The latest pilgrim figures released by the Burea d’accueil des pѐlerins de St Jacques de St Jean Pied de Port show a quieter summer on the Camino compared to 2022, but a busier August-influx.
This is after this year was the busiest April month since 2012. May 2023 numbers were 10% higher than May 2022, and April 2023 was 30% higher than 2022.
Latest Camino de Santiago statistics 2023
The bureau, which assists pilgrims leaving from the official start point of the Camino Frances, St Jean Pied de Port in France, reports a strong influx of pilgrims in the last week of August.
6290 pilgrims left St Jean in June, and 5540 in July. This is compared to 6634 and 5690 last year. The number for August is up 1,86% from last year’s figures, with 7329 pilgrims departing.
September is historically very busy
Historically September is one of the busiest months for pilgrims following the full French route, with the highest number of pilgrims ever reported by the bureau during September 2019 at 11 064.
Roncesvalles bottleneck reports
A few reports from pilgrims on Facebook in the first week of September this year indicate that some pilgrims had trouble locating a bed in Roncesvalles and had to take taxis to other towns.
This first stop across the Pyrenees is one of the bottleneck points that can be problematic during very busy times.
(Do check out THIS HELPFUL ARTICLE for prospective pilgrims to help them with the factors they should use to decide which stages to pre-book accommodation, the when and why, which identifies Roncesvalles during busy months like September as a possible pre-booking spot, among others).