Guide and Notes on our Vasco Camino Summer 2022

ebrandt · Aug 4, 2022

I said I would post the guide I made with my notes from our walk on the Vasco earlier this Spring. We just got back to the US and here it is. I hope folks find this helpful. L

ebrandt · Aug 4, 2022

I forgot to add that I can email this to any7one who wants it in Word so you can add any info you want -- just message me.

C clearly · Aug 4, 2022

That is an excellent little guide you have created! Thank you.

OzAnnie · Aug 4, 2022

C clearly said:
That is an excellent little guide you have created! Thank you.

Yes Liz. I’ll add my praise to C clearly’s thanks. It is very compact and informative.

Annie.

ebrandt · Aug 5, 2022

Mmmm -- I just looked at what I posted and see that the pages are all out of order. I had it formatted as a booklet in word and when I converted to .pdf, things must have gotten messed up. Sorry! The booklet pages are numbered so you should be able to reconstruct it!

winemakerfw51 · Nov 23, 2022

I'm planning to walk the Camino Vasco for next May. The the info in your booklet will be very helpful. Thank you for your effort.

lt56ny · Feb 14, 2023

ebrandt said:
I said I would post the guide I made with my notes from our walk on the Vasco earlier this Spring. We just got back to the US and here it is. I hope folks find this helpful. L

Love your guide and thanks so much. I am planning to walk later this year. I see you have the stage maps and elevations from Gronze.com. Are the albergues and hostels you have listed all found in Gronze.com or do you have more/different than what Gronze lists? I intend to use Gronze and Buen Camino as my guides for figuring out distances, where to stop and albergues. I do not like to plan ahead and just walk as far as my body tells me. But as we who walk less traveled caminos know we have to have a little planning for what awaits us in the subsequent few days of walking.

CoquilleDC · Mar 5, 2023

ebrandt said:
I said I would post the guide I made with my notes from our walk on the Vasco earlier this Spring. We just got back to the US and here it is. I hope folks find this helpful. L

What an amazing resource - thank you! I am considering a solo hike in late April/early May 2023. Did you find there were other pilgrims and a sense of community on the route? I’m thinking of doing the Frances instead, which I have done before, primarily for the culture and pilgrim community. Any insights appreciated!

ebrandt · Mar 29, 2023

lt56ny said:
Love your guide and thanks so much. I am planning to walk later this year. I see you have the stage maps and elevations from Gronze.com. Are the albergues and hostels you have listed all found in Gronze.com or do you have more/different than what Gronze lists? I intend to use Gronze and Buen Camino as my guides for figuring out distances, where to stop and albergues. I do not like to plan ahead and just walk as far as my body tells me. But as we who walk less traveled caminos know we have to have a little planning for what awaits us in the subsequent few days of walking.

Hi IT56ny, I haven't been on the forum in a long time and am catching up. I think that what I have in my guide is all on Gronze except things that have opened more recently....

ebrandt · Mar 29, 2023

CoquilleDC said:
What an amazing resource - thank you! I am considering a solo hike in late April/early May 2023. Did you find there were other pilgrims and a sense of community on the route? I’m thinking of doing the Frances instead, which I have done before, primarily for the culture and pilgrim community. Any insights appreciated!

Hi Coquille, sorry to take so long to respond -- I haven't been on the forum much. The Vasco was very quiet in terms of other pilgrims, last May. We met one other couple from Valencia and walked with them for a couple of days. There were probably about 5 other pilgrims who we saw once and who passed us up. Having said this, we found the welcome from the Basque people all along the route to be overwhelming and kind. Every where we went people wanted to talk to us to find out where we were from and what caused us to walk the Basque route. They wanted to help us. We loved this route because we got to interact with so many local Basque people. Liz

katie@camino · Mar 30, 2023

ebrandt said:
I said I would post the guide I made with my notes from our walk on the Vasco earlier this Spring. We just got back to the US and here it is. I hope folks find this helpful. L

This is amazing, I'm considering doing this route in July. Was there plenty of accommodation available along the Vasco?

VNwalking · Mar 30, 2023

CoquilleDC said:
Did you find there were other pilgrims and a sense of community on the route? I’m thinking of doing the Frances instead, which I have done before, primarily for the culture and pilgrim community. Any insights appreciated!

If you're looking for camaraderie, this is probably not the camino to choose - it is very quiet. We met 3 other prople on the first day, two of whom (bicigrinos with a tandem bike) we never saw again; the third we never saw after the 3rd day. We met a fourth pilgrim a few days in and enjoyed his company off and on until he headed to Haro on the Vasco branch, and we to Burgos on the Via de Bayona branch. So, yeah - not a pilgrim superhighway, to say the least.
(I walked with @SabsP, who was brilliant company - and who can correct my memory here if it's not completely correct.

)

katie@camino said:
This is amazing, I'm considering doing this route in July. Was there plenty of accommodation available along the Vasco?

It was no problem in May, with the exception of the albergue in Monasterio de Rodilla, which was not available on Tuesdays, the day we happened to be there.

A general comment about resources -;for planning not to forget Gronze. It is very accurate and frequently updated.

And for those relatively new here on the Forum, you'll find a wealth of Vasco resources here:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/camino-vasco-bayona-irun-st-dgo-burgos.57/

There are both "live' posts and posts with specific questions. So there's an excellent chance yours will have already been answered.

ebrandt · Apr 5, 2023

katie@camino said:
This is amazing, I'm considering doing this route in July. Was there plenty of accommodation available along the Vasco?

Hi Katie, there were a couple of spots with not a lot of accomodation but we did not have issues. I booked nights in Pensions and hotels. The only two I booked in advance were the first night and our night in Zarraton. If you plan to stay in Zarraton ( which is not a typical stop. We were shortening a longer stage), you need to book. It's a small inn with only 5-6 rooms. There are a couple bars in town and one sells basic supplies, but no other lodging.

SabsP · Apr 5, 2023

VNwalking said:
It was no problem in May, with the exception of the albergue in Monasterio de Rodilla, which was not available on Tuesdays, the day we happened to be there.

The albergue was available but the wife of the mayor who opens the albergue told us that the only bar and the only restaurant are closed on the same day : Tuesday. And there is no tienda left either in the village.
So future pilgrims should stock up on provision when they want to stay there or not arrive on Tuesdays of course.
Less than four k.further towards Burgos is this decent familypension.