What is it Really like walking on from Sarria these days?

[David]

Hi all - this is just out of interest, I am not going to Sarria, but we hear a lot about how busy it is, how stressful trying to find a bed, rudeness, people pushing in or past .. the shock for those who have already walked some weeks when they reach and go past Sarria -
So my question really is, in high season - is it really so bad or is it still a joyful thing?

Or is the experience a bit like this?

 

[davejsy]

this was leaving Portomarin around the 20th October last year - it did strike me like something from the walking dead! But tbf it soon thinned out.
View attachment 20231022_080458~2.mp4

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

leave after the rush hour and the Camino is yours (más o menos)
still magical, but also depends on your expectations

Hi all - this is just out of interest, I am not going to Sarria, but we hear a lot about how busy it is, how stressful trying to find a bed, rudeness, people pushing in or past .. the shock for those who have already walked some weeks when they reach and go past Sarria -
So my question really is, in high season - is it really so bad or is it still a joyful thing?

Or is the experience a bit like this?

View attachment 176456

 

[woody66]

Last year i walked Leon, Santiago, Muxia!
Going up the steps out of Sarria there were more pilgrims than i had seen i in the first 200km on the path! So day one was a shock even though i was expecting it; i sent a vid to Whats app saying this is bloody awful!
Left Portomarin the next day and was stopped in my tracks by a coach load of teenagers disembarking a coach!
Isat down and waited for them to go!
But by day three; all was good with the World from then on it was almost back to the sort of number i had encountered in the first 200km!
Don't get me wrong they all had the same right to be there as me; i just prefer calm!!!!

 

[Lexicos]

Yes, I found it to be busy and crowded last year, David, compared to the earlier part of the trail, but I quite like the change and I enjoy the changed dynamics and atmosphere that the newcomers bring. I still found accommodation, despite the greater numbers. It just takes a few more phone calls.

 

[Walkalong]

While I like a carnival as much as the next person - love groups of old and young polite people walking - there can be disappointments.

On a mid-October rainy day finding virtually all the tables reserved in one of the few cafes open, then plodding 2 hours through wind and rain to the next open cafe to find the tables reserved by the same tour bus group with Peregrinos packed around the bar sharing coffee and who knows what else.

When not raining, benches covered by day packs of tour groups standing over them comparing ped and pulse readings, while a Peregrinas sits on the ground waiting for an ambulance. It's disappointing to have to ask day-hikers to remove their packs for injured walkers.

On the other hand, we've had drinks and/or dinners, with people from all over the world, celebrating fulfilling the dream, collecting their certificate for completing the entire Camino, all the way from Sarria, or Tui.

 

[Tom Conklin]

While I like a carnival as much as the next person - love groups of old and young polite people walking - there can be disappointments.

This is what I found coming in off the Primitivo last fall (late October). We booked ahead so had no problems with accommodations but the number of people and rain made the last few days on the Camino less than stellar. One of the biggest hassles is that the traffic and rain churned up the paths so you were pretty much forced to trudge through the mud. I guess it has it's beauty but I have been lucky to have finer days into Santiago.

 

[J Willhaus]

I did it once last summer and again in the winter. Lots of people in the mornings, but the crowd thins when you are slow like me. It was fine.

 

[Tickbush]

I walked that part during the first week of July this year. In Sarria, I stayed in a hotel just after the river and before the main tourist/pilgrim area. There were only 2 other people staying there. I had dinner on the Malecon, which was a beautiful location. I started out a little later than most, so I saw no crowds along the way. The only time I saw many peregrinos was the morning I left Portomarin. My other stays were "off-stage". I booked my stays one day ahead, with no problem finding a place. By waiting until 7:30-8:00 each morning, I never experienced any crowding.

 

[J Willhaus]

It also depends on the day of the week.

 

[Camino802]

We just came off the Camino on 13 August. We walked from Triacastela to Santiago virtually alone the entire distance by not staying at any of the *traditional " stops. We adjusted so that we walked through Sarria (got a stamp and a meal) but continued on to Barbadelo. Instead of Portomarìn, we stayed at Gonzar. Then, Gonzar to O Coto, then to Arzúa, then to Amenal, and finally, Santiago. We arrived in Santiago at 10:30 AM and were peregrinos number 154 and 155 ro get our certificates. The plaza was virtually empty on arrival but pretty full in another hour or two.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

In my experience It can get kind of loud after Sarria. Sometimes on the trail while walking but also in the towns. More "revelry" and locals just starting in large groups, Depending on the time of year there can be HUGE groups of students with their chaperones. I totally admire that, but it can get tough navigating through the hoards of teenagers on the path. I mean not really tough and certainly interesting, Just different.

 

[alanlandy5]

I started in St Jean on 11/7. By the time i hit Sarria i was used to leaving early, 6am and hardly encountered anyone as I walk quickly. I booked accommodation at all the main stops 1 week in advance and this left me free to enjoy the scenery. I arrived in santiago 14th August 2024. I'm currently walking to Muxia, Finisterre and back to Santiago and have the luxury of sleeping in until 7am as its much quieter, a perfect way to wind down, 7 weeks walking total

 

[Damien Reynolds]

This one time, at Band Camp... I taught the teenagers how to use the laundromat. The boys just left their clothes with the girls and expected them to wash them for them. Serious. At the end of the night everyone had clean clothes.

 

[Juspassinthru]

I started my 2024 Camino (Aragonés-Francés) on April 1 in Oloron, France and for 10 days we saw the same 9-10 pilgrims. We were a bit shocked when we arrived in Puente la Reina but the crowds thinned out along the way. We arrived in Sarria on May 10th (Friday) and it didn’t seem too crowded. Leaving the next morning was a real shock, looking forward or back, there were long lines of pilgrims in clean clothes, new Hokas, freshly washed hair and the scent of perfume wafting through the air (that wasn’t all too bad). Bars in Barbadelo were packed but the day turned hot and the taxis got busy so the crowds thinned out. Leaving Portomarin wasn’t bad, not too many people early. Palas de Rei was crowded. Next day it started raining all the way to Arzúa, once again, taxis zipping by loaded heading west, emptying heading east. Crowds weren’t too bad until the final day into Santiago which was very busy.

So, I was disappointed by the throngs of pilgrims leaving Sarria but it’s just the reality now. We had the misfortune of arriving on a Friday in high season, plan around that if you can. Most of all, reserve ahead, many are in groups and have entire albergues pre-booked. Finally, smile, you can’t change it so let it go and enjoy your little piece of the Camino.

 

[Robo]

Maybe we repeat offenders should just plan to walk a different final 100 kms?
We are part of the problem.

 

[Bradypus]

Maybe we repeat offenders should just plan to walk a different final 100 kms?
We are part of the problem.

Or walk at a quieter time of year. I walked the Frances in January 2023 and saw fewer pilgrims each day on the section after Sarria than on many of the earlier stages. Probably because we were spread more evenly across the more frequent albergues and hostals.

 

[Robo]

Or walk at a quieter time of year. I walked the Frances in January 2023 and saw fewer pilgrims each day on the section after Sarria than on many of the earlier stages. Probably because we were spread more evenly across the more frequent albergues and hostals.

Better idea! Yes.

 

[David Tallan]

Or walk at a quieter time of year. I walked the Frances in January 2023 and saw fewer pilgrims each day on the section after Sarria than on many of the earlier stages. Probably because we were spread more evenly across the more frequent albergues and hostals.

Or stop at different places when it starts seeming too busy. I had plenty of solitude last year (July) after the confluence of the Frances and Primitivo, just by stopping "mid-stage". This May, just after Triacastela, when we were hearing how busy it was, we had a beautiful albergue to ourselves by staying "off-stage".

 

[David]

I think DavidTallon has nailed it. Those groups will (probably) all be staying in the main places, so in between refugios ... works on the rest of the Camino too.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

This is where long-distance Pilgrimage comes into its own. If you've walked the path as a pilgrimage, you're ready for just about anything. You have left your expectations somewhere back along the trail, and you take each final day it as it comes --- crowds, rainy weather, mud, equipment failures, accommodation issues -- they're all a part of the experience, and you can handle it. You're full of excitement and a little sadness, as you're almost to the end!

 

[susanposton]

leave after the rush hour and the Camino is yours (más o menos)
still magical, but also depends on your expectations

what is the rush hour?

 

[RJM]

I just recently completed the Frances. I reached Sarria on the 5th of August and walked out the next morning, the 6th. There was an incredible amount of 100km pilgrims. Hundreds. At one point I shared the path that day and the next two days with at least 500 in some spots, playing music, smoking cigarettes and quickly filling the cafes and furiously attacking any available sello for their passports.
All the private albergues were full and making reservations was impossible. In the most popular stopping towns the municipal albergues were full by 1:00 pm and there were long lines to get in. It was there that I saw pilgrims allowing friends to cut into the line, sometimes 4-5 at a time. Very rude, thoughtless behavior.
I personally do not recommend that anyone walk the Frances where their schedule will put them in the vicinity of Sarria or even O'Cebreiro during the first two weeks of August. It's not worth it. I only was there because I was in Pamplona for the San Fermin and figured while in Spain I'd walk the Frances from there. Also it was not that big a deal to me to walk before or past the popular stopping towns upon seeing long lines and a lot of pilgrims. For others it may be more difficult due to scheduling etc.

 

[David]

what is the rush hour?

May to October?

 

[trecile]

what is the rush hour?

Before 6 am.

After joining the Francés from the Primitivo last year where my walking partners and I usually got going between 7 and 7:30 it was quite shocking to wake up to an almost empty albergue at 6:30 on the Francés.

 

[AidaYYC]

this was leaving Portomarin around the 20th October last year - it did strike me like something from the walking dead! But tbf it soon thinned out.
View attachment 176458

Yes, no different than 2 years earlier

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

what is the rush hour?

7-9, maybe 9:30