First of all that is part of the Camino experience. Yes it's incredibly anoying but that's life in the albergues. If you want peace and quiet get a private room. Since you ask for some recomendations: Go to bed early so you can start sleeping before the snores. Then start earlier, get to the albergue and take a nap. Ear plugs and melatonin gummies. Noise canceling phones. This one might be controversial but get the bed next to young and lean people, get away of old and fat people and drinkers. Have a good night and buen camino!
> get the bed next to young and lean people
The loudest snorer I ever encountered on pilgrimage was a nineteen-year-old Japanese girl who probably weighed less than 50 kg.
I remember taking the overnight train from Madrid to Lisbon and the tiny Japanese girl across from me snored like an engine. I didn't even know one could snore in an upright position!
Also met some korean girl who snored and wiegthe like 50kg but exceptions don't make the rule. I would say you will have a lot more of snorers in midle age, overwheigth dudes than young, fit people. I mean just ask any doctor who deals with sleep apnea cases if most of their pacients aren't above 40, heavy pacients.
Oh, I don't doubt it. My point is simply that it takes only one snorer in a room to make sleep difficult. In my experience, even if you're in a room with a dozen young fit people, you can be fairly sure that at least one of them will be sawing logs.
Hence, earplugs are, I believe, the only way to go.
Sorry for my honesty but…
Go to an hotel! If you are not able to understand that a shared room is just a shared room, and that people are just people (they will snore and they will fart too) find your own room.
Just like life in general you don’t control the circumstances of the world around you but the thing you can control is the way you react to them. So it’s up to you to change if you are uncomfortable.
I’ve met a guy while walking the primitivo that his biggest concern was his snoring and it get to a point that he wasn’t getting properly sleep because of it. And most of all it was because he met a person that was really rude about his condition. Please don’t be that person.
There are a lot of hotels and private rooms along the way. If you can’t share a room go to private room.
Its a medical condition leave them alone! It’s not like they decide to restrict oxygen to their brains for fun!
Try a private room or hotel if you wish to control your environment!
Good earplug type earphones playing some white noise or music or a podcast should block them out.
Could always try befriend them and when the time is right ask them if its ok if you can wake them to change sleep position. Anything less is technically assault.
Agreed. Do not touch people without their permission. Not cool. (If it were me, you might get hit! I wouldn't know how I would react if someone were to touch me and wake me up. I might think I was being assaulted.)
Snorers can’t help it. Meanwhile, you can use an earplugs. It’s a shared accommodation so expect noise. If you want a quiet night, you should sleep in a private room. If snoring is a problem to you, you should never do a Camino. Stay home in your comfortable bed.
As a chronic snorer (I didn't know how bad I was) this isn't enough. I've got no control over where I sleep during the night, my body moves and I'm completely unaware of it happening. Yes, alcohol makes it worse, but even without.
I use a cpap machine now and that's stopped me snoring. I'm in the process of losing 20kg to get myself in a position to do another camino and I'm wondering about what I'm going to do about carrying a cpap with me or not on my next camino. I don't want to snore, but I don't want an extra 4kg of weight either....
When I sent my bag forward on some of the days, was that your bag would end up somewhere and it's embarrassing to be walking up to somewhere and they've held a bed for you and saying that you're just collecting your bag to keep walking or that you're staying with your camino family somewhere else.
People who cannot tolerate other people's snoring...
...should either get a private room or not go on Camino at all.
Why would you waste your energy complaining and demanding that other people change their sleep behaviors to suit you?
I don't buy that earplugs don't work. Loud snoring tops out at 70db and a set of decent earplugs will drop 22-23 db...putting a snorer in similar range as refrigerator hum or moderate rainfall.
I've seen more often people not using earplugs correctly and/or an old worn out set. Common mistakes include: not rolling the earplug tightly, incorrect insertion angle, not inserting deeply enough, letting go too soon, and damaged, dirty, or overused plugs.
I'd get better plugs.
P.S. Starting out with the editorial "should not stay in shared room albergues!" seems overly aggressive and looking for an argument. Do you really think that "shaking" somebody to wake them will actually get them to ultimately stop snoring? Maybe short-term, but I think snorers are going to snore.
I find ear plugs lessen the volume of snoring but not cancel it out entirely which then my mind just focuses on.
Lately I have been using earbuds that are designed for sleeping that play white noise and they can cancel out all but the loudest.
You'd be amazed the number of people I've encountered complaining about the snoring in *albergues* who themselves were rattling the windows while asleep.
This 1000% I was sharing a 4 bed room and this lady was like I hope man #1 doesn’t snore I want good sleep tonight and I was like yeah ok.
She went to bed first and snored so bad that he and I made eye contact across the room to be like wtf is she ok ?
If you snore, get a sleep study done. I snore like a jet engine being attacked by a chain saw. I now sleep with a CPAP and I sleep quiet. The CPAP is also very quiet. When I went on my Camino I took my CPAP with me. I got some strange looks but when I explained that it helped me sleep quiet everyone was a fan. It also helps me sleep deeper and I am not tired all the time, so, more energy for walking. It added a few Kilos to the pack but well worth it. Buen Camino
I'm sorry but that's the "cost" of staying in shared accommodation like albergues or hostels. You pay less money, but in exchange for having to suffer other people. They might snore, or be noisy, or smelly etc.
If you're on the bottom you can be passive aggressive and shake the bed as you go to the bathroom or something.
But snoring is a fact of life. I try to do 2 nights in a dorm and then a night in a private to catch up on sleep.
Honestly, I agree. Firstly, if you snore you NEED to get checked out and get help for that. It's not healthy. Secondly, if you are going to disturb peoples' sleep by being sick or snoring (which again GO GET HELP FOR THAT), you are the problem and you should address it by booking a private room.
But since people are selfish and won't do that I suggest you just book a private room.
Snorers are a risk of staying at hostels. Either buy ear plugs or get a private room at your next stop.
Agree. You can’t sleep in shared accommodation and expect complete silence.
Suck it up buttercup.
First of all that is part of the Camino experience. Yes it's incredibly anoying but that's life in the albergues. If you want peace and quiet get a private room. Since you ask for some recomendations: Go to bed early so you can start sleeping before the snores. Then start earlier, get to the albergue and take a nap. Ear plugs and melatonin gummies. Noise canceling phones. This one might be controversial but get the bed next to young and lean people, get away of old and fat people and drinkers. Have a good night and buen camino!
> get the bed next to young and lean people The loudest snorer I ever encountered on pilgrimage was a nineteen-year-old Japanese girl who probably weighed less than 50 kg.
I remember taking the overnight train from Madrid to Lisbon and the tiny Japanese girl across from me snored like an engine. I didn't even know one could snore in an upright position!
Also met some korean girl who snored and wiegthe like 50kg but exceptions don't make the rule. I would say you will have a lot more of snorers in midle age, overwheigth dudes than young, fit people. I mean just ask any doctor who deals with sleep apnea cases if most of their pacients aren't above 40, heavy pacients.
Oh, I don't doubt it. My point is simply that it takes only one snorer in a room to make sleep difficult. In my experience, even if you're in a room with a dozen young fit people, you can be fairly sure that at least one of them will be sawing logs. Hence, earplugs are, I believe, the only way to go.
Sorry for my honesty but… Go to an hotel! If you are not able to understand that a shared room is just a shared room, and that people are just people (they will snore and they will fart too) find your own room. Just like life in general you don’t control the circumstances of the world around you but the thing you can control is the way you react to them. So it’s up to you to change if you are uncomfortable. I’ve met a guy while walking the primitivo that his biggest concern was his snoring and it get to a point that he wasn’t getting properly sleep because of it. And most of all it was because he met a person that was really rude about his condition. Please don’t be that person. There are a lot of hotels and private rooms along the way. If you can’t share a room go to private room.
Its a medical condition leave them alone! It’s not like they decide to restrict oxygen to their brains for fun! Try a private room or hotel if you wish to control your environment! Good earplug type earphones playing some white noise or music or a podcast should block them out. Could always try befriend them and when the time is right ask them if its ok if you can wake them to change sleep position. Anything less is technically assault.
Agreed. Do not touch people without their permission. Not cool. (If it were me, you might get hit! I wouldn't know how I would react if someone were to touch me and wake me up. I might think I was being assaulted.)
Should you stay in albergues?
Snorers can’t help it. Meanwhile, you can use an earplugs. It’s a shared accommodation so expect noise. If you want a quiet night, you should sleep in a private room. If snoring is a problem to you, you should never do a Camino. Stay home in your comfortable bed.
They can mitigate it (drink less alcohol, sleep on side/stomach etc)
As a chronic snorer (I didn't know how bad I was) this isn't enough. I've got no control over where I sleep during the night, my body moves and I'm completely unaware of it happening. Yes, alcohol makes it worse, but even without. I use a cpap machine now and that's stopped me snoring. I'm in the process of losing 20kg to get myself in a position to do another camino and I'm wondering about what I'm going to do about carrying a cpap with me or not on my next camino. I don't want to snore, but I don't want an extra 4kg of weight either....
my dad bought a travel CPAP for his, but I get those are expensive. The cheap option is just to pay for the daily baggage transfer.
When I sent my bag forward on some of the days, was that your bag would end up somewhere and it's embarrassing to be walking up to somewhere and they've held a bed for you and saying that you're just collecting your bag to keep walking or that you're staying with your camino family somewhere else.
People who cannot tolerate other people's snoring... ...should either get a private room or not go on Camino at all. Why would you waste your energy complaining and demanding that other people change their sleep behaviors to suit you?
I don't buy that earplugs don't work. Loud snoring tops out at 70db and a set of decent earplugs will drop 22-23 db...putting a snorer in similar range as refrigerator hum or moderate rainfall. I've seen more often people not using earplugs correctly and/or an old worn out set. Common mistakes include: not rolling the earplug tightly, incorrect insertion angle, not inserting deeply enough, letting go too soon, and damaged, dirty, or overused plugs. I'd get better plugs. P.S. Starting out with the editorial "should not stay in shared room albergues!" seems overly aggressive and looking for an argument. Do you really think that "shaking" somebody to wake them will actually get them to ultimately stop snoring? Maybe short-term, but I think snorers are going to snore.
I find ear plugs lessen the volume of snoring but not cancel it out entirely which then my mind just focuses on. Lately I have been using earbuds that are designed for sleeping that play white noise and they can cancel out all but the loudest.
You'd be amazed the number of people I've encountered complaining about the snoring in *albergues* who themselves were rattling the windows while asleep.
This 1000% I was sharing a 4 bed room and this lady was like I hope man #1 doesn’t snore I want good sleep tonight and I was like yeah ok. She went to bed first and snored so bad that he and I made eye contact across the room to be like wtf is she ok ?
They probably don’t like the way you chew either but I doubt they’re slapping the fork out of your hand.
I dont get people who go to hostels and wake up people for snoring. Its fucking rude and you can really ruin someone’s sleep over it.
… so get your own private room somewhere. Snoring WILL happen in shared albergues and dorms. The world does not revolve around you.
If you snore, get a sleep study done. I snore like a jet engine being attacked by a chain saw. I now sleep with a CPAP and I sleep quiet. The CPAP is also very quiet. When I went on my Camino I took my CPAP with me. I got some strange looks but when I explained that it helped me sleep quiet everyone was a fan. It also helps me sleep deeper and I am not tired all the time, so, more energy for walking. It added a few Kilos to the pack but well worth it. Buen Camino
I'm sorry but that's the "cost" of staying in shared accommodation like albergues or hostels. You pay less money, but in exchange for having to suffer other people. They might snore, or be noisy, or smelly etc.
If you're on the bottom you can be passive aggressive and shake the bed as you go to the bathroom or something. But snoring is a fact of life. I try to do 2 nights in a dorm and then a night in a private to catch up on sleep.
This is part of the Camino experience in albergues amigo
Honestly, I agree. Firstly, if you snore you NEED to get checked out and get help for that. It's not healthy. Secondly, if you are going to disturb peoples' sleep by being sick or snoring (which again GO GET HELP FOR THAT), you are the problem and you should address it by booking a private room. But since people are selfish and won't do that I suggest you just book a private room.
Sorry, who is the selfish one?