If you’ve done the Camino de Santiago, you know there are some similar experiences. Beyond the noise and its hidden aspects, something as simple as stepping on one foot almost always becomes the most memorable experience at any age.
Well, in the Plaza de Abajo de Pola de Allende, in the southwest of Asturias, there is a house from about 1900 that receives free pilgrims of the Camino Primitivo (that is, the version of the Camino de Santiago inaugurated by King Alfonso II in the 9th century after the discovery of the Sangotl tomb). Its owner, Steph, recruits hospitality workers at WorldPackers and provides accommodation and three meals a day in exchange for about 25 hours a week. It is a modern version of a very old craft.
house. We’ve already mentioned similar offers, such as the one for a house with a pool near Alicante, but this offer is different (and more special). Polagrino is not a public hostel, but rather a private accommodation with 15 beds in three rooms, which requires a pilgrim’s certificate and asks for an “obligatory donation” that includes linen sheets and breakfast. According to this hostel guide, it is open from April 1 to October 31: the season ends in three days, although there is no shortage of pilgrims on the way.
Work. The ad says 25 hours a week with one day off, although the person in charge clarified, according to OKDiario, that the average is about three hours a day and rarely exceeds five. Volunteer reviews describe simple tasks: changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms, running the washing machine, welcoming pilgrims and preparing dinner, with hours depending on how many come.
Which is not free. You will need to pay the normal annual membership to apply. A guide updated in May puts it at $59 for one person and $69 for a couple, though sometimes there are 50% offers for the whole year. It’s worth looking at the platform. Flights, insurance, transport and visa are normally the responsibility of the volunteer. The food is another nuance: one review says that they were given cooking ingredients and had to be a little creative, and that they had dinner with the pilgrims every day. The only complaint I’ve read: It’s hard to get in and out of town without a car.
bar. Stays range from ten days to a month, with one to five hospitalists at a time. The Camino surpasses the previous record every year: 530,987 compostelas in 2025 and about 535,000 by Oct. 16, 2026, according to the Pilgrim Office. But arrivals are concentrated: between November and March, only 7% of the annual total arrives (data from 2025).
With the announcements made at the end of October and the closure of hostels, it is reasonable to think about the 2027 season. Free dates can only be viewed within the platform, so we cannot confirm if places are left.
The classic way. Lifetime volunteers don’t work the same way as hospitals. The Spanish Federation of Associations of Friends of the Camino de Santiago requires doing the Camino at least once, having free time and taking a course for the hospital and destinations are covered fortnightly, with no charge for sleeping in hostels. At Polagrino it is enough to be over 18 and have an intermediate level of English or Spanish, but you have to pay a fee and there is no prior training.
Volunteer or work in exchange for shelter? As we explained in the Gredos case, Law 45/2015 requires that volunteering be done without economic or material compensation, except for reimbursable costs (purchase of supplies/stock) and excludes what is done in the context of an employment or commercial relationship in return for economic or material compensation.
Housing and food are, precisely, a material consideration, and Polagrino is a private business, not a voluntary entity. We’re not saying it’s illegal, but saying it’s voluntary doesn’t solve it: the prudent thing to do is request functions, hours, costs and insurance in writing, which we don’t recommend avoiding.
what’s out there Nice place, go ahead. Pola de Aland is the end of the fourth stage of Primitivo, Tinio-Pola de Aland, about 28 km, and the beginning of the “Queen Stage”: 21.9 km from La Mesa that crowns Puerto del Palo, at an altitude of 1,146 m. Volunteers talk to people halfway around the world on rivers, gardens, walks and dinner reviews.
The deal is simple: a few hundred euros between fees and travel, three hours a day of sheets and baths, and in return a house full of stories from someone who has walked the mountains for a week. Of course, already in 2027, which is now starting to freeze.
Picture | Pexels
In Xataka | Volunteers want to live for free in a house with a pool near Alicante in exchange for moving hay and caring for two horses.
