The Albergue System in Spain

[Covey]

There are two types of Albergues on the Camino in Spain.

The “Official” Albergue is usually owned and run by the Local Government for the area. Sometimes the staff at the Albergue are state employees, but mostly are local volunteers who give their time to assist the Pilgrims along the way. Occasionally, you will come across Albergues run by the Church and staffed either by Nun’s or again by volunteers. Sometimes the volunteers are from one of the National Associations that support the Camino so you might find that the staff are all Dutch, or Brits. The official state run Albergues do not normally offer any food, but the Albergues run by the associations may well arrange a communal evening meal. There is a modernisation program in place for the official Albergues which is not before time, as many struggle with ancient plumbing and electrics.

There are an increasing number of “Private” Albergues which are owned and run as a business by a private individual/family. They are licenced by the State as an Albergue and have to follow the same rules that apply to the official Albergues regarding eligibility to stay and locking up times. Because they are a recent concept, the buildings and facilities (plumbing etc) are more modern than the official Albergues. Many of the private Albergues offer a communal evening meal and breakfast.

All Albergues are required by law to lock the doors in the evening to stop late night revellers and to ensure pilgrims get some sleep. Normal locking up time is 10pm (9pm at the Nun’s Albergue in Leon!!) and then changes to 11pm when you cross in to Galicia. When I say they lock up, that includes chains on the doors!

The Albergue rules are that you may only stay for ONE NIGHT unless you have a medical certificate from a doctor/hospital to say you are sick and under treatment.

Most Albergues require everyone to vacate the Albergue by 8am so it can be cleaned ready for the next arrivals. Most official Albergues open mid-afternoon for registration where you get allocated a bunk and get your Pilgrim Passport stamped. There will be a sign on the door stating when they open. If there is a queue, you can place your pack in the queue and wander off to have a drink or food until opening time.

The private Albergues are usually more expensive (€6 -€10 in 2009) per night than the official ones (€4 - €6). Some of the official Albergues are “donativo” where you pay what you can. Most tend to pay €5.

For that you get a bunk bed and usually a pillow. The mattress cover are usually changed ever few weeks so may not be as clean as you might like. There will be some showers, with or without hot water, and wash basins. Most Albergues will have a washing machine/s and somewhere to hang clothes to dry.

All Albergues offer some form of cooking facilities. This can range from a very basic cooking ring, to a well equipped kitchen with fridge, cutlery and some plates. In some places you can easily cook communally for a group of 5 – 10, in other Albergues it is impossible and you will have to eat at a bar.

[fraluchi]

Note that there are albergues where you can reserve a spot in advance (by 'phone), and others not. Some have specific restrictions as to who can stay: only pilgrims traveling on foot, by bicycle (often after 5 pm) or on horseback. Some may not accept groups or "turigrinos" (people who have their backpack forwarded by taxi; others who travel with a support vehicles).

[Covey]

Sorry, forgot to cover the reservation bit.

You CANNOT normally book a bed in an official albergue in advance, but often can in a private albergue, assuming you know the phone number and someone speaks fluent Spanish.

At peak times, many of the official albergues require cyclists to wait until the majority of the walkers are checked in, but this does not normally happen in the private albergues.

People who send their pack on ahead by taxi/carrier get no priority in checking in. You check in when you arrive, not your bag.

Autobus pilgrims are a problem sometimes. The tour companies now tend to use the private albergues because they can book in advance. They learnt long ago not to pull up outside the official albergue in a 40 seat coach!! They then started dropping off their tourists about 100m down the road, but the albergue staff ain't stupid and quite often you will see the volunteer doing the check-in looking at the boots to see if they look as though they had walked more than 50m!!! I have often seen those with support vehicles being told to wait until the real "baggage mules" have checked in.