Walking the Via de la Plata in May 2019

[Daniel Beaumont]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

This is the first time i've posted on this site - what a lovely, helpful community this is.

I am going to be walking my 5th Camino, the Via de la Plata, from Seville to Santiago de Compostela starting May 16th and finishing in Santiago around June 18th - I’m so excited!

Is anyone else walking the route at a similar time?

Also, I’m wondering if anyone has any advice for the following questions…

1. As I run two hostels/albergues, I'm passionate about hospitality, so does anyone know any must-visit albergues along the route?

2. Does anyone know where I can find an up to date accommodation list for the route?

Any useful information would be greatly appreciated.

I am also going to document my journey each day and post it publically here in the forum for those interested in following.

Buen Camino

 

[MileHighPair]

Welcome Daniel, I've walked portions/all of the VdlP three times. I would recommend Gerald Kelly's guide, the 2019 version seems to be sold out on the Forum Store (on the upper left corner of this webpage). I think you can still download a copy of his website - which might be better anyway because it weighs nothing! Here: caminoguide.net/
Not sure I can recommend any particular albergue. You are welcome to scan our blog for spring of 2016 and spring of 2017 for what we experienced. My only other thought is that averaging 30 km/day seems a bit aggressive, but you know you body, so all I can say is Buen Camino!
Mike.

 

[Deleted member 73526]

1. As I run two hostels/albergues, I'm passionate about hospitality, so does anyone know any must-visit albergues along the route?

Check out this thread and article on the top 10 albergues on the VDLP and Camino Sanabres:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/top-10-albergues-on-vdlp-and-sanabres.59775/

If you want to meet people who are passionate about hospitality, you will love the Albergue parroquial in Fuenterroble de Salvatierra (Salamanca), which is deservedly ranked at the top of that list. I believe that this is one of the places that people go to learn about how to be a hospitalero.

Two albergues which did not make it into the top 10, but (in my opinion) deserve honorable mentions for the hospitality are:

1. Cubo de la Tierra del Vino (on Via de la Plata) - Home grown vegetables, home made dinner. Made with love. Served with pride.
   
   
2. Olleros de Tera (on Camino Sanabres) - Home made sausages. Ditto.

And one albergue with a super host which I accidentally detoured to is Lalin. It's on the Camino de Invierno - not the VDLP or the Sanabres. It was a lucky accident that I stayed there. (A Laxe would is the nearby albergue on the Sanabres route - but Lalin is a very smart albergue with a super nice hospitalero).

2. Does anyone know where I can find an up to date accommodation list for the route?

Gronze is good.

Vía de la Plata | Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

La Vía de la Plata (o Camino de la Plata) es el más importante Camino de Santiago desde el sur peninsular. Hoy en día se considera Sevilla como la ciudad de inicio, y el itinerario tiene su origen en distintas calzadas romanas que en el medievo aprovecharon los peregrinos. Se caracteriza por las...

www.gronze.com

And Antonio Retamosa publishes a PDF, which is very good to store on your phone. I found that not all details were up to date, so I cross referenced with Gronze.

GUIA DE ALBERGUES

listado de albergues en la via de la plata

viadelaplataelcamino.blogspot.com

 

[peregrina2000]

One place that seems to be suffering from some municipal squelching is the albergue parroquial in Monesterio. When I walked through way back when, there was no albergue in Monesterio, so I was in a hostal on the main road. I met the priest (who has walked caminos), who told me he wanted to open an albergue in his home. He has apparently done that and by all reports it is very nice, and though not a donativo, I believe it is what you are looking for. I understand that the town will not let him advertise or publicize the albergue (so as not to detract from local business???), but he is there, and I know that at least one Canadian chapter of amigos provides financial support for the albergue. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Hikoi]

When I walked the VdlP in 2016 I stayed in the albergue in Tabara. Great hospitality - the hospitalero, José Almeida Rodríguez, met each pilgrim, helped us take off our packs, washed our clothes, cooked the communal dinner, washed the dishes and among other things, farewell each of us! Everyone received a small souvenir of the stay - mine is a wooden medallion with a Camino arrow painted on it. He’s a fountain of knowledge about the town and Camino related themes. I believe he has also written books about the Camino. Very traditional albergue hospitality - the albergue is donativo.

 

[lar oreilly]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

This is the first time i've posted on this site - what a lovely, helpful community this is.

I am going to be walking my 5th Camino, the Via de la Plata, from Seville to Santiago de Compostela starting May 16th and finishing in Santiago around June 18th - I’m so excited!

Is anyone else walking the route at a similar time?

Also, I’m wondering if anyone has any advice for the following questions…

1. As I run two hostels/albergues, I'm passionate about hospitality, so does anyone know any must-visit albergues along the route?

2. Does anyone know where I can find an up to date accommodation list for the route?

Any useful information would be greatly appreciated.

I am also going to document my journey each day and post it publically here in the forum for those interested in following.

Buen Camino

Hi
I was thinking of doing same , but in sept ,,, a bit concerned re some stages 30 k r so to get albergues ,which would not suit me , interested in seeing what info u gather ,,watched a great documentary re walk ,
Will send name , later
Laro

 

[lar oreilly]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

This is the first time i've posted on this site - what a lovely, helpful community this is.

I am going to be walking my 5th Camino, the Via de la Plata, from Seville to Santiago de Compostela starting May 16th and finishing in Santiago around June 18th - I’m so excited!

Is anyone else walking the route at a similar time?

Also, I’m wondering if anyone has any advice for the following questions…

1. As I run two hostels/albergues, I'm passionate about hospitality, so does anyone know any must-visit albergues along the route?

2. Does anyone know where I can find an up to date accommodation list for the route?

Any useful information would be greatly appreciated.

I am also going to document my journey each day and post it publically here in the forum for those interested in following.

Buen Camino

Via de la plata and camino sanabres - documentary

 

[Colette Z]

One place that seems to be suffering from some municipal squelching is the albergue parroquial in Monesterio. When I walked through way back when, there was no albergue in Monesterio, so I was in a hostal on the main road. I met the priest (who has walked caminos), who told me he wanted to open an albergue in his home. He has apparently done that and by all reports it is very nice, and though not a donativo, I believe it is what you are looking for. I understand that the town will not let him advertise or publicize the albergue (so as not to detract from local business???), but he is there, and I know that at least one Canadian chapter of amigos provides financial support for the albergue. Buen camino, Laurie

Would that be the Albergue Las Moreras?

 

[peregrina2000]

Would that be the Albergue Las Moreras?

According to Gronze, the Las Moreras is 700 m off camino and 700 m from the center. https://www.gronze.com/extremadura/badajoz/monesterio/albergue-moreras. I don’t know anything about it, but it gets good reviews.

I’m talking the Albergue Parroquial, which is right on the camino. https://www.gronze.com/extremadura/badajoz/monesterio/albergue-parroquial-monesterio

 

[happymarkos]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

This is the first time i've posted on this site - what a lovely, helpful community this is.

I am going to be walking my 5th Camino, the Via de la Plata, from Seville to Santiago de Compostela starting May 16th and finishing in Santiago around June 18th - I’m so excited!

Is anyone else walking the route at a similar time?

Also, I’m wondering if anyone has any advice for the following questions…

1. As I run two hostels/albergues, I'm passionate about hospitality, so does anyone know any must-visit albergues along the route?

2. Does anyone know where I can find an up to date accommodation list for the route?

Any useful information would be greatly appreciated.

I am also going to document my journey each day and post it publically here in the forum for those interested in following.

Buen Camino

Hi
The only thing I can add is a great new app that shows the Camino. Windy Maps. It is the best I have seen and works off line like the sat nav in a car. Doesn’t use phone data. Shows the variation also north of Salamanca
Buen Camino
Happymark

 

[Daniel Beaumont]

Thanks for all the great info here guys. A lot of useful resources to go through.

I’m wondering if anyone knows what the mobile network coverage is like on the VDLP? I have a roaming plan but just wondering whether there is a consistent signal on route?

The reason i ask is because i want to document my walk and upload pictures and videos live from the way.

Thanks, hope you can help!

 

[Deleted member 73526]

I’m wondering if anyone knows what the mobile network coverage is like on the VDLP?

Mostly good. You're rarely without a signal but there are stretches where you will struggle to do live video.

 

[Martyduc]

Hi
The only thing I can add is a great new app that shows the Camino. Windy Maps. It is the best I have seen and works off line like the sat nav in a car. Doesn’t use phone data. Shows the variation also north of Salamanca
Buen Camino
Happymark

Its a great app isnt it !!!!

 

[Laura Newell Smith]

Your goal seems very aggressive, but some very fit folks may find it manageable. The spacing between towns and albergues, and challenges due to weather related detours can make it difficult to walk a consistent distance each day. We walked most of the Via de la Plata last year and found that we had to adjust the distance we walked each day to match the distance between albergues, and to accommodate the weather related detours. I recommend the Van Gogh albergue in Zafra. The host is particularly helpful. Buen Camino

 

[Mel Camino]

Yes, yes to the Albergue Parroquial in Monesterio. Very clean, beautiful tiling and I seem to remember a separate bathroom for women. The albergue in Puebla de Sanabria (Hostel Casa Luz) also had a gorgeous bathroom just for women (sorry guys, this mattered to me at the time!). I also loved the private albergue in Cañaveral (aptly named Albergue Cañaveral). It was super clean, and the bathrooms were stocked with soap and shampoo, and each bed has its own lamp and outlet. They also had turtles and chickens out back (and a giant dog that was sweet). And even though the Albergue rural Alba Soraya itself was basic in Calzada de Bejar (the town before Fuenterroble, which was also special as others have said), I loved the community meal and general hospitality there.

A word of warning: If you stay in the municipal albergue in Casar de Caceres, do not stay in the bunks next to the toilets! I made this fatal mistake and had probably the worst night of sleep of the entire Camino. There was an endless line of people using the toilets only feet from my head, shining their lights in my face. I sorely miscalculated how many people would need to pee in the middle of the night!

 

[KrisMort]

Hi Daniel,
I’m planning to do the VDLP in September & look forward to reading your posts,
Chris

 

[Anniesantiago]

Yes, yes to the Albergue Parroquial in Monesterio. Very clean, beautiful tiling and I seem to remember a separate bathroom for women. The albergue in Puebla de Sanabria (Hostel Casa Luz) also had a gorgeous bathroom just for women (sorry guys, this mattered to me at the time!). I also loved the private albergue in Cañaveral (aptly named Albergue Cañaveral). It was super clean, and the bathrooms were stocked with soap and shampoo, and each bed has its own lamp and outlet. They also had turtles and chickens out back (and a giant dog that was sweet). And even though the Albergue rural Alba Soraya itself was basic in Calzada de Bejar (the town before Fuenterroble, which was also special as others have said), I loved the community meal and general hospitality there.

A word of warning: If you stay in the municipal albergue in Casar de Caceres, do not stay in the bunks next to the toilets! I made this fatal mistake and had probably the worst night of sleep of the entire Camino. There was an endless line of people using the toilets only feet from my head, shining their lights in my face. I sorely miscalculated how many people would need to pee in the middle of the night!

Mel, do you (or anyone) have contact info for Alba y Soraya? The email bounced back and I'd like to reserve 2 beds there.

 

[peregrina2000]

Mel, do you (or anyone) have contact info for Alba y Soraya? The email bounced back and I'd like to reserve 2 beds there.

Annie, do you use WhatsApp? I think it is much more frequently used than email by albergues, at least in my experience. And I just quickly checked to see that they are in fact on WhatsApp. At least if this is the right phone number-- Phone: +34 646 41 06 43

If you don't use it, you should consider it, IMO. (But I am also happy to send a message to them if you PM me with details).

 

[Anniesantiago]

thank you so much! I'm PMing you

 

[Mel Camino]

Mel, do you (or anyone) have contact info for Alba y Soraya? The email bounced back and I'd like to reserve 2 beds there.

Hi Annie! Just in case Peregrina2000's # doesn't work, I also found +34 923416573. Best of luck and buen camino!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Annie! Just in case Peregrina2000's # doesn't work, I also found +34 923416573. Best of luck and buen camino!

As far as WhatsApp goes, I think that number is a land line and with WhatsApp you can only communicate via mobile phones.

 

[Mel Camino]

As far as WhatsApp goes, I think that number is a land line and with WhatsApp you can only communicate via mobile phones.

Ah, yes. Could be.