Reservations

[biloute]

I've been reading posts in which people are advising making reservations along the Le Puy route 2 days in advance in May because it's so busy. I'll be walking it in June. What are your experiences of traveling the route at this time without reservations? I'm used to just finding someplace wherever I feel like stopping (even if I will have an itinerary sketched out). After all, there's no way of really knowing, especially at first, how quickly I'll be able to go. Or what if I see or hear about someplace along the way and decide I want to visit it? I don't want to feel locked into being at a certain place at a certain time.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You can reserve and cancel. As a matter of fact, cancelling a reservation that you will not use is mandatory. The French are very irritable about unused reservations. A couple of hours notice is all they expect, but they expect the courtesy of a call if someone will not be arriving.

So make a reservation where you think you will stop, stop anytime you want, and cancel the one you won't be using. It works surprisingly well. Without a reservation in June, you may find lots of closed places.

 

[Thomas1962]

I walked from le Puy to SJPdP from the 4th of july 2012 on. Noticed many people making daily reservations but never made one myself. Never had any problem with that, only one time found a full albergue, could go then to the other one in the same village.
For me the charme of the camino is the freedom to walk and to stop when I feel like, I just don't like to reservate. On no one of my camino's I experienced the need, I was fine.
It depends on one's personal preference. I would advice not to worry before. Just start and see how it's go, you can always start with making reservations later on.
In the end of every day, alle pilgrims sleep...

 

[KiwiNomad06]

May and September are the busiest walking months on the Le Puy route. In June you can probably get by without reservations- though someone I know walked in June and at times found places full and had to walk on to the next village/town.
Margaret

 

[dalston999]

I was on the Le Puy route this June, I mostly booked ahead a few nights as I went, sometimes places were full, mostly there was always somewhere possible. It depends how flexible you are prepared to be, but also if exhausted, the prospect of walking on another hour to find a bed may be too daunting to take the risk.

However, there are a lot of French walking and cycling clubs who seemed to be around at that time taking up all the beds in some places, so if you happen to coincide with one of these 'bulges' you will have to take evasive action!

 

[KiwiNomad06]

so if you happen to coincide with one of these 'bulges' you will have to take evasive action!

I think that's often a key to it on the Le Puy route. We struck a bulge after Aire sur l'Adour. It could have been solved by walking a short/long day, or having a rest day, to get out of sync with the bulge. Because the gites tend to take fewer people than albergues on the Camino Frances, they are 'full' at times- but a day later, might be quite empty.
Margaret

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It rained so much in May of this year, that many French moved their walking to June! It rained a lot at the beginning of June, too...

 

[dalston999]

My memory is of rain and mud most of this spring between when I started in early March until I finished in early July....I certainly found that Goretex is not as waterproof as I had been led to believe.......