When to rent accommodation?

[tombois]

Hi everyone! I'm really excited to be doing the Camino from Tui to Santiago this September, and I was wondering if anyone had advice for renting a dorm bed in albergues.

Do you recommend booking these in advance, for example now? Or would I be able to do it say the night before I walk to that town? I'm in quite good shape and enjoy long hikes, but I've never done one on quite on this scale and am a little worried about some back issues I've struggled with in the past! All that to say I've left myself some extra time if I need a rest day halfway, but if I need to book earlier that might not be possible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Vacajoe]

September can be VERY busy, especially if you walk earlier in the month. If you know what cities you want to end a day’s walk in, definitely book ahead directly with the albergue or via booking.com. Municipal and parochial albergues are usually first come, first served, so those you cannot reserve

 

[tombois]

September can be VERY busy, especially if you walk earlier in the month. If you know what cities you want to end a day’s walk in, definitely book ahead directly with the albergue or via booking.com. Municipal and parochial albergues are usually first come, first served, so those you cannot reserve

I'm going in the latter half of September so I have some hope of it not being too hectic, but it seems like a lot of the articles I've read agree with you about it being busy! Think I'll book things now and do what I can to minimise the risk of back issues en route. Thanks so much for responding )

 

[trecile]

The Camino Portuguese from Tui can be busy in September, but there are albergues that don't accept reservations so you can just show up. If you would prefer to book a day ahead you can find listings of albergues and other accommodations on Gronze.com

Camino Portugués Central | Gronze.com

www.gronze.com

 

[tombois]

The Camino Portuguese from Tui can be busy in September, but there are albergues that don't accept reservations so you can just show up. If you would prefer to book a day ahead you can find listings of albergues and other accommodations on Gronze.com

Camino Portugués Central | Gronze.com

www.gronze.com

Great, thank you!

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@tombois, welcome.
You could try booking just say the first 3-4 nights, and see how you go from there. Keep the first one to two days a little shorter to help your body to adapt. By the second day you will be meeting other pilgrims and getting a sense for how things are, and you can then book further ahead should you feel the need to do so.
Bom Caminho!

 

[caminocoffee]

You could perhaps walk from Valença to Santiago. On your Compostela it will show 124km. Valença is a very interesting place. We prefered to walk shorter distances per day rather than taking a rest day. We booked in advance through booking.com and also booked directly through websites. Choose the free cancelation option on booking.com. We did change some of our bookings.
From Redondela we saw many more peregrinos on the way.
The city of Pontevedra was about fully booked on the Friday night and it was difficult to find a place a month in advance. We wanted to stay near the centre of town. We eventually got a nice room in Casa Maruxa.
In Pontesampaio we booked a double room in Albergue o Meson. A very clean Albergue with a restaurant bar.
Enjoy planning your camino!

 

[WGroleau]

Hi everyone! I'm really excited to be doing the Camino from Tui to Santiago this September, and I was wondering if anyone had advice for renting a dorm bed in albergues.

YMMV, but I never tried to make an albergue reservation, and haven’t needed to for 23 stays in 19 villages/cities on Francés and Vía de la Plata.

 

[henrythedog]

Many of the best places to stay don’t require - or allow - a reservation; but you’ll never talk someone wanting an uncertainty-free adventure (if such a thing exists) out of booking the whole event. Usually from the fraction shown on a well known booking site.

 

[DwainS]

I walked from Valencia to Santiago this past June after I walked the Camino Francés. I reserved my rooms for the 6 nights it took me to walk back to Santiago. A couple of places I stayed at still had beds available when I arrived and some were full.