Bathtubs and Other Essentials While on the Camino!

[TorontoGMan]

Okay, you guessed it! I'm OLD... ish!
But bathtubs are the bomb! Get in one of those bad boys and your cares melt away....oops wait a minute! That's what's supposed to happen ON the Camino!
(trying again...)
Ahhhh, bathtubs! Get in one of those bad boys and all your muscle pain disappears from your Camino travails of the day!
Sadly, my very-well-written-guidebook doesn't have any arrows or any advice on where these sacred treasures may be found, so I'm reaching out to you, the amazing Forum Sages, for help and advice!

 

[ChrisGall]

Okay, you guessed it! I'm OLD... ish!
But bathtubs are the bomb! Get in one of those bad boys and your cares melt away....oops wait a minute! That's what's supposed to happen ON the Camino!
(trying again...)
Ahhhh, bathtubs! Get in one of those bad boys and all your muscle pain disappears from your Camino travails of the day!
Sadly, my very-written-guidebook doesn't have any arrows or any advice on where these sacred treasures may be found, so I'm reaching out to you, the amazing Forum Sages, for help and advice!

I stayed in some places (private albergue, pension) that had a bathtub-- but no drain plug! There was a shower over the tub. I asked the proprietor for a plug but was told "shower only." I've read somewhere that you should bring your own stopper, something that fits over/in different sizes of drains.
As for which lodgings have bathtubs, most places I stayed (always a private room, as I snore and am old, too!) had only a shower. The parador Bernadi de la Fresnada in Santo Domingo de la Calzada was a real treat, a 95€ indulgence. Bathtub and wonderful centuries-old historic building. Quiet. Crisp beautiful cotton sheets. I arrived around 11 am and checked in early without problem. There's another parador a few blocks away, the "main" one where dinner is served.

 

[J Willhaus]

Bathtub in the other Parador in Santo Domingo across from the Cathedral, too. Mainly the only bathtubs we encountered were in luxury hotels and some of them only had luxury showers. We did have a "micro" bathtub in Caldazilla de la Cueza at the Camino Real Hotel.
Frankly sometimes I hurt so bad that I am not sure I could get OUT of the bathtub once I did get in unless it has some kind of grab bars...

 

[henrythedog]

I’ll second @ChrisGall ‘s view on plugs. If there are any in Spain; they’re closely-guarded in ferreterías. My wash-kit always contains a universal-plug and I’ve had to use it in some expensive hotels as well as albergues.

 

[Rick M]

Thats what the cities along the way are for. They host the majority of the bath tubs that are to be found along The Way. I generally stay in pilgrim accommodations, until the tall buildings appear on the horizon, then its straight to a hotel for a soak.....and a half day of rest. As a bonus, you can also stay up late (9:00 pm!) and eat in an actual Spanish restaurant too. Not all the food in Spain is the chicken/fries/insalata mixta combo you have been surviving on.

 

[J Willhaus]

Be sure ask if there is a bañera in the room if you are looking for a bathtub and not just a shower.

 

[CdnDreamer]

In 2012 I stayed in hotels on my first camino. Here is a list of ones with bathtubs, but I cant guarantee that all rooms in the hotels have a bathtub.

1. Abadia - just past Burgos
2. La Fabrica - Tarjados (only 10 km past Abadia)
3. Hotel Gaudi - Astorga
4. Posada el Tesin -Rabanal del Camino
5. Hotel Alfonso IX -Sarria (full American breakfast - one of the best)
6. Hotel Villajardin - Portomarin

You will find some hotels and albergues with foot pools for relaxing in and even some with pools.

 

[Anhalter]

A Airbnb / appartment can also be a good source of a bathtub. Just a bit of work to sort thru the pictures, but i was lucky to find one a few times in 2019. Prices have been compareable to hotel rooms then, but risen significantly when i was walking this year, so keep that in mind (but likely still less than a 300€ hotel)

 

[Albertagirl]

A Airbnb / appartment can also be a good source of a bathtub. Just a bit of work to sort thru the pictures, but i was lucky to find one a few times in 2019. Prices have been compareable to hotel rooms then, but risen significantly when i was walking this year, so keep that in mind (but likely still less than a 300€ hotel)

About bathtubs, most of the rooms in Hotel España in Lugo have bathtubs, with drain plugs. But the tubs are rather small. They will still comfort stiff joints after a long walk. And the price is right: €40 a night in an older hotel.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

The only place I remember seeing a bath tub in a municipal refugio was at Santa Irene (between Arzúa a Monte do Gozo) but that had no plugs and I'd be surprised if filling it didn't drain off all the hot water making the bather very unpopular with everybody else.
Personally I've never been a fan of wallowing in dirty water (essentially diluted sewage - think about it) and then having to shower afterwards to get clean!

 

[JennyH94]

What bliss a long soak in a bathtub is!

Hotel Norte y Londres in Burgos has bathtubs in most of the rooms as far as I know. I vaguely recall having a conversation about the bathtubs with the hotel staff one time when I was staying there.

Hotel Astur Plaza in Astorga also has bathtubs, as does Hotel Cuidad de Compostela in Santiago de Compostela.

BTW - they’re all terrific, reasonably priced hotels who also do a great buffet breakfast.

I’m looking forward to hearing from other Forum members so I can get a list going for a future CF camino!

Cheers from Oz -

Jenny

 

[J Willhaus]

The only place I remember seeing a bath tub in a municipal refugio was at Santa Irene (between Arzúa a Monte do Gozo) but that had no plugs and I'd be surprised if filling it didn't drain off all the hot water making the bather very unpopular with everybody else.
Personally I've never been a fan of wallowing in dirty water (essentially diluted sewage - think about it) and then having to shower afterwards to get clean!

My father talks about bathing once a week on Saturday so they would be clean for Sunday church. They had a cistern and water was very precious so his mother and two sisters would bath in the water first and then he and his dad would bath in the same water after the three of them were done....

 

[Kanga]

If you really want a treat, hop on the train at Sarria, a quick trip to Ourense, and experience the joys of natural hot springs....Guaranteed to soak away all the grime, dead skin, painful aches and pains. Then walk to SDC from Ourense instead of Sarria. Or take the train back to Sarria.

 

[LavanyaLea]

Pamplona - Hotel el Toro (it’s a bit out of town though, but very beautiful and lovely meals, also they have a spa! As in… hydrojet pool, sauna, and steam room.)

Palas de Rei - Casa Blanco (lovely casa rural, again it’s out of town but they will pick you up from Palas de Rei or the next 2 villages after that. Again, excellent dinner and breakfast and in the morning after breakfast they will drop you off. There’s also Castelo de Pambre nearby, worth visiting in the afternoon)

Sobrado dos Monxes - Hotel San Marcus, it’s right on the “town square” facing the monastery. If you get the room with the balcony facing the monastery… has beautiful bathroom, with bath tub… amazing self service buffet breakfast, so I was able to leave early and with full stomach - a proper bean to cup espresso machine, as well as a pod coffee machine (re: use the real machine), a fridge to keep milk, butter, cheese, and ham slices cold, lots of choices of bread, cakes, fruits…. Microwave to “heat up the milk” because Spanish people only drink hot milk, but I used it to heat up tortilla from the night before prepared sandwich for lunch etc.

Jaca - Hotel el Acebo, on the street next to the cathedral, very good location. I asked for room for one but got a triple with an annexe which had a table, chair, and balcony the room has AC, and bathroom has a tub. I didn’t eat there cos someone told me there was a good burger place that had venison burger, but it seemed the hotel restaurant also does a good meal.

NB: all of them are around the €50 mark.

 

[trecile]

You will find on the Camino that bathtubs are luxuries and not essentials.

 

[LavanyaLea]

You will find on the Camino that bathtubs are luxuries and not essentials.

Bathtubs, pools, AC…

 

[AnaRosario]

Okay, you guessed it! I'm OLD... ish!
But bathtubs are the bomb! Get in one of those bad boys and your cares melt away....oops wait a minute! That's what's supposed to happen ON the Camino!
(trying again...)
Ahhhh, bathtubs! Get in one of those bad boys and all your muscle pain disappears from your Camino travails of the day!
Sadly, my very-well-written-guidebook doesn't have any arrows or any advice on where these sacred treasures may be found, so I'm reaching out to you, the amazing Forum Sages, for help and advice!

I once found an albergue that actually had a bathtub, and I was one of the first to check in for the night, and I was so tempted to fill that tub, and go deep into the realm of happiness… But then I remembered others coming in would certainly love to have a hot shower so I didn’t do it. I took my hot shower, then greeted the pilgrims that did come in

 

[naplesdon]

As a person with a disability, my right leg being in a brace, the ability to step over the top of the lip of the tub is impossible. I have to bucket bath in places like that and be very careful to find showers in other places with handicap grab bars on the wall. Mine is a different world than your is! I have been walking the Camino since 2011 with a slight handicap in my right foot and only became seriously handicapped since my last walk in 2019. I am not one to expect the Camino “to provide” to the handicapped, c’est la vie!

 

[OzAnnie]

Okay, you guessed it! I'm OLD... ish!
But bathtubs are the bomb! Get in one of those bad boys and your cares melt away....oops wait a minute! That's what's supposed to happen ON the Camino!
(trying again...)
Ahhhh, bathtubs! Get in one of those bad boys and all your muscle pain disappears from your Camino travails of the day!
Sadly, my very-well-written-guidebook doesn't have any arrows or any advice on where these sacred treasures may be found, so I'm reaching out to you, the amazing Forum Sages, for help and advice!

I just love it if you strike a good strong hot shower. It Immediately drains the aches away starting from your head. Aaaaaargh.
That’s luxury for me.
Ive struck bathtubs here and there over the years but mostly without a plug or have been asked not to use the bath.

Water is really at a premium in most of Spain. From almeria in the south - it’s as dry as a bone. Lots of trees dead from drought.

Good luck with your search though and buen camino.

 

[Annette london]

Okay, you guessed it! I'm OLD... ish!
But bathtubs are the bomb! Get in one of those bad boys and your cares melt away....oops wait a minute! That's what's supposed to happen ON the Camino!
(trying again...)
Ahhhh, bathtubs! Get in one of those bad boys and all your muscle pain disappears from your Camino travails of the day!
Sadly, my very-well-written-guidebook doesn't have any arrows or any advice on where these sacred treasures may be found, so I'm reaching out to you, the amazing Forum Sages, for help and advice!

No plug
No problem
stick a sock, preferably a light one in the plug hole
works a treat
We always use the same bath water and I always get first dibs!
e

 

[Lrsawdog5]

My first bathtub was in Villafranca del Bierzo at the Hotel Moncloa! It use to be a Pilgrim hospital and now a nice hotel and restaurant. It was truly a luxury and I cried when I saw it.

 

[Camineiro]

Bathtubs are not essential on a camino. They are pure luxury. Taking a hot shower is well enough. And more oecologic.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

On my first Camno in 2015 I hadn't been on this forum and my main perspective came from the movie "The Way", so it was albergues every night and a sello when checking in because I knew nothing else. I didn't even know they sometimes offered private rooms and it never occurred to me to think of little luxuries like bathtubs or even inexpensive hotels...ignorance was actually bliss as I was just happy to not be camping.

I have come a long way since then and now always choose a nice variety of lodgings and meals, although I've still never yet had a Camino bath...nor stayed at the parador in Leon like "Tom" and his friends did.

 

[Becky 59]

My room in Hotel Akeretta (just past Larasoano, and used in filming "The Way") had a wonderful bathtub; it was shorter than a standard American tub, but I'm short so I didn't mind.

 

[Sue127]

What bliss a long soak in a bathtub is!

Hotel Norte y Londres in Burgos has bathtubs in most of the rooms as far as I know. I vaguely recall having a conversation about the bathtubs with the hotel staff one time when I was staying there.

Hotel Astur Plaza in Astorga also has bathtubs, as does Hotel Cuidad de Compostela in Santiago de Compostela.

BTW - they’re all terrific, reasonably priced hotels who also do a great buffet breakfast.

I’m looking forward to hearing from other Forum members so I can get a list going for a future CF camino!

Cheers from Oz -

Jenny

I agree, Jenny. That hotel in Burgos was my final destination last year, when I spent 2 wonderful weeks walking with my grandson. I certainly enjoyed a soak whilst he gently snored in the bedroom. Very reasonable and we certainly enjoyed the buffet breakfast.
We mainly stayed in municipales and private albergues with dormitories and shared facilities : a totally new experience for him.

 

[Sue127]

If you really want a treat, hop on the train at Sarria, a quick trip to Ourense, and experience the joys of natural hot springs....Guaranteed to soak away all the grime, dead skin, painful aches and pains. Then walk to SDC from Ourense instead of Sarria. Or take the train back to Sarria.

That sounds wonderful. Is it about the same walking distance to SDC?

 

[Little TT]

We had private rooms all along the Camino, we had a bath at
Viana, Palacio de Pujadas

Puente la Reina, Hotel Jakue

Burgos, Norte y Londres

Mansilla Major, Guest House Joaco

Astorga, Hotel Gaudi

Definitely lovely to have a relaxing bath every so often.

 

[wynrich]

My father talks about bathing once a week on Saturday so they would be clean for Sunday church. They had a cistern and water was very precious so his mother and two sisters would bath in the water first and then he and his dad would bath in the same water after the three of them were done....

My dad used to tell us the same. He added that, even though they didn't bathe every day, their mother would make them wash their feet each night before going to bed. (They were farmers.)

 

[J Willhaus]

My dad used to tell us the same. He added that, even though they didn't bathe every day, their mother would make them wash their feet each night before going to bed. (They were farmers.)

Yes so was my father's family.
They did wash their face and hands, etc. Daily. In later years, they got access to a spring and had the water piped in so as grandkids we never had the "shared" bathwater experience.

 

[gittiharre]

Okay, you guessed it! I'm OLD... ish!
But bathtubs are the bomb! Get in one of those bad boys and your cares melt away....oops wait a minute! That's what's supposed to happen ON the Camino!
(trying again...)
Ahhhh, bathtubs! Get in one of those bad boys and all your muscle pain disappears from your Camino travails of the day!
Sadly, my very-well-written-guidebook doesn't have any arrows or any advice on where these sacred treasures may be found, so I'm reaching out to you, the amazing Forum Sages, for help and advice!

They are a great comfort, but Spain has huge issues with watershortages and we must do our part not to make that worse for the locals. Baths use sooo much water. Often there are water restrictions in place. Many showers only run for a minute at a time then turn off for that reason. The routine is get wet, soap while shower off, rinse.
Important we don't put unnecessary strain on infra structure. There are many of us descending on small villages and towns.

 

[Albertagirl]

What is a luxury, what is a necessity are very personal things. I gave up bathing regularly, in a tub, as a cost of going on camino. That, and carrying a pack, cause me chronic back pain, which I manage however I can. Until I am home again to my own personal daily soak. So far, this has been worth the cost. I prefer not to tell others what they ought to do for self-care.

 

[cecelia]

This is an 'ohmigoodness you younguns are so soft' post and is a bit tongue in cheek so I hope you take it as a small bit of history and not any kind of criticism!

I read all of the comments above with interest and a bit of amusement I have to admit. "Back in the day... blah, blah ..' which was really only 20 years ago when I first walked the Camino Frances - many of the showers were not even heated. Seriously - we showered in cold water - usually standing outside the stream and sticking one part in at at time to get clean or at least get the stink off!! Hot showers are such a wonderful luxury - as are hot baths!! I hope you all truly enjoy those luxuries when you find them! Walking all day really helps with that appreciation I find ...

Shower rooms were sometimes mixed gender in those days - especially in Galicia - and I have to admit my first view of a middle-aged man with a large paunch strutting back to his bed dressed in nothing but a fanny pack was a bit startling. Thinking about it again, I'm still not sure why he was quite so pleased with himself ...?

Thank you Kanga for the tip about the hot springs at Ourense. I'll definitely head that way on my next camino in the spring. I'm 79 now so those hot springs are going to feel extra special to my old bones!!

Camino hugs to you all!

 

[ChrisGall]

As a person with a disability, my right leg being in a brace, the ability to step over the top of the lip of the tub is impossible. I have to bucket bath in places like that and be very careful to find showers in other places with handicap grab bars on the wall. Mine is a different world than your is! I have been walking the Camino since 2011 with a slight handicap in my right foot and only became seriously handicapped since my last walk in 2019. I am not one to expect the Camino “to provide” to the handicapped, c’est la vie!

So many showers in the private rooms I stayed in (albergues, hotels, casas rurales, etc.) were treacherous! Some of them were raised about 12 inches higher than the rest of the bathroom. Slippery tile floors, glass shower doors and surrounds, plus stepping in and out and up and down, and NO grab bars. A few times I used one of the towels for the bottom of the slick shower, and another for the area just outside. Fortunately, they're not all like that, but there don't seem to be building codes about bathroom safety design.

 

[gittiharre]

This is an 'ohmigoodness you younguns are so soft' post and is a bit tongue in cheek so I hope you take it as a small bit of history and not any kind of criticism!

I read all of the comments above with interest and a bit of amusement I have to admit. "Back in the day... blah, blah ..' which was really only 20 years ago when I first walked the Camino Frances - many of the showers were not even heated. Seriously - we showered in cold water - usually standing outside the stream and sticking one part in at at time to get clean or at least get the stink off!! Hot showers are such a wonderful luxury - as are hot baths!! I hope you all truly enjoy those luxuries when you find them! Walking all day really helps with that appreciation I find ...

Shower rooms were sometimes mixed gender in those days - especially in Galicia - and I have to admit my first view of a middle-aged man with a large paunch strutting back to his bed dressed in nothing but a fanny pack was a bit startling. Thinking about it again, I'm still not sure why he was quite so pleased with himself ...?

Thank you Kanga for the tip about the hot springs at Ourense. I'll definitely head that way on my next camino in the spring. I'm 79 now so those hot springs are going to feel extra special to my old bones!!

Camino hugs to you all!

Yes, I remember the cold showers and the bases not draining. I used to stand on my heels to avoid touching the base...baptism by slime and hair...

 

[Bradypus]

Thank you Kanga for the tip about the hot springs at Ourense. I'll definitely head that way on my next camino in the spring. I'm 79 now so those hot springs are going to feel extra special to my old bones!!

One of the great joys of walking the Shikoku circuit and the Kumano Kodo in Japan was the hot spring bathing. In February I visited one of the hot springs in Ourense. The one I chose was the only one still open at the time - COVID precautions had shut the others. An excellent experience too. Trying hard to be like a Japanese onsen but with two main differences: swimwear was mandatory and the bathing was mixed-sex. Those two things might well be related Do remember to take a towel and swimwear!

 

[Karl Oz]

The only place I remember seeing a bath tub in a municipal refugio was at Santa Irene (between Arzúa a Monte do Gozo) but that had no plugs and I'd be surprised if filling it didn't drain off all the hot water making the bather very unpopular with everybody else.
Personally I've never been a fan of wallowing in dirty water (essentially diluted sewage - think about it) and then having to shower afterwards to get clean!

I thought about it Jeff, but still don't get the diluted sewage reference. If you fill from a tap then you are using the mains water supply, which also provides drinking water.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Yes so was my father's family.
They did wash their face and hands, etc. Daily. In later years, they got access to a spring and had the water piped in so as grandkids we never had the "shared" bathwater experience.

My mom was also raised on a farm. I was one of five siblings. Growing up as a child we only had a Saturday night bath in prepation for Sunday church; all sharing the same water. She was a stickler though to have us wash up every day and always stressed "don't forget to wash behind your ears".

 

[Aysen Mustafa]

I also stayed at the Hotel Norte y Londres in Burgos and enjoyed the bath tub. However, Spain has water shortages so that might explain why the plug was hidden.

 

[Tincatinker]

I thought about it Jeff, but still don't get the diluted sewage reference. If you fill from a tap then you are using the mains water supply, which also provides drinking water.

Perhaps the “avoid wallowing in your own effluvia” concept whereby in Japan, many near eastern countries and even Ancient Rome the idea was that you washed thoroughly before you got in the bath. A good and close friend in my past would insist I washed my feet before joining her in the tub.
All that said I’m with @cecelia. You’re all wuzzes

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I thought about it Jeff, but still don't get the diluted sewage reference. If you fill from a tap then you are using the mains water supply, which also provides drinking water.

Take it from a retired civil engineer - domestic sewage is about 99% bath waste/laundry water/kitchen waste the rest is human excreta and urine.
That dirty, grey water you're left over with once you get out of the bath? You'll have converted clean tap water into diluted sewage.
If you don't wash after a bath your body is covered with a thin film of dirt - that's why we have to launder our towels.

 

[Kanga]

That sounds wonderful. Is it about the same walking distance to SDC?

Yes, it is a good alternate route to comply with the 100km rule to get a compostela.

 

[Sue127]

Yes, it is a good alternate route to comply with the 100km rule to get a compostela.

Thanks, Kanga. I'll have to read up about it. I hadn't known about natural hot springs in northern Spain

 

[jflorez]

The private room I stayed in at the Hotel San Anton Abad in Villafranca Montes de Oca had a very nice, modern bathroom, and a welcomed bathtub to soak aching muscles.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Hotel Capital de Galicia - Santiago de Compostela. I stayed here after injuring myself. BATHTUBS be here. Great helpful and not terribly exoensive. When I stayed last in 2018, Piblicized cost was 54 Euro but I was charged 30 Euro.

 

[tomnorth]

On day 6 of my 2015 Camino I stayed at the Hotel Paladin de Pujadas in Viana. My right hip was killing me, so I decided to treat myself to a night in a hotel and a room with a tub. I had a good long soak and woke the next day feeling like a million bucks. It was definitely worth it.

 

[WalkingJane]

My father talks about bathing once a week on Saturday so they would be clean for Sunday church. They had a cistern and water was very precious so his mother and two sisters would bath in the water first and then he and his dad would bath in the same water after the three of them were done....

Happened to me too. Issue was electricity was expensive to heat it, plus the tank did not hold enough for 6 of us to bathe in fresh water.

 

[Canada Wanders]

As we were walking through town, getting ready for the decision of albergue, we passed a hotel where the guy offered us a pilgrim special, a queen size bed and bath tub.
Hard yes I said, and when we got to the room, my wife was a little surprised when I said I wanted a picture of her in the bath tub!

 

[nycwalking]

As we were walking through town, getting ready for the decision of albergue, we passed a hotel where the guy offered us a pilgrim special, a queen size bed and bath tub.
Hard yes I said, and when we got to the room, my wife was a little surprised when I said I wanted a picture of her in the bath tub!View attachment 136829

The hospitalero bath tub at Guacelmo albergue was like this.

As was the room mom and I shared in 2001 at Hostel Barbantes in Santiago de Compostela.

 

[Richard Smith]

This was in Santiago, room was expensive but when we saw the bath tub - take my money!

 

[Marbe2]

We use booking.com to explore where tubs are. The site usually has pictures of bedrooms, and, too, the bathrooms. So, you can indeed search for rooms with tubs. As others have indicated, you will find more of them in thelarger/towns and cities. But some places, even in smaller pueblos have them, as well as functioning swimming pools that are open from May to the end of September, or year round indoor pools. Some establishments even have hot tubs. You may find an establishment with four bedrooms, with private bathrooms, all with showers, or some, one with a bathtub which might be available. You can likely see this from the photos.

IMO booking.com is the most user friendly website to find out what resources an establishment has. You can get a good dea of an accommodation’s resources on booking, without necessarily making reservations.

 

[Mary Doll]

On day 6 of my 2015 Camino I stayed at the Hotel Paladin de Pujadas in Viana. My right hip was killing me, so I decided to treat myself to a night in a hotel and a room with a tub. I had a good long soak and woke the next day feeling like a million bucks. It was definitely worth it.

I enjoyed a long soak in the bath here in 2020 while drinking a bottle of cold beer. Hot bath and cold beer = pilgrim heaven.

 

[LavanyaLea]

Waiting to start discussion in which Hotel, Restaurant or other accommodation the toilet paper has 2,3 or 4 layers.

Posada Real Pajares (San Salvador) is dog friendly, and the toilet paper has doggy patterns! So cute! 3 ply. Even the Andrex in the UK doesn’t have doggy pattern! But no bath tub. But there is a pool covered in a greenhouse style dome, so the sun was heating up the water very nicely. There was a hot tub too but the owners didn’t set it up, prob more for winter skiers.

 

[Paul McAmino]

I might have missed it, but I didn’t see the Parador San Marcos in León (where Quevedo did time when it was a monastery) mentioned. It has (or had before the recent renovations) all the usual dark wood, crisp sheets, and a bathtub almost big enough for two.

All the best,
Paul

 

[pepi]

You will find on the Camino that bathtubs are luxuries and not essentials.

...especially at a time when we are short of energy in Europe.

 

[Tom Hagger]

The only place I remember seeing a bath tub in a municipal refugio was at Santa Irene (between Arzúa a Monte do Gozo) but that had no plugs and I'd be surprised if filling it didn't drain off all the hot water making the bather very unpopular with everybody else.
Personally I've never been a fan of wallowing in dirty water (essentially diluted sewage - think about it) and then having to shower afterwards to get clean!

We are all entitled to our different opinions and preferences, of course. However, Jeff, I would guess that you never played rugby and leapt into a huge bath with up to twenty-nine other muddy and sweaty chaps after a dirty winter game. Wallowing in your own 'dirty water' seems positively wholesome and therapeutic to those for whom that has been a regular experience.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

We are all entitled to our different opinions and preferences, of course. However, Jeff, I would guess that you never played rugby and leapt into a huge bath with up to twenty-nine other muddy and sweaty chaps after a dirty winter game. Wallowing in your own 'dirty water' seems positively wholesome and therapeutic to those for whom that has been a regular experience.

No, both our school gym and the changing room at our playing fields were equipped with showers - after all I did grow up in the latter half of the 20th century not the 19th!

 

[Richard of York]

No plug
No problem
stick a sock, preferably a light one in the plug hole
works a treat
We always use the same bath water and I always get first dibs!
e

When camping I always used to carry a universal plug that stayed in place due to the gravity of the water above it. It was for washing clothes at campsites and invariably used to get dislodged with me agitating the clothes. I only shower, I have never used my own bathtub (alone) in the 12 years I have owned my house.

 

[Annette london]

When camping I always used to carry a universal plug that stayed in place due to the gravity of the water above it. It was for washing clothes at campsites and invariably used to get dislodged with me agitating the clothes. I only shower, I have never used my own bathtub (alone) in the 12 years I have owned my house.

We pulled out our bathtub many years ago and long before the water meters came In favour of a large shower
I do miss the odd soak now and then so finding a bath is a real luxury
However as time moves on, the shower is ideal
as getting into the bath is ok….getting out might be a different matter !

 

[Former member 92300]

LMAO - I had no issues taking showers on the Camino, and had no issues with Communal showers (well... except in the last 100 km when 2 days in a row women decided to lock the communal bathroom doors at 6 am while they leisurely showered in completely private setting (yep - they turned the communal bathroom into a private while others were getting up to pee).

That said - when I did get private rooms - I LOVED when I could get a private bathroom with a BATHTUB! I didn't even care when the bathtub was half the size of a small US bathtub lol. The opportunity to soak your aching muscles is priceless! And believe me - on those days when I had a private bathroom with a bathtub - I soaked - then again... and again... and sometimes yet again!! Up to maybe 4 leisurely baths in a 24 hour period. Haha On my first Camino (the Frances) I needed to do it desperately. On the Norte/Primitivo I didn't NEED to as much.

 

[Former member 92300]

View attachment 136829

LOL... when I really needed to soak my aching back muscles I would lay in one of these with my feet straight up on the wall! Hey - whatever it takes to ease back pan, right?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

We pulled out our bathtub many years ago and long before the water meters came In favour of a large shower
I do miss the odd soak now and then so finding a bath is a real luxury
However as time moves on, the shower is ideal
as getting into the bath is ok….getting out might be a different matter !

I love the UK and EU bathtubs as they are much
l o n g e r than our standard US tubs and you can submerge yourself and stretch out your legs completely; well if you are 5'4" anyway.
Annette, I doubt you would struggle getting in and out of a bathtub with all of the hiking you still do in your Lakes region, Canary Islands, etc. in addition to the various Caminos you and hubby still walk...
you go girl!

 

[Annette london]

I love the UK and EU bathtubs as they are much
l o n g e r than our standard US tubs and you can submerge yourself and stretch out your legs completely; well if you are 5'4" anyway.
Annette, I doubt you would struggle getting in and out of a bathtub with all of the hiking you still do in your Lakes region, Canary Islands, etc. in addition to the various Caminos you and hubby still walk...
you go girl!

You’d be surprised Chrissy!
I’ve had to be pulled up and out of the bath once or twice by “himself”
A good laugh though!

 

[Old Kiwi]

I only stay in municipal albergues. Never saw a bath. Never needed one. Just the shower.

 

[oursonpolaire]

A New Zealand pilgrim told me that the only pick-up line which could conceivably interest her on the Camino would be if someone would whisper that they had a bathtub. Her comment brought forth mirth at the table, but I do not know if anyone tried it out.

 

[TorontoGMan]

LOL... when I really needed to soak my aching back muscles I would lay in one of these with my feet straight up on the wall! Hey - whatever it takes to ease back pan, right?

Great picture!! Worth a thousand words!!!