Camino del Norte July 2021

[Luis Do Rio]

Hi my name is Luis and I am a new member.
I plan to walk from Lourdes to Fatima via el Camino del Norte and the Caminho Português da Costa
I plan to do it by staying in albergues donativos, municipals and in camping grounds. Any advice is more than welcome.
Did I mention that this is my first Camino?

 

[nathanael]

The best to you I walked from Lourdes to Santiago very peaceful journey while leaving Lourdes and very nice albergues did not meet too many people. I did journey twice and would do it again.

 

[Luis Do Rio]

Hi thank you for the encouraging words.
Do you have any tips for albergues on the way from Lourdes to Irun?
Many thanks

 

[lt56ny]

Never walked from Lourdes but there are lots of wonderful donativos and albergues on the Norte. The Norte is a beautiful camino. If you know how to read GPS well and do a little research there are some wonderful and beautiful variants that can keep you on the coast and avoid walking on some of the roads. If you go to the section in the forum on the Camino Norte you will find some great information.

 

[nathanael]

Hi thank you for the encouraging words.
Do you have any tips for albergues on the way from Lourdes to Irun?
Many thanks

I do just give me a chance to look up where I have them. Also somewhere I had downloaded a map of places all the way to SJPDP. Aliso in Lourdes there is a Polish convent of nuns that accommodate pilgrims with small private room and three meals will get back to you you

 

[gayeh]

Never walked from Lourdes but there are lots of wonderful donativos and albergues on the Norte. The Norte is a beautiful camino. If you know how to read GPS well and do a little research there are some wonderful and beautiful variants that can keep you on the coast and avoid walking on some of the roads. If you go to the section in the forum on the Camino Norte you will find some great information.

Yes indeed, check out peregrina2000's notes and six page PDF document outlining alternative route for del norte. I am planning for September/October. There is too much asphalt on the del norte from what I have gathered. This is a great solution ... although it does mean a few extra kilometres.

 

[nathanael]

I do just give me a chance to look up where I have them. Also somewhere I had downloaded a map of places all the way to SJPDP. Aliso in Lourdes there is a Polish convent of nuns that accommodate pilgrims with small private room and three meals will get back to you you

In Lourdes Maison Bellevue great place with meals, Betharon, Asson, Arudy Oloron St. Marie , L' hopital st. Blaise, Mauleon .if you look it up on Santiago Forum you should find the full list. What I have given you is a start as you leave Lourdes.

 

[C clearly]

Hi @Luis Do Rio , and welcome to the forum. You have posted in the right place to introduce yourself to this large camino community!

Do you have any tips for albergues on the way from Lourdes to Irun?

As you explore the forum, I expect you will have found the section for the main routes of the Camino del Norte, Portugues, and Fatima, but I see you are asking about the Lourdes to Irun portion. I am not personally familiar with that area, but the forum Search function (top right of screen) gives a selection of threads that contain the keywords "lourdes" and "irun".

[Another secret to narrowing down searches on this forum is to go to Search | Advanced Search, and then select "Search threads". That gives you the ability to select the most specific search criteria.]

 

[Luis Do Rio]

I do just give me a chance to look up where I have them. Also somewhere I had downloaded a map of places all the way to SJPDP. Aliso in Lourdes there is a Polish convent of nuns that accommodate pilgrims with small private room and three meals will get back to you you

Hi Nathanael.
Thank you very much,
Luís

 

[lt56ny]

Yes indeed, check out peregrina2000's notes and six page PDF document outlining alternative route for del norte. I am planning for September/October. There is too much asphalt on the del norte from what I have gathered. This is a great solution ... although it does mean a few extra kilometres.

Yes there is alot of road walking but the scenery is spectacular. I didn't do the research on the alternative routes but I found others that did and they were happy to have me walk with them when I asked. I would recommend that you have as many different sources as you can with the fluid state of accommodations .
Wisely is supposed to be updating open albergues, pensions, hotels etc.

A Complete Guide to the Caminos to Santiago de Compostela

A complete guide to the Camino de Santiago, including accommodation on the Camino Francés, Camino del Norte, Camino Portugués, Camino Primtivo, Vía de la Plata, Camino de Invierno, Finisterre & Muxía, San Salvador, Camino Olvidado, Caminho Nascente, Camino da Geira, Camino Inglés, Vía Podiensis...

www.wisepilgrim.com

Of course there is also Gronze.com and the Buen Camino app which are both free.
Buen Camino

 

[Luis Do Rio]

Yes there is alot of road walking but the scenery is spectacular. I didn't do the research on the alternative routes but I found others that did and they were happy to have me walk with them when I asked. I would recommend that you have as many different sources as you can with the fluid state of accommodations .
Wisely is supposed to be updating open albergues, pensions, hotels etc.

A Complete Guide to the Caminos to Santiago de Compostela

A complete guide to the Camino de Santiago, including accommodation on the Camino Francés, Camino del Norte, Camino Portugués, Camino Primtivo, Vía de la Plata, Camino de Invierno, Finisterre & Muxía, San Salvador, Camino Olvidado, Caminho Nascente, Camino da Geira, Camino Inglés, Vía Podiensis...

www.wisepilgrim.com

Of course there is also Gronze.com and the Buen Camino app which are both free.
Buen Camino

Thank you for the tips, I am carrying my bivvy tent (600g)with me for those days that might be a bit scretchy regarding accommodation and also for camping sites. I am on a pilgrims budget ,

 

[trecile]

If you know how to read GPS well and do a little research there are some wonderful and beautiful variants that can keep you on the coast and avoid walking on some of the roads. If you go to the section in the forum on the Camino Norte you will find some great information.

Yes indeed, check out peregrina2000's notes and six page PDF document outlining alternative route for del norte. I am planning for September/October.

Here's the thread https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/list-of-coastal-alternatives.43627/

 

[lt56ny]

Thank you for the tips, I am carrying my bivvy tent (600g)with me for those days that might be a bit scretchy regarding accommodation and also for camping sites. I am on a pilgrims budget ,

There are some donativos that are on the Norte. Remember they are not free unless of course you have no money to spare but if you can give a donation of at least 5 Euros. There have been many posts about camping on the different Caminos. I have never camped but there are many like yourself who want to. There are very few designated camp sites. I hope someone corrects me if I am giving bad information but most land along the Camino is either private or camping is not allowed. If you camp on private land you should get permission from the landowner before you set up a camp sight. Of course you will be expected to clean up the camp site in the morning. Depending on when you go I am sure campfires are not permitted. If the police come by I have read they will make you leave. But to be sure there are many many posts about camping along the Camino. I know there were some recent posts about a website that located camp sights.
You can also ask albergue owners if you can camp outside the albergues. Some will allow this for a small fee and you would have access to the bath and shower.
Again I am no expert and I believe what I have written is accurate but I would definitely check out the forum for advice from people who know alot more about this than I do.

 

[Luis Do Rio]

There are some donativos that are on the Norte. Remember they are not free unless of course you have no money to spare but if you can give a donation of at least 5 Euros. There have been many posts about camping on the different Caminos. I have never camped but there are many like yourself who want to. There are very few designated camp sites. I hope someone corrects me if I am giving bad information but most land along the Camino is either private or camping is not allowed. If you camp on private land you should get permission from the landowner before you set up a camp sight. Of course you will be expected to clean up the camp site in the morning. Depending on when you go I am sure campfires are not permitted. If the police come by I have read they will make you leave. But to be sure there are many many posts about camping along the Camino. I know there were some recent posts about a website that located camp sights.
You can also ask albergue owners if you can camp outside the albergues. Some will allow this for a small fee and you would have access to the bath and shower.
Again I am no expert and I believe what I have written is accurate but I would definitely check out the forum for advice from people who know alot more about this than I do.

Hi, I am not planning on camping apart from official campsites. It's my understanding that donativo is at least €5 and it's not free.
I just want to be prepared just in case that there is nowhere else to sleep.

 

[Simon Shum]

Hi Luis, Lourdes is a nice place with lots of pilgrims (not the type of walking the Caminos) and is worth staying there couple nights! There is also an albergue, or gite as called in France:

In Lourdes: about 10 euros,
Accueil Jacquaire, Jean-Louis Doux, 21a, rue devPau, 65100 Lourdes, tel 05.62.97.98.21 jl.doux@club-internet,fr

And more importantly, the host Jean-Louis has lots of information how to walk out from Lourdes and to get to SJPdP or Irun, with gites along the way. You should check out the info as it is not a busy Camino there. We stayed a few days in Loudes in 2019 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Buen Camino and Bon Chemin!

 

[Luis Do Rio]

Hi Luis, Lourdes is a nice place with lots of pilgrims (not the type of walking the Caminos) and is worth staying there couple nights! There is also an albergue, or gite as called in France:

In Lourdes: about 10 euros,
Accueil Jacquaire, Jean-Louis Doux, 21a, rue devPau, 65100 Lourdes, tel 05.62.97.98.21 jl.doux@club-internet,fr

And more importantly, the host Jean-Louis has lots of information how to walk out from Lourdes and to get to SJPdP or Irun, with gites along the way. You should check out the info as it is not a busy Camino there. We stayed a few days in Loudes in 2019 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Buen Camino and Bon Chemin!

Hi Simon.
Thank you very much for the information.
I am staying in Lourdes for a couple of days. I have the first night already booked but not the second one.

Thanks

 

[Simon Shum]

I looked into my files, here's more info on leaving Lourdes, as posted by others on the forum:
Lourdes to SJPdP - this is the stages part of the Voie du Piemont vppyr site @jsalt posted: http://vppyr.free.fr/vpp-index-etapes.php

Annie's nice website and direction to get out Lourdes to the camino
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2012/05/day-1-lourdes-to-asson.html

Buen Camino!
Simon

 

[meeemsd]

Hi Luis, have you walked Lourdes to Irun? If so, could you post your itinerary please?

 

[nathanael]

In Lourdes Maison Bellevue great place with meals, Betharon, Asson, Arudy Oloron St. Marie , L' hopital st. Blaise, Mauleon .if you look it up on Santiago Forum you should find the full list. What I have given you is a start as you leave Lourdes.

yes I did this route twice Maison Bellevue a great place I believe Arudy is where Fr. Pierre opens his house meals and stay a great place and a kind man.