Albergues & Children

[Steve Hackman]

Hi all, will be doing my second camino this April 2017 with my wife and parents but will also be bringing my 6 yr old. When I did the camino in 2015 I didn't see any children so I am curious whether I need to pay for the evening for my young one? He's just going to end up sleeping in mine or my wife's bunk anyhow so was hoping to avoid a nightly 10 Euro cost for him. Happy to pay for food of course. Anyone with some experience on this out there?

 

[Elizabeth Cheung]

Happy to pay for food. Then I think you should also probably be happy to pay for the facilities (Hot water, showers, toilets, kitchen, local property tax, refuse collection, water rates) that your child will make use of. Sharing the actual sleeping bunk is only part of what is provided, surely. I am sure they will offer a reduced price, or may even give a free slot, but please don't think badly of those which may not.

yeah I am not sure why a person wouldn't pay the 10 euro even if they shared a bunk with someone or with their child. It's not a lot when you consider what's involved for the host.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I walked with a four-year-old in September, and no one offered a free bed! We did stay in private rooms about half the time, and were charged the three-person rate.

 

[frasert]

Yes I met some parents and kids in 2015 and the had to pay either the full rate or a smaller contribution.
Good luck sharing a narrow bed with a child. Sometimes you can push two singles together

 

[HeidiL]

We always paid for our 8-year-old. Note that albergue beds are usually quite narrow. There definitely wouldn't have been space for me and our kid to share a bunk in any of the places we stayed...

 

[peregrina2000]

Albergues seem to be getting more serious with paying attention to official capacity, and I imagine that's done with a straightforward body count, irrespective of where people sleep. Adding a child means taking away an adult.

And as others point out, everyone uses the facility regardless of where they sleep. I definitely think you should plan on paying for everyone.

 

[Tia Valeria]

If you need to economise then one easy way is to order platos combinados, not menu del dia/peregrino. The platos combinados can be shared so that you can give your son the appropriate portion rather than having to buy a separate meal. Works well for adults with smaller appetites too.
As @peregrina2000 says the albergues work on a 'body count' rather than age (fire regs etc) so it is not fair to expect to have a shared bunk if it puts them over the limit.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Whether I've been walking with just two of my kids or all eight of them, we were charged every time. In an accumulated six months of nights in albergues we have had only one night that offered a child rate. For the record, it's in Cee on the way to Fisterra.
Cooking for yourself is a way to economise if that's the issue.

 

[Steve Hackman]

Thanks all, good to know, I will plan accordingly!

 

[nathanael]

Happy to pay for food. Then I think you should also probably be happy to pay for the facilities (Hot water, showers, toilets, kitchen, local property tax, refuse collection, water rates) that your child will make use of. Sharing the actual sleeping bunk is only part of what is provided, surely. I am sure they will offer a reduced price, or may even give a free slot, but please don't think badly of those which may not.

Last year I did Camino Francis again for the 3rd. time. A family with 3 small children a grandmom I believe a dad and a mom were refused accommodation on the grounds they would be running around and parents leave them for Hospitaleros to watch. I understand the owners of the Albergues for doing this they were small they cried alot and would have been disruptive. I saw them throughout the Camino and few albergues would provide for them. Plus the father spent more time on his cell phone than helping out with the children.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Last year I did Camino Francis again for the 3rd. time. A family with 3 small children a grandmom I believe a dad and a mom were refused accommodation on the grounds they would be running around and parents leave them for Hospitaleros to watch. I understand the owners of the Albergues for doing this they were small they cried alot and would have been disruptive. I saw them throughout the Camino and few albergues would provide for them. Plus the father spent more time on his cell phone than helping out with the children.

@Steve Hackman I don't think you'll need to worry with a six-year-old. Six is the youngest I've walked with - and we were never turned away.

 

[kelleymac]

I walked with my son who was 14 and definitely paid for his bed! -- But we also didn't pay extra for meals (when they were included), and I thought I should as he ate enough for two or three normal adults.

 

[ChloeRose]

Beyond just the use of the facilities, I think it's good to keep in mind that the hosts don't know your child and might reasonably assume some risk of them being disruptive. Whether or not it's warranted, they are running a business!

That said, I can't think of a better family adventure Compared to what I learned on my Camino, I can't imagine how great it'll be for a young kid.

Buen Camino!

 

[Tay and I]

Hi all, will be doing my second camino this April 2017 with my wife and parents but will also be bringing my 6 yr old. When I did the camino in 2015 I didn't see any children so I am curious whether I need to pay for the evening for my young one? He's just going to end up sleeping in mine or my wife's bunk anyhow so was hoping to avoid a nightly 10 Euro cost for him. Happy to pay for food of course. Anyone with some experience on this out there?

 

[Tay and I]

Yes it is likely you will pay . It may be useful for you to always get the top bunk for one parent and child under . And have the other parent in next Lower bunk . I suggest cuddle with parent then settle into lower bunk opposite the other parent . The bunks are small and rickety sometimes too so practice on the ladder will be necessary for the six year old .

conversations , Lights out time , toilet , Clothes washing , shower , breakfast departure times , may need careful organization in big hostel .

I suggest the family get a private hostel room
With private facilities . Otherwise you
May go slightly crazy .! Won’t cost that much more .

 

[NorthernLight]

I believe it may actually be against Spanish law for children to sleep in dormitories.

Pilgrim places perhaps ignore this rule, but I've seen signs to that effect in various hostels.

 

[NorthernLight]

I should add to my last ... I think the issue will be primarily for the protection of the children. I've seen lots of happy children ... youngest likely about 5 ... in pilgrim hostels. They likely can sleep through the snoring.

I saw two juvenile offenders on a social rehab pilgrimage without their caregiver and the police came to check on them ... because they were unsupervised ... but once they'd checked on them, the police left.

So it may be against some rules, but with reasonable care, I don't think it's enforced.

 

[Reija]

I realize this not a new thread but I will go ahead and throw in my observations. The youngest kids I have seen in albergues have been maybe around seven or eight. Most of them have been Spanish kids who have been walking with their own families and only for a relatively short time: for a week or so. However, I remember one seven-year-old German boy who was walking from SJPP to Santiago with his dad and several Argentinian kids riding bikes with their families, and then lots and lot of teenagers of various nationalities walking with their parents. I don't remember anyone being annoyed by kids, but I am sure they had to pay as much as anyone else. On our first camino my daughter was 16 and it was never any kind of issue. It did not even occur to us that there might be a problem because she was a minor. On our second Camino we sometimes paid attention to some albergue or hostel rules in PORTUGAL that announced no minor is allowed into a dormitory without her/his legal guardian.

 

[HeidiL]

We walked nineteen days with our son when he was eight, and stayed mostly in albergues.

We always went where they told us - in some places, they put the three of us in a four-bed room and blocked the last bed, or gave it to a single woman, in one place they put me and our son in a separate room and my husband in a male dormitory, and in several places they just put us in mixed dormitories without any specil concerns.

It was fine, all of it.

(and this Easter, that little kid is 22 and will join us for the last 6 days on the Via de la Plata.)