As one who's about to embark on her 11th or 12th camino in a couple of months, I think these comments really hit the nail on the head. I have walked the
Camino Frances three or four times, and found the benefits just as Kialoa3 describes. I am not an introspective person normally, so it was a real gift to be alone with my thoughts on the Camino.
Another real draw of the Camino for me is the opportunity to interact with the people who live along the way, and on the Frances much of the population tends to be just plain sick of us.
It was the huge crowds and the occasional carnival feeling on the Frances that made me think I had to try alternative caminos. Since then, I have experienced so many incredible caminos that I am hooked on this approach for now. I have walked parts of the Frances, like last year when I connected the Camino de Madrid to the Camino de Invierno, and I have to say that even in spite of all the crowds, the "camino feel" on the Frances is just different, unique maybe. Last year in Hospital de Orbigo, I met a man who walked his first Camino in 2000 just like me, but has stuck with the Frances every year since then. He doesn't mind the crowds, doesn't give in to the competition for beds, and feels like he's going home every year when he starts his camino.
I will start out this year on the Liebana/Vadiniense, but will finish up on the Salvador/Primitivo. I last walked those latter routes in 2008 and its feel was the closest I've found to the
Camino Frances, but with the added benefit of being able to connect with the people along the way, who were not at all jaded by the presence of pilgrims. This is one of those choices with no bad alternatives.
Buen camino, Laurie