--- title: "When Santiago fills up" description: "Congresses, matches, Holy Week, St James's Day, the opening of the Holy Door and the busiest pilgrim month: the dates from October 2026 to December 2027 when Santiago de Compostela runs out of rooms, with the source for each one and a plan B if it's your date." url: https://santiago.es/en/where-to-stay/when-santiago-fills-up locale: en --- # When Santiago fills up Sleeping Twelve dates, from October 2026 to December 2027, when the city runs out of rooms or charges double for them. Not all are festivals: a doctors' congress empties Santiago of beds before St James's Day does. **The nearest one** 7-10 Oct 2026 · SEMERGEN congress, 24 hotels sold out **The one that defines the year** 31 Dec 2026 · the Holy Door opens **The busiest pilgrim month** September · 81,546 Compostelas in 2025 ![Fachada del Obradoiro de la Catedral de Santiago con grupos de peregrinos llenando la plaza](https://santiago.es/img/obradoiro-multitud.jpg) [© Edmilson Silva · CC BY-SA 3.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pra%C3%A7a_Obradoiro.jpg) By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author) · updated 22 September 2026 Santiago lives off visitors, and most of the year it has beds to spare: in July 2026 the local hoteliers' association admitted "several years without hanging the full sign" during St James's week. But there are a dozen dates when it does not. The city takes in more people than it can sleep, hotels post "sold out" weeks in advance, and the pilgrim who walks in without a booking finds the last bed twelve kilometres away. What follows is the list of those dates up to the close of the Holy Year, with what we know about each one and where we know it from. It is written for two people: the one about to walk, who has to decide which day to arrive, and the one coming to visit, who can move the trip by a week. And it has one reading rule: **a festival does not fill Santiago; a congress does**. St James's Day 2026 left the hotels at 65%; October's medical congress left them without a single free room three weeks ahead. ## The dates, in order **Dates that saturate Santiago de Compostela, October 2026 to December 2027. 'No beds' means the city's hotels are already sold out or certainly will be; 'Very high' and 'High' mean book weeks and days ahead, respectively. Updated 22 September 2026.** | When | What happens | Occupancy | What we know | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 7-10 Oct 2026 | 48th SEMERGEN national congress | No beds | Around 5,000 doctors at the Palacio de Congresos. The organisers blocked 24 city hotels, all now 'sold out', with a three-night minimum (7-9), and overflowed to hotels in A Coruña, Sanxenxo and O Grove. [Source](https://semergen.es/congresonacional/?seccion=alojamiento&subSeccion=alojamiento). | | 21-23 Oct 2026 | 67th SEEN congress (endocrinology) | High | Palacio de Congresos. No source gives an attendance figure; a three-day national medical congress on an October Wednesday-Friday tightens the Ensanche hotels without emptying them. [Source](https://www.palaciosantiago.com/es/agenda/). | | 29 Nov 2026 | Spain v Greece basketball, 2027 World Cup qualifier | High | Sunday at 18:00 at the Multiusos Fontes do Sar (6,666 seats). The men's national team's first official match in Santiago; announced by Turismo de Galicia on 17 September. Ticket sales had no date when this page was written. [Source](https://www.galiciapress.es/articulo/ultima-hora/2026-09-17/6018937-santiago-acogera-29-noviembre-partido-seleccion-masculina-baloncesto-frente-grecia). | | 5-8 Dec 2026 | Spanish Constitution and Immaculate Conception long weekend | High | Not a long weekend in Galicia itself: the 6th falls on a Sunday (the Xunta swapped it for 19 March) and the 8th is a Tuesday. It is one for visitors from the rest of Spain taking Monday the 7th off, and they are who fill the hotels those days. [Source](https://www.xunta.gal/es/notas-de-prensa/-/nova/014100/xunta-publica-calendario-laboral-para-2026-fija-como-festivos-propios-19-marzo). | | 31 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 | Opening of the Holy Door: the 2027 Holy Year begins | No beds | Rite in Praza da Quintana with the archbishop; in 2020 it started at 16:30 and the Cathedral has not yet published the 2026 time. Neither the Xunta nor the Archdiocese gives an attendance figure; the Xacobeo commissioner speaks of 'the busiest Holy Year in history' (2022 closed with 438,308 Compostelas, 2010 with 272,135). [Source](https://oficinadelperegrino.com/apertura-de-la-puerta-santa-de-la-catedral-de-santiago/). | | 22-23 Jan 2027 | MIR medical residency exam (Santiago is a venue) | One tight night | Saturday 23rd at 13:00, held in 26 Spanish cities with 9,676 posts on offer. Galician candidates sleep in Santiago on the Friday night; no per-venue figure exists. [Source](https://gacetamedica.com/profesion/mir-2027-sanidad-confirma-oferta-record-plazas-fecha-examen-enero/). | | 21-28 Mar 2027 | Holy Week in a Holy Year | Very high | Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. In 2025 average occupancy topped 70% with peaks above 80%; 2026 was weak (≈50%, over 70% on Maundy Thursday). In the last Holy Year (2010) it passed 90%, and that is the benchmark for 2027. [Source](https://www.elespanol.com/quincemil/economia/turismo/20260311/ocupacion-hotelera-semana-santa-santiago-mueve-lento-anos/1003744164935_0.html). | | 4-9 May 2027 | Ascension festivities (Thursday 6th, local holiday) | High | 6 May is a local holiday approved by the city council; the festival days are an estimate from the 2026 pattern (12-17 May, with fairground rides on the Alameda and the horse fair). May was also the second-busiest month for pilgrim arrivals in 2025, with 78,657 Compostelas. [Source](https://www.elespanol.com/quincemil/santiago/20260721/santiago-compostela-conoce-festivos-locales-dia-ascension-san-roque/1003744328471_0.html). | | Jun 2027 | O Son do Camiño festival (Monte do Gozo), dates not yet announced | To be confirmed | Dates are announced in late October. The 2026 edition (18-20 June) drew over 125,000 people and the Xunta reported '100% hotel occupancy in the city and its surroundings' on those days, with over 40% of the crowd from outside Galicia. [Source](https://www.xunta.gal/es/notas-de-prensa/-/nova/025689/xunta-ultima-los-detalles-para-que-festival-son-camino-acoja-mas-125-000-personas). | | 24-25 Jul 2027 | St James's Day in a Holy Year: fireworks Saturday 24th, National Offering Sunday 25th | Very high | This is the date that defines the Holy Year (25 July falls on a Sunday). A figure that surprises: in 2026 St James's week stayed around 65% occupancy and the hoteliers' association admitted 'several years without hanging the full sign'. There is no published forecast for 2027; the 2010 and 2021-22 precedents say it fills. [Source](https://www.elespanol.com/quincemil/economia/turismo/20260716/santiago-encara-apostol-ocupacion-hoteles-no-viven-solo-turismo/1003744321077_0.html). | | Sep 2027 | September, the busiest month for pilgrim arrivals | Very high | Not a date but a whole month: September 2025 produced 81,546 Compostelas, more than any other month (May 78,657, August 77,110). In 2026 the hoteliers' association reported 97% of September booked by early in the month. In a Holy Year, expect the same or more. [Source](https://oficinadelperegrino.com/estadisticas/). | | 31 Dec 2027 | Closing of the Holy Door | Very high | Last chance to walk through it until 2032. No time or forecast published; the precedent is the closing on 31 December 2022. [Source](https://oficinadelperegrino.com/). | Missing, on purpose, are the dates everyone assumes are full and are not: an August weekend pushes prices up but does not leave Santiago without beds. Also missing are the ones with no date yet: O Son do Camiño announces its dates in late October, the international congress on pilgrimage studies in May 2027 has not published its days, and every new congress at the Palacio joins the list as it appears on its agenda. We will come back to this page each time one of those gaps closes. ![Infographic: the twelve dates when Santiago fills up between October 2026 and December 2027, on a timeline. No beds: 7-10 October 2026 (SEMERGEN congress, 24 hotels sold out) and 31 December 2026 (opening of the Holy Door). Very high: Holy Week 21-28 March 2027, St James's Day 24-25 July, the whole of September (81,546 Compostelas in 2025) and the closing of the Holy Door on 31 December 2027. High: SEEN congress 21-23 October, Spain v Greece basketball on 29 November, the 5-8 December long weekend and Ascension 4-9 May 2027. One tight night: the MIR exam on 22-23 January. To be confirmed: O Son do Camiño in June 2027.](https://santiago.es/infografias/when-santiago-fills-up.png) The same twelve dates as the table, on a timeline. Sources in each row; the level is our reading of the published occupancy, not an official figure. ## Why a congress weighs more than a festival The arithmetic is simple. A national congress of 5,000 people needs 5,000 beds on the same three nights, and it needs them in hotels, not in albergues or flats: SEMERGEN's organisers blocked **24 city hotels** with a three-night minimum and, when those ran out, carried on through A Coruña, Sanxenxo and O Grove. A festival spreads its crowd across family flats, same-day coaches and the surrounding towns; a congress does not. That is why the pattern repeats every autumn and every spring, the Palacio's two congress seasons, and why winter stays free even with the city in Holy Year works. The same holds, on a smaller scale, for a national team match: the 6,666 seats at Fontes do Sar are a hotel night for anyone coming from outside Galicia, and a November Sunday in a normal year would have nobody. And for exams: the MIR brings candidates from all over Galicia to Santiago on the Friday night, in January, when the Ensanche hotels live on exactly that. If you are walking and arrive on one of these dates Book your Santiago night **before you book anything else**, even if you do the rest of the Camino as you go; [the page on how to book](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/booking-albergues) has the template message. If it is already too late, plan B is the usual one: the Xunta albergue at [Monte do Gozo](https://santiago.es/en/where-to-stay/best-albergues), 4.4 km from the Obradoiro with hundreds of bunks that congress delegates do not use; a guesthouse in Lavacolla or O Pedrouzo and the city bus in the morning; or a night in Padrón or A Coruña, half an hour away by train, coming into the city in time for mass. What does not work is reaching the Praza do Obradoiro at five in the afternoon and starting to ask: in October 2026 that pilgrim ends up in a taxi to a roadside hotel. ## How to read the occupancy column Santiago does not publish real-time occupancy; what exists are the figures the Compostela hoteliers' association gives the local press around each notable date, plus the events' own pages when they block hotels. From that we set four levels. **No beds** is literal: the city's hotels are sold out or there is every reason to take it as given. **Very high** is average occupancy above 80-90% in the nearest precedent, with individual hotels full and prices doubled. **High** is strain without a sell-out: booking one or two weeks ahead finds you a room, though not where you wanted it. **One tight night** is a single-night spike, almost always midweek. And **to be confirmed** means the event will return and filled the city last time, but has no date yet. Two warnings about the precedents. First, 2026 has been a weak year for Santiago's hotels outside the congresses, with Holy Week at 50% and St James's week at 65%; if the Holy Year resembles 2010 or 2021-22, those dates will fill, but that is an expectation, not a figure. Second, hotel occupancy does not measure albergues or holiday flats: a "sold out" from the hoteliers can coexist with free bunks at the Seminario Menor. For the pilgrim that is good news; for a couple who want their own bathroom, it is not. ## What is not on the list and could join it - **Congresses not yet announced.** The Palacio de Congresos publishes its agenda a few months out; SEMERGEN's came a year ahead. Every time one with over 2,000 delegates appears, it goes in here. - **A papal visit.** The Xacobeo commissioner calls it hoped-for and unconfirmed; if announced, it would be the fullest date of the year by far. We will not list it until it has a day. - **Obradoiro in the ACB basketball league.** A Saturday game against Madrid or Barça moves hotels around Sar but does not leave the city without beds. It does not count unless it coincides with something else. - **The start of the university year** (classes begin on 4 September and the second semester on 25 January): it fills flats, not hotels. We mention it because it is the usual question from anyone looking for a long-term room, and that is another page. ## Frequently asked questions **When is it hardest to find accommodation in Santiago de Compostela?** Up to the end of the Holy Year, the dates with no beds are the SEMERGEN congress (7-10 October 2026, 24 hotels sold out) and the opening of the Holy Door (31 December 2026). With very high occupancy: Holy Week 2027 (21-28 March), St James's Day (24-25 July 2027), the whole of September and the closing of the Holy Door on 31 December 2027. The table on this page carries the source for each date. **Does Santiago fill up on 25 July?** Less than people think. In 2026 St James's week stayed around 65% hotel occupancy and the hoteliers' association admitted several years without a full sign. In 2027, with 25 July on a Sunday and the Holy Year, the 2010 precedent says it does fill; there is no published forecast yet. **What is happening in Santiago on 7-10 October 2026?** The 48th SEMERGEN national congress, with around 5,000 family doctors at the Palacio de Congresos. The organisers blocked 24 city hotels with a three-night minimum, all now sold out, and overflowed to A Coruña, Sanxenxo and O Grove. If you are walking in on those days, book Santiago before any other night or count on Monte do Gozo. **What time does the Holy Door open on 31 December 2026?** The Cathedral has not published it yet. At the previous opening, on 31 December 2020, the rite in Praza da Quintana began at 16:30. As soon as there is an official time we will put it here and on the Xacobeo 2027 page. **Is 6-8 December 2026 a long weekend in Galicia?** No: the 6th falls on a Sunday and the Xunta swapped it for 19 March, and the 8th is a Tuesday. It is one for visitors from the rest of Spain taking Monday the 7th off, which is why hotel prices rise those days anyway. **If I arrive on foot and there are no beds in Santiago, what do I do?** Three options, in order: the Monte do Gozo albergue, 4.4 km out with hundreds of bunks that congress delegates do not use; a guesthouse in Lavacolla or O Pedrouzo with the city bus in the morning; or a night in Padrón or A Coruña, half an hour by train. Booking your Santiago night from home is what avoids the problem. ## Related **[Where to stay in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/where-to-stay)** — Where to stay — Areas, types of accommodation and when to book ahead. — Read the guide **[How many nights to stay in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/how-many-nights)** — On arrival — One, two or three nights at the end of the Camino, and what to do with each. — Read the guide **[When to visit in Xacobeo 2027](https://santiago.es/en/xacobeo-2027/when-to-visit)** — Holy Year — Months, key dates and when to book in the Holy Year. — Read the guide