- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2020
I started the Camino Francés on July 11. I stopped by the tourist office in SJPP before I started to walk. They told me there were not many pilgrims so far this month, about 80 to 100 per day. They gave me a list of albergues all the way to Santiago that were open, with prices and contact info.
They suggested calling a day ahead to make reservations in SJPP. They felt you would be able to get a bed if you did this.
On the Napoleon route I stopped and stayed at Auberge Borda. I made a reservation by email for July 13 but on July 11 I sent another email to change it to that day. No problems doing this. I wanted to walk July 11 because it was going to be sunny that day followed by four days of rain. They did not ask for a deposit or advance payment. It is located about 1 km beyond Orisson. It is new, green and very nice. The beds are arranged in curtained cubicles with four beds to a room. One other person slept in my room. The other rooms had four people in each, but these eight were part of a group that had been traveling together for a week. I believe you could rent a four bed room (now a two person room because of COVID) as a private room. I believe they do have one dedicated private double room.
The hospitalero at Borda, Laurent, told me he had not been busy. There had been variable numbers of pilgrims. We had twelve the night I was there, July 11. The day before he had 5. The day before that he had 2. This new Albergue is a worthwhile stop and I would recommend it.
Laurent at Borda told me to stop at the pilgrim office in Roncesvalles. He said they would give me more up to date info on which albergues were open in Spain. I never got to the office as their hours conflicted with my siesta. Laurent cautioned me to be careful and plan ahead in Spain.
The Hotel at Roncesvalles was sold out on July 12. There did appear to be some kind of non Camino related event going on that day, as there were numerous Guardia Civil officers around as well as many local people.
I did not stay at the albergue because I had heard they had filled all 90 beds recently and that was too many people for me. I later heard that on that night there were “not many” pilgrims there. There were about thirty pilgrims at the mass that evening.
I stayed at the Casa Sabina. They did not want to take a reservation. By email they asked me if I would arrive before 5 pm and if so to go to Casa Sabina and I could get a room. If I came after 5 pm when the Casa closed or if there were no rooms available when I arrived before 5, they told me they would have a room at the Posada. I got there at 2 pm and I and some other pilgrims quickly took all 4 rooms at the Casa. I know they had many of the 20 rooms at the Posada available that afternoon. Both the Casa and the Posada are apparently run by the same people.
On July 13 I felt tired and jet lagged so stopped early in Bizkarreta. There are no albergues there but several Casa Rurals. I called two that were completo but the third had a room for me. I believe they filled all eight rooms that night but it was very quiet which was nice.
On the walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri I saw less than 20 pilgrims along with several bicigrinos. I stopped in Larasoana on July 14 at the Albergue San Nicholas. People were divided into rooms of four beds but with only two people per room. It is possible to pay for a two person room for just yourself if you want a private room. The hospitalero, Luis, said pilgrim numbers are way down. Yesterday, July 13 he had zero pilgrims Today there are ten. I shared a room with a vaccinated American!
People wear masks in the common areas of albergues but not in the room, unless you want to, or when having communal meals. For me, so far this has been an acceptable COVID risk. Others might feel differently.
Regarding Booking.com; I think it is well known that the number of available rooms listed on Booking.com is not the same as the actual number of available rooms at the hotel. Businesses do not list all their rooms with Booking.com. Without going into details I would say that currently whatever is listed on B.c is vastly different than the reality at the hotel or albergue, both in the number and type of available rooms . I would say to always call the lodging and only use B.c as a quick way to verify whether a lodging is actually open.
Based on my four days on the Camino thus far I would say there is no reason to pay a non refundable fee in advance.
Hope this is useful.
They suggested calling a day ahead to make reservations in SJPP. They felt you would be able to get a bed if you did this.
On the Napoleon route I stopped and stayed at Auberge Borda. I made a reservation by email for July 13 but on July 11 I sent another email to change it to that day. No problems doing this. I wanted to walk July 11 because it was going to be sunny that day followed by four days of rain. They did not ask for a deposit or advance payment. It is located about 1 km beyond Orisson. It is new, green and very nice. The beds are arranged in curtained cubicles with four beds to a room. One other person slept in my room. The other rooms had four people in each, but these eight were part of a group that had been traveling together for a week. I believe you could rent a four bed room (now a two person room because of COVID) as a private room. I believe they do have one dedicated private double room.
The hospitalero at Borda, Laurent, told me he had not been busy. There had been variable numbers of pilgrims. We had twelve the night I was there, July 11. The day before he had 5. The day before that he had 2. This new Albergue is a worthwhile stop and I would recommend it.
Laurent at Borda told me to stop at the pilgrim office in Roncesvalles. He said they would give me more up to date info on which albergues were open in Spain. I never got to the office as their hours conflicted with my siesta. Laurent cautioned me to be careful and plan ahead in Spain.
The Hotel at Roncesvalles was sold out on July 12. There did appear to be some kind of non Camino related event going on that day, as there were numerous Guardia Civil officers around as well as many local people.
I did not stay at the albergue because I had heard they had filled all 90 beds recently and that was too many people for me. I later heard that on that night there were “not many” pilgrims there. There were about thirty pilgrims at the mass that evening.
I stayed at the Casa Sabina. They did not want to take a reservation. By email they asked me if I would arrive before 5 pm and if so to go to Casa Sabina and I could get a room. If I came after 5 pm when the Casa closed or if there were no rooms available when I arrived before 5, they told me they would have a room at the Posada. I got there at 2 pm and I and some other pilgrims quickly took all 4 rooms at the Casa. I know they had many of the 20 rooms at the Posada available that afternoon. Both the Casa and the Posada are apparently run by the same people.
On July 13 I felt tired and jet lagged so stopped early in Bizkarreta. There are no albergues there but several Casa Rurals. I called two that were completo but the third had a room for me. I believe they filled all eight rooms that night but it was very quiet which was nice.
On the walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri I saw less than 20 pilgrims along with several bicigrinos. I stopped in Larasoana on July 14 at the Albergue San Nicholas. People were divided into rooms of four beds but with only two people per room. It is possible to pay for a two person room for just yourself if you want a private room. The hospitalero, Luis, said pilgrim numbers are way down. Yesterday, July 13 he had zero pilgrims Today there are ten. I shared a room with a vaccinated American!
People wear masks in the common areas of albergues but not in the room, unless you want to, or when having communal meals. For me, so far this has been an acceptable COVID risk. Others might feel differently.
Regarding Booking.com; I think it is well known that the number of available rooms listed on Booking.com is not the same as the actual number of available rooms at the hotel. Businesses do not list all their rooms with Booking.com. Without going into details I would say that currently whatever is listed on B.c is vastly different than the reality at the hotel or albergue, both in the number and type of available rooms . I would say to always call the lodging and only use B.c as a quick way to verify whether a lodging is actually open.
Based on my four days on the Camino thus far I would say there is no reason to pay a non refundable fee in advance.
Hope this is useful.
. Even our states close their borders. Still, we must consider and help those worse off. Sorry about the mini rant, but a real dose of the Camino would be the ideal medicine for my soul at the moment. Stay well, walk mindfully, and please keep posting. 
