Camino Coronavirus Updates – News and Information

Travel is back and pilgrims are returning to the Camino! Pilgrims are travelling with enthusiasm, and we have seen pre-COVID numbers of pilgrims reaching Santiago in the last quarter of 2021. This trend is set to continue as people re-book their trips and get ready to travel again.

Thousands of pilgrims have already booked their next Camino for early 2022 and accommodation is filling up faster than it has in the past. We are encouraging people to start booking their travel for 2022 with our super flexible booking guarantee to avoid disappointment.

If you need any help with booking your 2022 Camino trip, go check out 7 steps to planning your post-corona Camino!

The Extended Camino Holy Year

2021 was a Camino Holy Year, which usually means that there are even more pilgrims on the Camino. In spite of the pandemic, over 190,000 pilgrims received their Compostela for completing the Camino so far in 2021. Especially on the last 100km of the Camino Frances, there have been some difficulties with getting accommodation. Albergues, hostels, pensions, and hotels are operating at reduced capacity, so there are fewer beds to go around.

2022 is now also a Holy Year, so we expect that to be busy as well! Reserve your dates as soon as you can to guarantee the best accommodation, knowing that you can change your dates later if you need to.

All of our bookings are incredibly flexible and can be changed for free for COVID-related reasons. We will do everything we can to help you travel worry-free in 2021 and 2022.

For official information on travel to each country please refer to their local tourism websites and your own government’s travel advice.

Spain’s tourism website is here.

Portugal’s tourism website is here.

France’s government website is here.

Italy’s tourism website is here.

If you book through us then we will only book your accommodation in guesthouses and hotels that we trust, and that are open and functioning to a high standard.

In the meantime, you can download our free Camio e-book to start planning your Camino route and the sections you would like to walk! Get in touch with us if you have any questions.

The Cathedral and the Camino Pilgrim’s Office are open.

You can visit the Basilica from 7am to 9pm every day.

The English Pilgrim’s Mass is held every day at 10:30 am. You can attend mass in Spanish at 7.30 am, 9:30 am, 12 pm, and 7:30 pm. You can find more information here.

The Pilgrim’s Office (rúa Carretas, 33) is open from 10am to 6pm, however, we recommend checking on the day to make sure nothing has changed.

The museum (permanent collection) and the Pórtico of Glory are open to visitors from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm (Tuesday to Sunday). Book your tickets on the website.

Stay well,

~ The Follow the Camino Team