Housing Services?

[Scotiapilgrim]

My son and I plan to walk the Camino Frances mid-May thru June next year, in 2012. I see from current posts on this forum that in May, 2011 it is already difficult to find housing in the refugios. Does anyone have experience with one of the services advertised that arrange housing for you? We're not particularly interested in baggage handling, just want to know that at the end of the day there will be a place to lay our heads. Or am I misreading the posts, and should assume that there will be refugio housing in May and June, 2012?

Thanks for any advice.

[Covey]

I have walked the Camino Frances five times in the last five years in the peak months of July to September and have never not had a bed in the town/village I wanted to be. Occasionally I have been unable to get a bed in the particular albergue I wanted to use but that has been because the albergue was shut for fumigation or if a church owned albergue, was being used for different groups that week.

My simple walking plan is to start walking at dawn and finish at 2pm. If you are outside an albergue at 2pm, you will get a bed. If you arrive at 5pm, you might not!

[Scotiapilgrim]

Thanks for the advice. So what time is dawn in mid-summer Spain?

[Covey]

Usually about 6am. You can go a bit earlier, but I prefer to see where to put my feet on the track!!

[Leslie]

Now it has been a couple of years since I was last down the Camino Frances, however when I walked with Anna - my other half - a lot of days we did not leave the albergue till 7 or 7.30 and quite often did not stop for the day until 4pm - 6pm. We only had problems with this once we past Sarra and into the last 100km where we ended up in a couple of pensions.

RE the services - I have not seen on here or heard elsewhere anything about them. I have a friend who runs one of the services Camino de Santiago Tours - Camino Frances Tour Company and have only heard good things about their other trips.

I think it could be the cost of the services like this on the Camino Frances that makes people walk with their own baggage and take the chance on being ok.

[michaelhenry6]

Thanks for sharing your information,i prefer to consult with a professional builders company to construct house or just a single room of my house.