Logistics
Booking the GR20 refuges: a practical guide
On the GR20, bookings are not just an administrative detail: they shape how you split the route, your budget and your ability to change the plan if the weather or your body decide otherwise.
Key points
What matters before you book
Official update 2026: the PNRC states that the PNRC refuges are staffed from 16 May to 4 October 2026 and that overnight stays must be booked, whether you choose a bivouac, a PNRC tent or a bunk. This information can change: always check the official page before paying.
Accommodation
Refuge, tent or bivouac
Bunk
You sleep inside the refuge, where this option exists. It's convenient logistically, but more dependent on the beds available and the communal atmosphere.
PNRC tent
You rent a tent already pitched on site. The PNRC specifies that its tents are designed for two people with mattresses, but you have to carry your own sleeping bag.
Bivouac
You sleep on the designated areas, with your own tent if you have booked this option. Bivouacking outside an authorised area is to be avoided and can pose a real problem for protecting the site.
Good to know
The details that avoid nasty surprises
Your tent counts per person
Even with your own tent, the bivouac pitch is booked per person: for two of you, that means two bivouacs to book, not just one.
Ortu di u Piobbu & Asinau
These two refuges don't offer bunks: only the bivouac or a rented tent. Worth anticipating if you were counting on sleeping indoors.
Meals are ordered on site
The online booking covers the overnight stay, not the meals. Dinner, breakfast and a packed lunch are ordered from the warden — arrive before 6 pm for the evening meal.
Bed held until 7 pm
Your booked overnight stay is held for you until 7 pm. After that, it depends on availability: let the refuge know if you're arriving late.
Get it right
PNRC refuges or private accommodation?
The whole GR20 isn't managed by the Park. Most nights are spent in the PNRC's staffed refuges, booked through the official booking system. But on certain sections, you sleep in private establishments that are booked directly, by phone or on their own website. Mixing up the two means risking finding yourself with no solution on a given stage.
The PNRC refuges
Ortu di u Piobbu, Carrozzu, Tighjettu, Ciottulu di i Mori, Manganu, Petra Piana, L'Onda, Prati, Usciolu, Asinau, Paliri… These staffed refuges are all booked through the Park's official booking system, by date and by location.
Private accommodation
At Vizzavona (hotels and gîtes), at E Capanelle (the U Fugone gîte) or on the Cuscionu plateau (the Bassetta, Matalza and I Croci shepherds' huts), you book directly with the establishment, not via the PNRC.
Why it matters
Work out in advance which nights are PNRC and which are private, depending on how you split the route. You then book each type in the right place, with no nasty surprise once you're on the trail.
The booking system
Booking through the official system
The Park's refuges are booked through the PNRC's online booking system. The booking is made by date and by location, it is in your name, and the confirmation must be shown to the warden on arrival.
A single platform
The Park's GR20 booking system brings together the overnight stays in the refuges: it's the official point of entry for the bunk, the PNRC tent and the bivouac on the designated areas.
By date and by location
Each night corresponds to a specific refuge and a specific date. You build up your sequence of nights stage by stage, in the real order of your progress.
Book early
In high season, beds go fast, especially in July and August. The earlier you book, the more you stay in control of how you split the route instead of having it forced on you.
Rates: the prices for overnight stays change every season. To avoid any out-of-date information, they aren't fixed here: check the up-to-date rates directly on the official booking system before booking.
Method
Booking without tripping yourself up
1. Set your direction
North–South and South–North don't give the same sequences, nor the same efforts at the same moment. Start by locking in your direction of travel.
2. Choose your pace
A 12-day split needs fewer nights, but each mistake weighs more heavily. A longer split makes the bookings and the recovery easier.
3. Book by the real date
Each night corresponds to a date and a location. Avoid booking "roughly", thinking you'll easily adjust on site.
4. Keep your confirmations
The PNRC states that the invoice or confirmation must be shown to the warden. Save it offline, with battery and a paper copy if you want to sleep easy.
Margin
What if you change your itinerary?
The classic trap is feeling strong one morning, doubling up a stage, then discovering that the evening's booking doesn't automatically follow. The PNRC states that a booking is in your name, tied to the refuge and date you chose, and that any change must be modified beforehand according to the available conditions.
In practice: if you want to keep the freedom to double up, build your plan in advance with realistic options, not just with optimism.
Checklist
Before confirming your nights
- Staffing dates and booking-system opening checked on the official website.
- A split consistent with your real level, not just with the distance.
- Type of bed chosen for each night: bunk, PNRC tent, bivouac.
- Weather plan and fallback solution identified for the longest days.
- Confirmations saved offline before you set off.
- Budget updated with nights, meals, resupply and transport.
Sources
Official links
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