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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Which Camino to walk in May?

Todd Emerson

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
May-June 2018
Hello!

My husband and I are travelling from New Zealand to walk the camino for the first time starting in early-mid May this year. We are in our 30's and quite fit and used to tramping.
We have heard the Camino Frances can be overrun and very busy, and a friend recently had a great time walking the Camino del Norte. We are torn over which one to do, but i'm wondering if there is a better one to do at this time of year? Can anyone help us decide?

Thanks!
 
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I will most likely never walk the Frances again because of how commercialised it has become, but had I not walked it, I would not have discovered the other trails. Mid-May is high season... so the question is, why the C.? Religion, history, social interaction, C. architecture?

I now resent the noise fellow walkers make behind me as I try to observe a bird. I do well walking alone all day but enjoy company here and there, and in the evening. I resent being charged 10€ for crappy fried food. And I enjoy visiting towns and cities of historic and architectural importance, even if not pilgrimage related. So I looooved the Norte.

But if you are high in social encounters, chatting your way through Spain, want to take full advantage of Middle Ages Camino history and architecture then the Frances might be right up your alley. Oh, and tolerate Pilgrim menus...

The Norte is gorgeous, with the sescapes, and lovely food. But it’s for long distance walkers while the Frances is more for the Camino-pilgrim-social -don't care for bad food person.

If you strive, or don't mind, the "social noise", I would vote for the Frances to find out what others are going on about. Push comes to shove, as you approach the mayhem of the Frances as you approach Sarria, detour on the San Salvador to Oviedo and then the Primitivo, or the Invierno from Ponferada, and get a wonderful experience with a bit of both worlds.
 
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Ouch to Momonne's post, because I love walking the CF. I have walked the CF, CP, CA and CI and they all have there own personalities but the Frances is the place to start your adventure. Yes, over the past 10 years it has become more commercial but if you had not been there since 2000 you would not know the difference. Admittedly, I am walking the the Norte this year for the solitude.
 
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Hi, I agree with @biarritzdon, for the first camino go with the Camino Francés. Yes, it will be busy in May, but there are lots of nice places to choose to stay at along the way, and you’ll meet lots of interesting characters. You will see others walking ahead of you, and behind you, but you can walk alone if you want to. If you really want to avoid the busyness, then don’t get caught up in the early morning rush hour traffic. Take your time over breakfast, stop often, have a long lazy lunch, and in the afternoons you’ll find hardly anyone else on the trail at all, and you can be totally alone. Phone ahead, before you leave in the morning, to book a couple of beds, and let them know you will probably arrive after 3pm (when they often release booked beds that haven’t yet been claimed).

As for the pilgrim menus, I have had some really fantastic ones. When I took a group of 16 from my home town on the CF in Sep I knew I would not be able to get them out of their life-long custom of the main meal in the evening, so I booked a few pilgrim menus in advance at the private albergues we were staying at. The group, without exception, all raved about what excellent value they were for the price. On other days I made sure that we arrived at certain places at lunch time, so they could also try the Menu Del Dias instead (which is what I prefer doing), but they were happier with the pilgrim menus at 7pm, as that is what they are used to. Some pilgrim menus are very good, some are very bad. Maybe we struck lucky with the choice of places we stayed at.

Buen camino for whichever route you choose.
Jill
 
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Hi Todd, welcome to the forum. I see that this is your first post.

The Camino Frances is a popular choice as a first Camino, for many good reasons. However, since you're an experienced hiker, I suggest that you consider the Camino Primitivo. You'll find lots of information and links to blogs, photos etc. in the Camino Primitivo subforum. It's about a 2-week walk so if you've more time, you could walk some of the Norte first and/or continue walking to Finisterre/Muxia after you arrive in Santiago.

There are of course lots of other options - and no bad choices! Happy planning and Buen Camino to both of you.
 
I can recommend the Camino ingles and continue on to finisterrra or mucia from Santiago. That way you get to experience two very different routes over a 2 week period. I have never done the Camino Frances so cannot comment but have no desire to do so due to the possibility of crowds. This year I am considering the Camino monacal which is part of the Portuguese way. Buen Camino!
 
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If you can get off the Camino before all the schools have let out by the very end of May and into June, then I second the notion to walk the Camino Frances. It remains the best first experience, at least IMHO.

Yes, it is relatively commercialized. But it is precisely those commercial assets that make a first time camino easier to accomplish. This is the law of supply & demand incarnate.

It is NOT as commercialized as some would have you believe. However, you are never more than maybe 5 km from a cafe, or 10 km from the next albergue, hostal, casa rural, etc. If you need a taxi or inter-city bus to leap frog, they are readily available. Search on the forum for links and threads of interest.

I you have the means, I recommend using booking,com or gronze.com (Spanish only) to book into hostals (1 star family run hotels) or small hotels. You can make reservations several days in advance, starting with St. Jean Pied de Port.

I also recommend trying to reserve at Refuge Orisson. It is a private albergue, 8 km UP from St. Jean Pied de Port on your first day. Trust many of us when we say that on a clear day, THIS is where you want to lick your first-day, shakedown wounds with a cold one or three on the first day, especially if the weather is clear. The view is priceless.

As your pace develops, you can adjust your reservation and day planning strategy accordingly. If you need or want to go the albergue route, I recommend trying to book into private albergues. This will avoid a lot of the youngest folks for many of whom this is a long distance excuse to party every night.

Once you have all or substantially most of the Camino Frances under your belt, then the other camino routes become 'easy peasy' to plan. Walking them is another story.

But you WILL BE BACK.

Hope this helps.
 
Hi Todd, welcome to the forum. I see that this is your first post.

The Camino Frances is a popular choice as a first Camino, for many good reasons. However, since you're an experienced hiker, I suggest that you consider the Camino Primitivo. You'll find lots of information and links to blogs, photos etc. in the Camino Primitivo subforum. It's about a 2-week walk so if you've more time, you could walk some of the Norte first and/or continue walking to Finisterre/Muxia after you arrive in Santiago.

There are of course lots of other options - and no bad choices! Happy planning and Buen Camino to both of you.
A very good combination with the Primitivo is to walk the Salvador first. It starts in The beautiful city of Leon and ends in Oviedo where the Camino Primitivo starts. The Salvador is very beautiful, mountanous, (but not more difficult than the Primitivo) not crowded. It will add 4 to 7 days.
 
I will most likely never walk the Frances again because of how commercialised it has become, but had I not walked it, I would not have discovered the other trails. Mid-May is high season... so the question is, why the C.? Religion, history, social interaction, C. architecture?

I now resent the noise fellow walkers make behind me as I try to observe a bird. I do well walking alone all day but enjoy company here and there, and in the evening. I resent being charged 10€ for crappy fried food. And I enjoy visiting towns and cities of historic and architectural importance, even if not pilgrimage related. So I looooved the Norte.

But if you are high in social encounters, chatting your way through Spain, want to take full advantage of Middle Ages Camino history and architecture then the Frances might be right up your alley. Oh, and tolerate Pilgrim menus...

The Norte is gorgeous, with the sescapes, and lovely food. But it’s for long distance walkers while the Frances is more for the Camino-pilgrim-social -don't care for bad food person.

If you strive, or don't mind, the "social noise", I would vote for the Frances to find out what others are going on about. Push comes to shove, as you approach the mayhem of the Frances as you approach Sarria, detour on the San Salvador to Oviedo and then the Primitivo, or the Invierno from Ponferada, and get a wonderful experience with a bit of both worlds.
I’m sorry you ended up with resentment. I walked Frances for first time in September and found many ways to be alone and in silence. I looked forward to the solitude of the early mornings, walking to a spot where I could sit and look back in the quiet to watch the sun rise. Often the only sound I heard was tinkling of a bell on some sheep or a rooster crowing. Yes, there are spots wheee it is busier and more social. I personally would not stop at Ronsevalles again. I learned early to stop for the day ‘off the stages’ (as in Brieley book) stop before or walk on to next village if possible and you’ll encounter fewer people. No matter which route you’ve choose, buen camino
 
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I’m sorry you ended up with resentment. I walked Frances for first time in September ...
I walked my first Frances 10years ago. It was fantastic. No conga line, noone scaring the birds away with their chatter. Noone in front or behind. Since that time I walked parts of it three more times, including two post « The movie ». What a difference. My last experience on the Frances was terrible, two years ago, meging on it from the Primitivo in Melide. It was pure chaos. Never again. It is so sad to see the mess, the loud music, the pushing and shoving to get into albergues when the doors open, queuing to be able to order and eat a sandwich.

So yes, I could still try to make those special moments happen somehow, but I can’t be bothered as there are different routes, beautiful and quiet, with the more authentic interaction with fellow walkers and hospies as it was found in the Frances 10 years ago.
 
I walked my first Frances 10years ago. It was fantastic. No conga line, noone scaring the birds away with their chatter. Noone in front or behind. Since that time I walked parts of it three more times, including two post « The movie ». What a difference. My last experience on the Frances was terrible, two years ago, meging on it from the Primitivo in Melide. It was pure chaos. Never again. It is so sad to see the mess, the loud music, the pushing and shoving to get into albergues when the doors open, queuing to be able to order and eat a sandwich.

So yes, I could still try to make those special moments happen somehow, but I can’t be bothered as there are different routes, beautiful and quiet, with the more authentic interaction with fellow walkers and hospies as it was found in the Frances 10 years ago.

However, newcomers, just starting out on their first camino didn’t walk it 10 years ago ;).

They are seeing it with fresh eyes.

The Camino Francés has changed in the last 10 years. It is different.

And a lot of it is so much better than 10 years ago. The infrastructure, the economy, the choice of accommodation, the beautiful new modern clean private albergues instead of the horrible old basic damp moldy cold refugios.

Times have changed.

Jill
 
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However, newcomers, just starting out on their first camino didn’t walk it 10 years ago ;).

They are seeing it with fresh eyes.

The Camino Francés has changed in the last 10 years. It is different.

And a lot of it is so much better than 10 years ago. The infrastructure, the economy, the choice of accommodation, the beautiful new modern clean private albergues instead of the horrible old basic damp moldy cold refugios.

Times have changed.

For those who don’t like it, then take the cynicism and go walk somewhere else.
Jill
Jill, there is no cynicism. The OP asked for advice to pick between the Frances and the Norte. I explained what the pros and cons of each are for me. I said « if you liek a, b and c, then this one will be more up your alley, but if d, e and f are important to you, then opt for the other one ». Where is th cynism?

Then someone addressed how I might be able to find some of what I miss from the Frances, and I answered that post saying that having to avoid certain things, or make efforts to find others, is just not worth it to me, as there are gorgeous authentic routes that still offer what I like about a Spanish Camino and then some. Yes, things have changed, so have the routes I choose to walk. But that is not cynism, it’s a fact.

Now to answer yours, it not because one has not had the chance to walk the Frances 10 years ago that they necessarily will like the Frances today, or prefer it over the Norte. At least I have explained the differnce between both and why one may prefer one over the other.

Perhaps like me they will prefer peace and quiet, and the occasional, damp, authentic albergue, built by those who built the Camino hundreds of years ago, still managed by local volunteers who are passionate about the Camino, its history and meaning rather than the new, sterile, run by employees who don’t care about the Camino, its pilgrims, nor have walked it, but need a pay check. Ok, now that might be cynical.

These are two completely different routes, just as they were 10 years ago. One good for the social butterflies hoping to find a « Camino family », walk shorter distances, have their bags transported, lovely villages that embody the history of the Camino and who don’t mind not sampling delicous local specialties.

The other, a route for peace and quiet, long distance walking, contact with more Spaniards that North Americans and Australians, stunning ocean and mountain views, that rwquires physical effort but compensates by offering the opportunity to enjoy beautiful local delicacies.

No cynism. Just what it is.
 
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Well, hopefully, between us, we have helped the OP decide which camino to do ;)
Jill
 
Hello!

My husband and I are travelling from New Zealand to walk the camino for the first time starting in early-mid May this year. We are in our 30's and quite fit and used to tramping.
We have heard the Camino Frances can be overrun and very busy, and a friend recently had a great time walking the Camino del Norte. We are torn over which one to do, but i'm wondering if there is a better one to do at this time of year? Can anyone help us decide?

Thanks!
Hi NZers! Welcome...In our 60's we did our first Camino, the CF in 2016 April - May after deciding against the Del Norte out of fear really! We were all keyed up for it and at the last moment decided on the CF which was the best decision for us. We loved everything about it.
My partner had no cartilage in both knees and suffered (silently I might add) the whole 7 weeks (we took our time) but had bilateral total knee replacements at the end of that year and in May we head off to do the Del Norte!! Still with some trepidation because of the new body parts (me more than him)!
I'd say if you're young and fit and don't mind a quieter tramp, the DN is the way to go and with the recommendation of your friend you'll have a fantastic time.
Either way will be the right decision..Buen Camino
 
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Hello!

My husband and I are travelling from New Zealand to walk the camino for the first time starting in early-mid May this year. We are in our 30's and quite fit and used to tramping.
We have heard the Camino Frances can be overrun and very busy, and a friend recently had a great time walking the Camino del Norte. We are torn over which one to do, but i'm wondering if there is a better one to do at this time of year? Can anyone help us decide?

Thanks!
Yay my friend and I are setting out on our first Camino Frances on the 4th May so excited, to be so close to the start, months of thinking, walking and breaking in our boots, knowing there will be ups n downs, but will all be worth it when we reach Santiago !! Look forward to making new friends along the way !!!
 
Lots of people have said that the Camino Frances is "busy" in May-June.. but how busy is my question? In an average hour of walking, at mid-morning (say, 10-11am) evenly spaced between major towns, how many other people can you expect to see within eye/earshot on the trail?

I'm a first timer and going alone, so I'd like a little company, but the idea of teenagers blaring music down the road is unappealing.
 
Lots of people have said that the Camino Frances is "busy" in May-June.. but how busy is my question? In an average hour of walking, at mid-morning (say, 10-11am) evenly spaced between major towns, how many other people can you expect to see within eye/earshot on the trail?
I'm a first timer and going alone, so I'd like a little company, but the idea of teenagers blaring music down the road is unappealing.
There is no single answer to that question. I haven't walked in May-June but I have read hundreds of opinions on this forum. It seems that there are waves of walkers, both during a given day, and on a day-by-day basis. That is the only explanation for the widely different experiences that have been posted on the forum by very reliable members. There are various ways to reduce the crowds that surround you
  • Leave the albergue a little later in the morning, after most people have gone. Then you'll have a quieter time on the path. That means, however, that you might (and only might) encounter albergues that have filled up before you arrive. This, too, can be managed by:
    • Making reservations a day or two ahead. But please honour those reservations.
    • Stopping in villages that are in-between the most popular stopping points. This gets you out of the wave.
    • Waiting a day or day for the mass of people to pass. Many people start in major centres on a weekend, so they tend to walk in a mass that moves across Spain. You could inadvertently get caught in the middle of such a wave.
  • You could walk to Ponferrada on the Camino Frances, and then take the Invierno. You would avoid the bigger masses in the last 100 km of the Frances. By that point (if you have started further east) you would have enjoyed the experience of the Frances, made some friends, got a "feel" for what you want, and have a choice to continue on the Frances or not.
  • If those annoying teenagers come by, take a rest break and practice tolerance until they pass. Force yourself to think nice things about them!
 
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