Irún

Booking on the Camino del Norte

There's no central booking system. Public albergues (municipal, association, parish, monastery, and the Xunta's in Galicia) mostly take no bookings: beds go in order of arrival, for one night, to walkers with a credential. Private albergues, pensiones and hotels are booked directly by phone, WhatsApp, email or Booking.com. Gronze lists contacts, prices and opening dates but doesn't take bookings.

• July and August are the hard months. Spanish holidays and beach season fill the Basque and Cantabrian coast and push prices up, especially in San Sebastián, Zarautz, Santander, Llanes and Ribadesella. In May 2026 walkers found San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander and Gijón filling fast at weekends. In summer and for weekends, book private beds a few days ahead.
• Public albergues usually open between 13:00 and 16:00 and you leave by 8:00. A few take bookings, such as Santander's association albergue, La Isla near Colunga, and San Lázaro in Santiago; each stage page says which.
• Several Basque albergues open only in summer: Lezama, Portugalete and Bilbao's new Zabalbide run from June to September. Elsewhere many albergues close from November to March. Check each place's dates on Gronze before a spring or autumn walk.
• In Galicia the Xunta's albergues cost €10, open from 13:00 to 22:00 and still took no bookings in October 2026; a proposal to allow them at peak times in the 2027 holy year was undecided. From Arzúa the Camino Francés joins, and its public albergues fill early.
• Get your credential in Irún at the Jakobi albergue (afternoons) or the Padres Pasionistas parish (mornings); the official one costs up to €2. For the Compostela you need the last 100 km on foot with two stamps a day, and you should pre-register online before you reach the Pilgrim Office.
• Bring a sleeping bag or a warm liner: some albergues give no blankets (Pasaia, and Camping Deva near Gijón asks for a sleeping bag), while the Xunta's give disposable sheets. Carry cash for donations and small albergues.

Sending your bag ahead

• Correos' Paq Mochila covers the whole Norte from Irún, from Easter to 31 October in 2026. It takes one bag up to 15 kg (33 lb), for at most 37 miles a day. Book online by 20:00 the day before, leave the bag at reception by 8:00, and it arrives by 14:30. Each place must be on Correos' list and you need a booking there (or the owner's agreement); some albergues won't take bags.
• Correos doesn't publish a per-stage price for the Norte; you see it when you book. Comparison sites quote from about €5 a stage. Gronze lists only Correos for this route; a 2025 walker used local firms arranged through hotels at about €10 a transfer.

Boats, bridges and trains

• Irún to San Sebastián: the small boat across Pasaia harbour runs every few minutes all year, about €2.
• Bilbao to Portugalete: on the riverside route, the Vizcaya Bridge gondola into Portugalete costs €0.60.
• Laredo to Güemes: the Barca del Puntal from the end of Laredo's beach to Santoña costs €2.50 and runs every 10 to 15 minutes from 9:00, from mid-March into the autumn. It doesn't run at dawn or in winter; then the signed inland route is 2.5 miles longer.
• Güemes to Santander: from Somo to Santander, Los Reginas charges €4; Alsa's year-round boat, running since June 2026, charges €3.50. The crossing takes about 20 minutes.
• The coastal narrow-gauge railway (Renfe, formerly FEVE) and Euskotren link most stage towns from Hendaye to Ferrol, which helps for skipping an urban stretch or getting back to a hotel.