KM to El Acebo before eating. In the town, there was one cafe open, which was the only food I saw until Molinaseca, which had multiple cafes and shops open.

The municipal albergue is open in Ponferrada and is donation-based, plus has hot showers. Food does not appear to be a problem here as there are grocery stores and restaurants open.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery

Most read last week in this forum

My name is Henrik and I will be coming down to SJPdP from Sweden on March 26 and start walking on March 27. I don't really have any experience and I'm not the best at planning and I'm a little...
When I hiked the Frances Route this happened. I was hiking in the afternoon just east of Arzua. I was reserved a bed at an albergue in Arzua, so I had already hiked all the way from San Xulien...
I'd like some recommendations about where to find the most current and up to date information about albergues that are actually open. I'm currently walking the camino Frances, and I can't even...
I am finalizing my packing list for Frances, and do not want to over pack. (I am 71) I will be starting at SJPdP on April 25th to Roncesvalles and forward. I was hoping on some advise as to...
Today is March 21, 1024 If you’re starting El Francés around this time, be warned that quite a few stretches between Rabanal del Camino and Molinaseca are in pretty bad shape. Lots of mud, and...
First marker starting from Albergue Monasterio de la Magdalena in Sarria (113.460 km) Start: 2023.9.29 07:22 Arrival: 2023.9.30 13:18 walking time : 26 hours 47 minutes rest time : 3 hours 8...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Similar threads

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top