Do I take a tent

[SDUIS]

hi- I’m doing the Porto to S route (some coastal) in early August with my daughter and I’m worried there won’t be enough space in the Albergues. I can’t afford to risk ending up in an expensive hotel and I don’t want my journey to be a race to get a bed either. Do I take a tent as a back up?!

 

[Lexicos]

It really comes down to how much weight you’re willing to carry. If you book ahead by one or two days you should be ok with albergue accommodation. But, I can’t say for sure bc my wife and I took the internal route. We had to stay in a hotel only two times and I didn’t think it was expensive. Only variable is August season is generally busy in Europe. We did it in September, but that was 4 years ago. Buen camino.

 

[kelleymac]

You can always take a lightweight tent and then if you don't use it, ship it ahead to Ivar.

 

[davejsy]

It's a predicament without an easy answer as you may have no problems at all, but then again you might.

Carrying a tent on the off chance though is quite a commitment and potential pain in the ar5e.

 

[davejsy]

You can always take a lightweight tent and then if you don't use it, ship it ahead to Ivan.

Would this not require the OP to be able to predict the future though!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Also, it seems that most tents big enough to hold two people would tend to be even heavier to carry.

 

[Tincatinker]

hi- I’m doing the Porto to S route (some coastal) in early August with my daughter and I’m worried there won’t be enough space in the Albergues. I can’t afford to risk ending up in an expensive hotel and I don’t want my journey to be a race to get a bed either. Do I take a tent as a back up?!

Please bear in mind that wild camping is prohibited in Portugal https://www.campanyon.com/en/l/portugal/camping#

In August official campsites will be busy and advance booking is advised. It might be advisable to research and book as much of your accommodation as you can in advance to provide some comfort on availability and costs. This will limit your flexibility and itinerary but is probably unavoidable at that time of year.

 

[MinaKamina]

You may of course take a tent. But what is the plan with the tent? Wild camping? Camping on regular campsites? How will you find them and how will you get there?

You do not mention your daughter's age. Maybe you are travelling in August because of the school holidays? If not, given your wishes, August is perhaps not the best of months for this trip.

I would book ahead for peace of mind, especially with a younger child.

 

[kelleymac]

Would this not require the OP to be able to predict the future though!

He could carry it a few days and decide whether or not it was worth the carry weight. Also, he probably would feel more confident about not bringing it after a few days.

 

[Gerard Griffin]

I always carry either a bivibag, tarp with groundsheet or tent proper. Weight is no problem with the first 2. In return, you get peace of mind. You don't care if the albergues are full, you can stop where and when you like, and you don't have to worry about having to pay hotel rates.

Wild camping is forbidden in Spain and Portugal but I've never seen that rule enforced. It's great fun sleeping in the open and adds a touch of adventure to each day. If you're with someone, the routines of camping and the fact of being alone together in nature promote a wonderful cameraderie.

Strongly recommended.

 

[darmckee]

I walked the Tui to SDC last August with my daughter and 3 grandchildren, ages 16, 14, and 12. We walked 15 to 20 kms per day.
Over 7 nights, we spent 5 in municipal albergues, (8€per person ) 1 night in a 3 bedroom apartment and 1 night in a hotel. both costing about 125€.
We started just before dawn and lined up our backpacks at the municipal albergue between 11 and 1 pm.
We booked Ideas Peregrinas in Tui and Seminario Menor in SDC.

 

[JerryStroebele]

On our first Camino (del Norte) my wife, adult daughter and I carried two very lightweight tents. In the first 500 km we saw exactly ONE commercial campsite where we would have liked to pitch the tents. But it was too early in the day to stop. We mailed the tents back to the US when we got to Gijon. If we failed to make it to an albergue on time to get a bed, we found delightful little pensions at very reasonable costs. On the Camino Portuguese we rented a little cabana in a commercial campground for a very low price. Did the same on the del Norte. I have done a lot of tent camping. A wonderful two pound tent can weigh twice that after a rain shower. Buen Camino

 

[SDUIS]

Hi
Thanks for all the comments. I have a tent that is 500g/1pound so I think I can squeeze it in my backpack!
I don’t want to book ahead or plan ahead, but if there is an Albergue that is full they may allow us to camp on their grounds. That’s my thinking! I may not use the tent but you never know. I’m a teacher so have to walk in the summer hols. Would much prefer a May or Sept hike

 

[davebugg]

hi- I’m doing the Porto to S route (some coastal) in early August with my daughter and I’m worried there won’t be enough space in the Albergues. I can’t afford to risk ending up in an expensive hotel and I don’t want my journey to be a race to get a bed either. Do I take a tent as a back up?!

I'm not going to drift into the legalities of figuring out where wild camping is permitted or tolerated or will cause an immediate arrest with a 15 year jail sentence or a 15,000 Euro fine. I'll assume you'll research that issue.

So below, I focus on a bit of out-of-box thinking about a shelter system; one that is reliable if you have the correct how-to information. Also, I focused on how to create a tarp-tent kit that will be a delight to ignore in your backpack as the weight will be far less than 'Ultralight'.

Watch a few YouTube videos on pitching a tarp to use as a tent. The techniques and types of tarp tents can be practiced well ahead of time so you become confident in using this form of compact shelter.

Creating a Tent from a Tarp

I would further reduce the weight by using a Polycro plastic, such as is found for making storm doors and windows. With one or two large sheets of the polycro, you can cut and tape the size of the final sheet you want for your tarp tent.

Amazon Polycro Plastic Sheet
Tape for Polycro

If you are using trekking poles, then you are already carrying the tent poles you need (a multitasker). Add A bit of reflective cordage, and some lightweight stakes, and a stuff sack for it all, and you have a good, strong, and Ultralite shelter with a weight of around 13 oz /370 gr. (depending on the size of the tarp you end up with).

 

[Vacajoe]

You’ll find that the CP (both coastal and central) tend to traverse populated or cultivated areas. There is little space for wild camping, which is not only forbidden but also less-overlooked on the coast due to tourist areas. Hiding a bedroll in the trees is easy, but a two bed tent is another matter and less likely to be overlooked. Would you want someone camping in your community without proper sanitation? As for albergue grounds, this is possible at some but not those are definitely the minority since many of the CP ones are part of a defined town/city.

If it’s light and you want to use it responsibly with the permission of the landowner, then sure, that’s certainly an option. But wild camping against the law does not make the locals appreciative of us visitors to their home.

 

[Blister Bill]

No

 

[davebugg]

Hi
Thanks for all the comments. I have a tent that is 500g/1pound so I think I can squeeze it in my backpack!
I don’t want to book ahead or plan ahead, but if there is an Albergue that is full they may allow us to camp on their grounds. That’s my thinking! I may not use the tent but you never know. I’m a teacher so have to walk in the summer hols. Would much prefer a May or Sept hike

At that weight for a tent my question is if it is roomy enough to be comfortable if needing to lay over a day or two? Cooking space in a vestibule, backpack shelter, etc.

 

[Gerard Griffin]

I've camped on the Portugese Camino from Lisbon to Santiago and never had a problem with police or landowners, or with finding a good campsite. Sanitation is not an issue, there's lots of open space.

 

[dick bird]

Let´s leave aside the various situations where someone has got away with it (whatever ´it´ is, be it poles in carry on, backpacks in the cabin, overstaying Schengen or camping wild in countries where it is frowned upon if not actually illegal) and coldly and without agenda consider your options, taking both risk and hazard into account and weighing up cost and benefit.

Firstly, assuming there will be nights when you cannot get into an albergue, how often will this occur? Once or at most twice would be a safe projection, so can you budget in one or two nights in a not necessarily expensive hotel? I think yes is the answer, and you may actually want to spend at least one night in a budget hotel, just for a relief from albergue dormitories. Secondly, if you find the albergue(s) to be full, what are your chances of finding a convenient place to camp? Remember that you will probably be in a town and not on a bike, so not great: the north of Portugal and Galicia are not in general wilderness areas and most square acreage is either cultivated or lived on. Thirdly, do you want to carry 2 or so kilograms (minimum for a 2 person tent) that you will almost certainly not need?

In other words, is a tent a good back up? Is it worth the effort? Will it justify its space and weight? I suspect a poll of forum members would vote a resounding ´no´, and I would be one of them.

 

[Gerard Griffin]

There's a Camino for every person and they're all different and each is the best, for the person whose desires and needs it reflects.

But I think it makes sense to carry a lightweight tarp/groundsheet setup, even if you don't plan to camp. You can come to a town where everything is full ... It's happened to me twice in Triacastela, a dreadful chokepoint. The next town could be full as well. You might have no money for a cab and the ATM might be dead. You might not have the cash for a hotel, or facing a ruined budget.
A night outside without shelter is very unpleasant and in poor weather it can be dangerous.

As for camping, it's great fun and you don't have to worry about getting away with it, because no-one has any interest in interfering with you. It's always easy to find a place to set up. Unless you're in a city (in which case you walk out) you simply use Google Maps satellite view to find a likely spot.

As for weight, a good two-person tent weighs 2 kg and you can share the carrying. Most people don't like to camp. Fine. But those who might enjoy it ought not to be discouraged.

 

[buridan]

no, you do not take a tent. if you get someplace that is full you either walk to the next town, or call ahead then take a taxi to where you will stay, then come back in the morning. There is no wild camping in spain, and it is not encouraged in portugal. it is a not a good backup, nor worth the effort.

 

[hecate105]

We camped most of the way on the interior - and the coastal - plenty of campsites - with pilgrim discount on coastal (we did that last summer!) Wild camping fairly easy - just use your loaf! Always (camping or hiking!) take a trowel - no sanitation problem!!!
In Scotland - where wild camping is legal and encouraged - the nature reserves have official signs telling hikers to take a trowel - and advice on fire use - an enlightened country.....!

 

[HenkSlb]

If everybody in Spain would be allowed to set up a tent anywhere, it would soon become a mess. So the lawmakers decided to allow camping only on official campsites. Why would you leave your own country with the thought that you might as well break the law in Spain? Is it the idea that you are a special case and the law applies only to other people? I think moderators should not allow this kind of subjects.

 

[Barbara]

no, you do not take a tent. if you get someplace that is full you either walk to the next town, or call ahead then take a taxi to where you will stay, then come back in the morning. There is no wild camping in spain, and it is not encouraged in portugal. it is a not a good backup, nor worth the effort.

Well, that's us told. I'd have been well knackered if I hadn't made my donkey carry my tent. Even if she did grumble about it because I wouldn't let her in it with me. Mostly I asked if I could use a corner of a field. Perfectly legal with the owners permission. No reason not to do exactly that even if minus donkey. But there's always someone who knows better.
Plenty of respectable reasons not to carry the extra weight, for sure. No reason to be quite so dogmatic, though. As for walking to the next town, some of us find that too hard on our aging knees and a taxi too hard on our pockets. But then I've always walked or cycled my Caminos from home so had to be careful about both the budget and my legs.

 

[dick bird]

This is not about camping. If you look at the original question, it is someone asking if it is worth taking a tent on the off-chance that an albergue might be full. The poster clearly has no intention of using it unless they have to.

The most popular answer is ´no, it isn´t worth carrying an extra 2kg just on the off-chance. There are lots of things you can do if the albergue is full´.

If anyone wants to camp, they can go ahead. They will naturally carry all the extra gear (on bike, donkey or back), make all the necessary preparations, and camp responsibly.

As many of you have pointed out, it is not considered wild camping if you have obtained the permission of the landowner first, though good luck with that at 9 o´clock on a cold, dark, wet evening (and it is considered very bad form to demonstrate your love of freedom by using their property as a toilet. Not that anyone on this forum would do such a thing).

 

[domigee]

Hi
Thanks for all the comments. I have a tent that is 500g/1pound so I think I can squeeze it in my backpack!
I don’t want to book ahead or plan ahead, but if there is an Alberguethat is full they may allow us to camp on their grounds. That’s my thinking! I may not use the tent but you never know. I’m a teacher so have to walk in the summer hols. Would much prefer a May or Sept hike

You’ll love a Summer hike. Go for it (from another teacher )
Not sure about taking the tent though, I walked from Tui in August and didn’t have any problems finding a bed but… as it is so light, I’d take it.