Timing of reservation requests

[Gilson]

I AM A PLANNER... I was 10 days in on my last camino before I was able to "relax" - that was when I finally had all of my nights booked. Please, do not make this a discussion about "to book or not to book." And yes, I know to try to book direct rather than use a booking site... To each his/her own - walk your own walk and all that.

For me, a legitimate question... and perhaps @wisepilgrim or those with albergue management experience can assist...

Easter is late in 2025, followed closely by the May 1 holiday. I am planning an early April start. When is it appropriate for me to begin contacting the albergues for reservations?

I plan to walk the Portuguese from Lisbon, follow the Litoral, Coastal, and then, Santiago-Muxia-Finisterre-Santiago... [And yes, I am aware of the Espiritual variant, no need to recommend it...]

 

[ratherbefollowingflechas]

Greetings to you, my fellow planner. I am totally anal about how far I am willing to walk and what my lodging entails, so I understand your mindset more than most. To me, nothing is more stressful than having to walk another 5-10k to the next town, or sleeping on a mattress thrown on the floor in the corner. That being said, our last Camino (the Primitivo) was May/June 2024 and I had 14 of the 20 nights booked by the middle of October of 2023. Almost all of those stays were booked directly with the albergues (most of which we had stayed at the year before) through their websites. I did book a few places on booking.com but only for ease of use. There were several places that politely let me know that they did not accept reservations that far in advance and asked me to reconnect after the beginning of the year. In one instance, they replied that the new year's prices had not been established, so I booked on the contingency that the price increase wasn't too drastic.

I would say that it is okay at this point to reach out, especially if you have locked into some key places. The worst they can say is to check back, and at best you will have one more lodging confirmed. We did the Portuguese from Porto in 2016 when the infrastructure was still limited, and I booked most of our stays at hotels through booking.com. Back then, I was not as learned in discovering albergues, but I still did that at least 4-5 months in advance.

Best wishes and happy planning!
Bom Caminho!

 

[TravellingMan22]

Greetings to you, my fellow planner. I am totally anal about how far I am willing to walk and what my lodging entails, so I understand your mindset more than most. To me, nothing is more stressful than having to walk another 5-10k to the next town, or sleeping on a mattress thrown on the floor in the corner.

Best wishes and happy planning!
Bom Caminho!

I only book through booking . com and you can book as soon as the inventory is available, as long as there is a cancellation policy in place. Most places do have a cancellation policy even if it is not the first option on the pricing list. Many places that offer dorm rooms, may also have cheap private rooms if you scroll down. It may be a few € more. Many places offer inventory from a year out, some less, and some even more. I am holding hotac a year out at moment (non Camino) obv. with a cancellation policy.

 

[davejsy]

Not Camino specific, but just a heads up to anyone booking accommodation in Spain when it comes to booking direct or via booking,com.

I have always tried to book directly with the accommodations as opposed to booking,com in Spain, and have never had a bad experience until recently. I'd made a booking well in advance (with somewhere I'd stayed before), and sent half the cost as a deposit. I had to cancel and did so 2 months before the booking - but the owner refused to return the deposit which was not an insignificant amount. If I'd have booked the accommodation via booking,com then I would have got a full refund up to 2 weeks before the booking as those are the terms the accommodation has on booking,com.

So I guess if booking in advance with a property directly which requires any form of cash up front just make sure you get the T&C's off them before just incase (if not on their website) - don't assume you will get the same as what they have on booking,com or such.

 

[TravellingMan22]

Not Camino specific, but just a heads up to anyone booking accommodation in Spain when it comes to booking direct or via booking,com.

I have always tried to book directly with the accommodations as opposed to booking,com in Spain, and have never had a bad experience until recently. I'd made a booking well in advance (with somewhere I'd stayed before), and sent half the cost as a deposit. I had to cancel and did so 2 months before the booking - but the owner refused to return the deposit which was not an insignificant amount. If I'd have booked the accommodation via booking,com then I would have got a full refund up to 2 weeks before the booking as those are the terms the accommodation has on booking,com.

So I guess if booking in advance with a property directly which requires any form of cash up front just make sure you get the T&C's off them before just incase (if not on their website) - don't assume you will get the same as what they have on booking,com or such.

Yes indeed! I use booking all the time, a few hundred nights a year, and one of the key reasons, is the transparency of the T and C’s. I probably cancel/change over 50% of my bookings so this is pretty much a key part, alongside the product range.

I wouldn’t necessarily assume most hotels prefer direct bookings. Some will do of course! The ‘cost of sale’ for a direct booking can be higher than an indirect booking.

 

[WalkingPlaylist]

For those that take them in advance, start now. That's a busy time. For all my Caminos, I've locked them in mostly 3 months in advance, but the Parador in Santiago I have at least 6 months in advance.

 

[auburnfive]

I am also a planner and booker. For a September Frances, knowing it was the most popular time, started booking the second week on January, about half with booking.com, the other half direct though email. Most places responded quickly, sometimes with a request to reconfirm a few weeks out. I did make a few changes if I came across a highly recommended places on the forum, but not if I had booked direct.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

When is it appropriate for me to begin contacting the albergues for reservations?

I think the preference when Albergue or hotels want or accept bookings varies so much that there is no answer to that question. Why not just contact them when you're ready to make the booking? The worst that you're going to hear is that they don't take bookings yet…

On my last April 2024 Camino Frances, which started to get very busy, I was in a bit of a bad race panic for the first few weeks and was trying to book everything. So much work. I decided just to let go of that and my life became much less stressful, although I certainly spent a lot of nights in top bunks!

 

[msconduct10]

I’m walking from Porto in April and am booking the things I really care about now. I’ve booked my first two nights in Porto, my first night on the Camino because there’s so few options at the distance I want to walk (someone would do very well to put an albergue at the 10 mile point between Porto and Vila do Conde), and Casa Fernanda a few days later. I’ll add more as we get closer but many just don’t book out this far. I figure in December, a lot should open up. I’m meeting friends in Combarra and my schedule is pretty firm, so why not book ahead? This is my first time traveling abroad alone, so I’ll have enough wide-eyed adapting to do. I want the place I lay my head to be the least of my anxiety.

 

[Gilson]

I have sent some emails and a few requests through Whatsapp - only a few responses. I am guessing they don't want to deal with next year, yet... I didn't want to bombard them, if it's more appropriate to wait until December or January. As with everything (ie "what will the weather be like in x month?"), am probably unrealistically looking for THE answer... Oh well - Thank you to all who have provided relevant input.

 

[Jodean]

I tend to book my most important stops first, like in Santiago, and where ever I am starting.
For San Martin Pinario, I booked in Nov. to stay end of May. Borda, I booked in Dec. when ever they opened booking, the rest calmly spent my winter looking at places that appealed to me and slowly filled in my nights. Had my spread sheet with phone #s listed and when they wanted to be contacted to confirm if I booked with them rather than booking dot com. It runs about 50/50 with me and there are some places that only let you reserve with booking dot com as they have been burned so many times by pilgrims not canceling. Say what you want about the booking websites, they are handy to use and for the owner who may not speak 20 different languages, they are very helpful to keep their albergue fully occupied.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I have sent some emails and a few requests through Whatsapp - only a few responses. I am guessing they don't want to deal with next year, yet... I didn't want to bombard them, if it's more appropriate to wait until December or January. As with everything (ie "what will the weather be like in x month?"), am probably unrealistically looking for THE answer... Oh well - Thank you to all who have provided relevant input.

Have you tried booking .com. WA, phone, email are very quaint and an asset when you are stuck but why not just look for instantaneous confirmations with no need to pay yet and clear T and C’s and not depend on mood/workload of those on reception. Hotels advertise on 3rd party sites for a reason!

 

[RRat]

I AM A PLANNER... I was 10 days in on my last camino before I was able to "relax" - that was when I finally had all of my nights booked. Please, do not make this a discussion about "to book or not to book." And yes, I know to try to book direct rather than use a booking site... To each his/her own - walk your own walk and all that.

For me, a legitimate question... and perhaps @wisepilgrim or those with albergue management experience can assist...

Easter is late in 2025, followed closely by the May 1 holiday. I am planning an early April start. When is it appropriate for me to begin contacting the albergues for reservations?

I plan to walk the Portuguese from Lisbon, follow the Litoral, Coastal, and then, Santiago-Muxia-Finisterre-Santiago... [And yes, I am aware of the Espiritual variant, no need to recommend it...]

Discussion not required, narrative says it all.

 

[Gilson]

Have you tried booking .com.

Yes, have tried when the property indicates that option; However, most are coming back "sold out." Will keep trying, as I am aware many have not listed their availability, yet.

 

[Steven Dwyer]

I talked with an albergue owner this trip regarding advance booking. Their plan is to not start taking bookings until March of next year, and then possibly only taking them one month in advance. The amount of work that smaller places have to go through with the reservations is insane. At the first albergue, they shared with me a page from their reservation book, about half the booking had been cancelled because life gets in the way.

 

[elise]

Exactly like mye plans. I have tried to order, especially for the Easter-days, but the answers are: too early, try again in February.

 

[Irene70]

Hi all, i'm also a BIG planner, going solo on the Camino Portugues sep/oct 25 and already started booking accomodations.....so far through Booking.com. Most accomodations however don't take reservations yet. I've contacted a few places directly but only one of them replied so far. Of course I understand the trouble that especially smaller places have when they have so many cancellations. But I would very much like to be sure to have a place to sleep every night. I'm not at all worried about other things as the weather, the walking, blisters, you name it. So i'm getting just a little bit frustrated... probably not necessary of course. Anyone has tips to share? Thanks in advance.

 

[Flog]

Yes, here's one:
Your camino is in ten months,
Give it about eight more months, then book places.. if you must.

 

[Jodean]

For my Portugal walk last April, I didn't try to book anything until Jan. Many places do not open their reservations until then. Obviously, you can try now on booking dot com, but perhaps just save them as favorites now and then try booking at the beginning of the year. The only place I booked in Nov. was St. Martin Pinario in Santiago. They are just always booked up. Send them an email to book your room. This includes their pilgrim rooms which won't even be posted on their website as an option. You have to ask for them.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Irene70, whilst I understand your frustration there is something you should probably consider: the season has only just ended and many of the smaller places actually Close from now until March or April. (Many family businesses reopen just before Easter, which is relatively late next year) They have worked hard, often seven days a week, and they need a break. Yes it would be nice if they loaded an automated response informing you of the fact but hey not everybody is that organized.

On the odd occasions I have had significant time pressure and have booked everything, I have never failed to find what I needed two months out.
The only places that I would consider booking further out is a recognised pinch point during high season, such as Bruma on the camino Inglès, or the first few days of the camino Frances during April and September.

So as suggested throughout the thread above you may just need to temper your expectations a little, be patient, and wait until March. That's still a six month lead time.

 

[David Tallan]

Hi all, i'm also a BIG planner, going solo on the Camino Portugues sep/oct 25 and already started booking accomodations.....so far through Booking.com. Most accomodations however don't take reservations yet. I've contacted a few places directly but only one of them replied so far. Of course I understand the trouble that especially smaller places have when they have so many cancellations. But I would very much like to be sure to have a place to sleep every night. I'm not at all worried about other things as the weather, the walking, blisters, you name it. So i'm getting just a little bit frustrated... probably not necessary of course. Anyone has tips to share? Thanks in advance.

My tip is that you are worried about the wrong things. There are  lots of places to sleep on the Camino Portugues. Having a place to sleep is unlikely to be a problem. But the other things you are not worried about at all, can become problems if you aren't prepared for them and thinking about them. And if you lock yourself in this far in advance, they can become big problems if you dont leave yourself flexibility to adjust.

I'm a big planner, too. I like to know all the places I can stop, what accommodations are available in each, where I can get food, use an ATM, visit a pharmacy, etc. I like to plan where I thing I will sleep each night and what my daily stages will be. But I always leave some cushion and generally don't book too far in advance (even though I have some idea of what my daily distances like to be after these many Caminos. Because I don't know what will happen on the trail. I don't think I would be finishing the Camino I am currently walking if I hadn't had the flexibility two turn two stages into three early on when there was an unexpected hiccup. I could do that because I was only booking a day or two in advance. Then, I was later able to adjust and turn two stages into one towards the end of the Camino when I knew I was stronger again and decided I would rather have that extra day in Santiago.

There are too many unknowns on your Camino to lock yourself in for the whole thing in advance, especially when there are enough accommodations that you don't need to.