Hostels on the camino
The Camino de Santiago has a dense network of hostels, known in Spanish as Albergues. They offer pilgrims dormitory-style accommodations ranging from €10 to €15 per night. Especially on the Camino Francés (The French Way) an albergue is never really far away. Bear in mind that a lot of albergues are closed from November until March. Still, on the Camino Francés there are enough albergues that are open all year which makes it possible to walk even in winter.
Albergues come in several types: Municipal, Parochial, Association and Private. Municipal albergues are supported by the government and run by volunteers. They are a cheap, but rather basic option. The same applies to the Parochial albergues which are operated by religious institutions such as local churches. Association albergues are operated by various pilgrim associations and are mostly run by volunteers who walked the camino themselves. Private albergues often offer more comfortable accommodations, sometimes even private rooms. They offer extra amenities such as meals, a washing machine and dryer, wifi, reliable heating and hot water. The price of a dorm bed averages €12. Some of them, like Juntos, are owned by former pilgrims who fell in love with life on the camino.
Traditionally albergues worked on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis and a lot of them still cannot be reserved in advance. For almost all albergues you will need a pilgrims passport to check in. Some private albergues, like Juntos, are an exception to this rule. At Juntos Albergue de peregrinos a bed can be booked in advance and a pilgrims passport is not needed, but it is appreciated if you do have one. For reservations, please read our booking page carefully and follow the instructions.