Accommodation in the Holy Year

[Sil]

We have had a lot of people phone and email us about walking in the Holy Year. Although they know that there will be overcrowding and pressure on accommodation, some can't change to another year or month.
Walking in the Holy Year is special and the vibe is more like a celebration than meditation! What we have suggested to people is that they reserve beds ahead of time where they can. Its not the same as stopping when they feel like it but at least they know that there will be a bed and shower for them at the end of the day, and the pensions/hotels will also be full of pilgrims.
There is a Camino Travel Centre in Santiago that will book rooms for you, store excess luggage for up to 60 days, make train and flight reservations for you. For the larger hotels in the larger cities, they can book via their booking system with commission included. For the smaller pensions/hostels that are not in the booking system they add on a booking fee. So the price they quote you is the price of the room and their fee.
Its worth having a look at if you are going to be walking one of the more popular routes. If you would like the contact details of the centre, please pm me.
Sil
www.csjofsa.org.za
Amawalker
www.2009pilgrims.blogspot.com
www.vfpilgrims.blogspot.com

[walkabout]

I am starting my camino on April 23 from Pamplona and was planning to just buy a disposable mobile phone and phone ahead, or else just show up around 1pm and find something. Do you think I will have problems doing that? I can't imagine booking the entire walk ahead of time as I won't know where I will be. Does the camino office book rooms day by day if I were to inform them of my whereabouts? In any case I would like to have the number of the Camino office in Santiago. Thanks so much!