For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
Some albergues offer private rooms (usually double) which can be great. You can tell by the Gronze listing whether an albergue has private rooms. And probably always good to reserve them ahead of time. But I don't think they are as common on the Norte as they are on the Frances.
We recently flew American/Iberia to San Sebastian from Albuquerque via Dallas and Madrid. In Albuquerque they gave us boarding passes all the way to San Sebastian. If we don't get those boarding passes next time, I'll be nervous knowing what happened to you with being put on stand-by. We...
We started on the Frances (Sahagun) on March 1 two years ago. Had the same experience as Bradypus with albergues and also hotels. Many places we called told us they would not open till Easter. It was also colder than we expected. The cool weather was great for hiking but many indoor places...
It's good to check the forecasts but that can sometimes be misleading and unnecessarily discouraging. We just finished spending 5 weeks on the Norte. Sometimes the forecast would show solid rain for days and that never actually happened for us. Rain is very spotty. It might only rain for a...
Second (third?) vote for Altus Poncho. We just got back from the Norte and used Altus for the first time. They were wonderful. Very lightweight. Easy on/off. Kept us dry. (This was in cool weather. Can't say how they'd be in hot weather. But you don't have to zip them up. There are velcro...
You might consider asking the hotel where you will be staying in Madrid if they will hold the things you will only use in Madrid, so you won't have to carry them on the Camino.
If you will be flying to Madrid first, you might stay in the same hotel at the beginning and the end and ask the hotel...
Just wondering what your elevation is at home? If it is much higher than the Camino, perhaps you have lost your acclimatization to the higher altitude?
We just walked 3 weeks on the Camino del Norte. We had altus rain ponchos and no other rain gear. (New for us.) We ran into rain here and there and chilly weather and they worked beautifully.
We've always brought rain jackets in the past but we did not miss them at all. It's true that you look...
In Hondarribia, which is the town next to Irun where the airport is actually located, we stayed at Hotel Palacete. It is a lovely hotel within easy walking distance of the airport. Hondarribia is amazing and a great place to start the Camino del Norte. Hotel Palacete is storing a suitcase for...
Tap water everywhere is safe and delicious. That would include bar bathrooms and albergue and hotel taps. I think it tastes a lot better than the water from plastic bottles. Certainly more environmentally friendly. I think water at fountains is safe as long as you don't see a sign that says it...
I've found it helps to search on Google Maps for "alimentacion" which will bring up tiny food stores that are often open on Sunday. (They don't always show up when I search for "grocery" or "supermarket".)
We were in Santander this past Sunday and found a China store alimentacion. A first for...
We stayed there in early March two years ago. We were the only ones there. We had been there twice before (2013 and 2014) when it was quite full. They were such welcoming hosts. (Photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uwiLE845SNNEfD8X9 )
They told us they did not own the albergue but work for someone...
I agree. We spent some time in Seville a few years ago and didn't enjoy the coffee as much there. They might use more of the terrefacto coffee down there?
Regarding returning empty cup and saucer to the counter. I'm always torn about this. Don't want to cause more work, etc. But this morning (on the Camino del Norte), we were leaving a busy bar and I left the cups on the table. My husband went outside while I went to the bar to pay. While I was...
Yesterday, we were walking in the rain on the Camino del Norte between Castro Urdiales and Islares. When the rain stopped, we took off our Altus rain coats and hung them from our backpacks so they could dry while we continued to walk. I thought I'd stuffed mine down far enough so it wouldn't...
If the coffee is particularly good, when leaving, I like to tell the barista how good I thought it was. Almost without fail this brings a happy smile. One time, on the Camino Finisterre, when we did that (raving about how great the coffee was), the bar-owner asked us to wait and went to the...
This site is run by Ivar at in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon