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What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
I am walking in late October and have a cheap lightweight tent in my backpack if I can’t get accomodation. I will pitch the tent when it gets dark and be gone after the sun comes up nobody will know I have been there. It is a good option in these times.What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
I wild camp all the time. Use a lightweight tarp. Depending on the time of year, there will be times when the tourigrini and the jacotransers and the local scout groups bag all the beds, so you will have to sleep out, and that's why good warmgear is essential as backup. As for wild camping, I've never had the slightest problem. And it's fun.
I walked Easter week on the Frances in 2017. When we arrived in Zubiri there was a huge bus with the driver loading backpacks in the hold. The bus was filled with pilgrims, but I didn't know where they wre being taken. I'm glad we had reserved our first few days. I later talked to someone who had to sleep on a park bench in Pamplona.Is this a problem on particular routes?
I honestly don't know anyone that 'had' to sleep out.
A tent will cost you more than a few €30 nights.What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
I walked Easter week on the Frances in 2017. When we arrived in Zubiri there was a huge bus with the driver loading backpacks in the hold. The bus was filled with pilgrims, but I didn't know where they were being taken. I'm glad we had reserved our first few days. I later talked to someone who had to sleep on a park bench in Pamplona.
I've walked over 3500 km on various Caminos, and have never needed a tent.
Plan your trip for a not busy time of year. I echo the recommendations of pairing/tripling up for a hotel room if necessary, or taking a bus or taxi (or walking) to next albergue if the one you want is full & you don’t want to share a hotel. Even if you have to get a hotel a few times it will be cheaper than buying a tent. Since wild camping is illegal (and extremely rude to the generous people allowing us to walk across their country—and often private property) that really shouldn’t be something you even put as a last resort. There are always other options.What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
Or just keep walking...........What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
Hola! I would suggest that if you are using any of the guidebooks, especially the John Brierley guide, do NOT follow his planned stages. 90 percent of English speaking pilgrims use the book and they all do the same walking program. We discovered this fact before our Frances trek and started in October instead of September to help avoid the crowds. That said, if you can walk and stop in between the recommended towns, you will avoid most of the horde formations every day. We basically planned our stops 1 or 2 towns beyond the popular stops, which typically had lower costs to stay in the albergues. You will be fine. Best wishes and Buen Camino!What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
If carrying a sleeping bag is possible for you, I'd recommend a bivvy bag. I've one that is about the size of your fist and if you put your sleeping bag inside that you are good to go, for wind or rain. It weighs about 1-200g, so it is a viable option. In summer you may not need a sleeping bag, just a liner. I was kicking myself I didn't bring mine when I had to sleep out in a church porch, without a sleeping bag. (I say sleeping, it was more surviving until sunrise.What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
I have been in a tent with a sleeping bag a number of times over the years, and was still cold and in a fitful sleep. When I finally "survived" until sunrise, I fell into a wonderful warm sleep, but it was always short-lived.I had to sleep out in a church porch, without a sleeping bag. (I say sleeping, it was more surviving until sunrise.).
Yes, I know that feeling. Then, you are forced to get out of the tent before the sun fries you inside.I have been in a tent with a sleeping bag a number of times over the years, and was still cold and in a fitful sleep. When I finally "survived" until sunrise, I fell into a wonderful warm sleep, but it was always short-lived.
I have never carried a tent, and not sure many would, just 'in case'.
There are a few, very few, Pilgrims who wild camp.
But as @dick bird says, it's illegal.
And why carry all that extra weight.
Maybe take a cheap mat if you are concerned, and if you find yourself without a bed, I'm sure an extra layer of clothes, your sleeping bag and a mat, will see you OK in a church porch or similar.
But I'm sure other options will reveal themselves. Like sharing a private room with a fellow Pilgrim or something. I think it's very rare that Pilgrims find themselves 'sleeping out'.
Try not to pack your 'fears'. Taking this and that, just in case.
We all do it first time out
Until it was stolen, I carried a tent that cost twenty US dollars, and weighed less than five kilos. Two meters wide, a little less deep. In three years of wandering, I only had to use it four nights (none of them on Camino). And my other two nomadic years (after the theft), I managed without one, though several times I was tempted to buy a cheap one.A tent will cost you more than a few €30 nights.
Five kilos?!! My pack and its contents usually weighs in around 6.5 kilos. That would practically double my carrying weight.Until it was stolen, I carried a tent that cost twenty US dollars, and weighed less than five kilos.
Same with me. But some people are more stoic than I!Five kilos?!! My pack and its contents usually weighs in around 6.5 kilos. That would practically double my carrying weight.
My first long distance camino was from Le Puy. A pilgrim I met shortly after starting and quite a few times afterwards pitched his tent in the albergue grounds. If that was not possible (such as the former seminary at Aire-sur-l'Adour), he walked on.I've walked over 3500 km on various Caminos, and have never needed a tent.
I understand people that carry those things because they like using them, but everyone i met that carried it "just in case" regretted doing so.
... they are not necessary.
He who dies with the most toys wins!Only 2,000 kms here.
But I have often looked longingly at super lightweight tents and tarps.
Maybe I'm just a gear junkie.
Of course I realise I'll never use it.
Or that 'one time', if ever it happens, I'll have to pay more for a room, or get a short taxi ride to another place. Way cheaper than a tent/tarp, and hasn't happened yet.......
Until it was stolen, I carried a tent that cost twenty US dollars, and weighed less than five kilos. Whoever stole a 5kg $20 tent clearly had a desperate need.
Except for photo-gear I will lose that game forever!He who dies with the most toys wins!
But at least he was off the cold ground sleeping in a plastic bag (tent).I walked Easter week on the Frances in 2017. When we arrived in Zubiri there was a huge bus with the driver loading backpacks in the hold. The bus was filled with pilgrims, but I didn't know where they wre being taken. I'm glad we had reserved our first few days. I later talked to someone who had to sleep on a park bench in Pamplona.
Was that you?...or something you have experienced before?But at least he was off the cold ground sleeping in a plastic bag (tent).
Not necessary. Budget for the cost of a decent lightweight tent, but don’t buy one. If you need to use a taxi once or twice to get to cheap accommodation or use occasional slightly upmarket accommodation, you’ll have the funds to do so.What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
I didn't always carry the tent, but what I put on my back varied from ten kilos to forty depending on the trip. That's just an estimate. The only time I actually weighed things was when I was biking. Then the trailer containing my things was 37 kilos, the bicycle fifteen, and me 85. Heart rate got up to 166 going over the mountain between the Bilbao airport and the bus station! Would have taken a longer route if I had known that mountain was there!Five kilos?!! My pack and its contents usually weighs in around 6.5 kilos. That would practically double my carrying weight.
A quality light weight tent and sleeping bag is going to cost you more than a few nights at €30.What to do if you can't find accommodation in albergues? is hotel accommodation the only way out? I plan to go to Camino Primitivo, but I can't afford to spend the night in expensive accommodation like 30euro / per night. Maybe it’s worth taking a tent and then not worrying about it?
Thank You for Your reply!
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