Camino Accommodation - Booking Ahead or Not?
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- Pre Booking your Camino accommodation or not? It's a common concern for first time Pilgrims particularly. Do I book accommodation? Yes and No. It depends a bit....
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TIMESTAMPS (in case you want to skip) 👇
0:00 Intro
2:27 Don't Book Too Much
5:45 Camino in tour group accommodation
6:30 Worried about not finding accommodation
7:00 Reasons to Book Ahead
10:40 Book one or two days ahead
13:10 Don’t sweat about it
14: Outro
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For more details about each journey you can visit the detailed blogs at robscamino.com/
It includes daily videos, blogs and photos.
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The Camino de Santiago, a journey as much about the spirit as it is about the walk, offers two distinct approaches to accommodation: pre-booking or finding a place upon arrival. Each method has its pros and cons.
*Pros of Pre-Booking Accommodation*
1. **Peace of Mind**: Knowing where you'll sleep each night can significantly reduce anxiety, especially for those who are walking the Camino for the first time or those who prefer a structured plan.
2. **Guaranteed Comfort**: Pre-booking allows you to choose accommodations that meet your specific comfort needs, whether that's a private room, certain amenities, or a particular location.
3. **Efficiency**: It saves time each day. Instead of spending hours searching for a place to stay, you can relax and enjoy your journey more fully.
4. **High-Demand Periods**: During peak seasons, the Camino can get crowded. Pre-booking ensures you won’t be left without a place to stay.
5. **Special Requirements**: For those with special needs, like dietary restrictions or mobility issues, pre-booking allows for better accommodation of these needs.
*Cons of Pre-Booking Accommodation*
1. **Lack of Flexibility**: The Camino is unpredictable. You might want to walk further or not as far on a given day. Pre-booking locks you into a set plan, which can be limiting.
2. **Missing Out on Social Opportunities**: Part of the Camino’s charm is the spontaneous interactions and camaraderie in pilgrim hostels. Pre-booking often means staying in more private accommodations, potentially missing out on these social experiences.
3. **Costlier Option**: Generally, pre-booked accommodations, especially private ones, tend to be more expensive than the traditional pilgrim hostels you might choose on the day.
4. **The Pilgrim Experience**: There’s something about the uncertainty and simplicity of finding a place as you go that speaks to the traditional pilgrim spirit of the Camino. Pre-booking can sometimes detract from this experience.
5. **Cancellation Issues**: If plans change due to illness, injury, or other reasons, you might face cancellation fees.
In summary, pre-booking accommodation on the Camino de Santiago can offer security, comfort, and convenience, but it may also limit the flexibility and fullness of the traditional pilgrim experience. The choice largely depends on personal preference, comfort levels with uncertainty, and the style of journey you wish to embark upon.
#caminobooking #caminoaccommmodation
Sorry about the sound, I shot this in a Hotel room whilst travelling.
All good points, especially the locked feeling. On the other hand, we fully booked our Camino Portugues last spring plus an extension from Muxia to Finisterre. One of the big factors is to know yourself. Not the bravado boast, "I can do 10 km before breakfast type but really know what you can and can't do. Our practice hikes helped us find our sweet spot - that comfortable distance before over exerting the old bod. Studying the terrain very carefully also helped in deciding how far to plan each leg.
One thing that we really enjoyed was the feeling that we didn't have to rush. Got up at a decent hour, "had relaxing breakfast and then on the road at an easy pace. We often stopped to admire a view or smell the flowers but that was built-in to the schedule. Don't remember how many times others would be rushing by us (the famous bed race) to reach their next accommodation. As we watched their heels fade in the distance, we would smile and wonder, will they even remember these parts of their journey? On one of the shorter legs, we arrived early in town but we knew there were several things to visit there and had included them in our planning.
If it had been a much longer Camino we would probably have done it differently. The longer the plan the more the uncertainties pile up until the errors become too large.
Good point. The longer the plan the more the uncertainties build up! I generally book 1 day ahead, and that works for me. No need to rush.
Re the 10 kms before breakfast. What works well for us, and might be a good idea for a first timer, is starting out with shorter distances. I do this on my own and with Pat. 10 kms, 14 kms, 18 kms etc. Starting out to hard often leads to injury.
Another very informative clip, thank you. I did book my entire Camino last year and have mixed feelings about it. It was a great feeling knowing my room was guaranteed and I could just enjoy the trek. I especially would have abhorred a bed race if I started seeing a great number of pilgrims late in the day. What should be a sense of accomplishment and appreciation of the final kms that day could be replaced with feeling I need to pick up my pace to make sure I got a room, even if it turned out I did not need to. So the real question for me is - deal with the stress of having trouble finding a room or the stress of having a locked-in distance that is too long or too short on occasion. I suspect as I gain experience and more Caminos under my belt I'll learn to relax and know that it will all work out without needing to plan out every single detail.
I've always found a happy medium. Generally, I book one or days ahead. That allows me to assess how far I want to walk and gives me enough flexibility in my day to day distances, but I know I have a bed that night. That works for busy routes. Though last year on more remote routes, many times I did not book, as I was staying in non bookable Albergues. And that worked fine too. One way or another I'm relaxed, that either I have a room booked, or I know there will be plenty of beds in an Albergue (multiple Albergues, not many Pilgrims etc).
Our plan is to start early May, which could be busy so we are a little concerned about beds…….will book a few days ahead at a time.
Sounds like a plan, see how you go. A lot depends on the type of accommodation you want. Non bookable Albergue beds (Donativo and Municipal) will usually be available. And it depends on how popular the location is. Roncesvalles and Zubiri are popular stopping points and so at busy times it is best to book I think. Staying in 'intermediate' locations is a good strategy if it's busy.
We walked the Portuguese from Porto starting 5 September, and booked the entire trip (14 nights) beforehand. We followed the Stingy Nomads route (combo Senda litoral out of Porto, to Central, to Espiritual). it worked fine for us. We had one long day heading into Ponte de Lima, but glad we had booked, as we were there for the Feiras Nova, which locked up every bed for months ahead. I think if we were to do a longer walk we'd be much more flexible; i.e., book only a day or two ahead after getting a start. One great advantage of booking ahead is that we didn't have to do any research or booking homework at the end of each day. One potential downside was that I developed a bad toothache and had trouble reaching towns before dental clinics closed. We finally pulled into Redondela early enough to find a dentist and have it taken care of. If we hadn't had our bookings, we could have adjusted our plans and stopped earlier or stayed later in a town.
Glad to hear it worked OK for you. It always a balance I think. The longer the walk, the harder it is to keep to a pre booked 'schedule'. Anything beyond a week to 10 days of booking starts to get risky I reckon. That's why I just book one or two days ahead or not at all.
Thank you! I had been wondering about this for some time now.
It needs a bit of thought, as it can lock you into a schedule that is hard to maintain.
Great topic! We did our 1st camino in 9/21, frances. We booked it through an agency & it was fine. Most of our stays were on the camino so we were glad to reach each days destination. We had down days built in in Pamplona Burgos Leon & Santiago. Cant waitvto see the next topic about luggage porting.
LOL. Another controversial topic 🙂
I'm so torn on this! I walked the full Frances starting late Aug 22, and had booked the entire camino. I had a start date and an end date (had to be back for work) so it sort of made sense... I made friends in the first few days and ended up being sad that they all seemed to take a rest day in Burgos and I had to leave them all there (but I did end up catching up with them at the end as I'd taken a rest day later on, and we're all still in touch plus I made new friends!).
I then did the full Portuguese camino from Lisbon last year, same thing, had an end date due to work so I ended up booking the entire thing. Friends I'd met on the Frances ended up booking to coincide with my start dates and I LOVED that, especially the first bit because Lisbon to Porto is not the most exciting route and I seriously doubt I'll ever do it again, so to have company was perfect! Plus we saw about 9 other pilgrims even though it was end of Aug/beginning of Sept so supposedly peak time again. They had to go back to the UK before Porto because of stuff going on at home for them which was sad. The rest of my camino worked out fine though. I started meeting more people after Porto and I was again glad I had places booked.
I am doing the Ingles this May. I've literally got a week off work so again I've booked it all. And I've got the whole Primitivo booked for Autumn. I would LOVE however to have the freedom (mainly no time/work constraints) to be able to do the full Frances again with nothing booked (past Pamplona, I think I'd freak out if I didn't have at least that booked!). I think for me it's having the return flight booked. And originally I was really bothered about doing the 'whole thing' and getting the Compostela. Now I think I would happily wing it and not worry about even getting to the Sarria-SDC bit. I'm torn because I'm a 'completer/finisher'. But I also want to wing it. But I also have a job to get back for and not a bottomless bank balance. Arghhhhh
Also I think part of my pre-booking 'problem' is that I enjoy a spreadsheet, I love planning, and mainly I like thinking about being on camino while I'm not on camino 😆
LOL. Me too! You should see my spreadsheet for my last Camino!! But for me at least, they key in my detailed planning is all about determining how long the journey will take me. But. I only book the first few days. I usually make these shorter 'warm up' days anyway. So there is really no risk of over stretching myself. As an example, my last Camino was 60 days. I had a lot of fun planning my stages, checking out accommodation options and the like. But a primary purpose of all this planning was to estimate how many days I needed, so that I could book my return flight. I added in rest days here and there. And a couple of days in Santiago at the end. So the detailed planning, was really all about being able to 'relax' whilst on Camino. If that makes sense. Did I stay in towns I had not planned to stay in? Yes. Did I walk different distances than planned? Yes. It all depended on how I felt at the time, who I met etc etc. I actually finished 3 days ahead of my planned finish date. No stress, no injuries. I got to walk at my own pace. Walked with others quite a bit. One couple for 10 days. Another couple for 2 weeks. My planning gave me freedom, flexibility, and a sense of 'security' that I was OK time wise. In summary, my detailed planning was (1) to know how long my Camino would take, or conversely, how far I could walk in a given time. (2) It allowed me to review the route and identify must see and must stay places. (3) I only 'followed' the plan for the first few days, though I updated it as I went, mainly to plan my distances. (4) I only booked the first few days accommodation and wanted to 'wing it' after that. Though because it was a remote route, I sometimes had to book one day ahead as required, so they knew I was coming. Many Albergues I just 'turned up'.
I would not go quite so far as to say "Booking your whole Camino ahead before you even start" is a massive mistake that many new Pilgrims make. But it's close. I quite understand that some newbies are very nervous about the whole Logistics of it all, and may never have travelled abroad, or maybe through health or other reasons, have a need to have everything pre booked. It requires a leap of faith to a degree 🙂 But that feeling of freedom and not being tied to a schedule is so much more rewarding.
Thank you! I will be walking the Camino Francés May 2024. I weigh in on the more riskier side of this topic. I will booked in at Orisson and will book ahead for the next couple of days after as you suggested and then again when it gets really crowed those last 100 miles.
Have fun! It's not really 'risky'. On the Frances in peak season, just book at far as Pamplona. Should be OK after that to book a day ahead only. or wing it.
The closest I normally get to booking is just calling from a few K before a village to find out if some Albergue is a) open and b) full or not full. Usually I don't even do that. If I've got no bed in some place, I still have my inflatable mattress and my sleeping bag -- but that's nearly always from being unable to walk a certain distance to the next place, and needing to sleep in some smaller village or some other location with no Albergue.
Makes sense. But then you are a 'serious' well equipped Pilgrim who walks for months at a time. 🙂
Really interesting discussion of this big debate. Honestly, I would like to do the Camino (Frances of Portugues--haven't decided yet) with no bookings. It is sort of unlike me to do that for other kinds of trips, but for the Camino, I would prefer to find what I find along the way and leave it to "the Camino provides." LOL. So that's when Pete slept on the park bench...
I don't know anyone who has not found a bed. It's usually they could not find a bed or the type they want, or in the location they want. There are always options, or a taxi.
One other point -- if you can walk 30 to 40K or longer routinely, which is to say every day, then you will need to book ahead less than some others might, for the simple reason that however many extra K to the next place to sleep will be doable, at least on the Francès and the Portugues.
True. You'll pass more options too.
On it!!!
Glad it made sense
I think I only had to book ahead twice, that said I haven't got to the busy part yet. I see the benefits of booking ahead but for me it takes so much of the spontaneity out of the experience
Glad it's working out well. Where are you?
The only thing I would add is that Santiago gets very busy so it’s worth thinking about that a few days ahead.
Very true, good point.
@TheRichiecor It can be hard to find accommodation of the type and location you want at times. But you'll usually get a bed somewhere. I tend to book my Santiago accommodation once I'm fairly sure of the day I'm likely to arrive. So maybe 5-7 days out. This year I found it much more expensive though.
Hi Rob thanks for the video, Wendy my wife and I hope to walk the Frances next September into early October. At the moment we are thinking that we will deviate off to take The Invierno for the last 10,11 days. Any thoughts on accommodation at those times and places. P.s. first timers.
Cheers thanks again Michael
September and May are the busiest periods. Also note that the Invierno is very 'remote' compared to the Frances. So this means your options for accommodation and distance each day are a bit more limited. You can see the Blog from my Invierno this year, here: robscamino.com/day-39-rest-day-in-ponferrada/ It's a VERY different route to the Frances. But great!
Walking the Frances next May, if I was alone, I would risk it. Walking with my wife this may not be so simple, the questions as we walk, "where are we staying tonight?" "How far to our accommodation?" Perhaps we will adjust along the way. I prefer the flexibility. My wife no so much.
I agree with you, I find that's my daily grind being married 😢
My wife Pat is the same. But we only book a couple of days ahead. She's happy with that. The key point here, is that booking 20,30, 40 days ahead, really doesn't work. Too many things happen to make it very hard to maintain a strict schedule.
@@robscamino totally agree, to much pressure to meet the schedule.
At the start np then you can read the Camino and go with the flow best way.
Yep, plan B is always a possibility. @@robscamino
Might see you on the trail, walking the Frances with my wife next May too. Booked the first 4 nights and leaving the rest up to the Camino.
There are lots of accommodation that have free cancellation.
Very true. Sadly some people book multiple places and don't cancel the ones they don't need
Hello! Off topic question. I'm going to walk the Camino Frances in May. I'd like to pop into the cathedrals to take a few pictures and leave. How are they about pilgrims walking into a cathedral in shorts?
Personally I wouldn't do it. But I always wear long pants anyway regardless how hot it is. Avoids sunburn and is cooler! Lots of conflicting views if you Google it and I read that some Cathedrals enforce a 'no bare knees' standard.
I wanted to start the last week of April in 2024 and was wondering if you have ever had issues with weather closing the Napoleon route?
Always a tough call. The weather in the mountains is unpredictable. I have crossed twice in the last week of April. Both times there were bits of snow left, though not much. Once was sunny and blue skies, once was low cloud, very bad visibility, rain and wind. Just ask advice in the Pilgrims office when you get there. If they advise going via Valcarlos, do it.
What about mid April? it is my first Camino and I will be doing the last 100km. Also, starting from Samos is that a good idea?
The last 100 kms of the Camino Frances can get busy, but mid April is probably safe. Just check for any Spanish holidays. Like Easter r (Semana Santa) which end of March in 2024. The Camino and accommodation could be very busy! www.timeanddate.com/holidays/spain/2024 Samos? You can start anywhere. maybe use rome2rio to see what travel options there are. If considering Samos as a start point, why not O Cebreiro? It's a wonderful mountain village.
@@robscamino Thank you!
How far in advance do you need to book Orisson? I really want to wake up early on top of the mountains.
Booking there is always a challenge. Bookings are made via email and they take ages to reply. I would book 2-3 months out, but note they are closed during winter, so won't reply. There is an alternative now, just past Orisson, that I have heard good reports of. www.aubergeborda.com/en
@@robscamino Yes, I heard about Borda, I believe it’s owned by the same owners as Orisson. Another good choice 👍. Thanks for the reply.
I booked Orison online through their website for next May. Seemed very straight forward and received email confirmation. Availability is always very tight, I had to adjust my departure date to suit.
@@grega9547 Sounds like the booking system has improved!
I have booked Orisson for end of May two months ago. A very prompt response and yesterday I also received a confirmation.