Hostels in Palo Alto, CA

I booked the night before and was always able to get beds (walked in July). This gave us flexibility to walk the right amount based on weather and how our legs and feet were feeling. We also cancelled when we felt we could walk farther. If you book everything ahead, you are stuck walking a distance that might not be appropriate for a few days, which can lead to injury. I had friends who didn't have cell phone service book through booking.com or by email to the albergue (though they didn't always get a reply).

I also used booking.com and was never disappointed.

Jennifer, you are wise to book ahead under those circumstances. Every once in awhile, there are "waves" in the spring and people have a great deal of difficulty finding a bed. I've done 3 and often booked ahead, as struggling to find a bed at the end of a long day of hiking is no fun. Other than Booking.com, most of the PRIVATE albergues will take reservations ahead of time directly on their websites or by emailing them from the contact information on places like Gronze.com or WisePilgrim or Brierley. I know TripAdvisor has booking links, but I have a Booking.com iPhone app that makes things easy.

I can recommend Casa de los Somoza in O Coto, which is in between Palas de Rei and Melide. We got it through booking.com, and we were trying to NOT stay in the usual stops between Sarria and Santiago to avoid the crowds. One of the nicest places we stayed! We had a private room with shared bath and breakfast included for $48

Booking.com for sure. Book ahead three to four days at a time. At the beginning when you might not know your limitations or speed, just plan on arriving early or cab to your destination you have booked. As you get in the groove and check mileage and terrain, you can better plan for your nightly destination.

I traveled alone. When I left home I had 20 of the nights booked. After day 3 or 4 of hiking, I cancelled all my reservations and started booking a day ahead. I booked either directly through the albergue/pension/hotel/hostal or through booking.com.

We used Booking.com several times, especially after Sarria.

We just booked the afternoon before, usually on booking.com. That way we could tailor our next night's accommodation to how far we felt we wanted to walk the next day. Occasionally we asked the manager of the place we are staying in to recommend place for us or the next night and then have him (or her) call ahead and reserve it. This worked pretty well, too. However, we were not staying in albergues; we were staying in hostels, small hotels, pensiones, large hotels, converted monasteries, occasionally an Airbnb or casa rurals. For example, we stayed in the El Cid in Burgos.

Occasionally I used booking dot com, but they don't list everything. And the earliest I would book would be the day before. You should check out gronze.com for all albergues/pensiones on the Camino

I also found the Editorial Buen Camino app to be good for finding places to stay https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/guide-of-the-way-of-st-james/id858222947?mt=8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.editorialbuencamino.buencamino&hl=en

We also used booking.com So much so that we are now genius level and get free nights and upgrades!

No, but I used bookings.com for the last 100 km when things got a little more congested.

I just walked the Camino on May 26-July 2, 2017, & never booked until I reached Portomarin & everything was booked by school groups. I used booking.com and TripAdvisor to book my last few nights

We also used Booking.com but did not usually book our room until the afternoon of our stay. That way you are not locked in to a specific location and can walk a shorter or longer distance depending on how everyone feels. You can also ask the bar where you have your lunch or coffee to recommend a place and they usually will call ahead and make a reservation for you if you ask them.

Kathleen Robertson King, food for thought

Late May you should be ok with most/many hostels on arrival - but not all and given that there are 4 of you and your husband's MS (I worked with the MS Society for years), you might be better off checking out places on booking.com a day or two in advance. Also, get info on local taxi services (plentiful even in fairly remote areas) and the reliable Spanish bus lines. Their web information is pretty good. Buon camino.

We used bookings.com

Booking.com worked best for me.

When I was in Spain I mostly used Hotels.com when I wasn't booking private Alberques...

We booked 1 night ahead the entire way. There were 3 adults and one 13 month old. We were slower and wanted to be sure to get a family room to ourselves ( for our comfort as well as fellow peregrines). Never had a problem. Generally the places we stayed had recommendations/connections with an albergue at the next planned stop and helped us make the reservation. Tourismo offices in larger towns will also help make arrangements. Buen Camino

Thank you for all the great responses! We plan to fly into Madrid and start in Leon. (due to time constraints at work - we will do other stages another year) My husband and boys have hiked Philmont (Boy Scout trail in New Mexico) 80+ miles (hubby did it 2 diff years - last year was most recent). We've also done bike rides of 50 ~ 100+ miles (w/ inclement - frigid) So, we are confident he can do the pilgrimage as long as he paces himself. Sounds like it's best to book a few days and go from there. If my boys had their way, we would do tent camping the whole way, but due to what I see about regional laws - that's not going to happen this year.

I used booking.com entirely for my prebooked accommodations and they were all perfect places.

I used Booking.com or Wise Pilgrim. In 2016 made reservations a few days ahead. In 2017...knowing where I wanted to stay...I made reservations before I left. All were easy to cancel, in case my schedule changed. It gave me a sense of peace knowing I had somewhere to sleep and knowing I didn't have to race for a bed.

I loved Basque Country so much more than Galicia, except for Muxia, Lires and Finisterre. Enjoy Basque Country as you will pass through it way too quickly!!!

The little train between Bayonne and SJPP was out of action for a while due to flooding but is back on now for the complete journey. It's a very nice ride, much prettier than taking the road. You can find an accurate timetable by visiting the French language SNCF site here: http://www.voyages-sncf.com/billet-train. If you use the English version it defaults to the RailEurope site which is a bit of a scam and does not show all trains.

I think there's a rail strike going on in France right now, Douglas Witte.

Up to date rail strike conditions here: http://www.sncf.com/en/trainstatus

I booked transportation from the Biarritz airport to SJPP with Express Bourricot. Check it out online. It's a shared ride and not expensive.

I've spent a fair bit of time in the Basque Country and consider it to be very different from Galicia. I'm not sure where to begin I know you have only a week before departing for Spain. If you get the opportunity I would recommend reading The Basque History of the World in order to gain an understanding of Basque culture. It's a wonderful book that is highly informative and yet an easy read https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/10/17/reviews/991017.17 ridingt.html

I booked my entire Camino in Sept-Oct 2013 primarily using booking.com. I knew I would not have made it to Santiago any other way. Pro--knowing I had a place to sleep allowed me to take my time and relax. Con--no stopping early even if I was exhausted. Also, I should have built in days to sleep late and sightsee certain cities. (Did not get to tour the Templar Castle in Ponferrada.) I am walking Portuguese from Lisbon later this year and have booked my accommodations again but this time I am taking days off for sightseeing and tours!

Celeste Williams might see you on the trail I am doing the POrtugues from Santarem in September.

Stephanie Achkarian - might see you on the trail. We're thinking of starting in Porto mid September.:-)

Melissa Keith. Let"s keep in touch.My plan is to start from Santarem about Sept 15.

Buddy System for Women on the Camino is another Facebook group for women to meet each other who are walking about the same time.

Booking.com had many of the stages, but be careful some of the hotels are not in the towns some are 2-3 miles away. Not a problem if you're driving, but walking is different. I used the recommendations in Brierly's book and called ahead a day or two. Only rarely did I have to go to a 2 nd or 3 rd choice.

I traveled in Sept 13 and we used booking.com and stayed at small hotels. Usually somewhere around 20 euros

I did the Portuguese Camino three weeks ago. I started in Tuy and I stayed in the Albergue the first night. There I discovered that I could no longer stay in albergues as all the beds are bunk beds and have footboards and I'm 6.5 f. tall, so I just phoned hotels the day before I was expected to arrive and had no problem. Some people I had met on the Way had booked the same places thru booking.com, and they paid more that I did! Most places have special prices for pilgrims (or they include the breakfast). I paid between 35 and 50 euros per night for a double room.

A "Camino" in Ireland would most likely be called a hike or a trail... What about this website to start with? http://www.irishtrails.ie/ Happy preps! :)

Here are the pilgrim paths in Ireland. http://www.pilgrimpath.ie/

The Irish Society is very helpful. I received my credentiale from them, and will launch my Camino next year from St James in Dublin. 423 days. Counting. Every. Day.

Thomas ,please check out this site ,http://www.pilgrimpath.ie/

While not complete this is a start. To get a more complete list use 1 km for your daily commute: http://www.urcamino.com/

My favorite place to look is gronze.com. For every stage of each of the most popular Caminos, they show a map, and both the albergues (including private ones) and hotels: http://www.gronze.com

II assume you mean albergues. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/resources/%E2%80%9Call%E2%80%9D-albergues-on-the-camino-frances-in-one-pdf.10/

STT Cargo - best and cheapest BY FAR

Welcome Krista My company Caribtrans would be more than happy to help you Our office and warehouse is in Miami I live in St John ( office in STT ) for most part take care of almost all the local businesses and residents on STJ sandersen@caribtrans.com 3402275466 www.caribtrans.com

Yes, there are many. Why don't you download "Camino Frances App" by Wisepilgrim, and you can find the hundreds of albergues, casas rurales, hostals, hotels, camping sites, etc, with contact information included. It is a very convenient App for $4.99.

Get the app called Camino Frances. It has a list of many accommodations in every town. I used it all the time to find private rooms. I spent only two of 41 nights on my Camino in an albergue and that was only because there was nothing else available. I love to meet new people but I do not want to sleep next to them or in the same room with them. Often I would book a day ahead. The app offers links to do that, either by email or phone.

The Gronze site provides not only information about all the albergues--public and private--but also about pensiones, hostales, hoteles, and casas rurales. For all of these, there is always price and contact information, and for everything except the public albergues, there is often a link to Booking.com as well. You can find this at www.gronze.com.

Also - http://www.onlypilgrims.com/en/listado/12/

Earnest (villa cool) 643-5712

Sky Smyth 2287650

http://www.hsanmartinpinario.com/

We have stayed at the Libredon. Great location near cathedral. http://www.libredon.com/

I like The Last Stamp

Roots and Boots has some good rooms and not so good. I preferred The Last Stamp. You can reserve, stay as long as you want, and it's close to everything.

Hi Linda Le The Camino de Santiago it's easy and well signed you can shipped your luggage every day through JacoTrans, (about 5/7 euros per day). You can use this free guide to get all the information on the different stages, distance, walking time, maps, a list of accommodations and links to booking .com for bookable hotels. You can also check reviews and book your accommodation in advance comfortably using this guides http://santiago.forwalk.org/en/m/1 s/route/MTlP/the-french-way-31-days-to-santiago-de-compostela/stage-list/#stages Hope it works for you. Buen Camino!

The Pilgrim Office or any albergue in SJPP can arrange luggage transport. Some hospitaleros are better than others at this, but most will make a reservation for you at the next site, if they can. Municipales tend not to take reservations, so that can be an issue.

I loved Camino Comodo. I booked them each night through whatsapp.

I used booking.com app for all my accomodations. The burricot is €8 for the navarre. Tge next section is €5. The last is Pacotrans €3 I carried mine the first 3 rd then sent forward due to a asthma/lung infection walking through the fires.

Recently, the Spanish Postal Service had offered a daily transportation of mochilas along the Camino Frances. I read that there is a flat rate service for the entire Camino, making it way cheaper than other private delivery businesses. Just an option. I have tried others mochila delivery services, they are fine too - some are a bit cheaper than others, so the competition is bringing the price down (about 5-6 Euros but coming down)