Sleep on the Camino: Your Essential Guide to Albergues

Where exactly do you sleep on the Camino de Santiago? Well, the beauty of the Camino is you can do a long-distance trek while still sleeping in a bed every night!

While hiking the Camino de Santiago, most pilgrims stay in albergues. You can stay elsewhere along the way, but albergues are the most common option for sleep on the Camino. For that reason, this post will detail what it’s like to stay in albergues base on my experience hiking for 33 days along the Camino Francés last year.

Albergue Overview

Where do you sleep on the Camino? What is an albergue?

Most pilgrims spend each night of the Camino in an albergue. An albergue is a hostel-like accommodation where a large group of people sleep in one room. There are typically bunk beds and shared bathrooms.

The size and set up of each albergue can vary greatly—for instance, in Pamplona, I stayed in a large church converted into an albergue that has room for a few hundred people in a few big long rooms. Whereas another time, I got lucky and had a two-person room to myself.

What are the different kinds of albergues?

There are both public and private albergues. Public albergues can further be classified as municipal (or xunta in Galicia) or donativo. To stay in public albergues, you have to be a pilgrim, whereas private albergues will take anyone.

The municipales are usually the cheapest option and are typically run by the local city council or region. The accommodations are usually fairly bare bones and you have to bring your own sheets and towels.

The donativo albergues are typically run by religious organizations and churches. They’re usually a bit nicer than the municipales and instead of charging a set fee, they ask that you pay whatever you feel is fair that you can afford.

Private albergues tend to be the nicest and most expensive, typically with smaller shared dormitories.

How much does an albergue cost for one night of sleep on the Camino?

The cost of one night at an albergue can vary depending on the type you’re staying at. Expect a municipal to be around 7-12 euros and private albergues to be anywhere from 15-25 euros.

Planning and Booking Albergues

How do I decide which albergue to stay at?

It’s up to you! I recommend downloading the Wise Pilgrim app and/or the Buen Camino app. Both apps provide a listing of the albergues in each town, hours, amenities, and a general cost estimate.

I often opted to stay in the municipal albergues since they were more affordable, and as I made friends, sometimes I would stay in private albergues if I heard they were staying somewhere cool and I wanted to be in the same place.

Does every town have at least one albergue for pilgrims to find sleep on the Camino?

Most towns will have at least one albergue to stay in but not all. Even if you aren’t planning to book your albergue in advance, it’s a good idea to check a Camino app or guidebook to ensure there are albergues in the town.

When can I check in and when do I have to check out?

Many albergues don’t allow check in until sometime between noon and 2 p.m. Check out time varies, often by around 8 a.m. or so, but most pilgrims leave before then.

Should I prebook albergues?

You can typically only prebook private albergues. I don’t recommend booking your entire Camino ahead of time, but it can be a good idea to book ahead of time for a few scenarios:

• If you are planning to hike a very long distance one day and want to ensure you are able to get a bed
• If you’ve found a special albergue you want to specifically stay at (e.g., one with a pool)
• For the section from Sarria onwards where it can get quite busy
• If you’re planning to send your bag ahead instead of carrying it on your back

How far in advance should I prebook an albergue?

If you’re prebooking an albergue, you typically only need to do so a few days in advance or even as soon as the day before.

Note that if you are prebooking Orisson, I recommend booking that one well in advance. It’s small and can fill up quickly.

It’s a good idea to also book several days in advance for the section from Sarria onwards just to be safe as that route can get quite busy.

How do I prebook an albergue?

You can find most of the albergues on Booking.com. Typically, the Camino apps will have links to where you can book.

What if there is no room at the albergues when I get into town? Where do I sleep on the Camino if that happens?

This is always a bit of a risk on the Camino if you don’t prebook accommodation, which is why it’s a good idea to be flexible and have a backup plan in place.

Look into the towns beyond where you’re planning to stay so you can have an idea of where to keep walking if needed. It’s also better to start your walks on the earlier side so you can be one of the first people to arrive at an albergue.

If you get to an albergue and it’s full, you can ask the staff if they know of any other albergues in town with beds available. If there are none in town, you can ask them for a recommendation on where you should hike to instead.

Worse comes to worst, many towns have buses, so that’s another option as well if you’re very tired for the day and don’t want to walk further.

I only ran into this issue in Agés along the Camino Francés last June. I was one of the first to arrive and seemed to have been one of the few to get a bed without booking in advance. One of my friends had to walk almost all the way to Burgos that day and another group of friends found a rental house a bit farther away and were able to stay there instead.

You’re also more likely to run into full albergues in the section from Sarria onward. To avoid crowds and to ensure you have a bed on that section, I recommend staying off stage in less busy towns and booking ahead of time.

Download my free Camino Francés itinerary for everywhere I stayed on the Camino:

Are there any special albergues where I should sleep on the Camino?

If you’re hiking the Camino Francés, check out my post on 10 of the best albergues along that route. I’ve also written a post with 10 of the best meals along the Camino Francés, and some of those meals were at albergues.

What to Expect in Albergues

Are albergues safe?

I hiked the Camino Francés for 33 days as a solo female and felt safe the entire time! Spain in general is quite safe and so are albergues. Most people staying in albergues are other pilgrims hiking the Camino as well.

The biggest risk is petty theft, so make sure to keep your valuable items close at all times. I recommend keeping your phone, wallet, and passport in a fanny pack that you always have on you. Bring it into the shower with you and shove it deep into your sleeping bag liner when you sleep.

Are albergues comfortable? Can I get a good night’s sleep on the Camino?

The answer to this question varies based on personal preferences, but I found albergues to be generally comfortable. The mattresses, especially in the public albergues will be similar to the kind of mattresses you’d sleep on at like a kid’s summer camp in the U.S. Many of them don’t have AC either, so some nights can get quite hot.

I had friends who did start feeling some back pain towards the end of the hike. If you’re more sensitive to sleeping on poor mattresses, it may be a good idea to upgrade your accommodation every once in a while to nicer albergues or hotels.

If you are sensitive to noise when you sleep, you should bring some earplugs. You are bound to encounter some snorers along the Camino when you’re staying in rooms with a number of other people.

Overall, I found that most of the time, you’re usually so tired from hiking that you can still fall asleep easily and get a good sleep on the Camino. There were only maybe two or three nights out of my entire 33-day trek where I personally had trouble sleeping, and I hiked in June when it was quite hot.

Do the albergue staff know English?

In my experience along the Francés route, albergue staff don’t always know English. It’s good to learn a few Spanish phrases and have Spanish downloaded on the Google Translate app on your phone.

Are there any rules I need to know about?

The main rules in albergues are to:

• Not have your packs touching the bed (this is to prevent bedbug spread—more on that below)
• Respect quiet hours so everyone can sleep on the Camino
• Use a disposable fitted sheet when provided and removing it from the bed the next morning
• Get back to the albergue in time for curfew—some albergues will lock you out if you aren’t back in time so take this seriously!

Do albergues serve dinner?

Some albergues, typically private ones, will serve a pilgrim’s meal.

Not every albergue serves food, but this can be particularly common in smaller towns along the Camino as albergues may be the only place to eat in some towns.

What do albergues typically provide for sleep on the Camino?

Most albergues will provide a disposable fitted sheet and a pillow with a pillowcase. I’ve read that in colder months, many provide blankets as well.

They do not provide real sheets or towels, so you will need to bring your own. I recommend bringing a sleeping bag liner as your blanket. If you hike in spring or late summer, you may want a sleeping bag.

Get more packing tips in my Women’s Ultimate Packing List for the Camino de Santiago.

Doing Laundry in Albergues

How do I do laundry in an albergue?

Since you’ll likely be carrying everything on your back, you will pack very few clothing items and likely need to do laundry every day.

All albergues will have a sink area where you can wash your clothes by hand and then an area where you can hang them up, typically outside, to dry. Some albergues will also have washing machines you can use for a small fee, or they will do laundry for you.

I personally typically hand washed my clothes but occasionally would get my clothes laundered for me, combining them with my friends’ items and splitting the cost, typically around 8 euros.

Albergues and Bed Bugs

Are bed bugs common in albergues?

I wouldn’t say bed bugs are everywhere on the Camino, but like traveling anywhere, they aren’t completely uncommon. Unfortunately, you may encounter them in your sleep on the Camino.

I personally did not encounter any bed bugs during my 33-day hike along the Francés route, but we heard stories of others finding them. One of my friends had some bad bug bites one day that we were thinking may have been bed bugs, but that’s as close as I got to an encounter.

How can I avoid bed bugs when I sleep on the Camino?

Before you leave for your Camino, you may want to spray your sleeping bag liner and pack with permethrin. Make sure to spray this outside and let it dry completely before you start packing. This won’t necessarily prevent bed bugs from biting if you encounter them, but it will kill them, making it less likely for you to spread bed bugs onto your next albergue.

To avoid bed bugs, make sure to never have your backpack touching the bed. When you arrive at your albergue, check your mattress, pillow, and the surrounding area for signs of bed bugs. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, signs of bed bugs can include:

• Rusty or reddish stains from bed bugs being crushed
• Small dark spots that are bed bug excrement
• Tiny eggs and eggshells and pale yellow skins that they shed as they grow
• Live bed bugs

What do I do if I encounter bed bugs?

If you find them before you settle into the bed, notify the albergue immediately and see if you can move to a different bed or consider going to a different albergue.

If you don’t notice until you find bites the next day, see if you can get in touch with your last albergue to let them know. If you can’t contact them, let your next albergue know so they can notify them for you.

Lastly, I recommend carrying a couple large black trash bags with you. That way if you encounter bed bugs, you can put your pack in the trash bags and let it sit in the sun for a few hours. As long as it’s hot enough outside, any bed bugs in your pack should die.

Other Accommodation Options

Where else can I stay other than albergues?

While albergues are the most common place to sleep on the Camino, there are sometimes other options.

Aside from albergues, some cities and towns along the way will have hotels. You can also look into pensiones, which typically have private rooms and a shared bathroom.

If you’re feeling bougie at all one day, I recommend spending a night of sleep on the Camino at a Parador Hotel. They’re some of the nicest hotels in Spain. They’re very historic and tend to be more affordable on the Camino than they would be elsewhere.

I stayed in the Parador in Santiago de Compostela as a treat to myself on my last night, and it was such a special way to end my adventure!

Aside from hotels, some people camp along the way, but it’s not very common. Some albergues will allow camping on their lawn for a small fee. Generally, there aren’t many areas to camp, and it’s typically illegal to camp outside of designated camp sites in Spain.

That said, I’ve read the Camino Norte route has more camping opportunities. While I wouldn’t count on it for your entire trip, if you’re hoping to camp more, that may be the route for you.