Planning for the Camino - Part 2. Timing

2. When to walk is a tricky question!

The best time to walk or bike the Camino de Santiago is the one that best suits our own needs. If we depend on our vacation, we are probably short of options and will walk whenever it is possible… period!

But if we are blessed with flexibility there are several variables to consider, being the weather only one of them. Then there is the question of which Camino we decide on taking, if we’ll walk the whole way or only some stages and then which ones. Spain is big, and the weather conditions change according to where we are!

There is a general conception about the best time to do the Camino de Santiago being during either spring (April / May) or autumn (September /  October). Some people consider it to be a good idea to walk around Easter when there are fewer pilgrims than in the middle of the summer. Nevertheless, these months are all usually cold and rainy, sometimes in some places, you could even have snow!

July and August are the most common vacation months for everybody, and many have no option other than to walk the Camino during the summer, nonetheless the Spaniards! So parts of the Camino will be crowded but if we must walk during summer, it would be a good idea to choose the first weeks of June if possible. Finding accommodation and facing the worst weather will not yet be big issues. Planning ahead is the best you can do, especially if you're planning on walking the last 100km on the more popular Camino Francés from Sarria or from Samos. However, and according to my own experience of running a B&B in Samos, because of many avoiding the summer months, the Camino in Leon and in Galicia have turned out to be less crowded than expected, even in July and August, offering a really nice weather and plenty of accommodation from León and at least all the way to Sarria.

If we walk the Camino on a winter vacation, we will most definitely need to plan ahead, since many albergues and hostels remain closed from November to February, opening as late as a couple of weeks before Easter. We must also keep in mind that the weather can be really harsh, even on the Spanish Meseta and it will be especially difficult to cross the mountains in Galicia. The path over the Pyrenees is usually closed and we should consider taking either the Camino de Invierno or any of the other paths. They are all beautiful! 

It is all your own choice!! Buen Camino