This is a request for help. I have a lot of potential pilgrims looking for information on walking or cycling the Camino Frances in the winter. As I have never done this I have nothing to give, however I would like to help them.
Have you walked or cycled in the winter? Can you spare sometime and write something that I can send to people and add to the web site? Full credit will be given to anyone who writes anything.
What people ask:
What is the weather like?
What clothes do they need?
Are the hostels open?
Are the hostels heated and are they able to dry clothes.
Any other information that you can think people should have would be great. Thanks.
Please leave comments on the blog also, thanks.
Updated 03/01/2012
So here is some information from the forum on walking the Camino Frances in the winter. Winter Camino – advice for walking in January – Great info on Camino Frances in the Winter – hope some of this helps.
hi everybody,
My name is Rik and I walked the Camino Frances backwards in december-january 2008-2009 (after walking to Santiago from Holland, my home country).
I have to say that I never regretted my decision to continue walking during the winter. There are enough albergues open. Sometimes I was alone in an albergue and sometimes there was hardly any heating, but there was always a hot shower and a lot of blankets.
Of course it gets dark very early and I spent many boring hours in Spanish bars.
However the beauty of the landscape more than compensated for all the discomfort.
Sometimes there was a nice fireplace in an albergue, and company from people of all kinds of nationalities.
Anyway, if you don’t mind a little more discomfort than in the summer, some lonelyness once in a while and the possibillity of getting stuck in an alberque for a day because of heavy snowfall (which didn’t happen to me), I’d say: don’t hesitate and go!
Oh yeah, don’t take too many warm clothes with you, since walking with a rugsack makes you warm already (personally I like to combine a thick fleece vest with a rain jacked to keep the wind outside). But make sure you have goretex shoes and good quality rainclothes. Also you may need special things to keep the snow out of your shoes, which you can buy in Spain.
Actually I’m considering to walk from León to Santiago this winter. Hope to meet you on the camino!