Average daily budget

[LeiaLane]

I finished my first camino from SJPDP to Santiago this May and now, thinking about Le Puy next spring !
My daily expense for Camino de Santiago is around Euro 25-30 per day: 10-12 for both albergue and dinner (yes, the pilgrim meal....) and 5-10 for breakfast, lunch and beverage.
Will you share your experience about your average daily expense at Le Puy route?
How much for the gite? and how much for the meal (pilgrim meal, if they do have it).
Thank you.

Jennifer

 

[Davey Boyd]

I finished my first camino from SJPDP to Santiago this May and now, thinking about Le Puy next spring !
My daily expense for Camino de Santiago is around Euro 25-30 per day: 10-12 for both albergue and dinner (yes, the pilgrim meal....) and 5-10 for breakfast, lunch and beverage.
Will you share your experience about your average daily expense at Le Puy route?
How much for the gite? and how much for the meal (pilgrim meal, if they do have it).
Thank you.

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
Walking in France is much more expensive than Spain as you may expect. For instance on the Camino Frances in Spain my daily budget was 30 Euro's a day and I found this fine. For France I budgeted 40 Euro's per day and struggled sometimes. Gites in France are much more expensive than Albergues in Spain on the whole, except for perhaps Gite Municipals, but they are rarer than in Spain and hardly ever offer meals. Eating out is expensive too. Although I will be walking across France again next Spring, again on 40 Euro's a day I will be freecamping 50% of the time like I had to last year. For example, on 40 Euro's, by the time I had breakfast, a few coffees during the day and lunch on the road I found that sometimes in the evening I had the choice between a bed or a meal, but not both. To be comfortable I recommend you budget 50 Euro's a day unless using campsites wherever you can (very cheap) or cooking for yourself often. No there is no French equivalent of the Menu Peregrino unfortunately.

Hope this helps

Bon Chemin
Davey

 

[jsalt]

How much for the gite? and how much for the meal (pilgrim meal, if they do have it).

Hi Jennifer, the following are my accomodation costs from Le Puy. I was walking with my sister, and then another lady joined us. We found the evening meal expensive (but good!) in France, so we tried to do our own when we could. Jill

Gite d'Etape des Capucins (Le Puy) 23.70 B&B

Hotel le Regional (Le Puy) 15.00

Gite d'Etape Prive l'Escole 31.00 DBB

Centre d'Accueil la Margeride 14.00

Hotel du Centre (gite) 14.00

Hotel Aubrac (family room) 45.00 Room

Hotel la Route d'Argent 36.00 Room

Hotel des Voyageurs 54.00 Room

Gite d'Etape del Romiou 11.00

Albergue St Fleurat 48.00 Room

Gite d'Etape Communal 13.00

Gite d'Etape Communal 12.00

La Vita e Bella (donativo) 27.50 DBB

Hotel la Pyramide 55.00 Room

Hotel la Pyramide 55.00 Room

Gite l'Atelier des Volets Bleu 20.00

Gite d'Etape Communal 12.50

Gite du Poudally 14.50

Auberge de Jeunesse 19.00 B&B

Les Halles de Labastide (on the patio) 0.00

Hotel du Parc (expensive & cold!) 50.00 DBB

L'Echoppe (apartment sleeps 4) 45.00 Apt

Gite d'Etape Ancien Carmel 19.30 B&B

Gite d'Etape Ancien Carmel 19.30 B&B

Gite d'Etape Communal 14.50

Gite d'Etape Communal 15.00 B&B

Gite d'Etape la Halte Pelerine 16.90

Gite le Relais de St Jacques 20.00 B&B

La Halte du Rempart (gite) 17.00 B&B

Hotel Café de France (triple room) 69.00 Room

Hotel le Commerce (triple room) 50.00 DBB

Gite la Bastide du Cosset 20.00 B&B

Camping (caravan) 26.00 Caravan 2 beds

Ferme du Marsan 13.00

Centre d'Accueil Communal 11.00

Gite de la Boulangerie Brousse 15.00 B&B

Gite le P'tit Laa 13.00 B&B

Gite d'Etape Pelerin 11.50

Gite la Tortue 29.00 DBB

Gite d'Etape Izarrak 32.00 DBB

15 Rue de la Citadelle (SJPdP) 25.00

 

[J F Gregory]

My wife and I walked the Frances in March and April and averaged about 40 euros a day for both. We were comfortable and lacked for nothing.

 

[Davey Boyd]

My wife and I walked the Frances in March and April and averaged about 40 euros a day for both. We were comfortable and lacked for nothing.

I think the OP was asking about the Le Puy route in France

Davey

 

[jsalt]

Could the moderators maybe move this thread to Le Puy forum? Jill

 

[Tincatinker]

Done

Cor! A smiley from a Mod, like Blue Moons in August them is ...

 

[LeiaLane]

There is nowhere more helpful than this site !
Thank you !

Jennifer

 

[billmclaughlin]

There is no Menu Peregrino because you'll most often dine at your lodgings. And if you dine out, there's the French prix fixe option available to all because you won't be hours out of synch with local dining times as in Spain.

In fact, don't even think in terms of pilgrim meal, that Spanish accommodation to the hikers' schedule. You'll be on demi pension more often than not, and occasionally in a proper cafe or resto.

I'd say 40 Euro/day is a bit tight and 50 is very comfortable. More expensive than Spain, but on average superior accommodations and food.

 

[Kitsambler]

In gites, you'll pay by the bed. That includes demi-pension (dinner and breakfast). In hotels, you will pay by the room, and this will generally be without meals although demi-pension may be offered. So if you have a walking partner, you will be able to save a bit that way.

 

[SYates]

My average on the Le Puy route was 40-45 Euro/day, if you need to save money, I suggest taking a tent and camping in gite gardens etc and do only self catering. Bon Chemin, SY

 

[long trails]

I am planning on doing the route next season and will be taking a tent to save a bit of money.

I have heard from numerous people that the common meals at gites are well worth it though. It's more than just great French food as the host will often talk about the history of the area. So I plan to mix it up a bit, which is what I did on the CF.

 

[ChloeRose]

I enjoyed demi-pension every day for the first half of my Le Puy Camino (can't be in France without eating home-cooked French meals!) and cooked my own food/ ate out for the second half. My budget with demi-pension, staying in chambre d'hotes, was about €35 a day. €25/day when I was staying in gites and cooking my own food. I'd suggest doing a bit of both!

 

[lovingkindness]

... from July to September along le Voie du Puy one can dine all day on les fruits sauvage: blackberries, blueberries ( near Aubrac), raspberries and plums.

From late September onwards there are wild hazelnuts and walnuts underfoot, fruit dropping from abandoned fig trees and grapes dangling on vines left fallow. Autumn is such a lovely time of year in France....

 

[NavyBlue]

... from July to September along le Voie du Puy one can dine all day on les fruits sauvage: blackberries (les mûres), blueberries (les myrtilles, near Aubrac), raspberries(les framboises) and plums (des prunes).

Hi,

I hate to rain on your parade, but please beware of all low-lying fruit (blueberries, raspberries...) you would collect and eat raw : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinococcosis

They may be contaminated by wolf urine and drive you into really serious problems. As you will see, the french Massif Central is a high risk area.

 

[Tincatinker]

"Humans are accidental intermediate hosts that become infected by handling soil, dirt or animal hair that contains eggs" [same source] There is no reference to transmission via urine. Ingestion of faecal contaminated fruit might just do it - but who picks their berries out of a pile of poo, or even off the ground? I like mine off the bush where it growed.

 

[andy.d]

"Humans are accidental intermediate hosts that become infected by handling soil, dirt or animal hair that contains eggs" [same source] There is no reference transmission via urine. Ingestion of faecal contaminated fruit might just do it - but who picks their berries out of a pile of poo, or even off the ground? I like mine off the bush where it growed.

Always pick above the yellow snow line?

 

[Tincatinker]

Always pick above the yellow snow line?

"Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow"
from the singing of Mr F Zappa, well known Pilgrim.

 

[lovingkindness]

...well, there wasn't any snow along le voie du Puy or anywhere else I walked this summer and if I'd had any money to budget with perhaps I wouldn't have needed to gorge myself on nuts and berries. It was an excellent culinary experience...

 

[NavyBlue]

Hi,

My mistake about urine vs. feces. But everybody should be aware of the potential risk and know the preventative measures. Not shown in the english version I posted for better understanding, but in the french one https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89chinococcose :

"Manger des fruits des bois crus, des pissenlits, ou tout autre végétal poussant à ras du sol doit donc être évité car ces aliments sont susceptibles d'avoir été souillés par les excréments. Tel n'est pas le cas des produits végétaux poussant à plus de 30 cm de hauteur." which reads "Eating raw forest fruits woods, dandelions or any other plant growing at ground level should be avoided as this food is likely to be soiled by feces. This is not the case of vegetal products growing at a height of more than 30 cm."

So believe it or not, find it ridiculous or not. But stay safe.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Échinococcose

 

[Marion-SantiagoInLove]

A budget really depends on your way to travel...
I've done 2 Caminos that were going through France with respectively an average budget of 10€ and 5€/day, all included. Sure enough, at such a price, camping, bivouacking and self-made cooking were in order, still with occasional gîtes. I also did a stretch of Le Puy this year that cost me less than 20€/day average, all included. I slept in gîtes and ate both in gîtes and self-cooked meals.
If you sleep outside in camping, it will cost you below from 5 to 10€/night. Many gîtes' prices are between 12 and 15€/night, many others between 15 and 20€/night. It's always possible to go for more expensive, but you can select the most affordable to you first. Even in high season, I found it easy this year not to reserve and have a bed. Making a reservation is possible most of the time.
Pilgrim's menu do exist in France, but like said above, many gîtes propose/impose dinner in their offer (prices are around 30€, bed+dinner+breakfast). A meal only is around 12€, but it's quite difficult to tell you for sure, as it depends of a lot of things!
Buen preps!

 

[kayagee66]

I'd say around €30 is about average for Demi-Pension. (I loved it, often a fantastic evening meal, wine, bed, breakfast) The rest depends on what you spend during the day (lunch, drinks, pharmacy etc)

 

[LeiaLane]

I booked the flight for May and now looking for the first three nights accommodation.
Just curious, from MMDD, a long list of places to stay, how you pick up the one you prefer?
Mostly they don't have website or from booking site, how do you know that is the one you want to stay?

 

[JabbaPapa]

Walking in France is much more expensive than Spain as you may expect.

That is not systematically true, though having excellent French and familiarity with the country is necessary for it not to be. Adopting French tactics to keep expenses down, as well as being able to find friendly locals willing to help is a must ; and whilst the first can be achieved by anyone, the second usually cannot if you're perceived as a "foreign tourist".

No there is no French equivalent of the Menu Peregrino unfortunately.

Actually -- if you can gain access to a French canteen there is, and there are still some bars/restaurants serving workers meals (which are ideal for hikers), even out in the sticks, if you make sure to be there at midday, and some French Pilgrim hostels provide an actual pilgrim meal, and even besides all that, most (except the tiniest) French supermarkets have ready-made cold meal packs, often a variety of salads, cold pastas, (just avoid the pre-packaged industrial sandwiches) sometimes even cooked foods such as stews, paella, and so on ; and regionally you might find pizza, kebabs, etc etc, and then there will always be the basic French fallback method of getting yourself some bread and then some pâté, cheese, ham, roasted chicken quarter from the butcher's, and etc. and whatever to go with it. Many French routinely eat a DIY or takeaway lunch outdoors.

 

[Thornley]

how do you know that is the one you want to stay?

You will have to make decisions sooner or later Jennifer,
Thats part of The Camino
The good with the bad.

 

[Kitsambler]

how you pick up the one you prefer?

For me, I plan my itinerary and lodgings in advance. Here's how I make my decisions: (1) I have a daily distance objective that is comfortable for me. (2) I select towns that match the distance. (3) I check MMDD for English-speaking lodgings in the town with email. (4) I send an email about 4 months in advance to reserve. If fully booked, I choose another in that town.

I do this because I speak minimal French, and the English-language places fill up early. This I discovered in my first year walking the Le Puy route, when I was relying on phone calls several days in advance (through the kindness of fellow pilgrims who spoke the language.

Even if you don't want to reserve so far in advance, it really does pay to at least make a notional plan, especially if your previous experience has been with the closely-spaced amenities on the Camino Frances in Spain. There are sections of the Le Puy with very few choices.

 

[Deleted member 76100]

My average on the Le Puy route was 40-45 Euro/day, if you need to save money, I suggest taking a tent and camping in gite gardens etc and do only self catering. Bon Chemin, SY

Hello, this is helpful for me. I'd like to camp but at the gites rather than the campgrounds. In your experience on Le Puy do you think many gite hosts would allow that if I pay of course? Mary

 

[Crazy Kiwiman]

Hello, this is helpful for me. I'd like to camp but at the gites rather than the campgrounds. In your experience on Le Puy do you think many gite hosts would allow that if I pay of course? Mary

If the Gites are in a town that has a campground, then the Gite owner normally directs you to there (which is fair as then they are not affecting the camp ground's business). In smaller villages where there is no campground they are usually quite accommodating. Especially when their beds are full.

The Municipals or in France - the State owned accommodation was difficult to camp near or in.

I tried to find a campground or friendly Gite every two days (so I cound do laundry, shower etc...) and every other day just camp beside the track.

 

[Deleted member 76100]

If the Gites are in a town that has a campground, then the Gite owner normally directs you to there (which is fair as then they are not affecting the camp ground's business). In smaller villages where there is no campground they are usually quite accommodating. Especially when their beds are full.

The Municipals or in France - the State owned accommodation was difficult to camp near or in.

I tried to find a campground or friendly Gite every two days (so I cound do laundry, shower etc...) and every other day just camp beside the track.

Hi Kiwiman - that sounds fair and reasonable. Thanks for the tips and info!