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Planning around Semana Santa 2025

Aggie79

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Time of past OR future Camino
Planning for April 2025
We have been planning for a Spring 2025 Camino Frances and had questions regarding the impacts of Semana Santa, and how it could affect our planned start date.

The week of Semana Santa (April 13-20) comes late in 2025. We understand that week and the prior week (April 6-13) would be the times with the heaviest Camino "traffic". Please let me know your experiences for these, and also the conditions for the week after Semana Santa.

Our tentative plan is to start March 24 from SJPdP and be past the early "pinch points" on the Frances before Semana Santa. (We understand that this date would mandate the route via Val Carlos.) Or would we be better with an April 21-23 start date to miss some of the holiday crowds?

We are okay with both cool to cold weather and warm to hot weather, but we are also understand the earlier option would impact gear and pack weights. (We are trying to keep our pack weights as low as possible.)

Thank you for your thoughts.
 
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I’d suggest to you that the holiday crowds are only going to be in the large cities and on the last 100 km of the different Caminos heading into Santiago during Semana Santa and on Easter.

When we walked the Inglés during Semana Santa, it was busy with Spanish pilgrims. We were glad we had reservations because the albergues did fill up. On our trips just post Easter there were no particular crowds to speak of.

If you do start your Camino in late March, I don’t think there will be those pinch points that you’ll find later in the spring although the weather might be a bit chancier. Later in April you’ll start getting some of the regular Camino traffic which can get heavy by May. If it were me, I’d start near mid April and if you’re going to be in one of the large cities along The Way on Easter, it’d probably be best to reserve a bed. Buen Camino!
 
For my only Camino in Semana Santa there were hardly any pilgrims, but that was 1989, so I wouldn't take those numbers as any guide.

From all that I have read, on these forums and elsewhere, Camino traffic is likely to get much busier after Semana Santa. On the one hand, Semana Santa is considered the start of the pilgrim season. On the other hand, early May is one of the busiest times for starts on the Camino Frances (at least, prior to Sarria) with the high numbers starting to spread into the end of April. I think you are more likely to see higher numbers after Semana Santa and towards the end of April than before with a late March start.
 
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During the week of semana santa the bigger towns will be packed, especially from the Thursday to Sunday/Monday.

Whilst the crowds will not be ‘pilgrims’ per se, they will be heavily booking the ‘private’ accommodation.
 
:::chuckle::: I'm still curious to hear from the OP what kind of scenery OP is looking for
 
My wife and I walked during Semana Santa in 2019. We stayed in SJPdP on Good Friday, and Orisson on Holy Saturday, and Roncevalles on Easter Sunday. While booking ahead was definitely a good idea, Semana Santa was barely celebrated in those villages because they are small and mostly tourist-oriented. The bigger cities - Leon, Logroño, Pamplona, Santiago - may have more activities and crowds, so plan around those places or book ahead. I’d suspect the last 100kms of any route to be busy, too.

In short, with a bit of planning, it should have minimal impact on your Camino.
 
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If you don't mind colder weather why don't you think about starting in late October. Many fewer pilgrims walking. Yes fewer albergues open but you will always find a bed. You will still meet plenty of people from around the world. I also believe, although I am not going to get into my reasons, that people who walk in cold weather, December and beyond are a little different, not better, not worse, bt a little different than pilgrims who walk in high season. (Yes I know many must walk then because of jobs, family etc). Just what I think.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I flew into Pamplona at the Start of Semana Santa this year. We spent two days observing the festivities (which were wonderful) and then took the bus to SJPdP and started our pilgrimage walk the next day. No crowds, but having reservations in SJPdP were helpful. After that, just a normal, wonderful Camino.
 
Don’t tell everyone! I’m next on Camino October 1. I simply wouldn’t consider April to September on the popular routes.
 
If you are passing down towards Switzerland, you might want to stop at La Cluse et Mijoux, à fortresses on the path to Neuchâtel. Toussaint L’Ouverture was imprisoned there until he died. He freed the slaves in Haiti…the fortresse is worth visiting.
If you like cheese, you want to taste the COMTE that comes in various flavors due to the aging process. I personally prefer Comté over Swiss gruyère.
 
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