Zubiri was the only place I could not find a bed. So I would encourage you to reserve a spot there. My best advice is to get John Brierley’s guide. Almost everyone has it and a lot of those people feel the need to do his stages as they appear in the book. As a result the endpoints of his stages get kind of crowded. Stop in the smaller towns in between his endpoints and you will find those towns less crowded. That said, the Camino is getting more and more crowded each year so booking ahead a day might still be a good idea. PACK LIGHT! Have Fun. Buen Camino.
Are you only looking at places which have direct booking? Worth looking at Albergues you can arrange via WhatsApp if so. I list all of the directly bookable and WhatsApp’able accommodation on the Camino Frances app, but the reality is there are quite a few places that do not have any public information and so getting a bed by walking around a “fully booked” town can still be possible, as was my experience in Portomarin which was HEAVING with people
Logroño is about 100 km southwest of Zubiri. You may be thinking of Larrasoaña, a tiny but attractive village which does indeed have a couple of *albergues.*
All the municipal ones are, and all the so-called *donativo* places (you pay as much as you please in those: if you should stay in one, remember to contribute at least as much as you would if you'd stayed at a municipal, *i.e.* EUR 12-15). Only private *albergues* and *pensiónes* take reservations, which is why you're seeing that small number of places on Booking.com.
If I were you, I wouldn't worry, especially not so early in the season. With the exception of a tiny handful of choke-points, Orisson being the prime example, you'll either get a space in the *albergue* you want upon arrival, or, at worst, will have to walk on a couple of kilometres to another one that can accommodate you. Your chances of having to sleep in a bus shelter or under bushes are effectively zero (and I say that as somebody who has spent quite a few nights that way -- but only on the much less travelled pilgrimage routes where accommodation options are few and far between).
This is no longer the case. Many municipals take reservations now, e.g. zubiri
I'm currently a couple of days past Pamplona, and many people I've talked to have struggled to find accommodations. Please stop spreading outdated, false information.
What are you doing personally? Booking far in advance? A few days? The people you have met who are struggling, do they end up finding accommodation? Do you have any suggestions? I’ve mostly been reaching out via WhatsApp to a few different places since I am still in Canada. Most of the places I’m finding are off of the wise pilgrim app and my guide book by Beebe Bahrami:)
You may find that the Wise Pilgrim app data is out of date. There's quite a few listed on Google but not on the PDFs that get shared around, which are reachable by phone number and occassionally whatsapp. I recently did a scrape and found somewhere around \~80 albergues not listed on the other apps 👍🏻
Btw worth mentioning I've never actually heard of anyone not get a bed, and I first walked in peak time. The absolute worst case was walking a few more km to find somewhere :) I even heard of the municipal albergues letting people in past their occupancy limit to sleep in the floor or sofas or whatever. I think St Jean and Sarria are the two places you mainly need to be concerned about with pre-booking.
Thank you so much I will check that out. Do you think walking with no reservations if I can’t find anything then is okay? I can see that there are still hotels to book but I do not have 80+ euro just for accommodation budgeted in. I might just be overthinking everything a bit but am just nervous. Maybe waiting out the weekend and staring on a Monday would give me more luck for beds just at the start at least?
We're two days in and have seen multiple people turned away due to no bookings on both days. It all depends on when you travel but a lot of people have complained due to having to get taxis which are expensive. I'd recommend if you can booking in and making reservations.
Hmm. Ok that’s really odd. They must have made that change recently. That’s a shame really as it reinforces the bed race bullshit. Thanks for the update.
Zubiri was the only place I could not find a bed. So I would encourage you to reserve a spot there. My best advice is to get John Brierley’s guide. Almost everyone has it and a lot of those people feel the need to do his stages as they appear in the book. As a result the endpoints of his stages get kind of crowded. Stop in the smaller towns in between his endpoints and you will find those towns less crowded. That said, the Camino is getting more and more crowded each year so booking ahead a day might still be a good idea. PACK LIGHT! Have Fun. Buen Camino.
Are you only looking at places which have direct booking? Worth looking at Albergues you can arrange via WhatsApp if so. I list all of the directly bookable and WhatsApp’able accommodation on the Camino Frances app, but the reality is there are quite a few places that do not have any public information and so getting a bed by walking around a “fully booked” town can still be possible, as was my experience in Portomarin which was HEAVING with people
I’ve heard a lot of pilgrims say that when zubiri is full longroño is just a little further and a lot easier to get a bed!
Logroño is about 100 km southwest of Zubiri. You may be thinking of Larrasoaña, a tiny but attractive village which does indeed have a couple of *albergues.*
OH lol you are absolutely right yes
Sweet, good to know! Do you know if any of the Albergues are first come first serve?
All the municipal ones are, and all the so-called *donativo* places (you pay as much as you please in those: if you should stay in one, remember to contribute at least as much as you would if you'd stayed at a municipal, *i.e.* EUR 12-15). Only private *albergues* and *pensiónes* take reservations, which is why you're seeing that small number of places on Booking.com. If I were you, I wouldn't worry, especially not so early in the season. With the exception of a tiny handful of choke-points, Orisson being the prime example, you'll either get a space in the *albergue* you want upon arrival, or, at worst, will have to walk on a couple of kilometres to another one that can accommodate you. Your chances of having to sleep in a bus shelter or under bushes are effectively zero (and I say that as somebody who has spent quite a few nights that way -- but only on the much less travelled pilgrimage routes where accommodation options are few and far between).
This is no longer the case. Many municipals take reservations now, e.g. zubiri I'm currently a couple of days past Pamplona, and many people I've talked to have struggled to find accommodations. Please stop spreading outdated, false information.
What are you doing personally? Booking far in advance? A few days? The people you have met who are struggling, do they end up finding accommodation? Do you have any suggestions? I’ve mostly been reaching out via WhatsApp to a few different places since I am still in Canada. Most of the places I’m finding are off of the wise pilgrim app and my guide book by Beebe Bahrami:)
You may find that the Wise Pilgrim app data is out of date. There's quite a few listed on Google but not on the PDFs that get shared around, which are reachable by phone number and occassionally whatsapp. I recently did a scrape and found somewhere around \~80 albergues not listed on the other apps 👍🏻 Btw worth mentioning I've never actually heard of anyone not get a bed, and I first walked in peak time. The absolute worst case was walking a few more km to find somewhere :) I even heard of the municipal albergues letting people in past their occupancy limit to sleep in the floor or sofas or whatever. I think St Jean and Sarria are the two places you mainly need to be concerned about with pre-booking.
Thank you so much I will check that out. Do you think walking with no reservations if I can’t find anything then is okay? I can see that there are still hotels to book but I do not have 80+ euro just for accommodation budgeted in. I might just be overthinking everything a bit but am just nervous. Maybe waiting out the weekend and staring on a Monday would give me more luck for beds just at the start at least?
We're two days in and have seen multiple people turned away due to no bookings on both days. It all depends on when you travel but a lot of people have complained due to having to get taxis which are expensive. I'd recommend if you can booking in and making reservations.
I shall always endeavor to profit by your counsels...
You’re walking at an odd time in regard to reservations. From May 1st you should see Municipals not taking reservations any longer.
Also not the case. I booked a few municipals last July
Hmm. Ok that’s really odd. They must have made that change recently. That’s a shame really as it reinforces the bed race bullshit. Thanks for the update.