Olvidado in October or July?

[Mike Long]

I have an opportunity to walk the Olvidado in either October or July 2025. Considering weather and availability of accommodation (albergue like places perf), suggestions/advice welcomed. I walk around 25km /day.

 

[FSP]

I have an opportunity to walk the Olvidado in either October or July 2025. Considering weather and availability of accommodation (albergue like places perf), suggestions/advice welcomed. I walk around 25km /day.

Hi Mike, here is a link to help with weather for all camino routes in all months. I haven't done the Olvidado yet but walked the Norte in Sept -Oct and the weather was perfect. Given the literal killer heatwaves in the past couple of years in Spain I'd stay away from July. https://caminoweather.com/

 

[Mike Long]

FSP, thanks. Very useful tool.

 

[peregrina2000]

Unlike @FSP, I would choose July because it will be summer, and there are so many beautiful mountain days that will shine in summertime. This is not an unusually hot part of Spain, though of course everything is warming. Unlike the Norte, where pilgrims collide with tourists in summertime, the Olvidado does not go through many high-tourist areas. There are enough albergues and cheap-ish private places that you will not have to pay premium prices in summer. You can get a good idea of albergue offerings on this website.

 

[Mike Long]

peregrina2000, thanks for your comments. I have been eyeing the Olvidado for a couple of years now and 2025 is the year to get it done.

 

[Takahiwai]

Unlike @FSP, I would choose July because it will be summer, and there are so many beautiful mountain days that will shine in summertime. This is not an unusually hot part of Spain, though of course everything is warming. Unlike the Norte, where pilgrims collide with tourists in summertime, the Olvidado does not go through many high-tourist areas. There are enough albergues and cheap-ish private places that you will not have to pay premium prices in summer. You can get a good idea of albergue offerings on this website.

This is one of less than a handful of caminos that I would choose to do in summer rather than winter, which is probably why I haven't yet tackled it, since I never get time off in summer!

 

[BrianLCrabtree]

I have an opportunity to walk the Olvidado in either October or July 2025. Considering weather and availability of accommodation (albergue like places perf), suggestions/advice welcomed. I walk around 25km /day.

I walked it in 2023 from Bilbao to Ponferrada, the last week of Sept and first two weeks of Oct. It is a solitary walking experience. I encountered zero other walkers doing the entire route. I met three people in La Robla who were walking a couple of days. Trail marking is poor from Bilbao to La Robla and the trail is overgrown in places because of few walkers. It's easy to lose the trail so a digital navigation app was invaluable to me. Infrastructure is limited. There are some albergues, but not consistently. I had to also stay in pensions, casas rural, and hotels. I enjoyed the Olvidado but I must say I was very happy to reach Ponferrada. I continued on the Invierno.