Easter time crowded?

[Richard Ferguson]

I am still trying to fix on a good date to leave for the camino this
spring.  I noticed that March 31 is Easter, and some tourist guidebooks
say that Easter is a big holiday, lots of people on the roads, hotels
will be crowded, etc.  But does Easter really affect the camino?  If I
stay in the refugios, will I even see any difference?  I would imagine
that finding a place other than the refugio might be difficult during
that week, but maybe even that is overstated.  I would not plan to be in
Santiago itself Easter week, but start in mid-march, finish in
mid-April.  If I want to avoid Easter, I would start early April, and
finish early May.

Any comments on being on the Camino at Eastertime?

I tend to plan trips to avoid crowds, and my spring is pretty open right
now.  Reviewing the month-by-month statistics, very few people complete
the pilgrimage in March (a few hundred), while maybe 2500 people
complete the pilgrimage in April.  Nothing like the 15,000 to 20,000 a
month July and August.  If I look at the month by month statistics, July
and August are busy, June and September have maybe half the number of
pilgrims, while May and October are maybe half of June and September.
April and May are maybe 15% of the peak time, so probably a good
compromise time to go.

I am probably overanalyzing it, but that is the way I am.  With an open
calendar and no one else going with me, I have perhaps too many choices.

Richard