April 2025 and Easter pros and cons

[Mackcrabs]

It appears things really pick up in early May on the CF. So, my question, is what are pros and cons of starting my pilgrimage a few days before or after Easter 2025? (Crowds, weather, events, other nuances)

I wanted to start mid April. I can push the start of my pilgrimage into late April if there’s an advantage.

Thanks in advance

 

[Vacajoe]

Much of Spain will be traveling Holy Week, so trains/planes/buses will be packed those two weekends. Definitely avoid that! Walking during Holy Week is completely dependent on what part of what Camino you are on. A lot of Europeans take that opportunity to walk a section, so I’d avoid walking into Santiago at the end of that week or any major city (Leon, Pamplona, etc).

 

[Mackcrabs]

Much of Spain will be traveling Holy Week, so trains/planes/buses will be packed those two weekends. Definitely avoid that! Walking during Holy Week is completely dependent on what part of what Camino you are on. A lot of Europeans take that opportunity to walk a section, so I’d avoid walking into Santiago at the end of that week or any major city (Leon, Pamplona, etc).

That was so informative! Great advice. I will look into starting ten days after Easter or so. I heard the first week of May is usually the start of the early season. I am trying to avoid that too.

 

[trecile]

Great advice. I will look into starting ten days after Easter or so

I don't think that you need to wait until ten days after Easter. The week before Easter will probably be fairly busy, but it should fall off a few days after Easter.

 

[jungleboy]

That was so informative! Great advice. I will look into starting ten days after Easter or so. I heard the first week of May is usually the start of the early season. I am trying to avoid that too.

Well, Easter Sunday in 2025 is April 20, so ten days after that is the start of May anyway. As trecile said, the best way to avoid these dual rushes would be to start the CF a couple of days after Easter, which would be a week or so before the early May crowd.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Mackcrabs, you've had a little on 'cons' now for a 'pro' .

I would not avoid walking into Santiago at Easter, rather the opposite in fact. I walked into Santiago on Easter Friday 2023 (along with well over 3,000 others spread across the various caminos), the experience was incredible. The atmosphere, the parades - I absolutely loved it. An experience I felt privileged to share.

Walking into any major city during Semana Santa would likely offer a similar experience.

There is in fact a thread from the rev asking about which town or city he should visit during that period, hopefully somebody will find and link it.

As a general rule I do not like crowds. I am not religious & I knew nothing about Semana Santa. That week was the only week that I had to walk. So I started the Camino Inglès expecting the eight to ten pilgrims that people of the forum were reporting the week prior - and found I was walking with around 100!
Fortunately, because of my time constraints I had pre-booked all of my accommodation. So with this potential worry out of way I was free to simply enjoy. (Others struggled to find a bed at times, at Bruma many had to taxi or walk a further 10 kilometres.)

The Frances will have similar pinch points; you don't mention your start Point. If it is SJPDP then the usual advice would apply - start slow, (even potentially break up the first day) & book through to Pamplona. Or even a day or two beyond to get you past Easter. As mentioned above, even just a few days after Easter things will quieten down considerably. The section hikers predominantly drop off at the weekend, normally at a major town or city ( transport).

Consider timing your entry into one of the major towns to try and enjoy the beauty of this almost unique experience. I'm not sure if that should be Pamplona or not, I guess it depends on how well you do with crowds.

Despite the 'crowd' on trail I found plenty of opportunity for time by myself, at others I enjoyed the company.
Contributors have often commented that even during the busiest of periods on the Frances they can find solitude when desired. (And a bed!).

Weather is very unpredictable and the best we can do is look at historical records. Which shows that pretty much anything can happen. Sometimes April is actually nicer than May. Either way it's spring, a beautiful time of the year.