When you set out to do the Camino de Santiago, you need to be prepared to sacrifice a lot.
This often means a decent night’s sleep, unfortunately.
Lots of albergues have huge dormitories – we found ourselves referring to these as ‘sleeping factories’.
Thankfully, we found some amazing albergues along the way.
Here are our best nine.
1. Albergue Rural de Peregrinos San Saturnino, Ventosa
- Address – Calle Mayor 33, 26371, Ventosa, Spain
When we did our Camino, this hostel was one of the first we stayed in.
That day, we’d walked 29.5 km and arrived in Ventosa at 12:30 pm.
The hostel didn’t open until 2 pm but we were so tired from walking that we were happy just to sit in the shade and relax.
Despite its frontage, this hostel actually had a really great backyard with a grassy area, lots of space to sit and relax and a separate laundry house in an annex.
The albergue even had its own shop so we didn’t need to venture far to stock up on supplies.
I remember drinking a can of Kas Limón here (Spain’s version of Fanta Lemon) and after walking so many miles, it tasted divine!
Despite the great hostel, we didn’t sleep well here – but that was only because there was a loud thunderstorm!
2. Casa de la Cofradía del Santo, Santo Domingo de la Calzada
- Address – Mayor, 38-42, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, La Rioja, Spain
Santo Domingo de la Calzada is quite a large town compared to some of the places on the Camino Francés.
When we arrived in the town, we asked at the tourist information about which albergue would be the quietest.
This albergue was attached to the monastery and was a really old building. It was, indeed, quiet.
We cooked a nice meal and chatted to one other person while eating – and had a great night’s sleep!
This town was also good for tourism. The cathedral is beautiful and even houses a rooster due to an old legend.
Until we stayed in this hostel, we’d been setting off walking at 5:30 am but here, we weren’t allowed to leave until 6:15 am – so we enjoyed a well-deserved lie in!
3. Albergue de peregrinos parroquial San Francisco de Asís, Tosantos, Burgos
- Address – Calle Santa Marina, Tosantos, Burgos
As this was an albergue parroquial, the cost of staying there was donation only.
This meant you could choose to donate as little or as much as you liked for your stay.
Including in your night’s accommodation (regardless of donation amount) was the evening meal.
The donations for each night go towards cooking the meal for the next lot of pilgrims the following night so we made sure to be generous as we had a wonderful meal here – they even catered for us being vegetarian, which was fantastic.
Here, you sleep on mats on the floor rather than beds, but it was actually a very comfortable night’s sleep indeed.
What I really loved about this place was just how much of a community feel it had. In the late afternoon, a local lady took us up the hillside to a church that had been carved into the rock.
Then, on our return, everyone chipped in to cook the evening meal.
We had a lovely stew, salad, bread and wine – all thanks to the previous night’s guests and their generous donations.
After eating, there was an optional reflection session. Each guest was given a piece of paper in their native language.
This was what previous guests had written about why they were walking their Camino. It was very moving and emotional – especially if you understood more than one language.
Here, the earliest you were allowed to get up was 6 am. The hostel provided breakfast of coffee, bread and jam, madeleines, and biscuits – it was fantastic!
4. Albergue de Peregrinos Municipal de Tardajos, Burgos
- Address – Calle Asunción, Tardajos, Burgos
Always in search of peace and quiet, we continued past the big, bustling city of Burgos to find the next village with an albergue.
It was only around 5 km from the outskirts of Burgos but was a lovely little village that had a pharmacy, bars, and shops.
Though simple, the albergue was clean and you only had to pay a donation to stay here.
If you like peace and quiet and don’t want to stay in Burgos, this village is ideal.
5. Albergue El Palomar, Lédigos
- Address – Calle Ronda de Abajo, 34347, Lédigos, Palencia, Spain
There are two albergues in Lédigos and both have their own bar!
We stayed in El Palomar, which also had its own swimming pool (though we didn’t use this).
After being in dormitories with dozens of others for quite some time, we were pleased to discover that this hostel had double rooms on offer.
Though simple, we were able to get a quiet night’s sleep here, which we very much needed by this point!
6. Albergue Verde, Hospital de Orbigo
- Address – Av. Fueros de León, 76, 24286 Órbigo Hospital, León
What a delight this place was! It was lovely and quiet here because it’s a little way out of the village and not well sign posted.
Here, we were treated to a lovely vegetarian dinner, a quiet room, and a monsoon shower. It was amazing.
After arriving early, we spent the afternoon reading and relaxing in the hostel garden and were encouraged by our hosts to eat the fruit on their fruit trees!
7. Albergue Compostela, Molinaseca
- Address – Calle la Iglesia, 9, 24413, Molinaseca, León
Originally, we hadn’t planned to stay in Molinaseca and were going to stop 4km beforehand.
However, we decided to push on and were so glad we did. The hostel was pleasant enough and had everything we needed.
What’s great about this place is that we had our own single beds rather than bunk beds, which was a welcome relief.
The village itself was lovely and is definitely recommended. There’s a beautiful stream and grassy banks to relax on.
8. Albergue de peregrinos de la Xunta de Galicia de O Cebreiro, Lugo
- Address – Lugar Cebreiro, 17, 27671 Pedrafita do Cebreiro, Lugo
We were nervous about this hostel but only because we knew there were only 100 beds there and the next albergue would be a further 6 km walking and we’d already done 32 km that day.
Luckily, we got beds number 97 and 98, and were very relieved indeed.
This albergue was big and had great facilities. What was even more special was that it was situated in a lovely town called O Cebreiro.
This was the first place we’d stayed in Galicia and was an ancient village on a high mountain ridge that’s filled with ancient roundhouses made of stone.
9. Albergue de peregrinos de Arca – O Pino
- Address – O Pedrouzo (Concello do Pino), 15821, La Coruña
This was the final albergue for us before we arrived in Santiago de Compostela (where we decided to stay in a hotel to celebrate!).
Though it didn’t look it from the outside, this hostel had spaces for over 120 people.
It’s only a 20 km walk from here to Santiago and so a lie in is very possible!
Final Thoughts
Finding a good place to rest your head is vital when walking the Camino de Santiago.
By the end of your trip, you’ll likely be able to spot a snorer a mile off!
What we liked was the occasional private room every now and then – and thankfully, lots of albergues have these.
Surprisingly, some of the best nights we had were in large dormitories – it seemed that the snorers were louder in smaller rooms!
What I will recommend is a good set of ear plugs (we didn’t bring any!).
Of all the albergues we stayed in, our favorite was the one in Tosantos (number 3 in this list) and the one in Hospital de Orbigo (number 6).
This was down to how welcoming the hosts were, the facilities and the food provided.
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