Suggestions on Where to Take Breaks for a Couple of Days

[Anakasha]

I am planning on taking 8 weeks to do the Camino. If I get done earlier great, but I have an old knee injury and so I plan on taking my time.

Since I have the time are there any recommendations for places where you would, have, would have liked to spend a couple of days before carrying on.

Also, I have read that if you plan on spending more than one night you will have to get a hotel, is this true with the private albergues as well?

Planning on going toward the middle of April, and I understand that it's not as busy, but I'm sure the policies about in and out still apply.

 

[colinPeter]

Leon is a lovely city. Good nightlife, hotels in most price ranges.
Buen Camino.
Col

 

[mralisn]

My Camino brother needed to take two days off and he fancied the beach. He took a bus to Gijon, and had a great time relaxing, pampering, and eating some of his favorite foods from the sea. He bussed back to the same town from where he stopped and then continued to SDC. Perhaps this might be a good break for you as well. Hmm...maybe walk part of the Camino Norte as it goes right through.

Keep a smile,
Simeon

 

[Thornley]

Hi Anakasha,

First extra day would be Pamplona [ start like an old man and finish as a young one] then Burgos and Leon . The latter for as many days as you want as its a lovely city.

When you get to Ruitelan [ a lovely place to stop] just into Gallicia, take short days and enjoy this area , its beautiful.
We only walked the 4 km to La Faba as my wife had a sprained ankle. This short walk , even though it was uphill and in the forrest made the next week very enjoyable.
In April i don't think you will have any problems staying an extra day .
In some places they will love you company.
Safe Trip
D

 

[dougfitz]

Anakasha
You don't say how you plan to spread out walking. Are you intending just to do shorter distances, or perhaps do longer distances and take more regular breaks?

With an eight week plan from SJPP, you need to cover 100km/week. With a six walking day/one rest day pattern, your daily average needs to be 17km, and you would be looking for seven places along the way. I would be thinking of Pamplona, Logrono, Burgos, Leon and Ponferrada as likely candidates, perhaps Astorga as well.

There is also the option of getting on a bus or train, and visiting somewhere close to the Camino, which would open up a much broader set of options.

I'm not sure how much you could rely on staying an extra day in an albergue. It is possible if you are ill, but I only heard of one place when I did Camino Frances in 2010 where that had happened otherwise. Mind you, I was not checking for this, so there may well have been places that might have allowed it but weren't making much of it.

 

[Abbeydore]

Anakasha,
I think you'll know when you get there, you'll find a place you'd like to stay longer, but on other hand, you may not want too either cause that may spoil it too........you'll just know, & if you don't a couple of extra days in Santiago.

You could always give them away, we've only got 15days & a few extra would be great
David

 

[tyrrek]

Hi!

I agree with the unplanned approach. The weather could affect your decision as well. The one day it was raining very heavily on my Camino I found myself in Burgos, so I just took a complete break to catch up on sleeping and eating. Maybe not the true pilgrim spirit, but hey!

Leon is a good call as well. It had a nice feel about it and I'd have happily spent more time there.

Buen Camino!

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Hi Anakasha,

If I had a few extra days I would go and stay in Santo Domingo de Silos. It is a tiny village about 65 k from Burgos. There is a monastery there where the monks sing the Divine office each day.
The tour around the cloister is amazing, I did it twice the first time I stayed there. The village is about 3 miles above sea level and yet is surrounded by mountains. One bus leaves Burgos daily at 5.30 p.m. I think and returns to Burgos at 8.00 or 8.30 the following morning.

However,if you are looking for night life, this would not be the place to stay

If you are male you can stay in the monastery. If female I would recommend Hostal Cruces.

Buen Camino,
Lydia

 

[wawpdx]

The following are my suggestions for places to linger, in backwards sequence.

If you have a bit of the painter in your soul, it would be worth an extra day to be in Astorga on market day. So many shades of green!! My guide book says Tuesday is market day. In contrast to that, Astorga has a Gaudi building.

My favorite place in all of Spain is Leon. Leon is a city full of angels -- at least that's how I felt when I was sick there and needed help. Find out who El Cid is before you arrive and give your knees a rest sitting in the small park dedicated to him. See the guide books for other sights. The cathedral is beautiful.

Burgos is a destination city. Just behind the cathedral, there is a church that feels more like a church.

Take time to go into the church in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. :shock: There is also a museum in the church.

Much earlier on, I personally liked Puente la Reina. The private alburgue up the hill might let you stay an extra night. I wished I had been able to spend some time in Estella.
Nancy

 

[Telluridewalker]

If you are male you can stay in the monastery. If female I would recommend Hostal Cruces.

As to the question of where to take a break, I'm also of the opinion that you should feel it out and "let the Camino decide." I also scheduled in a few break days along the walk, but, when break day came up, my body wanted to keep putting kilometers behind me. You'll get into a daily rhythm that's hard to break (I often compare it to the Tour de France riders who do what on their days off?- they ride!)

On another topic, Lydia's comment above makes me wonder- are there other places along the Camino from which one is excluded based on sex? I would rather see the monastery take no pilgrims than only men.

 

[micbook]

Anakasha,

In terms of a major city, my favorite was by far Leon, and I ended up taking three days of rest there. It's lovely, and there's so much to do and see. If you happen to arrive there on the weekend, you might come across all sorts of festivals and celebrations which greatly added to my experience. If you're interested in seeing the Castillo de los Templarios, I would take my time in Ponferrada and maybe spend the night. I loved the castle and really took my time (I was exploring it for over 3 hours), which many pilgrims couldn't do if they needed to make sure they make it to the next stop that day.

I noticed a lot people mostly focused on the bigger cities along the way and I have to say that to me, part of the charm was the little villages and their magic...there are so many beautiful places along the way. Part of it will be of course personal preference, so it depends on your personal taste. One fun thing about the Camino is to just walk through a village/town/city and decide on a whim to stay. So it's good to plan ahead but also balance with some spontaneous stays

I don't think you can stay in albergues for more than one night, but in most places there's such a variety of accommodation, that you can almost always find a place that suits your needs and budget.

Buen Camino!
Michal
--
http://michalrinkevich.wordpress.com/tag/camino-de-santiago/

 

[Anakasha]

Wow thank you so much. I plan on letting the Camino and my body guide the way, but I very much value everyone suggestions.

I must take a moment to thank everyone here for their guidance and the generosity of their time and knowledge. If only 10% of the people I encounter along my Camino are as amazing as all of you are I am going to have an amazing time. Although based on the number of helpful people I here I'm guessing that 10% number is going to be more like 90%.

 

[anthonyjt]

I found private Albergues to me more flexible than government ones although I never tried to stay an extra night. Even if they do let you stay, you will still be expected to take your pack with you during the day. One suggestion not voiced so far is to take half (or quarter) days. Only the Galacian Xunta albergues seem to enforce a minimum distance rule so you could just walk say five or 10 kms to the next town. This would however require a slow morning and early lunch as most albergues don't open until about 12 or 1pm.

 

[rubyslippers]

I agree with several posters here that LEON is a great suggestion. I thought the cathedral there was the most amazing I saw through my entire trip. (inc. santiago) 2 days there is good. The Pilgrim Albergues are restricted to those who walk in and you can only stay one day. Many other places though and in places like Leon I would suggest getting a hotel off the main square by the cathedral. The only problem I had with walking it the last week of april and then through May is that some places are just getting up and running from being closed. I never was without a place to stay. BE CAREFUL which place you are hiking into on May 5th. Cinco De Mayo. Many celebrations and the towns are BRIMMING! I barely got a bed and it was the worst one I had in 6 weeks. I woud get a reservation for that night. This year it is a Saturday. You might consider staying the weekend somewhere and be there on the 4th.

NO where I stayed cared how far I walked that day. Only the last 100 K is looked at because of the Compostella they give you. One morning out of Borgos I found myself in front of a 12th. century church I definitely wanted to stay at so I stopped at 10:30 than morning. I got my wash done early and proceeded to help Father Lino prepare vegetables for that night's dinner. I sat in the sun and wrote in my journal. It was one of my memories to treasure. Only holds 20 some persons.

 

[rubyslippers]

I forgot to say - if you have some love of Art I would suggest taking a side trip from Logrono or Borgos to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

 

[caminka]

the idea of busing or train-ing off camino for a break is wonderful. there are plenty of interesting places to see or relax.

I think all bigger cities on camino merit an extra day or two (for sightseeing or just soaking up the atmosphere): pamplona, estella, logrono, najera, santo domingo, burgos, carrion, sahagun, mansilla, leon, astorga, ponferrada, melide, santiago. I really cannot say which is my favourite because each has its own charm. there are easy excursions from them, as well, some can be done on foot if you are inclined to walk a bit.

I think that in general private albergues would be more inclined to let you stay an extra night then municipal and parish ones, but that would also depend on the number of pilgrims expected to arrive and the number of albergues in town. I stayed an extra day in parish albergue in burgos (which is off centre and apparently not yet well known so it had space), municipal in mansilla (because I was sick, they even accommodated six sick pilgrims that extra day), municipal albergue in leon (where I got my own room for 13E so I could sleep off to my heart's content).

you could plan so that you sleep as close as possible to a big city, walk for an hour or so the next day, sleep overnight, and perhaps also take the next half of the day off, before heading to the next closest albergue.

in most big cities there are also youth hostels (albergues juveniles) which don't have one night policy: pamplona (on outskirts, and backpacker's in centre), estella, granon (1km off camino), burgos (on outskirts), carrion, leon (two in centre during summer).
if not, there is usually a hostal/pension which is affordable (about 25-35E for a single a night).

 

[LaurelKay]

I have to say thank you to everyone who posted ideas for detours here and in another thread. So very helpful - thank you for sharing! I also am taking 8+ or so weeks to walk the Camino and want to stop and see places I may never have the opportunity to see again.

Without trying to plan too much, since I have no idea how it will actually go each day, here is what I have learned and hope to see from reading here and/or seeing what is near by.

Detour to Laguardia from Logrono. Looks like this will be a bus ride detour out to the small town in this wine country. So much to see there it seems like it's own destination. The winery that I think is built by the same architect who did the Guggenheim in Bilbao looks stunning.

A walking detour out to San Millan to see the monastery. Though a detour, it looks like I can walk this one and stay a night there in San Millan. Thank you to whomever pointed this out.

Detour to Silos. Another bus ride out detour, thank you to whomever posted the bus schedule. Hope to go there by bus from Burgos and spend a couple nights.

That's all I have so far, other than maybe spending an extra day in any place I come to that seems like I should or if it seems I need to rest. Since the albergues only allow one night, I am thinking if I want to stay an extra night somewhere I will get a hotel the second night.

 

[querycomment]

I have a related question. I intend walking CF for about 6 days in mid May. And as it is my first time I dont want to be toiling up mountains and I would prefer the least amount of road walking.

My airport choices are Bilbao, Madrid and Santiago de Compestella. Would it be possible to combine walking with a seaside break for about 4 days. The question is what to with extra Luggage and how easy is it to get to and from the CF from any of the 3 airports.

For example, on the map Pamplona, Logrono and Burgos seems to be close to Bilbao; while Burgos, Leon and Ponferrada seem to be close to Madrid. But while that seems to be the case on the map, I have no idea how well connected they are in practice. The other alternative is to land in SdC and travel out a distance equivalent to 6 days and walk back into the city.

I have read a good report on San Sebastian but if anyone knows other coastal spots for a break I would be delighted to hear.

Any ideas ?
Thanks

 

[duncan pm]

Whilst there is much of interest in the larger cities - as mentioned leon especially is outstanding - I would opt for the smaller places.
Cacabelos is wonderful - sublime food and countryside and much to see and do nearby.
San Millan is lovely and a worthy detour.
Time spent day dreaming on the meseta is time well spent - the hill above Castrojeriz particularly.
Many a happy hour just people watching - any terraza in any plaza anywhere.
For a further break Bilbao is great as is the bay in San Sebastian.
A night out in an underground bodega restaurant near Valladolid is a gastronomic delight.
The hills of the Maragateria after Astorga are lovely.
So many choices...

 

[querycomment]

Thanks for response. My chief concern is how to get to and from the Camino from those airports I can fly into (Bilbao, Madrid and Santiago). I see that the main train route goes thru Leon and Burgos. How easy is it to get to other places along the camino.