COVID-19 Camino updates For travel advice, including entry requirements to Spain for UK citizens, please visit: Spain travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) For the latest information on risk from COVID-19 for Spain on the TravelHealthPro website. See the TravelHealthPro website general advice for travellers in relation to COVID-19. Updated 9th February 2023 The below information was published during the pandemic with the last update published on 10th June 2022. It is now out of date and travel restrictions have been lifted. For further information about travelling to Spain, please refer to the above links. 10th June Reports from the most popular Camino routes are that it is busy and getting hotter! Over 2,000 pilgrims have been counted at Santiago today so far. At the end of May, 48,254 pilgrims got their Compostelas. More than a third of these were Spanish. The UK was the 6th most represented nationality, behind Germany, USA, Italy and Portugal. Over a quarter of the total had started in Sarria, the final 100km point on the Camino Francés. The second and third most popular routes were the central and coastal routes of the Camino Portugués, followed by the Camino Primitivo from Oviedo. Accounts from recently returned pilgrims indicate that especially if on the Camino Francés or Portugués, booking accommodation a few days in advance is suggested due to the pilgrim numbers. However, some say it is still possible to walk without booking, if you don't mind occasionally having to walk on to the next village/town due to being full. Covid restrictions have all but evaporated, with large crowds anticipated in Santiago for a series of summer events in the city, on top of the swelling pilgrim numbers. 27th May Pilgrim numbers being counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office are now fluctuating between 1,300 and 2,300 over the last week. There were mass outdoor gatherings around Santiago Cathedral for Ascension Day earlier this week, with very few, if any, Covid protocols in place, indicating that concerns over infection have now fully subsided. There has been a heatwave across many parts of Spain, although reports from higher altitudes in the north, such as Rabanal, are that it is still cold and the fire in the salón of our Refugio Gaucelmo is being lit most days. Prepare for all weathers! Tune into our coffee mornings to hear from pilgrims on the Camino right now! Every 1st Thursday of the month - apart from June, when because of the Jubilee Weekend, it's taking place on the 2nd Thursday (9th). Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/464302021 6th May A total of 34,283 pilgrims were counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office in April. The most common nationalities after Spanish (54%) were Portuguese (9%), German (6%), USA (4.5%), Italy (3%), Irish (2%), British (2%) and French (1.7%). The most popular start point was Sarria, the 100km mark on the Camino Francés with 36%. Following that were Porto (8%), Tui (7.7%) and Ferrol (5%). The Camino Inglés was the 3rd most popular Camino route last month, behind the Francés and central Portuguese from Porto! 54% of April's counted pilgrims were women. In the early days of this month, just under 2,500 pilgrims per day have been setting out from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, consisting mostly of French, Italians, Americans, Germans and South Koreans. A "wave" of pilgrims is expected to sweep through the Camino Francés, placing more demand on local services and accommodation. Reports from those who are there at the moment suggest that booking places to say a few days in advance is a good idea, and will become even more important as we get into the summer months, which are typically busier with people on the Camino. All Caminos apart from the Camino Francés are reportedly much calmer. The Pope has rescheduled his visit to Santiago from August to November, which is expected to have an impact on pilgrim numbers also. Thanks to the Pilgrim Office in Santiago de Compostela, as well as Santiago resident JT Pedersen for this information. 22nd April As of two days ago, Spain have now dropped the mandate for wearing masks indoors as well as outdoors with some exceptions such as hospitals and medical centres, including pharmacies, public transport and care homes. As predicted, the number of pilgrims counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office exploded over the Easter weekend, totalling over 10,300 who were granted Compostelas over the 5 days: Maundy Thursday - 2036 pilgrims Good Friday - 2576 pilgrims Easter Saturday - 2185 pilgrims Easter Sunday - 1978 pilgrims Easter Monday - 1540 pilgrims Numbers since then have reduced slightly, hovering around the 1000 mark each day. It was standing room only inside Santiago Cathedral for the Easter masses! 13th April Yesterday 799 pilgrims were counted at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago. And so far today (time of writing 16:30 UK time), almost 1,400 have been counted. This is only expected to increase further over the weekend, as thousands of pilgrims time their arrival at the Cathedral with Easter. Those wanting a certificate who are on a tight schedule are encouraged to get to the Pilgrim Office as early as possible. Accommodation in Santiago is said to be fully booked out. Almost 20,000 pilgrims have been awarded Compostelas in 2022 so far. Fully vaccinated travellers to Spain are no longer required to fill in the Spanish Health Form. As long as they show a Covid Pass, and they have had a booster jab if their 2nd dose was administered more than 270 days ago, they no longer need to fill this in. In France, fully vaccinated travellers may be asked to fill out the EU-Passenger Locator Form. And for Portugal, all travellers are still required to complete a passenger locator form before arrival. There is a particular one for mainland Portugal, as opposed to the Azores or Madeira and Porto Santo. Those we are fully vaccinated will not need to take a test though. The CSJ refuges are open and receiving pilgrims, providing warm welcome and hospitality to those on their way to Santiago on the Camino Francés at Rabanal and the Camino del Norte at Miraz! 1st April Pilgrim numbers in Santiago are now high. More than 300 have been awarded Compostelas so far today. Last week the total hit 603 in one day. There have been reports this week of some pilgrims not getting their certificates because of overcapacity at the Pilgrim Office. More than 10,000 pilgrims have now been counted at Santiago so far this year. In 2021 at this point there had been just 268. In 2020, this figure was 7,025 by the end of March. And in 2019, 11,244. The Napoleon Route over the Pyrenees on the first stage of the Camino Francés remains closed until Monday 4th April due to cold and inclement weather. Here is a graph showing the daily case rate of Covid nationally in Spain, up to 29th March, showing a very slight rise in the last week or so: For pilgrims travelling around Holy Week and Easter, our advice is to check the availability of accommodation as much in advance as possible. It is expected to be very busy in and around Santiago. 18th March From today, all Covid travel measures in the UK have been scrapped. This means that it is no longer a requirement to fill in the UK’s passenger locator form when entering the country (for anyone) and unvaccinated travellers no longer need a Covid test before or after travel to the UK. Entry requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers to Spain, Portugal or France remain the same - see our 4th Feb table below. Numbers on the Camino are on the rise - with 246 pilgrims being awarded their Compostelas yesterday alone. Numbers are expected to increase in the run-up to Easter. All places of accommodation are reportedly open, or about to open, but at a reduced capacity. If travelling on the Camino Francés in April, our advice is to consider booking ahead, especially the closer you are to Santiago. Contact information for hostels and hotels can be found in any guidebook, Camino app or website, and many can be reserved through booking.com. 24th February Today marks the day in England that the legal requirement to self-isolate is gone (although advice is still to stay home for at least 5 days if you've tested positive). Routine contact tracing ends, self-isolation support payments stop and masks are no longer mandatory on public transport in London. Scotland is awaiting a further relaxation, if not full cessation of Covid restrictions next month. From Monday 28th, face coverings in Wales will only be mandatory in retail, public transport and health and care settings. Also Covid passes for access to events and venues are no longer required. And all Northern Ireland legal restrictions have now been made guidelines. According to Worldometer, the number of daily cases has dramatically fallen in the last two weeks:And the daily death figures seems to have passed its peak in the last week: 86.7% of all Spaniards are single-jabbed and 82.2% double-jabbed. Source: El País Masks remain mandatory indoors in Spain, where a social distance of 1.5m is not possible. And requirements for entry into Spain, France and Portugal remain as below. Daily pilgrim numbers at Santiago Pilgrim Office are increasing, now more than 100 pilgrims are being counted each day, with March expected to be a busy month. Still no breakdown of statistics have been published for January 2022. 11th February Since 4am today, fully vaccinated arrivals into the UK no longer need to book and take tests. That means for a round trip to Spain and/or Portugal, no tests are required at any stage for double-jabbed travellers (but proof of a booster will be required if your 2nd dose was administered more than 270 days prior to travel). If you are not fully vaccinated you will need to take a pre-departure test to get back into the UK. After you arrive, you will need to take a PCR test on or before Day 2, but you will only need to quarantine if it's positive. You still need to fill in a passenger locator form. Unvaccinated 12-17 year olds will be able to travel from the UK to Spain with a negative test from Monday. A negative test is still required for entry to France. Spain has relaxed its rules on wearing masks outdoors. They are no longer a requirement provided that a safe distance of 5 feet can be maintained. Masks indoors are still mandatory. Guidelines for albergues are starting to be released. At the moment, some of the guidance includes: Mask wearing at all times Alcoholic handwash upon entry Pilgrims wait outside to be admitted Social distancing in communal areas Pilgrims' temperatures taken (after a brief rest) Pilgrims assigned beds Rucksacks placed in plastic sacks 4th February The below table shows the current entry requirements for travellers from the UK to Spain, France and Portugal: Spain France Portugal Double-vaccinated travellers aged 12 and over (demonstrated with a Covid Pass/Certificate on the NHS app or printed out) Health Control Form. No need for a test or quarantine. Need to have had both doses for at least 14 days prior to travel. Final dose must have been given within last 270 days. Otherwise proof of booster jab required. Negative PCR or antigen test result taken within last 48 hours before travel (not an NHS test). Also a sworn statement (Déclaration sur l'Honneur) form from French government website. You may also be asked to complete the EU Passenger Locator Form. Need to have had both vaccine doses for at least 7 days prior to travel. Travellers aged over 18 years and one month who had their second dose more than 9 months prior, must show proof of a booster jab. Passenger Locator Card. No need for a test or quarantine. Need to have had both doses for at least 14 days prior to travel. Final dose must have been given within last 270 days. Otherwise proof of booster jab required. Unvaccinated travellers aged 12 and over Health Control Form. A negative PCR test taken within the last 72 hours before travel; or a negative antigen test taken within 24 last 24 hours. Self-isolation for 10 days on arrival. Also a negative PCR or antigen test taken within last 24 hours (not NHS test). Also contact details and where you'll be staying filled out in an online form. Also a completed international travel form to prove reason for essential travel. Also a sworn statement (Déclaration sur l'Honneur) form from French government website. You may also be asked to complete the EU Passenger Locator Form. Proof of a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before entry or rapid lateral flow test taken no more than 24 hours before entry, pre-departure. Self-administered tests are not acceptable. Unvaccinated travellers aged between 12 and 17 who are with a fully vaccinated adult See above. The same measures applied to vaccinated adults are applied to any minors (17 and under) who are travelling with them, whether vaccinated or not. Therefore, if an unvaccinated child arrives in France with a vaccinated adult, they may follow the rules of entry for those who are fully vaccinated - see above. Proof of a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before entry or rapid lateral flow test taken no more than 24 hours before entry, pre-departure. Self-administered tests are not acceptable. Travellers aged under 12 Health Control Form only. No tests, quarantine or proof of vaccination required. Just a sworn statement (Déclaration sur l'Honneur) form from French government website. Passenger Locator Card. No tests or vaccination proof required. And this second table shows the current entry requirements back into the UK from each of those countries, from the 11th of February 2022. Spain, France and Portugal Double-vaccinated travellers aged 18 and over Passenger Locator Form. No quarantine or tests required pre-departure or on arrival. Unvaccinated travellers aged 18 and over Passenger Locator Form. Proof of negative pre-departure test within last 2 days before return trip. Proof of having booked a PCR test to be taken on arrival back in UK. Travellers aged under 18 Follow double-vaccinated traveller rules. 27th January From February 1st, double vaccinated travellers to Spain will be required to prove that their second jab was administered within the last 270 days prior to travel. If you had your second dose more than 270 days before entering Spain, you must show proof of having had a booster jab. Pilgrim numbers at Santiago Pilgrim Office remain very low, with just 28 recorded for today so far. It seems as if Spain is past its peak of case numbers, which reached its highest on January 12th. That said, the number of deaths recorded yesterday was the highest for a single day since March 2021. Source: Worldometer Nonetheless, restrictions remain relatively open: The EU digital Covid certificate is not required to access public spaces, although it is up to local regions if they want to adopt this requirement. Facemasks are mandatory in public indoor spaces. And outdoors if a social distance of 1.5 metres can't be maintained. That also goes for children over the age of six. Outdoor gatherings are limited to six people, although again this may vary from region to region. We continue to wait to see what restrictions on hospitality establishments and tourist accommodation will look like at the start of the Camino season in March. 14th January From today, France is relaxing its restrictions on those travelling from the UK. Vaccinated travellers will no longer need a compelling reason to enter France, and will not have to self-isolate when they arrive. A negative Covid test, taken 24 hours before leaving the UK, is still mandatory for all. The graphs below show Worldometer figures comparing daily cases to daily deaths in Spain at the moment. There are theories circulating that they might be reaching the peak of this wave. The Caminos remain very quiet at the moment, with just 29 pilgrims counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office yesterday. The Pilgrim Office have released their annual report for 2021, which can be viewed in full here. Here is our summary: A total of 178,912 pilgrims were given Compostelas or Certificados in 2021. That's just over half the 2019 total. There was no annual report for 2020. Around 70% of them were Spaniards. The next most prevalent nationalities being Portuguese (5%), Italian (4%), German (4%), American (3%) and French (2.5%). 1,450 British pilgrims were counted, making up 0.81% of the total, and the 10th most prevalent nationality. There were 829 Irish pilgrims, 558 Canadians, 109 Australians, 37 South Africans and 28 Kiwis! Around 170 countries were represented. 31% of the overall total started in Sarria. The next most popular start points were predictably: Tui (8%), Ferrol (6%), Porto (5%), St Jean Pied de Port (5%) and Oviedo (3%). 39 pilgrims started from the UK, 7 of them merging their Camino Inglés with a route at home. 25 Irish pilgrims walked the Camino Inglés, joined with a pilgrim route in Ireland! 7th January It's a new year! And after a few weeks of record-breaking case rates due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the figures for Wednesday 5th January, as compared with Friday 17th December were: Daily cases Daily deaths Deaths as % of cases 17/12/21 05/01/22 17/12/21 05/01/22 17/12/21 05/01/22 Spain 33,359 137,180 41 148 0.12% 0.10% France 58,128 332,252 162 246 0.23% 0.07% Portugal 4,644 39,570 24 14 0.52% 0.0004% UK 92,285 218,405 111 343 0.12% 0.16% Source: Worldometer 1,193 pilgrims were counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office in December, around 800 fewer than the last month of 2019. 68% of these were Spaniards. The rest predominantly Portuguese, French, Italian, German and American. Just 13 Brits got their Compostelas. 31% of the total had started in Sarria, the next most popular start points being Tui with with 9% of the total and St Jean Pied de Port with just over 6.5%. More than half of those counted had walked the Camino Francés. We hope to see the return of the annual report for 2021, which contains greater detail than the monthly summaries, from the Pilgrim Office website. reopen.europa.eu is a useful website that tells you the entry requirements for all EU countries, as well as Coronavirus measures in place at the time. As of today, fully vaccinated travellers coming to England will no longer have to take a pre-departure test. And from Sunday, rather than taking a PCR test on day 2 of their return, they can take a cheaper lateral flow test. Changes are also expected to the rules on self-isolation after arrival back in the UK. 17th December - our last update of the year Concerns over the Omicron variant are mounting and it has seen the re-introduction of certain restrictions on social mixing and travel. This week, the French government have announced tougher entry requirements for travellers from the UK. These include giving a "compelling reason" to enter the country, providing a negative Covid test less than 24 hours old and isolating for a week or 48 hours if they have a second negative test. Read more here The UK recorded 78,610 new Covid cases on Wednesday, the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic (BBC). In Spain, the daily case rate is at its highest since July 23rd 2021, at 28,900. The daily death rate, however, remains between 30 and 60, apart form one slight spike on Wednesday with 77. More information at Worldometer. Galicia is leading the charge for a faster booster rollout programme. Currently, boosters are being offered to the over 60s age group, but on Monday, Galicia called for the Public Health Commission to lower this age range. The Spanish Minister for Health, Julio García Comesaña, says that they are on track to hit their target of offering booster jabs to everyone over 60 years old by Christmas. Read more here. 59 pilgrims were awarded their Compostelas yesterday. We will update this page once we re-open our office in January. Despite the news, from everyone at the CSJ - have a happy and peaceful festive season. 10th December Santiago Pilgrim Office have released their statistics for November, which you can view in detail here. Here is a summary: A total of 9,094 pilgrims were given Compostelas last month. This is actually more than we saw in November 2019, when it was just 8,274. In 2020, this figure was just 585. Of the 9,094, over 5,000 were Spanish. With the next most represented countries being Portugal, Italy, Germany, the United States and France, in that order. 113 pilgrims from the UK were counted. The most popular starting points, as usual, were Sarria (2,055), Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (877), Ferrol (629) and Porto (617). Over half of last month's total followed the Camino Francés (4,735). A further 1,801 took the Camino Portugués Central. Interestingly the next most popular routes were the Camino Inglés, the Camino Portugués Coastal route and the Camino Primitivo, all ahead of the longer Camino del Norte or Via de la Plata. This week, we were lucky enough to listen to Rev Sandy Brown, guide writer for Cicerone Press, talk on the impact of Covid-19 on the Camino for our annual Constance Storrs lecture. He had some very interesting statistics to share, but perhaps the most interesting was this: Since 2019, there have been 33 counted albergues that have closed on the Camino Francés due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, very surprisingly, there have also been 79 that have newly opened. Possibly due to an anticipation of a Holy Year pilgrim 'boom' in 2022. These will be reflected in Cicerone's upcoming update to the Camino Francés guidebook, out next month. 3rd December The number of new cases of Covid-19 per day in Spain is at its highest since mid August (14,500 for Dec 2nd). As of yesterday, Worldometer recorded 175,120 people currently infected nationwide. That said, as with the last few weeks, the death rate remains fairly steady, with no discernable spike recorded since early October. Trends reported by El País indicate the start of a new wave of infections and hospitalisations, though thankfully death rates seem unaffected:Infections:Hospitalisations:Deaths:Source: El País 11 of Spain's 19 autonomous communities have fully vaccinated 80% or higher of their population. All others apart from Melilla (one of Spain's enclaves in Africa) are more than 70% fully jabbed. Overall, 79.5% of the national population have had both doses. Source According to gov.uk, entry requirements for fully vaccinated UK travellers into Spain and France involve completing a health form (different for each country) and showing full vaccination status. For Portugal, a passenger locator card and negative antigen test result from the last 72 hours are required. According to the BBC, if you are entering the UK from a foreign country (apart from Ireland) you now need to take a 'Day 2' PCR test, which you must have booked before your trip, whether or not you have been vaccinated. And you must self-isolate until you receive the result. Santiago Pilgrim Office recorded just 73 pilgrims yesterday. 26th November The overall daily case rate of Covid in Spain is the highest it's been since early September (more than 9,200 reported yesterday). However, this does not seem to be causing an increase in the daily death totals, which remain at between 20 and 35 each day. See Worldometer for further figures. The Basque Country and Navarre are currently the worst affected autonomous communities with 3 and 4 times the number of average daily cases reported in Galicia in the last 14 day period. 80.8% of Spaniards have had a first vaccination dose. 79.4% have had both. See more at El País. It was announced yesterday that Portugal, previously praised for its speedy vaccination rollout, would be re-imposing restrictions to stop a surge in cases. The Portuguese Prime Minister said that all travellers to the country would have to provide a negative coronavirus test result (Antigen or PCR) regardless of vaccination status. Read more here. Neither Spain nor France have made similar announcements yet. Yesterday just 168 pilgrims were counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office. 12th November There is a noticeable upward trend in daily Covid cases, as reported by Worldometer, with 4,286 cases reported yesterday: the highest count since September 9th. The death count for yesterday stood at 30, and it continues to fluctuate between 15 and 40 a day last week. Regionally, the autonomous communities are fluctuating with their case numbers some more markedly than others. Ceuta, which at one point had the highest number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants reported in a 14 day period, is now reporting just 1 (per 100k). Galicia reports 33, Asturias 44, Castilla-y-León 63, La Rioja 75. The two worst affected regions are the Basque Country at 123, and at Navarre 136. See more here. The rate of vaccination remains slow. 80.5% of adults with one dose, 79.0% with two. Yesterday 287 pilgrims were counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office. The last week has seen a fall from 500-700 to 200-300, as the Camino winds down for the winter. 5th November The number of Compostelas being issued per day at the Pilgrim Office is now down to four or five hundred. They have released their statistics for the month of October: A total of 31,170 pilgrims were counted last month. Only around 5,000 fewer than October 2019! 53% of these were Spanish citizens. Around 8% Portuguese. 6% American. The majority of the rest from Germany, Italy and France. 509 British pilgrims were counted. And 326 from Ireland. More than a quarter of the total pilgrims started their Caminos in Sarria. A further 8.6% from St Jean Pied de Port. Predictably, the next most popular were Porto, Tui, Ferrol, Oviedo and Valença. Full statistics can be viewed here. The number of daily Covid cases continues to fluctuate between 1,500 and 2,500, with a spike reported yesterday of over 3,000 new cases. Many albergues are expected to start closing soon for the winter and will await direction from their local governments as to the conditions of opening in the Spring. 29th October Now around six or seven hundred pilgrims are receiving their Compostelas each day from Santiago Pilgrim Office. Anecdotal reports say the vast majority are Spanish, but this will be confirmed by the monthly statistics which will be released in early November. The daily average of reported Covid cases in Spain is fairly static, fluctuating between 1,500 and 2,500 diagnosed cases every day in the last week. And the number of daily deaths also looks to be varying, with over 50 deaths were recorded on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Galicia now has the lowest case rate of all the autonomous communities of Spain, with just 18 per 100k inhabitants in the last 14 days. Asturias have increased slightly to 30, La Rioja at 27, Cantabria at 46, Castilla y León at 57, Navarra at 72 and the Basque Country at 81. According to El País, 80.3% of the Spanish population have now had their first vaccination. 78.7% are "double jabbed". 15th October From last Monday, the UK's Green and Amber lists of countries for international travel were scrapped in favour of one single Red list, containing just 7 Caribbean, Central and South American countries (Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela). Additionally, from 24th October, fully vaccinated people can take a Lateral Flow Test on Day 2 after arriving in England from a non-red list country. Read more here. There are still around 1,000 pilgrims a day getting their Compostelas from the Pilgrim Office in Santiago. Reports from pilgrims still relate the need to book accommodation. Although on routes like the Camino del Norte and the Camino Portugués, perhaps only a day or two in advance. Hostels and albergues now have the option of increasing their own capacity limit if they can verify that their guests have been double vaccinated. 8th October Santiago Pilgrim Office have released their statistics for September: A total of 37,465 pilgrims received their Compostelas last month. That's roughly 75% of the total in September 2019. 64% of last month's total were Spanish. Around 5% German, another 5% American, 4.5% Italian, 4% Portuguese and 2.6% French. 426 (1.14%) were from the UK and 277 (0.6%) from Ireland. As usual, Sarria was the most popular start point, attracting almost a third of the total counted. The next most popular were Tui (100km mark on the Camino Portugués), Porto, Ferrol (Camino Inglés) and St Jean Pied de Port, from where over 1600 Compostela pilgrims had started. Reports from pilgrims on the Camino recently have been that booking hostels in advance is still essential. Now that numbers of pilgrims are approaching more "normal" levels, demand is slightly exceeding supply of open accommodation. Pilgrims continue to use sites like www.gronze.com to find open hostels 4-5 days in advance, and booking either directly or through www.booking.com. According to this week's figures from El País, the daily average of reported cases of Covid-19 in a 2 week period is the lowest it's been since St James's Day (25th July) 2020. Regionally, number continue to fall. Only Melilla and Cataluna remain just over the 100 cases per 100,000 mark. Asturias and Galicia now have the lowest rates, at 15 and 21 cases per 100k people in the last 14 days respectively. Vaccine-wise, the percentage of the population with one dose is almost at 80% (79.8), with those second-dosed not far behind at 77.8%. 1st October More pilgrims have reported that booking 4-5 days in advance is essential on many of the Spanish Camino routes at the moment. Numbers are now comparable to "normal" at this time of year, but with much-reduced accommodation available, leading to problems finding beds. Capacities in hostels are mixed. Some in Galicia are up to 75% of the normal number of beds, others are still down to 50%. And we have heard that in more remote areas, some hostels have even opened at full capacity... As of Tuesday this week, the daily average of reported cases of Coronavirus in the last 2 week period is now at its lowest since July 30th 2020. Hospitalisations from Covid are down by 36% and deaths by 22%. Regionally, case rates are falling everywhere - just 37 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Galicia now, compared to 17 in neighbouring Asturias, and 46 in Castilla-y-León. Apart from the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, the Basque Country remains the worst hit in mainland Spain, at 107 cases per 100k residents. As of yesterday evening, 79.6% of Spaniards had received their first vaccine dose, and 77.3% had had both. Monday morning will see an end to the pre-departure PCR test requirement for double-vaccinated travellers from Spain to the UK. The day 2 test (which must be booked before your return flight) is still a requirement until further notice. 24th September Coffee mornings started up again this week and we heard from pilgrim and CSJ member Martin Brice who joined us virtually from Cacabelos on the Camino Francés. He advised booking accommodation up in advance wherever possible - he said that he had been trying to do this throughout his journey from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, but was still occasionally left without a hostel bed. Thankfully, the locals were helpful to him and arranged for alternative sleeping arrangements such as a disused campervan, on one occasion! But his overall message was clear: ring ahead and book your accommodation as far in advance as possible and/or bring a tent and some warm layers with you; if you are thinking of setting of on Camino any time soon. According to El País figures, the daily average of Covid cases in Spain in a 2 week period is the lowest it has been since 3rd August 2020. As of Wednesday this week, an average of 2,654 cases were being reported per day, 205 of whom needed hospitalisation and 64 of which sadly died. Only 7 of all the autonomous communities of Spain and its islands and enclaves have not reduced their average case rate per 100,000 inhabitants down to double digits. Asturias continues to do the best, with just 19 reported cases per 100k of the population over the last two weeks. In the whole of Spain, 79.3% of the population have had their first vaccine dose and 76.6% have had both. This week, the British government announced its plans to reduce the restrictions on entry to the UK. From 4th October, the traffic light system will be scrapped and replaced with one red list. Any country on the red list will not be clear for travel. Also from 4th October, fully vaccinated travellers will not need a pre-departure test before arrival into England from a non-red country, although you will still need to complete the passenger locator form and arrange a post-arrival test on or before Day Two. From the end of October, this can be a lateral flow for the fully vaccinated. The government have hinted that later in the year, this Day Two test will, too, be scrapped but this has not yet been confirmed. 17th September The UK is expecting another travel review today. Reports suggest a simplified traffic light system and fewer countries on the red list. Currently, locator forms and proof of vaccination are required for entry France and Spain from the UK. And for entry back into the UK, a locator form, proof of vaccination, a negative test pre-departure, and booking for another test on or before day 2 of your return, are required. Santiago is lively with a good number of pilgrims on the streets - 1,150 got their compostelas yesterday. All wearing masks indoors and outdoors. According to the El País figures, the 5th wave continues to fall dramatically from its peak around St James's Day. The daily average for Covid cases in a 14 day period yesterday was 13% of what it was on the 26th July. The daily average of hospitalisations is 26% of what it was then. The daily average of deaths in a 14 day period peaked at 123 on 28th August, but this is now down to 74. Some Spanish regions have now got their case rate down to double digits, with Asturias doing the best with just 35 cases per 100,000 in habitants in the last 14 days. The Canary Islands and Galicia down to 79 and 97, respectively, and La Rioja and La Comunidad Valenciana are down to 99 each. By far the highest case rate in Spain is in Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's two enclaves on the northern African coast, with 221 and 296, respectively. 78.9% of Spaniards have received their first vaccine dose, and 75.4% have both. For anyone going imminently, we recommend continuing to book accommodation in advance for the time being. Use sites like www.gronze.com to check the latest listings of what is open and how to reserve. And if you're on the ground - do get in touch with us to tell us how you got on! 3rd September As of yesterday, the daily average of Covid cases in Spain was down to 7,018 - the lowest it's been since early July. 6.4% of those are hospitalised, and 1.6% have died. 77% of all Spaniards have now had one vaccine dose, and 71% have had both. 43,575 pilgrims were counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office in August. That's compared to 33,963 last month. In August 2020, that total was 19,812 and in August 2019: 62,814. 79% of last month's total were Spanish. 543 Americans were counted, 166 from the UK and 118 from Ireland. Sarria and Tui are still the most popular starting points together accounting for almost half of all the pilgrims counted at Santiago. Ferrol was 3rd most popular, followed by Oviedo, then Saint-Jean. Full breakdown here. Many of you are planning Caminos for September. Whilst we hope you have a wonderful time - do ensure you are meeting the current Covid safety checks for Spain, and make sure you have everything sorted before you leave. International travel is a lot more complicated now than it used to be! 27th August The UK government reviewed its traffic light system for international travel again on Wednesday and Spain, Portugal and France remain on its Amber list. Meaning anyone returning to the UK from those countries needs proof of a negative Covid test up to 72 hours before the return flight, as well as another test on or before day 2 of their return. Tests can be booked online in advance either at local clinics or, depending on where you are flying from, with your airline. To enter Spain from the UK, you need to show either proof of a negative test in the last 72 hours or proof of having received both vaccine doses at least 14 days previously. The Covid Vaccination Certificate on the NHS app (not the NHS Covid-19 app) is accepted. The peak of Spain's so-called "5th wave" hit on 26th July, just two months ago. At that time, El País were recording a daily average of almost 26,000 reported cases. Almost 4% of those were hospitalised. And 0.08% lost their lives. Now, just over 9,000 cases in Spain are reported on average every day. More than 6% of those are hospitalised. And just over 1% have died. There are different things to take away from this, but the overall impression is that fewer and fewer people are being infected. And even though the percentages of cases who are hospitalised and/or pass away are slightly higher, it seems that the virus is being contained. Whereas last week, most autonomous communities were reporting between three or four hundred cases per 100,000 in the last fortnight, this week that's now down to two to three hundred. With the exceptions of Extremadura, the Balearics, Ceuta and Melilla with four to five hundred, and Asturias and the Canaries with one to two hundred. Vaccine rollout is now up to 76.3% with one dose, and 68.1% with both. We are beginning to hear more and more reports from pilgrims on the Camino at the moment, almost entirely on the Camino Francés. For this most popular route, and especially its busier stretches over the last 200km, we still recommend to book your accommodation in advance wherever possible, or be prepared to sleep outside or in a hotel. The locals are doing everything they can to accommodate pilgrims, but many albergues have remained closed and the ones that have opened are operating at 50% capacity, maximum. Despite the situation with reduced accommodation and facilities, the word is the Camino has not lost any of its "magic"! Queues for the pilgrim mass at Santiago Cathedral are extremely long at the moment. 20th August The number of reported Covid cases in Spain continues to fall away. As of yesterday, the daily average of reported cases was 11,446. Last week we reported this number to be 12,822. However, since then El País have amended last week's figure to 15,058. So that's almost a 15% reduction on the daily average of reported cases since last week. Around 5.9% of this week's daily average has resulted in hospitalisation, compared to 5.2% last week. And daily average of deaths at the moment is 85 - 0.7% of the case figure. Last week this was 0.4%. See a full breakdown of figures here. Regional numbers of cases reported in the last 14 days continues to drop, with most autonomous communities with three or four hundred per 100,000 in habitants. The Balearic Islands are still the worst hit, but are down to 595 cases per 100,000. The Basque Country and Ceuta, at opposite ends of the mainland, have 529 and 554 per 100,000, respectively. Asturias has the lowest case rate at the moment, with just 186 per hundred thousand. The pace of vaccination continues steadily on. 74.5% of Spaniards have now had their first Covid vaccination, and 64.5% are fully protected. There have been multiple reports of pilgrims having to sleep outside on the busier stretches of the Camino. Whilst pilgrim hostels are open, they are still having to operate anywhere between 30 and 50% capacity, depending on the region's local restrictions. This means many pilgrims have found themselves without beds for the night. We recommend as much as possible - booking your accommodation in advance if you are going soon. If you want to hear from pilgrims out on the Camino at the moment, dial in to the weekly Virtual Albergue run by Sybille Yates and Kimberly Saward every Wednesday at 5pm UK time. Details here - https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75709496130 Meeting ID: 757 0949 6130 Passcode: Kindness20 We were very saddened to hear of the assault on Don Manuel, the parish priest at Hospital de Órbigo last week by a group of young men posing as pilgrims. After taking advantage of his hospitality and trust, the three men proceeded to assault him until he needed hospital assistance. He is reported to be "in good condition" now. We wish him a speedy recovery. Read more here. - - 18th August addition - - Santiago Pilgrim Office have finally published their statistics for July. You can see the full breakdown here. Here are some highlights: A total of 33,962 pilgrims got their Compostelas in July. That's compared to 14,825 in June; 4,295 in May; 977 in April; and 194 in March. In July 2019, this figure was 53,319. Of last month's total, 94% were European. 76% were Spanish. 3.6% were Italian, 3.3% were Portuguese. There were just 119 from the UK, but 748 from the US. The most common start points were Sarria (42%), Tui (13%) and for the first time in a long time Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (12%). Since freedom of movement has been almost entirely lifted in Spain, pilgrims are now starting further back than just the Galician border. In June, just 2% of all pilgrims at Santiago managed to start in Saint-Jean. Could this be the start of a return to "normality"? 13th August The Pilgrim Office at Santiago have still not released their pilgrim statistics from July. We will update this page as soon as they are published. More and more Brits are planning their Caminos from late August. If you have up to date first-hand experience of what it's like for pilgrims on the Camino at the moment, send in your advice to us at [email protected]! The infection rate in Spain continue to drop quite markedly. As of yesterday, El País was reporting a national daily average of 12,822 active cases. Down from over 20,000 last week. 6.2% of these are hospitalised and 0.44% (57 people) have lost their lives. On the whole, though, things do seem to be moving quite apparently in the right direction. Regionally, the numbers of cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days do seem to be coming steadily down. Whereas last week, many of these numbers were around six or seven hundred, this week they are down to five or six hundred in many of the autonomous communities, with the exception of the Balearic Isles still on 814 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants as of yesterday. 72.2% of the national Spanish population have now had one vaccine dose, and 61.7% have had both. If you are on Facebook, you can join our Camino Pilgrim Discussion Group which publishes more advice for pilgrims regarding complying with Covid regulations, including where you can get your PCR test in Santiago as part of the recent government travel review announcement. 6th August The UK government made changes this week to the restrictions on international travel, which will come into effect on Sunday 8th August. Those travelling back to England, Scotland or N. Ireland from France now no longer have to self-isolate IF they have had both vaccine doses (now around 74% of the UK population). Spain and Portugal remain on the Amber list. But a further stipulation was made that if traveling back to the UK from Spain, you will need to take a pre-departure PCR test (as opposed to lateral flow) before you can arrive back in the UK. Those with both jabs won't need to self-isolate when they return. Santiago Pilgrim Office have not yet released their statistics for July. Expectations are that the overall total of pilgrims will be very high in comparison to previous months - largely effected by the Feast of St James and Xacobeo 21/22 and the easing of international travel restrictions. We will provide a summary of their data once it's released, but you'll be able to view the full breakdown here. Yesterday, El País's latest figures showed a national daily average of 20,611 active cases of Coronavirus. Down by almost 20% from 27th July. So far, this figure continues to fall away from the height of the "5th wave", which hit its peak 10 days ago. However, the percentages of hospitalisations and deaths have increased slightly, with 4.5% of this week's 20,611 being admitted to hospital and 0.3% (70 individuals) sadly losing their lives. Regionally, by far the worst area affected is the Balearic Islands, with 1,071 cases of Covid per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days, as of yesterday (5th August). Elsewhere in Spain, the number of cases is dropping considerably. El País recorded a case rate of 781 in La Rioja, 759 in Madrid, 758 in Navarra and 751 in Cataluña, which just last week stood at 1,202. The vaccination rate in Spain seems to have slowed down. As at 4th August, 68.8% of Spaniards had received one dose, and 58.6% were fully protected. For an explanation of the system for healthcare for UK nationals visiting Spain, visit this page of the gov.uk website. 30th July On July 27th, El País recorded a daily average of 25,617 cases nationwide, down by 6% compared to the previous week. 976 of them have resulted in hospitalisation (3.8% of cases) and 25 have passed away (0.1% of cases). The worst hit regions of Spain are still Cataluña, Castilla-y-León and Navarra, but have now been joined by the Balearics. However, Cataluña and Castilla-y-León have managed to slightly reduce their case rate per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 2 weeks from 1,326 to 1,202 and 923 to 843, respectively. Navarra is now up to 995 and the Balearic Islands (Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza etc.) are up to 1,035. Galicia is now up to 699 cases per 100,000 in the last fortnight. Despite last week's encouraging figures on vaccination, El País is now reporting that only 66.6% of Spaniards have received their first dose and 56.3% have had their second. 1,477 pilgrims were counted at Santiago Pilgrim Office yesterday. The totals for the month of July (likely to be much higher than previous months due to St James's Day) will be released in the next few days on their website. The UK government have announced that any double-vaccinated travellers from the US and EU (except France) to Britain will not have to self-isolate upon arrival from Monday. You are still required to provide proof of either a negative Covid test from the last 48 hours, or proof of double vaccination upon arrival in Spain, as well a completed Health Form. If you're double vaccinated, you must still take another negative test on day 2 of your return to the UK, but you don't have to take a day 8 test or quarantine. 23rd July Like last week, the figures for infection have rocketed again, although predominantly in the younger age groups. The worst hit regions of Spain are now Cataluña at 1,326 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks, as well as Castilla-y-León and Navarra both at 923. Galicia is now up to 485. On the 19th July, El País recorded a daily average of 27,247 cases nationwide, up by 7,000 compared to last week. 2.4% of these were hospitalised. And 0.05% resulted in death. So it seems the soaring number of cases is driving up the pressure on intensive care units in the country, possibly amongst the unvaccinated youth, but the fatality rate remains low. 72% of Spaniards have now had their first vaccination dose. And 60% are fully vaccinated. Numbers of pilgrims getting their Compostelas remains above 1,000 each day. For comparison in 2019, the daily average of pilgrims being counted in July was around 1,720. We anticipate these numbers spiking over the St James's Day weekend. This weekend, there will be concerts taking place in Santiago at the Plaza Obradoiro and the Plaza de la Quintana, with hundreds of people expected to attend each. Reports say that all accommodation in the city is booked up! You can watch the live stream of the services happening at Santiago Cathedral over the weekend here - crtvg.gal A very happy St James's Day to all! 16th July In a nutshell, cases of Coronavirus in Spain have multiplied in recent weeks. But the vaccines do seem to be doing their job. On the 25th June, El País recorded a daily average of 3,473 cases nationwide - 5% of which were hospitalised and 0.5% of which passed away. On the 14th July, the daily average of cases hit 20,497. But only 0.02% of these were hospitalised and 0.0005% sadly lost their lives. 60.6% of the Spanish population have now had their first vaccine dose, and 48.4% are fully vaccinated. More than 1,000 pilgrims are now receiving their Compostelas each day. It will be important to monitor this 5th wave over the coming weeks. Case numbers are rocketing at the moment, and it will place strain on health services, and could possibly prompt temporary regional closures. But hopefully the vaccines will continue to lessen the proportion of citizens and pilgrims who suffer badly from the disease. - - 8th July addition - - It has been confirmed that from the 19th July, UK residents who have been double vaccinated for at least 14 days can travel to Amber list countries without quarantining on the way back. This currently just applies to England. But you’ll still need a pre-departure test and a PCR test on day 2 of your return. 7th July Two weeks ago, Cataluña was the only autonomous community left with a case rate of over 200 per 100,000 inhabitants reported in the previous 14 days. Unfortunately, since the Delta variant has made its way to Europe and Spain has relaxed its rules on wearing masks in public, the downward trend we have been seeing in the last few months has now markedly reversed. Here are some statistics from El País with current case rates for the worst-hit regions: Cataluña - 463 per 100k Cantabria - 305 per 100k Navarra - 244 per 100k Castilla y León - 239 per 100k Comunidad Valenciana - 213 per 100k Andalucía - 208 per 100k At the moment, the death rate is still extremely low, with one fatality reported in the Basque Country and one in Aragón in the last 14 days. Hospitalisations, too, are in the single digits for almost all regions, apart from the Basque Country with 10 reported instances in the last two weeks. We only hope that the effects of this surge in cases are alleviated by vaccination efforts. Now over 56% of Spaniards have received their first dose, and 41% have had both. The UK is set to lift almost all its Covid restrictions on Monday 19th July, pending a final "go" decision to be announced on the 12th. The traffic light system for international travel, however, would remain in place. There have been suggestions that those who have been double-vaccinated will not have to self-isolate upon return to the UK from an Amber-listed country, but this has not been confirmed. 2nd July After the most recent government review, Spain remains on the UK's Amber list of countries to travel to. This means a recent negative PCR test is required upon departure - except if you have received both vaccination doses. And upon return, self-isolation for 10 days and two PCR tests on day 2 and day 8 are required for all, even if you are fully vaccinated. At the moment, Spain doesn't require UK tourists to take a PCR test or self-isolate. But there have been calls from elsewhere in the EU to require Brits to quarantine when travelling to Europe. Indeed, UK tourists have been banned from travelling to Germany since May. The number of daily cases is beginning to spike again in Spain, as with many countries in Europe who are feeling the effects of the Delta Variant. According to www.worldometers.info , the usual daily figures of 2,000-4,000 new daily cases in Spain has shot up to more than 12,000 recorded for the 1st of July. At the moment, the statistics on deaths look to be stable, but we wait to see the knock-on effect of the increase in cases over the last few days. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have been hospitalised. Santiago Pilgrim Office have published their statistics for June, which you can view here. Here are some of the highlights: A total of 14,825 pilgrims received their Compostelas last month. That's compared to 4,295 in May. And 977 in April. And 194 in March. But in June 2019, this figure was 49,058. 70% of those from last month were Spanish. Another 12% were Portuguese. Around 440 from Italy, 424 from Germany, 362 from France, and interestingly 162 from the USA. Just 72 Brits were counted. The most common start points were Sarria (32%), Tui (10%), Porto (5%), and Ferrol (5%). Only 2% started in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. 24th June The Spanish government has begun to relax its rules on mask-wearing in public. Around 45% of the national population has now received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. The infection rate continues to fall in Spain, with the exception of Cataluna who still over 200 reported cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks. Galicia now has the lowest incidence rate in mainland Spain, with just 44 reported cases per 100,000 in habitants in the fortnight up to 22nd June. News is spreading that tourists may enter Spain without needing any Covid tests, if you can produce proof of having received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. This includes those from the UK. For entry back into the UK, however, negative tests are still required on or before day 2 and day 8 for Amber List countries. An update on the traffic light system that shapes rules on quarantine and Covid tests for those returning to the UK is expected this afternoon. See here for the latest information. 18th June 516 pilgrims were counted at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago yesterday. One of the highest totals of the year so far. The highest number of cases is now in Cataluna, with Andalucía and La Rioja with the next highest infection rates, according to information from El País. The Spanish Embassy in Washington D.C. is reported to have confirmed that US tourists are able to travel to Spain as long as they can provide proof of having received both vaccination doses. For UK travellers, Spain, Portugal and France remain on the amber list. See below for a table showing the restrictions for this. France has now lifted its curfew and is allowing tourists to enter from other countries in the EU, but still not the UK. 11th June Santiago Pilgrim Office is now granting a few hundred Compostelas each day. Still very few compared to normal standards, especially in a Holy Year, but a big increase on recent weeks. The number of Covid-19 cases is generally reducing throughout the country. According to El País data, the highest numbers of cases per 100,000 inhabitants are in La Rioja, Andalucía and the Basque Country, whilst the lowest are in the Balearics, Comunidad Valenciana and Galicia. 25% of all Spaniards are now fully vaccinated. And around 44% of the population have received one dose. Reports from pilgrims say that they are managing to find accommodation, though many places remain closed. Spain, Portugal and France all remain on the UK's Amber List - meaning tourists shouldn't be travelling there. These restrictions will be reviewed in another two weeks by the UK government. 4th June Portugal has now been removed from the UK's "green list". This means tourists are advised not to travel there, the same as for Spain and France. The lists are due to be reviewed every couple of weeks. Santiago Pilgrim Office have released their pilgrim statistics for May. In April, we saw 977 pilgrims get their Compostelas. Last month, this went up to 4,295. This sounds like a lot, but in May 2019 this figure was 46,673. Three quarters of last month's pilgrims were Spanish. The next most represented countries were, predictably, Portugal, Germany, Italy and France. 19 pilgrims were from the UK. Around 1,300 of the total started in Sarria - by far the most popular start point. The second was Ferrol with 334 pilgrims starting their Camino from there, and third was Tui with 272. But 67 people started in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. 53% followed the Camino Francés. The other most popular routes were the Portugués, Inglés and Primitivo. Of the 4,295 - there were just 15 more men than women. 28th May Numbers of pilgrims are now much higher than they were, but still only a fraction of what would be expected in a normal year, let alone a Holy Year. Yesterday (27th May) over 300 pilgrims were given Compostelas at Santiago Pilgrim Office. The statistics for the month of May should be released by the end of next week. However, so far well over 2,000 pilgrims have been counted at the Pilgrim Office this month. That's compared to fewer than 200 in March this year. But also over 46,500 in May 2019. Even though the regional borders are all open at the moment, there are particular municipalities where Covid cases remain high, which have stayed locked down. Padrón on the Camino Portugués was one of them, but their numbers are now looking much better. 24th May Despite the recent relaxation of restrictions in Spain, the national figures for infections appear to continue declining thanks to increased vaccination rates. As of today, around 1 in every 650 people in Spain have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the last two weeks. And the demand on intensive care units in hospitals is a lot less than what it was, since the older age groups have now received at least one, if not two, of their jabs. In total, 35% of all Spaniards so far. The President of Spain has announced that by the 18th August, 70% of the Spanish population will be vaccinated against Covid-19. The Spanish President has said that from today, UK tourists are welcome in Spain and do not need to quarantine upon or even taking a Covid test upon arrival. They do have to complete a Health Control Form. But this seems to allow only for travellers arriving by air. However, the UK government has placed Spain on its "Amber" list of countries meaning that UK tourists should not travel there unless under exceptional circumstances. You will still be required to take a test before departure from the UK, as well as another two tests on or before day 2 and on or after day 8, self-isolate at home or in the place you're staying for 10 days and complete a passenger locator form. Each PCR test costs in excess of £100. Before leaving the UK Upon arrival in Spain Upon return to the UK Take a negative PCR test Complete a Health Control Form Quarantine for 10 days at home or in the place you're staying Fill in a passenger locator form Take a negative PCR test on or before day 2 Take another PCR test on or after day 8 The UK Government website has speculated a few potential extra requirements for UK travellers related to Brexit. See our Brexit Summary Guidelines page for more detail. For pilgrims from the US and Canada, the Spanish government has announced that you will be welcome in Spain from 7th June. The requirements are that you must demonstrate proof of having had two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, the 2nd of which must be at least two weeks before your arrival in Spain, with the exception of under 18-year olds. Private hotels are beginning to open back up, although municipal albergues seem to remain closed until pilgrim numbers increase. 13th May The state of emergency in Spain has now come to an end. This means that the central government no longer have the special powers to impose restrictions on things like movement. As such, all regional borders are now technically open in Spain. This means, in theory, that one could move freely between them, including to and from Portugal. Some regions are calling to have their borders closed again due to continuing high levels of infection in their areas. The Basque Parliament have requested to the Basque High Court to keep their borders closed. Their request was denied. It remains to be seen as to whether other regions do close their borders again successfully. In addition, some regions have kept some of their municipalities where there is a higher contamination rate closed to outsiders. For example, the municipality of Padrón in Galicia (on the Camino Portugués) remains closed meaning you should not walk through - or if you do, you should not stop there. The rate of vaccination in Spain is speeding up - citizens 59 years old and above are now being invited for their first jabs. The "4th wave" of Covid cases nationally seems to have passed its peak. However, the effects of the recent opening up of movement are yet to be seen. And restrictions could tighten again depending on the decisions taken by regional governments and their high courts. 7th May The final figures for April are in from Santiago Pilgrim Office! The total number of pilgrims awarded Compostela certificates last month was 977. Back in 2019, this monthly total was over 7,500. 80% of last month's pilgrims were Spaniards. And of the 977, 666 were local to Galicia. 97% were on foot, but there were 24 cyclists and even a couple of horseriders! The most popular start point was Sarria, with 268 pilgrims setting off from there. Interesting given that Sarria is not in Galicia - so these pilgrims will have crossed in Galicia illegally. And there were even 17 that started from Oporto in Portugal and 10 from Pamplona! Some 500 others stuck to the rules and started from inside Galicia. The border with Portugal has technically opened, however the Galician border has not. Therefore, passage between the two remains prohibited. This Sunday, the national state of emergency which allows the central government special powers to impose restrictions on movement and hospitality, comes to an end. However, some regions have been requesting that their regional borders remain closed in order to keep their populations protected. The Basque Country, for example, is experiencing a very high number of cases in comparison with other areas of Spain. Following the Spanish elections this week, as well as the end of the state of emergency on the 9th, more announcements about opening up and international travel are expected in the coming days. For Brits, an announcement about a traffic light system for travel to individual countries is expected later today. 30th April Restrictions remain unchanged in Spain for the moment. It is still prohibited to cross regional borders unless for essential reasons. In addition to the map of restrictions released by the AMCS last week (see below), they have announced they will be re-releasing their map of albergues that are open on the Camino Francés. This will be interactive and updated every day. This map was live for a portion of last year, but was deactivated over the winter when almost all albergues closed. They hope to publish this in early May. Pilgrims from the Schengen area are still allowed to fly into Spain with proof of a negative PCR test, but cannot leave the region they flew into. So there are some pilgrims walking the Camino into Santiago from places like O Cebreiro, Ferrol, A Coruna, Tui and Lugo. But still very low numbers are being counted at the Pilgrim Office. We should have their April statistics next week. The question of accommodation is still very much up in the air. Albergues are allowed to be open at a reduced capacity, but with such low numbers of pilgrims, many have decided to remain closed for the time being. Good places to check are Gronze.com and Booking.com. The New York Times published an article saying that vaccinated tourists from the United States may be able to travel to the EU from the summer. No specific dates have been given. 22nd April The normal daily average of pilgrims being granted Compostelas at this time of year is around 1,000. And apart from the surge at Easter, only a dozen are coming in each day at the moment due to Galicia's closed borders and limited number of international flights in operation. The Asociación de Municipios del Camino de Santiago has released a new map, which is to be updated regularly, showing the restrictions in place along the entire Camino Francés. The map makes it clear that it is simply not possible to do the entire Camino route right now where movement between the vast majority of municipalities is prohibited. Over time of course, we hope that gradually the borders and municipalities will light up. It is still impossible to determine when this might begin. For pilgrims who are wondering how they can help support hospitality businesses along the Camino, Sybille Yates has today updated her list of albergues you can donate to on her website. 16th April On the 9th of May, the state of emergency in Spain will be lifted. Having been in place since November 2020, it has given the government special powers to restrict movement of the population. Once it ends in just under a month's time, it will be very difficult to re-invoke such a state, meaning that they will not have the same ability to enforce the closure of regional borders and stop people from travelling freely around the country. This would make it possible, then, to walk longer Camino routes that traverse multiple regional boundaries. It has been announced that the Pórtico de la Gloria, the ancient and recently restored stone-carved doorway in Santiago Cathedral, will reopen for visitors before the end of April. Despite the increased (and illegal) movement over Easter, case numbers have raised slightly nationally. But in Galicia, the increase has been small enough for the local health services to have managed fine. Around 17% of Spaniards have received their 1st vaccine, and just 7% have received both doses. Use of the Janssen vaccine has been suspended due to the widespread concern over blood clot risks. 9th April The pilgrim statistics are in for March...and April! Santiago Pilgrim Office are, for the first time, also publishing their statistics for the current month on their website. In March, a total of 194 compostelas were given out. 155 of those were Spaniards. The rest making up 17 other countries. At least 161 of the total pilgrims started in Galicia. In April, however, so far there have been a staggering 575 pilgrims collecting their compostelas from the Pilgrim Office! 272 of those arrived on Easter Sunday! Of the total, 500 are Spanish, with 20 from the USA, 16 from Germany and the others from over 17 other countries including China and India. At least 94% of the total started from inside Galicia's borders. Restrictions remained unchanged over Easter - although there was more movement as people travelled to see their families. The effects of this are yet to be fully seen, but the overall number of new infections daily in Spain nationally has risen slightly in the last week. It is now national law for everyone to wear masks in public places. Santiago airport will be offering antigen tests for travellers. Depending on your country's regulations, you can use this to return home. Although if you're required to pass a PCR test, you will need to go elsewhere. 1st April A new month, but little change in restrictions for locals. However, the big story in Santiago this week is that from April onwards, international flights are scheduled to arrive into three of Galicia's airports, which would allow foreigners to come to the region (with a negative Covid test). This has caused dissent locally, as this would in theory permit pilgrims to fly into Galicia from other countries in Europe to walk from O Cebreiro, Ferrol, Vigo or other Camino starting points in Galicia to Santiago - before any Spaniards living outside the region can come to visit their families. The vaccine rollout remains very slow. Around 70% of the 80+ age group have now received their first vaccination. The government's target for this for March was 80%. Our pilgrim refuge at Rabanal del Camino has taken the painful decision to remain closed for the 2021 season, barring any major breakthroughs. This was believed to be in the best interest of the volunteers who staff the albergue who come from all over the world. Refugio Gaucelmo are, however, very sad to be closed for a 2nd year and a Holy Year, at that. The CSJ's second hostel, Albergue San Martín in Miraz, continue to monitor their situation. 26th March Restrictions on movement remain the same this week: you can travel within your own region's borders but not beyond. This looks like this will be the case over Easter as well. A small handful of pilgrims have received their Compostelas this week, having walked from other places in Galicia. Around 10% of the population have been vaccinated. An online conference was held by the Spanish organisations responsible for the Camino last weekend. Here's what we learned: Whenever pilgrims can return the Camino - that is, it's permissible both to leave their home country and enter Spain (or France or Portugal), and they meet the specified requirements at both ends - they will have to book their accommodation in advance in order to help regulate social distancing restrictions. All visitors to Galicia will be insured for all treatment related to COVID including hospitalisation and medicines. This has not been confirmed for other regions. If repatriation is required the costs will be covered up to €15,000 but the claimant will need to pay €500. If you're diagnosed while you're in Galicia, and need to self-isolate immediately, your accommodation costs will be covered. Also your family or dependents' accommodation costs will be covered if you're in self-isolation or hospital. The finer details of how all this will work are not yet clear. More information will be made available as things open up. 19th March According to Reuters, Spain has had 72 infections per 100,000 people reported in the last 7 days, just 13% of the country's peak recorded at the end of January. Nationally, around 6.4% of the population have received vaccinations. However, according to Spain's Health Minister Carolina Darias, 4.8 million doses are due to arrive in April from Janssen, part of the Johnson & Johnson group, whose vaccine only requires one dose for full protection against Covid-19. Between April and June, 30 million more doses are forecast to arrive - 2.3 million doses per week. Municipal albergues in the region of Galicia have now reopened but at 30% of their normal capacity for pilgrims who are walking into Santiago from other places in Galicia. 12th March The rate of descent in the number of Covid cases and hospitalisations look as if it is beginning to slow, after a week and a half of freer movement between provinces and partially opening up the economy. Despite the return of university students in Santiago, social gatherings and nightlife remains minimal in accordance with the 10pm curfew, which remains in force. Restaurants and bars also have to close at 6pm. For the time being, residents can move freely around the region of Galicia but cannot leave unless for an essential reason. Depending on data, this may remain the case over Easter. You can see the status of restrictions for all regions in Spain here. Pilgrim Office statistics have been released for February. A total of 14 pilgrims got their Compostelas/Certificados. 4 Spanish, 4 French, 3 Czech, 1 Colombian, 1 Italian and 1 Swiss. 12 of them on foot, 2 by bike. 4 started in Sarria, 3 from Lisbon, 2 from Oviedo, 1 from the Czech Republic, 1 from O Cebreiro, 1 from "France", 1 from Le Puy and 1 from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. All of these were below the age of 60. 5th March Some areas, including Santiago, are slowly opening up again as they emerge from their "3rd wave". This means that restaurants can open, with limited capacity, both inside and outside. And residents can now move freely around the whole region of Galicia, though not beyond. This week, Santiago Cathedral began holding its pilgrim masses twice daily. There is talk of another short-term lockdown over the Easter holidays, in order to suppress any potential "4th wave" that may arise as a result of travelling and socialising around that time. The vaccine rollout in Spain continues to move slowly. However, supplies are looking to increase in the near future, hopefully speeding up the rate of vaccination among the top priority groups, starting with over 80 year-olds. 25th February Anti-vaccination protests in Santiago last weekend remained peaceful, to the relief of local residents. Infection rates and hospitalisations continue to fall. However the vaccine rollout remains extremely slow. Around 4% of the national population have received their 1st doses. Movement in and out of Santiago is still prohibited. However, should cases continue to drop, there is the possibility of freeing up movement between neighbouring municipalities as long as they are at the same level of restrictions. Due to the closure, there are no pilgrims arriving into Santiago. The possibility of a Spring Camino is looking unlikely at this stage. 19th February New restrictions for Galicia came into force on the 17th and will remain in place until 3rd March. Businesses are now allowed to reopen at their normal hours but capacity is limited to 50%. Restaurants and bars remain closed except for takeaway. Meeting with anyone outside your own household is still prohibited. There are still perimeter closures between municipalities. However, universities will reopen from 1st March and schools are open as usual This is not the same everywhere in Spain - each of the 17 autonomous communities have their own restrictions in place. But most have some variation of regional or municipal closure. The rollout of vaccinations in Spain remains very slow. There is a planned anti-vaccination protest to take place in Santiago this weekend, as well as a counter protest. Our best wishes to our friends there. 12th February Spain seem to be over the crest of their most recent COVID wave. For the moment, the restrictions on movement and social gatherings remain in place. But there is now a hope that they will start being lifted soon. The Pilgrim Office in Santiago remains open, but with virtually no pilgrims for some weeks due to the perimeter lockdown in the city. 5th February Restrictions are now in place for anyone moving between consellos (townships) in Galicia. That is, if a resident of Santiago were to leave the city, they would be liable for a heavy fine. Likewise, for anyone entering the city from outside. Therefore, there are no pilgrims arriving at present. This will remain the case until at least the 17th February, when rules will be reviewed once more. However, it's been revealed that during January 2021, 60 pilgrims got their Compostelas. 27 of these were Spanish, but some were German, Portuguese, Dutch, French and others. There was even a pilgrim from Korea, Brasil and two from the United States! We know that the starting points of these 60 pilgrims varied greatly from the common 100km points like Sarria, Tui, Ferrol, Vigo and Valenca do Minho, to Seville, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Germany. Unlike the usually fairly even gender split, two thirds of these pilgrims were male. The Xunta de Galicia's department for the Holy Year(s) Programme, Xacobeo 21, have released a report outlining plans for two mobile apps they plan to launch in order to support pilgrims through COVID, when they are allowed to return to the Camino. This is part of their "Camino Seguro" (Safe Camino) programme to promote COVID-safe pilgrimage in Galicia. Radar COVID will be an app to advise you, anonymously, if you've come into contact with someone infected with COVID in the last 14 days. PassCOVID will be an accompanying app to Radar, where you'll also be able to check the up-to-date local restrictions. With Radar, it will also communicate to others if you've had a positive COVID diagnosis. 28th January A small handful of pilgrims have still been walking into Santiago, despite the local restrictions prohibiting this. From yesterday (Wednesday 27th January), stricter rules on movement in and out of Galicia are being enforced. Locals are now not able to move between consellos (townships). The 6pm curfew on non-essential businesses has resulted in the closure of many restaurants and hostels. The number of infections, hospital admissions and deaths is now worse than in the first wave of the virus in March 2020. Currently, about 2% of the Spanish population have received a COVID vaccination. Therefore, it is not looking promising that pilgrims will be able to return by Spring. 22nd January The Pilgrim Office has unveiled their special commemorative Holy Year Credencial. This will be available from the CSJ in the coming weeks. Santiago and Galicia remain in a state of lockdown. Very few, if any, pilgrims are arriving each day. Currently there is a low supply of vaccines available in Spain. At the time of writing, official estimations indicated that people over the age of 80 would not receive their vaccinations until March. By this time frame, pilgrims with plans to return to the Camino in Spring are being cautioned that this may be problematic and that they should push back their plans further if they can. 15th January Cases and deaths from COVID-19 are soaring in Spain, as was anticipated after the busy holiday season. Many Spaniards are being told to go into voluntary lockdown, working from home as much as possible and only leaving their houses if absolutely essential. Still, there are one or two pilgrims arriving at the Pilgrim Office each day. These are most likely local people, who have stayed in their own homes and done the walk over separate days. In the whole of December, just 99 pilgrims were counted at the Pilgrim Office. Half of these were Spaniards. The most popular starting point was Porto (21 pilgrims), followed by La Gudina on the Via de la Plata, close to the Galician border (12 pilgrims), followed by Sarria (10 pilgrims). 1 pilgrim had started in St Jean, 1 in Vézelay and 1 in Belgium. For comparison, in December 2019, a total of 2,710 were counted. The widespread economic effects of the pandemic are beginning to manifest, with marked increases in household bills for electricity, gas and broadband. 7th January The Camino remains in a state of semi-hibernation during these winter months when restrictions on movement remain tight. There were relaxations over New Year and Epiphany (Día de los Reyes Magos) and further announcements are expected in the coming days with the rules on travel in each region. For a breakdown of the situation in each autonomous community, see this article in El País newspaper online. However, for UK residents and nationals, travel abroad remains illegal except for essential purposes. For up-to-date and country-specific Government travel advice, see the following pages: Spain travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) France travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Portugal travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 18th December The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has jumped for the first time in weeks, after a relaxation of restrictions. Many regions will see a tightening of regulations for residents and businesses, with movement between provinces made more difficult. Nonetheless, it is anticipated that many Spaniards will travel to be with their families over the Christmas period, likely triggering a post-Christmas wave of infections and implementation of further restrictions. Santiago City Council are going ahead with their plans for Christmas services in the churches of San Francisco and Santa María Salomé. From the 30th December onwards, the Cathedral will reopen for masses and processions to the Cathedral's Holy Door, which will open on New Years Eve for Holy Year. 11th December There are now almost no pilgrims arriving at Santiago Pilgrim Office. 586 pilgrims were counted there in November, compared to 8,274 for November 2019. Spanish, French and Italian accounted for more than last month's total. There were just 25 UK pilgrims counted. 70% of those counted last month had followed the Camino Francés. Interestingly the most common starting places for those arriving in November were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Le Puy, Pamplona and Roncesvalles. With the rate of confirmed cases of Covid-19 at its lowest level since August, restrictions are easing slightly, depending on the region. More services are allowed to open, and movement between regions is easier. The authorities are concerned for the coming holiday period, when millions of Spaniards are expected to travel and mix households to be with their families. The Spanish Tourism website is updating this page with advice for incoming passengers. Once the terms of a deal, or no deal, are confirmed for Brexit, the CSJ will put together a guideline for pilgrims to help understand the new requirements for travelling and insurance. 3rd December From this Friday, restrictions will begin to ease in Spain. Bars and restaurants will be able to open again and regions will start to re-open their borders. Very few pilgrims are collecting Compostelas from Santiago now, just a handful a day. Most of those who are finishing now have been walking for months and started back in France or beyond. 12th November The word from Santiago is that there is now a "perimetral confinement", meaning non-essential travel in and out of the area is prohibited, with an exception for pilgrims who started their Camino before 30th October. They are allowed to enter Santiago, get a Compostela but are not able to visit Finisterre or Muxía - they are told to travel home. The nightly curfew from 11pm to 6am continues, as does the restriction on bars, cafes and restaurants to offer takeaway or home delivery services. Sybille Yates continues to update her site on the situation in Santiago. She writes "Whilst the Camino isn’t officially closed, the travel restrictions and insecure accommodation situation make a pilgrimage very difficult, if not impossible, at these times." See the rest of her updates here. 29th October A state of emergency has been declared across Spain. This means that there is a nationwide curfew from 11pm-6am, although individual autonomous regions can move the curfew by plus or minus an hour if the local government choose. They also have the power to tighten their own local restrictions, including closing their own borders. Aragón and Asturias are two of the regions who have closed their regional borders. This lockdown has been confirmed for the next fortnight, but if the situation does not improve in the near future, there is a plan to extend the state of emergency until May 2021! In Santiago, people cannot meet with anyone outside of their own household. And restaurants, cafes and bars can only serve outside. 22nd October More areas on the Camino have now gone into lockdown. This means that non-essential travel through these areas is restricted. This includes: Navarra, Burgos, Salamanca and Ourense (in addition to León and Madrid). Depending on the locality, pilgrims may or may not be allowed to walk or cycle through, without stopping. Some places like León are offering a free shuttle bus from Mansilla de la Mulas to Virgen del Camino. For a full summary, visit the website of Egeria House run by Sybille Yates. 15th October Santiago has now moved into the level 3 of the Spanish Coronavirus area alert system. Therefore, further restrictions will be put in place for the city, though a local lockdown is looking very unlikely. These restrictions are yet to be finalised and announced. The Spanish Federation of Associations of St James has issued a notice of reassurance to other pilgrim associations around the world, saying their new Digital Credencial which will be introduced for the Holy Year will not change the way that paper credenciales currently work. Indeed, the current system of collecting stamps in pilgrim passports will continue as it always has done. The digital version will be a new feature for those who want to use it, with the timely benefit of decreased potential for spreading the virus and greater tracking capability for pilgrims. 8th October This week it was announced that Madrid, León and Palencia would be going into full lockdown because of an uptick in confirmed cases. The Spanish Government have now stipulated that if any of the following statements is true for a given area, it will also go into lockdown for 14 days: There are more than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants The positivity rate of Covid tests is more than 10% The occupancy of emergency rooms is higher than 35% The statistics for September have been released by the Pilgrim Office in Santiago. A total of 10,441 were counted, far less than the 19,812 of August. About 70% of these were Spanish, with the rest predominantly from Europe, including 136 Brits! 89% were on foot, although there were over 1,000 cyclists, 13 horseback riders and 3 wheelchair users. About a quarter of the total number had started in Sarria. Tui, Porto, St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Ferrol and Oviedo were the next most popular start points. More than half of the total had travelled the Camino Francés, and about a fifth on the Camino Portugués. The rest came via the Norte, Primitivo, Inglés and others. You can see more figures on the Pilgrim Office website. 1st October A new Digital Credencial is being launched for Holy Year (2021), which pilgrims will be able to download via an app on their smartphones. Pilgrims will be able to record their route just as they would in a paper credencial, but instead of collecting stamps, they can scan QR codes which will be stored on the app. The tool has been developed by Santiago Cathedral and the Galicia Tourist Board to help manage the process of awarding large numbers of Compostela certificates more easily, reducing queue times at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago. Camino establishments with pilgrim stamps will be able to digitise their chosen image through the project's new website, which will then appear in the pilgrim's app once they scan. The project was developed before the pandemic, in anticipation of the surge in pilgrim numbers expected in Holy Year. But the new scheme will also reduce the amount of physical contact involved in obtaining a pilgrim stamp - which will help reduce the spread of the virus. The new Digital Credencial is not mandatory - pilgrims will still be able to carry paper credenciales and collect physical stamps should they not wish to participate. 17th September We’re making a couple of changes to our regular Zoom meetings! From the week commencing 21st September: our Virtual Albergues will move to Wednesdays at 5:00pmBST. our Thursday Zoom Coffee Mornings will begin at 10:30amBST. The local government of La Rioja has announced that only people that live together can be in the same room or dormitory, and that albergues are reduced to a maximum 40% capacity, meaning even fewer beds available. We continue to receive updates from pilgrims on the Camino at the moment, on a variety of routes. Our new guide to the St James Way is now available here from our online shop. We are looking forward to our online lecture from Dr Andrew Breeze, of the University of Navarre on the subject of Welsh Pilgrims: Past and Present. Read more here! If you missed the Festival of Christian Pilgrimage that took place on Monday 14th September, you can catch the whole thing on YouTube here. If you want to hear our new Patron, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, you can skip to his talk at 1:17! 10th September The statistics from Santiago Pilgrim Office have been released - 19,812 Compostela certificates were issued in August. Over 15,000 of these pilgrims were Spanish. Otherwise, predominantly Italian, Portuguese, German and French. 134 were British! Almost 18,000 were walkers, with around 1,800 cyclists, 11 horse riders, 11 sailors and 4 wheelchair users. The top starting points were Sarria (5,701), Tui (1690), Ferrol (1945), St Jean Pied de Port (832) and Porto (830). Around 53% of these pilgrims were following the Camino Francés. For the full breakdown, visit https://oficinadelperegrino.com/estadisticas2/ Numbers of cases remain high across Spain, similar to numbers in March earlier this year and local restrictions are tightening. Although another national lockdown is looking unlikely. It is looking increasingly probable that Portugal will soon be added to the "essential travel only" list. In that event, we remind pilgrims of the plethora of pilgrim routes in the UK to whet the appetite! You can see our Caminos in the UK page for more info, and visit the website of the British Pilgrimage Trust who have a fantastic directory of possible pilgrim routes you can do from home! Our newly updated version of the St James Way will be available from our online shop on Friday 11th September, for those wanting to walk all or part of the way from Reading to Southampton. 4th September With Spain and France still on the "essential travel only" list, we are steering pilgrims' attention firstly towards local pilgrimage (see post below) and also Portugal - for as long as it stays off the list! We have heard from pilgrims out on the Caminho that there is enough accommodation available and that most of them can be booked through Booking.com . There are cheap flights to Lisbon and Porto at the moment. Some airlines may ask you to fill in a contact form before you arrive (as best you can if you're a travelling pilgrim). These appear to be enforced to different degrees depending on the airline! Masks are required in all establishments without fail. The CSJ stocks a guidebook to the route from Lisbon to Porto, including the detour to Fátima - which remains open. As long as it remains safe to travel to Portugal, this would be a great alternative for budding pilgrims! 27th August The number of diagnosed cases of Covid-19 in Spain is now comparable to that of late March earlier this year, with more than 19,000 new confirmed instances on August 24th alone. However, the number of deaths remains relatively low, with just 25 recorded for today. If you are planning your Camino in Spain or France soon, please do bear in mind that the UK government's official advice is not to travel to either country unless for essential purposes. If you choose to go still, you must do everything you can to keep yourself and those around you safe. As long as they remain on the "essential-only" list, there will be severe consequences on your travel insurance, as well as possibly your travel itinerary. Both will need to be consulted carefully. That said, if you're desperate to scratch that itch, remember there are other options: Pilgrimage in the UK! There is so much beautiful walking and cycling to be found in this country. You can see our Caminos in the UK page for more info, and visit the website of the British Pilgrimage Trust who have a fantastic directory of possible pilgrim routes you can do from home! Portugal, which is not currently on the "essential-only" list of countries, has some beautiful and historic pilgrim routes which are well signposted and catered for. The route from Porto is the second most popular Camino route after the Camino Francés! You can read more about the Camino Portugués here. Some notes from a UK peregrina currently on the Camino Francés: In Galicia it is now necessary to fill in entry forms - downloaded online. You have 24 hours after crossing into Galicia from another province (or abroad) to do this. Albergues in: Galicia - some municipals are open, such as at O Cebreiro. We have heard that none are open on the Finisterre loop. Castilla y León - Some of the parochial albergues are open, such as San Nicolas de Flue in Ponferrada. Many churches are closed. 6th August The main news to report this week is that Pilgrim Office statistics for July have now been uploaded to their website - www.oficinadelperegrino.com If you scroll the drop down menus to 2020 and "julio" you can see the full breakdown. Some interesting things we noted: More than 9,700 pilgrims were counted for the month. More than 80% were Spanish, predominantly coming from Andalucía, Madrid and the Comunidad Valenciana. Other top nationalities included German, Italian and Portuguese, with 63 pilgrims hailing from the UK. 92% arrived on foot, but there were 736 by bike, 9 on horseback and 2 in a wheelchair! Around a third started in Sarria, with the next most popular start points being Tui, Ferrol, Oviedo and Porto. Additionally, we did receive word from the Office for Citizen Information and Care in Madrid that the Health Certificate for travellers into Spain is only required if you have arrived by air or by sea. We will update this post if we hear any updates on this. 30th July This week we heard from recently returned pilgrim, Richard Lendon, who spoke about his experience walking from Pamplona to Santiago and on to Porto. Overall he had a positive experience. The locals he met were welcoming and hospitable as ever. And he always found accommodation, though sometimes had to walk further than he anticipated to find it. On one occasion, he said, he had to walk 20km without a single shop, café or hostel open. Where there was available accommodation, there were often only a couple of pilgrims to a dormitory. The number of pilgrims was very low all the way along the Camino Francés, with slightly more on the Camino Portugués. All locals and pilgrims wore masks as standard, and in Galicia there are now fines in force for not wearing them. Alcoholic hand wash was always readily available. Richard is now in self-isolation, as mandated by the UK government for travellers from Spain. The FCO is now advising against all but essential travel to Spain and its islands, which will have significant insurance implications. Some airlines, including Jet2, have cancelled their flights to Spain. - - 25th July Announcement that people returning to the UK from Spain will be required to self isolate for 14 days: see BBC announcement here. - - 23rd July A great website to look at for up-to-date information on Coronavirus outbreaks in Spain is http://egeria.house/camino-corona-updates/ It's run by CSJ member in Santiago, Sybille Yates. If you are walking/planning to walk a Camino, please keep an eye on this page and always adhere to official travel advice from the respective authorities. There are several ways to celebrate St James Feast Day on 25th July from your home! There is the online St James Day mass from Fr Denis of the Redemptorist order in Hampshire, available here. There is the live streaming of the St James Day service from St James Spanish Place, London, available here. And you can even watch the fiestas happening in Spain. Click here to see live streams of small fireworks displays in 8 different locations across Spain. Spain – borders are open, no quarantine requirements from UK/EU. No travel restrictions in place; only “no travel” advice so far. Albergues are opening on Camino Frances, safety measures largely in place. Xunta albergues - some seem to be open and word is that all will gradually open until September. Reservations for albergues are on the increase HAPPY ST JAMES DAY! See the CSJ Facebook Page for announcements about UK celebrations Facebook pages/groups to follow: CSJ-UK Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/CSJUK Camino Pilgrim Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/groups/confraternitysaintjames/ CSJ Members Group: www.facebook.com/groups/CSJ.UK/ 16th July Pilgrims are on the camino but numbers are low and it seems that many of the ones arriving in Santiago are coming by bicycle. Some albergues are open and most are following strict guidelines but still want to feel welcoming. Duvets are generally not supplied, and the availability of sheets and blankets vary from place to place - best to carry a sleeping bag with you. Also, not all albergues are serving meals but those who are will be following social distancing and disinfecting procedures. Condiments will be in sachets rather than communal containers (and you might want to bring your own). Some require you to provide your own cutlery. There is good advice here: https://elmirondesoria.es/nacional/sociedad/recomendaciones-para-retomar-la-actividad-en-camino-de-santiago Masks are required in Spain, though specific rules might vary from place to place. These should be surgical grade masks rather than homemade cotton masks. Be careful about arriving in an overheated state as you will most likely have your temperature recorded when you arrive at your albergue. You might want to sit in the shade with a cool drink before going in! 9th July If traveling into Spain, you must have obtained a health certificate, which you can do via spth.gob.es and keep a copy either on your smart phone or printed out. There has been a spike of reported cases of Covid-19 in Lugo province. However, it seems to have been contained, with no hospitalisations. All 168 people infected are required to self-isolate for one week. Plastic sacks are being made available by refuges in which to place rucksacks to help with sanitation in the pilgrim hostels. Masks are mandatory in all situations where a social distance of 1.5m is not possible. Manage Cookie Preferences