Lodging on the Camino: From Hostels to Hotels

There are several types of lodging along the Camino that Keith and I stayed in. We chose different accommodations based on price, amenities, and chores that needed to be done like laundry. We had a great mix of experiences with all the types of lodging we stayed in!

Albergues

The most popular accommodation along most Camino routes is albergues or pilgrim hostels. Most albergues have one or several dormitory rooms with bunk beds, locker room bathrooms and showers, and common areas for cooking, resting, and laundry. One albergue even had an indoor swimming pool! 

When you arrive at an alburgue you first get signed in and pay. You must show your passport and camino credential. Then you are given a tour of the facility, shown to your assigned bed which usually includes a clean sheet and pillowcase. Normally, blankets are available, but I wouldn’t bet those are washed daily. At some facilities, you are given a bath towel or the option to rent one. Finally, you are told the rules of the facility; hiking shoes stay in a certain area, lights out /quiet hours, check-out time, rules for the kitchen, etc.

I know this sounds a little crazy, but I wanted to experience several categories of sleeping accommodations at the albergues. The first night we stayed in an alburgue with 64 beds! Beds were divided across a few rooms, but the rooms were open to one another. This albergue also had a co-ed locker room with bathrooms, showers, and clothes-washing tubs. The second night our beds were in a room with 6 other beds, had a door that closed so it was much quieter. Later in the trip, we chose bunk rooms with curtains covering the sleeping space and one alburgue which was a little more capsule-like.

We stayed in various albergues and found that what you gave up by sleeping in a bunk bed in a room with several other people was worth the other amenities; especially a washer and dryer on-site. The kitchens at the albergues were another big bonus. Technically we only cooked one big dinner at an alburgue where we used the stove and dishes, but having access to refrigerators, kettles, and utensils helped as we ate salads and sandwiches.

Shared Houses and Shared Apartments

The first shared house we stayed at was a traditional Portuguese home so it was fun to see the inside of the houses we had been walking by all day. We ended up being the only guests booked so we had the house to ourselves. There was a washer located in a small protected box on the porch, we almost missed it. We had booked this house because we needed to wash and dry clothes after walking in the rain. This is when we learned to pay attention to the amenities because a dryer could mean a drying area; a clothesline or a rack to hang wet clothes. An electric dryer became increasingly important for us during the trip. This is not typical of what most pilgrims experience though, there was a hurricane that greatly impacted our weather.

Our one shared apartment experience was the only night of lodging that wasn’t pleasant. We entered late at night and planned to leave early the next morning so at least that worked out. Unbeknownst to us, the apartment was under renovation. The bathroom was nice as the upgrades were recently finished. There wasn’t a living room, it was empty and prepped for new paint and flooring. Our bedroom was dusty, the baseboards had been pulled up and a window was cracked. To say the least, we weren’t happy. It had been extremely difficult to find a room reasonably priced in this area and luckily we only needed to shower and sleep.

Private Apartments and Private Rooms

Much like a private house, the apartments we stayed in gave us privacy, a great bathroom, and laundry options on-site or nearby. This apartment had an equipped kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and sink. Additionally, we were treated to breakfast in a common area the next morning.

Several accommodations offered a private bedroom and private bathroom with common spaces for cooking and lounging. You'll see that these examples have multiple beds. These would be great for families or small groups of pilgrims traveling together. These were affordable and had a great mix of private and communal amenities.

Hotels

We stayed at a few hotels during the trip and each was wonderful in different ways. The hotels offered typical amenities that you’d expect. Two of them had beautiful outdoor spaces with pools. With the cool temperatures and rain, I refused to get in. Keith got in for a few minutes at one and we put our feet in at the other. We could barely stand it though. I will say that European women didn’t mind freezing water, it was impressive!

The one hotel we booked was because of the ocean view and small balcony. I was in heaven looking out and resting after a hard day. That particular hotel also had a very clean bathtub and although I’d never before considered taking a bath at a hotel, I took a nice long bath. Maybe I was incredibly desperate! The biggest downside to hotels was the lack of self-serve laundry on site.

Cost for Lodging

Lodging cost was one of the big “sellers” for me on this trip. We like to travel cheap and lodging is usually one of the biggest costs for a trip. Knowing that we had a variety of options and the pricing would be greatly less than what we find in the United States, it was easy to know the trip would be within our budget.

Alburgues, shared houses/apartments, and private rooms cost us between 15 euros per person and 21 euros per person, per night.

Hotels and private apartments cost us between 23 and 50 euros per person, per night. Several of these also included breakfast! These were not small continental breakfasts that you’d expect at a cheap hotel or motel. The options were much more that of a buffet or cook-to-order restaurant.

The other accommodation costs during the trip were the hotel when we arrived in Portugal and the apartment in Spain after completing our Camino. The hotel was just outside of Porto and booked with our flights. We stayed there for two nights at $207 per night (not per person). In Santiago, I found an apartment that overlooked the streets around the cathedral. We paid 115 euros per night (not per person) and stayed 2 nights there. Both of these locations are a bit more expensive because of the bigger cities you are in.

Other Notes about Lodging

I had read that albergues were first come, first served. We did email ahead and stayed in contact with the host throughout the day with ETA’s and that paid off the second night. Upon arrival, we learned they were booked up and the beds we got were a cancellation. She had to turn away several pilgrims as we were checking in. The next options were a few miles away. When walking, a few more miles is a big deal! We aren’t sure if being able to book ahead is becoming more typical along the Camino, but we were able to book ahead every night. We booked ahead with the Booking.com app and/or were able to communicate with hosts through WhatsApp.

The hotels and private rooms were much more affordable with two people. If I were traveling alone, I probably wouldn’t have chosen so many. When the price was only a few more euros per person, it was hard to give up privacy and better sleeping conditions. But on the flip side, we didn’t have the option for quick and convenient laundry access.

Upcoming Post

Next week I’ll share about the food options along the Camino. This might be my favorite post! I loved the coffee, pastries, sandwiches, camino specials, seafood, desserts, etc. I'll also be including what the grocery stores were like along the walk. Keith made fun of me with how many pictures I took inside the grocery stores.

Do you enjoy luxurious accommodations while traveling? Do you try to save money on lodging? What are your must-haves when booking a place to stay? Let us know in the comments section below.👇 💬