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Booking Accommodation in Advance - Is it Necessary?

L

Larad

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Mid of Sept 2024 future Camino
Hi guys!
I'm in a group of 4 friends and we'll be on Camino route in mid September. We're starting out route 12th of September. The route is coastal from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. Is it necessary to book accommodation in advance? I've heard many people do that nowadays. I am afraid we can stay without accommodation if we don't book. Do you know maybe is this route crowded and is it difficult to find a place to stay if you don't book in advance?
I'd be grateful if you could help us with information.
Lara.
 
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Hello there,

I don't think that it is necessary.

I walked last year 1 week prior the catholic youth assembling in Lisbon and didn't book in advance.
But I had to alter my plans and walk the central via Tui and not as planned the coastal (first two Albergues after crossing the border on the Minho were booked out). But it felt never crowded, only the Albergues were filled to the max.

HTH
 
If you are nervous and you have every right to be considering September is the busiest month of the year for pilgrims arriving in Santiago, why not pre-book your first 2 or 3 nights. This gets you on your way without worry. Once on your way I'd suggest you ask at your accommodation how busy it is likely to be.
Take their advice and book if they suggest it would be a wise thing to do.
Regards
Gerard
 
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@Larad, welcome to the forum.


I concur. I always book my first two nights (arrival and my first night on the Camino) as a minimum.
In your situation as there are several of you I would do as Gerard suggests and book three nights, and assess once enroute. You will note that while @Roland49 said he didn't feel it was necessary, he also pointed out he had to change his route as a couple of Albergues were booked solid. And he was just one person.

Keep the first day a little shorter, it will help you get into your rhythm and iron out any potential difficulties.

Bom Caminho!
 
I’m on the Portuguese comino littoral at moment . I booked in advance as I always do so that I don’t have “bed anxiety”. It did ‘nt feel very busy untill redondella but even so several people we met started by not pre booking but found accommodation difficult to find so spent time then booking through, and could not find anything on spiritual route so changed plans to go on through central route.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
I am currently on the coastal route & booked my accommodation in advance, even that was not straightforward as there was no availability in many towns at a reasonable price. I met a guy this morning who said the bed race was on and people could not find accommodation which is resulting in 4am starts. He is sleeping in a tent. Having said all that it is definitely not crowded, yesterday, I did not see a single pilgrim till after lunch & was the only person on the boat crossing the Minho into Spain. There are a lot of tourists around right now as well.
 
Hi Lara. If it was just yourself, winging it might be a feasible strategy, particularly if you're an early riser (no 4 a.m. starts for me, thank you!). But trying to do that with four people could be problematical. What if you reached a place only to discover that they could accommodate one or two of you but not all? That could result in an interesting conversation. As some people here have said, booking two or three nights in advance is prudent, particularly if you want to keep your group together.
 
September was the busiest month on the Coastal Route last year with 9,661 pilgrims. So far this year, numbers are up by 50% on the Coastal Route so it is very likely numbers will be up significantly in September.

If I were planning to walk with a group, I would be reserving in advance to be sure of a bed for the night without a frantic search at the end of the day when I am tired.
 
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We pre-booked for our trip in June/July of this year, and were happy we did so. Not because it was super crowded that time of year, but because we wanted to pace ourselves. We walked very short days the first few (~10K), then longer (15K - 18K), then even longer (20+ K). Note, even 20K is considered a short day by many walkers, and is often shorter than a typical stage you'll see in Wise Pilgrim or Gronze. So, pre-booking helped us meet our distance goals considering we weren't always reaching the most common places to sleep w/lots of options for lodging.

Additionally, we wanted the option for a private room/private bath. We ended up staying in many types of places, including some self-serve/self-check-in style apartments, dorms, private hostels with a mix of private rooms and dorms, a youth hostel, and more. One of the places we stayed on the Central - Darsena do Frances - had a dorm room with just four beds, which might be perfect for your group.

Our list of favorites, all of which we pre-booked (thread now has several replies from other pilgrims with their favorites!) https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...leep-along-the-portuguese.88382/#post-1284240

Enjoy!
 
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