Pamplona accommodation during festival

[Caminobd]

Has anyone got any advice for accommodation around Pamplona during festival in July.
I note that hotel prices are more than pricey during that time and albergues may or may not be open. I am not particularly interested in the festival but since I will be walking from zubiri, I will need to stop for the night close to Pamplona. I have had no luck trying to book in cizur mayor.

What were folks experiences during summer 2011?

[rosie64]

Hi
No chance!!!! I live nearby, and I'd say don't even bother to try to find accommdation. Anway - you miss the fun if you go to bed. Join in the spirit of the event and kip on a grass verge when you've had enough. If you really don't want to party, you'll just have to sleep rough or leap frog the town and get past it for the night.

Good luck and happy san fermine

[geraldkelly]

Hi

I accidentally was in Pamplona for the San Fermines last year. The Municipal Hostel was closed so I slept in Villaba, in the lovely hostel in Trinidad de Arre. In the arly morning I walked towards Pamplona but instead of going into the city I continued straight across the bridge at the end of Villaba. If you follow this road straight all the way you rejoin the Camino on the other side of Pamplona.

I stopped for a coffee at a cafe and (this was 7am) it was full of drunks. The San Fermines is one of those experiences like Oktoberfest in Munich and St Patrick's Day in Dublin, which it's worth going to some trouble to avoid. People who walked through the city said the smell was the worst thing, a mixture of piss, puke and stale alcohol.

If you plan to start from Zubiri you could walk to Villaba or to Cizor Menor (that would be a long day though).

Good luck!
Ger

[Caminobd]

Thanks Ger for sharing your experience and advice!

My plan is starting to include a little bit of cheating, oh no!, but a taxi through Pamplona, which should cut off a few k. Maybe I will go back to Pamplona at a quieter time and walk the bit I skip this summer.