Winter Camino- booking ahead

[Miriam Fife]

I am planning a last minute Camino starting next week 14/02/24. Most likely will walk part of the Frances from Triacastela. Can anyone tell me about availability of accommodation at this time of year? Is it advisable to book ahead? I last walked a Camino in 2005 and never booked in advance, but hear it is different now. Are there plenty of albergues and hostals/pensiones? Or do most close (I walked in winter in 2003 and there was little open in the smaller places). I’m not as strong as I was then, so can’t walk long stages. Any up to date info would be appreciated.

 

[Bradypus]

The Xunta albergues remain open all year round and do not need reservations. You are unlikely to find a lot of company. I walked the Frances last January and had two nights in Xunta albergues completely alone, two with only one other person, and one night in O Cebreiro with about 15 others. Most of the private albergues will be closed as will a lot of the bars. You might need to walk longer stages than in summer but there is always accommodation in that last section of the Frances. Worth checking the distances between Xunta albergues and then on sites like Gronze or booking.com for private alternatives if the gaps are too large for you. A lot of the private places open just now are listed on the Aprinca website. It does not list the Xunta albergues because they are always open.

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[J Willhaus]

There are a lot of the Xunta albergues on the CF and some are only a short distance apart so that you could break into shorter stages. I walked over the New Years, 3 Kings holidays and all of them were open on the CF. For example between Sarria and Portomarin, there are small Xunta Albergues at Barbadelo and also another at Ferreriros. Between Portomarin and Palas del Rei there are several small Xunta Albergues, (At least 3 or four that I can think of) and so on. At the smaller ones we were the only ones staying. At the ones on the main stops there were usually enough pilgrims to open a second dorm, but they were not crowded by any means.

We picked up a small lightweight sauce pan at the Asian Store to use for hot water, soups, hard boiled eggs since there is no cookware, plates, cups, etc. in the Xunta albergues. At only one albergue (Arca in O'Pedrouso) the pan did not work because the stove was an induction cooktop and the pan was made of aluminum so you might want to upgrade from a sauce pan that cost less than 5 euros. (we just hung it from our pack with a carabiner.) At the smaller more rural albergues between the larger stage towns, there was usually someplace to eat at least one hot meal a day, however, not much choice for breakfast so I would bring snacks and easily prepared items for those in-between places.

At 10 Euros per night, the Xunta albergues are really quite a steal and they generally have everything you need (except cookware.) They were heated in winter and there was hot water for showers. A plug or USB jack and light is located on every bed, too.

Best wishes and Buen Camino!

Edit: Here is the home page so you can read about the ones on this way. There is a photo of the one in Tricastella on this page, too. https://www.caminodesantiago.gal/en...-present/1.4.2.-the-network-of-public-hostels

 

[Marus99]

I just finished walking from Leon to Santiago yesterday. Very few people. Very little open. As others have noted Xunta albergues are open in Galicia. Some stages can be pretty long before you find anything open so be prepared for that. Weather was great for 8 days. Very heavy Galician rain for the past two days. DM me if you want a more detailed list of where I stayed.