Best Camino del Norte Guidebook

[jemitch65]

Hello fellow peregrinos:

I hiked the Camino Frances and then on to Finisterra and Muxia in May/June 2012. The experience literally changed my life. That being said, I am planning my return to Spain to walk the Camino del Norte in June/July 2015. It has been my experience using this forum that there is no better advice on the planet about the Camino than here, so I would appreciate any feedback from the forum on the best guidebook to buy for the Camino del Norte. Thank you.

John

 

[AML]

Hi John,

I'm starting on the Norte next week and I am taking this book with me. http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/681/title/the-northern-caminos#.U3kCosJOXIU
The author is a forum member
CSJ guides are the others I know off but have not seen them.
These sites are useful too....http://www.gronze.com/
http://www.mundicamino.com/ingles/noticias.cfm

Happy planning
Aidan

 

[Tia Valeria]

We like the CSJ guides and used them for planning along with the new Cicerone guide last year. We then wrote into the CSJ guide which we took with us leaving the Cicerone guide at home for future use as it covers all the Northern Caminos. I would suggest buying both the Cicerone and CSJ guides and then decide which you want to take having benefited from the information from both.
Of the on-line sites we like Gronze best.
Buen Camino

 

[jemitch65]

Hi John,

I'm starting on the Norte next week and I am taking this book with me. http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/681/title/the-northern-caminos#.U3kCosJOXIU
The author is a forum member
CSJ guides are the others I know off but have not seen them.
These sites are useful too....http://www.gronze.com/
http://www.mundicamino.com/ingles/noticias.cfm

Happy planning
Aidan

Hello fellow peregrinos:

I hiked the Camino Frances and then on to Finisterra and Muxia in May/June 2012. The experience literally changed my life. That being said, I am planning my return to Spain to walk the Camino del Norte in June/July 2015. It has been my experience using this forum that there is no better advice on the planet about the Camino than here, so I would appreciate any feedback from the forum on the best guidebook to buy for the Camino del Norte. Thank you.

John

Hi Aiden: Thank you for the note. I saw this on Amazon and appreciate your endorsement of it. This will be my second Camino and I can't wait; the planning and dreaming help pass the time. Buen Camino on your upcoming journey on the Camino del Norte John

 

[jemitch65]

We like the CSJ guides and used them for planning along with the new Cicerone guide last year. We then wrote into the CSJ guide which we took with us leaving the Cicerone guide at home for future use as it covers all the Northern Caminos. I would suggest buying both the Cicerone and CSJ guides and then decide which you want to take having benefited from the information from both.
Of the on-line sites we like Gronze best.
Buen Camino

Hi Tia: Thank you too for the tip. I will also pick up the CSJ guides which I think are a lot lighter than the Cicerone book?

 

[AlanB]

I took both guides last year. I found the CSJ guide (and it pains me to say it) indecipherable.The cicerone was very good. All be it a bit weighty. The Spanish pilgrims all had the Eroski app. Bit techy for me.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Alan: That is a shame about your experience of the CSJ guides as we have found them easy to use. It was the weight of the Cicerone guide which led us to make notes from it. We hate cutting books up and needed to lessen our weight, also to have the book for future reference. It is a lovely addition to the guides available and especially good for those of us who like all of the northern routes.

Hi Tia: Thank you too for the tip. I will also pick up the CSJ guides which I think are a lot lighter than the Cicerone book?

The CSJ guides are much lighter and here we did decide that removing the pages we did not need was OK as we could put them back together reasonably well on our return home.

 

[Mountainman]

These sites are useful too....http://www.gronze.com/
http://www.mundicamino.com/ingles/noticias.cfm

Happy planning
Aidan

Hi Aidan and everyone,

does anyone know an easy/quick way to download the http://www.gronze.com/ info? I dont want to carry a book, and i dont want to depend on wifi either, so I'd like to have the info stored on my smartphone, in whatever format... And I'm hoping there is an easier & simpler way then saving & converting the info per Etapa!

Thanks in advance,
Martin

 

[peregrino_tom]

Cicerone guide worked for me and I'm a bit fussy. It's not perfect but those miniature excerpts of real maps mean that sometimes you can work out whether you really are on the right path or not. And you can make your own excursions or detours, should you wish. My copy is cut into three parts which are now bound together by a piece of elastic.

 

[jayree]

I used the Cicerone guide and liked it, especially its recommendations for alternative places to stay which were always excellent. Interestingly, I thought the popular and detailed guides in German and French looked better, but the Germans and French liked my guide better. Often we shared info and planned next day strategies in the albergues at night, usually while also sharing a bottle of wine or two.

 

[mikevasey]

I recently saw a thread on this forum where the member suggested going to a proper copiers and having the spine cut off a guide and then putting a ring spine down it. I think this would work perfectly with the cicerone guide you could separate the parts you do not need while keeping them for possible future use. I was in a copiers two days ago getting some more pages for my CSJ credencial when I saw someone have this done with a book, it looked easy enough.

 

[ksam]

I was until last week, working in a print shop. My favorite piece of equipment is the cutter! Amazing how cleanly and neatly it can take a paper back book apart. I'll be undoing mine shortly! Definitely will help lighten up the load, as we're only walking from Aviles to Santiago. Then if I use a ring I can add back the pages I may need in a year or so.

 

[jayree]

One thing I liked about the Cicerone guide is that it covers the Camino Primitivo, which was helpful when I decided to divert to Oviedo via Pola de Siero, then back to Avilés to avoid Gijón. Also, it includes the Camino Finisterre which I also used. A few people I met decided to divert from the CN at Sebrayo to walk the Camino Primitivo, again an option covered by the guide.

 

[Mountainman]

Do people have any experience with either the book by Paco Nadal, or with just using the Gronze online info? I have the Paco Nadal one photographed on my phone, and I might download the gronze as well if that is better.

I wonder if I need to do/bring any more than that? (except for making a list of recommended albergues )

 

[jemitch65]

Thank you to all who have offered me advice on this thread. Appears the Cicerone guide and CSJ are both highly recommended. What I learned on the Camino Frances was to go "light" so the suggestion of a professional printer to remove the book's spine and spiral bind the section that I will be walking is a good one.

 

[jemitch65]

Hello all. One last question. I am hiking the Camino del Norte next June/July 2015. Should I buy the Cicerone guide and CSJ now or should I wait for a new version to be printed (wait until December 2014/January 2015)? I noticed the Cicerone guide was last published in November 2013 and the CSJ guide books 1 (2013) and 2 (2010). I'm guessing the CSJ book 1 has a recent update because of more changes, additions/deletions of albergues along the way? Thank you.

 

[Tia Valeria]

I think this depends on whether you enjoy planning in advance, even if you then change all the plans once walking, or whether you just want the guides ready for when you walk. Also you might want to check if an update is going to be made. This could be especially true for the CSJ (2) guide. There might be updates online for that if you check, but only as good as the input from pilgrims, prior to a full printed update.
We enjoy looking at the route over the winter, but bought the latest guides last year (Cicerone and CSJ) in the new year just before walking. Hope that helps

 

[Dave]

Hi John,

We'll be submitting updates for the next printing of the Cicerone guide early next month. I don't know the exact timeline, but I suspect that version will be released within a couple months after that. Should still give you plenty of time to flip through it before you depart!

Dave