Camping & Sleeping on the Via Francigena: Real Guide to Hostels, Wild Camping & Costs
Can you walk across Europe from England to the Vatican combining a tent and pilgrim hostels? Here is the full breakdown of my 101 days on the trail across the UK, France, Switzerland, and Italy: real usage percentages, average prices, and how each type of hospitality works.
When I started walking from Canterbury Cathedral carrying my 36-liter backpack and tent, I knew one thing for certain: carrying your own shelter gives you complete freedom and cuts the cost of walking across Europe in half.
Unlike the French Camino de Santiago, where you find a cheap hostel every few kilometers, on the Via Francigena you cross four countries with completely different cultures, laws, and hospitality networks. Over my three-plus months on the trail, I combined wild camping with municipal campsites, donation-based parish welcomes, and pilgrim hostels (ostelli). Here is how my nights and average costs broke down:
1. Country-by-Country Breakdown: Where You Sleep & Average Costs
To help you plan your strategy at every border, this table summarizes the real proportion of nights I spent in each type of accommodation and the average cost across the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, and Italy:
| Country (Time on Trail) | ⛺ Wild Camping / Bivouac | 🏕️ Municipal / Private Campsite | 🙏 Donation Hospitality | 🛏️ Hostels / Ostelli / B&B | Average Daily Lodging Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 England (2 days) |
100 % of nights Discreet trail bivouac (€0) |
— | — | Optional: €35 – €70 in local B&Bs | €0.00 / day (100% tent) |
| 🇫🇷 France (37 days) |
62 % of nights 23 nights bivouac / municipal lawns (€0) |
11 % of nights Avg: ~€8.50 / night |
11 % of nights Avg: ~€15.00 / night |
16 % of nights Avg: ~€21.70 / night |
~€6.07 / day (Country total: €224.50) |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland (10 days) |
10 % of nights Alpine bivouac (€0) |
50 % of nights Avg: ~€14.60 (Pilgrim rate) |
10 % of nights Parish welcome (~10 – 15 CHF) |
30 % of nights Hostels (€16 – €22) / Private (+€80) |
~€22.30 / day (Country total: €223.04) |
| 🇮🇹 Italy (52 days) |
28 % of nights 15 nights in tent (€0) |
2 % of nights Avg: ~€20 – €24 / night |
36 % of nights 19 nights in parishes (Avg: ~€10) |
34 % of nights 18 nights in Ostelli (Avg: ~€24.50) |
~€11.50 / day (Country total: €598.30) |
| OVERALL BALANCE (101 Days) | 40.2 % (41 nights at €0) | 9.8 % (Avg: €13.11) | 23.5 % (Global avg: ~€10.10) | 26.5 % (Global avg: ~€25.85) | ~€10.35 / day average (Total trip: €1,045.84) |
2. Country-by-Country Strategy: How Each Section Works
🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Discreet Bivouacking Between Canterbury and Dover
The English stretch through Kent from Canterbury to Dover is short (you can walk it in one long 31.5 km stage or split it into two relaxed days stopping near Shepherdswell). Commercial British accommodations are expensive, so practicing ethical bivouacking—pitching your tent at dusk along a tucked-away forest edge, cooking nothing over open flames, and packing up at dawn leaving zero trace—lets you cover this opening stretch at zero cost.
🇫🇷 France: The Paradise of Bivouacking, Municipal Campsites & Mairies
Crossing France on foot from Calais to the Swiss border via Arras, Laon, Reims, Langres, and Besançon is where your tent pays for itself ten times over:
- Overnight Bivouacking & Town Halls (Mairies): Over 60% of my nights in France were spent in my tent. Overnight bivouacking from sunset to sunrise is widely accepted in rural France. Furthermore, speaking with the mayor at the local Mairie in small villages often gets you permission to pitch on municipal grass, the sports field, or access to a community room with a bathroom and power socket.
- Municipal Campsites (€5 to €10): Towns like Péronne, La Fère, Champlitte, and Lods run spotless municipal campsites where a hiker arriving on foot without a vehicle pays just €5.50 to €10 per night with hot showers.
- Accueil Pèlerin & Parish Associations: In key stage towns such as Châlons-en-Champagne or Bar-sur-Aube, parish houses and volunteer families welcome pilgrims carrying a Credential for contributions around €10 to €20.
🇨🇭 Switzerland: Sleeping on a Backpacker Budget Toward Great St. Bernard
Although Switzerland has the most expensive hotels in Europe, the Via Francigena offers two lifesavers for pilgrims crossing the Canton of Vaud (Lausanne, Vevey) and climbing through Valais (Martigny, Orsières, Bourg-Saint-Pierre):
- Pilgrim Discounts at Swiss Campsites (~€11 to €18): By showing your official Pilgrim Credential at reception and arriving on foot with a small tent, many campsites along Lake Geneva and on the alpine climb apply a special reduced pilgrim rate (10 to 17 CHF).
- Parish Rooms in the Alps (~€10 to €22): In the mountain villages of Valais, local parishes open small pilgrim shelters with mats, a kitchen, and hot showers at very accessible rates before you tackle the Great St. Bernard Pass.
🇮🇹 Italy: The Great Network of Ostelli and Parish Welcomes
As soon as you descend into the Aosta Valley and cross the Po Valley, the Apennines, Tuscany, and Lazio toward Rome, you step into a well-established pilgrim network. While I still wild camped on nearly 30% of my nights in Italy, I split the remaining 70% evenly between donation-based parish welcomes and fixed-price pilgrim hostels (ostelli).
3. Guide to Typical Accommodation Price Ranges in Italy
Instead of relying on tourist hotels, in Italy you have four clear accommodation tiers depending on what you choose at the end of each stage:
| Accommodation Type in Italy | Typical Range | What’s Included & How It Works | Notable Stage Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⛺ Wild Camping / Parish Gardens | €0 | Discreet bivouacking in the hills or asking the parish priest for permission to pitch your tent in the church courtyard using an outdoor restroom. | Apennine hills, rural stretches of Tuscany (Val d’Orcia), and wooded trails in Lazio. |
| 🙏 Parish Hospitality & Associations (Donativo) | ~€10 – €15 (Personal avg: ~€10) |
Traditional hospitality run by volunteers or parishes. Requires a Pilgrim Credential and calling ahead. Contributions are voluntary and mindful to cover utilities, hot showers, and sometimes a shared dinner/breakfast. | Verrès, Vercelli, Cassio, Valpromaro, Lucca, Siena, Radicofani, or Viterbo. |
| 🛏️ Municipal Ostelli, Castles & Convents (Fixed Rate) | €15 – €25 | Pilgrim hostels with a fixed fee set by the municipality, confraternity, or religious order. Usually offer bunk beds, spacious showers, and often an equipped kitchen. | Cavaglià, Piacenza, Pontremoli, Aulla, San Miniato, Gambassi Terme, or Vetralla. |
| 🏡 Private Hostels, Agriturismi & B&Bs | €35 – €55 | Ideal for full rest days in major cities, stages where the municipal hostel is full, or celebrating the end of the pilgrimage. | Aosta, Pavia, La Storta, and Rome. |
📲 Track Your Daily Trail Budget in GBP, CHF & EUR with TravelSpend
All the statistics and averages in this article come from my daily logs in TravelSpend, the app I use to track expenses offline and convert currencies automatically across borders. If you want to unlock the Premium version for your trip, you can get 50% off with my code in the budget guide.
4. Five Key Rules for Camping & Sleeping on the Via Francigena
- How to manage water when wild camping: In northern France, where you will camp most nights away from towns, remember that every municipal cemetery has a potable water tap open 24 hours a day. In Switzerland and Italy, public drinking fountains in every village make water resupply effortless.
- “Donativo” Etiquette: Donation-based parish hostels survive thanks to the generosity of the pilgrims who walked before you. The unwritten rule among volunteer hospitaleros is to contribute according to your means and what is provided (typically around €10 for a bed and hot shower, or €15 to €20 if volunteers also prepare dinner and breakfast), plus helping wash the dishes or sweep up before departing.
- In Italy and France, always call the day before or that morning: Unlike crowded trails, many small parish ostelli or Accueil Pèlerin hosts do not have an all-day reception desk. Calling or messaging via WhatsApp a day ahead (using the official AEVF accommodation list) prevents showing up to a locked door after 30 km in the sun.
- Pack a versatile sleep system: In Italian hostels you only need a light sleeping bag, but when camping through storms in Franche-Comté or climbing into the Swiss Alps, you will be glad you packed a sleeping bag rated around 5 °C – 6 °C (41 °F – 43 °F) comfort and a quality insulated sleeping pad.
- Ask locals without hesitation: If you arrive in a tiny hamlet at dusk unsure where to pitch your tent, politely asking a neighbor or the parish priest (while showing your Pilgrim Credential bound for Rome) often leads to a safe patch of grass, a great conversation, and sometimes a fresh cup of coffee at sunrise.