Sleeping Mat

[Wild Bill]

Again, we will be walking the Camino in Sept. and Oct. I'm debating wether to take a lightweight air mattress or not. Do you think this is necessary? Do you anticipate any problems getting beds this time of the year?

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Wild B ~

You'll hear Forum regulars share 2 opinions on your question. School of Thought #1: "This is extra gear, there are plenty of beds, save the weight." School of Thought #2: "Better safe than sorry in case there are no beds, a sleeping mat is good for afternoon naps or sitting by the side of the trail for a break in the middle of the day." I follow #2, even though on Camino Frances I've never used my mat for overnight sleeping. It's out of my pack exclusively for my afternoon siesta or hourly breaks. My one overnight use of my mat was on the Via de la Plata when I ran out of daylight in a 42 km walk and had to sleep outside.

If you're starting from SJPP in Sept you're unlikely to have to sleep on the floor, unless you're a very slow walker or like to sleep in. This is because Spanish pilgrims (who are populating the Camino in this holy year) begin closer to Santiago and, by Sept, will be off vacation and back to school or work. Even if there is no bed space there often are mats at the albergues for overflow. Still, there are few nice benches or sleeping cots on the trail itself and if you like to a load of your feet and sit down every so often in your day, it's nice to have a clean mat to unroll -- like a picnic blanket.

[andrewd]

Walked the Camino during June 2010 and we never had a problem with beds even though there were 4 of us. You may just need to be prepared to walk further or shorter. You will find that other walkers and the hostel volunteers will give good information of likely hood of beds. We always had a plan A and B with regard to accommodation and left earlier enough that if Plan B had to be taken then it did not mean we were arriving late evening. We always aimed to get to location early afternoon.