Best CF Guidebook Recommendations

[SeattleWoman]

I’m looking to purchase a guidebook (in English) of the CF to use for preparing for the 500-mile trek and also to take with me. Any recommendations? Is this a good idea, or would you recommend only taking your phone to use as a resource during the hike?
Thanks!

 

[Tincatinker]

I would recommend the sainted Brierley's excellent guide to all things temporal and spiritual; the equally excellent and far more practical Wise Pilgrim. And I would recommend only using your phone for contacting your family or the emergency services if required.
Of course, you could just follow the pilgrim in front but that takes some of the fun out of the planning

 

[Mark McCarthy]

I think Anna Dintaman's Village to Village guide is the best of the current crop of CF guides and also has an excellent Kindle version. Despite the obvious advantage in weight a majority of pilgrims seem to prefer carrying a paperback version of any guidebook. Personally I prefer Kindle guidebooks but I am in the minority.

 

[FLEUR]

Read and digest the Brierley book before you set out. Then to save carrying the book get his map book kindle version on your phone.

 

[Sailor]

I don't know about the "best" but here are the ones I have in my library [I carried only ONE in my backpack].

Wise Pilgrim: https://www.santiagodecompostela.me...oducts/wise-pilgrim-guides-the-camino-frances

Dintman and Landis: https://www.santiagodecompostela.me...s-st-jean-santiago-finisterre-english-edition

Brierley: https://www.santiagodecompostela.me...t-jean-pied-de-port-to-santiago-de-compostela

For cell phones, I purchased the Wise Pilgrim app for the Camino Frances, a good one. Good luck, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

 

[Peter CapeTown]

I am reading at the moment Brierley's CF guidebook; am at page 198 of 288 (city of Astorga). Considering doing the CF in April 2018.
I find Brierley's guide very informative and of great use to me (I am a Camino Newbie). I am studying the factual info but not the spiritual one (maybe later on).
A possible Brierley's shortcoming: he might be a victim of his own success = his 33 day structure & sleep stops could cause "Brierley's Bottlenecks" at those stops he recommends. If i go in April, i might avoid some of his recommended stops for the above mentioned reasons.
Yes i would recommend his book.
2018 (15th edition) should be out soon, maybe wait?
I ordered a second CF guidebook by the Confraternity of St James (UK), it is in the mail and should arrive soon.

 

[Tincatinker]

[QUOTE
I find Brierley's guide very informative and of great use to me (I am a Camino Newbie). I am studying the factual info but not the spiritual one (maybe later on).
A possible Brierley's shortcoming: he might be a victim of his own success = his 33 day structure & sleep stops could cause "Brierley's Bottlenecks" at those stops he recommends.[/QUOTE]

Brierley's 33 day structure is said to be his representation of the years that the Christ was on earth. Some might conclude that it was his desire to fit that schemata that produces some curious mileages. And you are quite correct in assuming that a scrupulous adherence to his 'stages' will find you in overcrowded towns and in overcrowded Albergues surrounded by many others clutching their St Brierley's and cursing under their breath. In the stop before or the stop after a 'Brierley' you will find tranquility (and a bed). Unless, of course, you happen to then be coinciding with a particularly popular French or German language guide and all the peregrinos clutching that. In which case you will find yourself in an overcrowded Albergue in an overcrowded town where nobody speaks english.

Please disregard the above.

Guidebooks are merely that and nothing more. The camino is something else entirely.

 

[Robo]

Read and digest the Brierley book before you set out. Then to save carrying the book get his map book kindle version on your phone.

Or scan the book into a pdf file and carry it on your phone !

 

[Peter CapeTown]

[QUOTE
I find Brierley's guide very informative and of great use to me (I am a Camino Newbie). I am studying the factual info but not the spiritual one (maybe later on).
A possible Brierley's shortcoming: he might be a victim of his own success = his 33 day structure & sleep stops could cause "Brierley's Bottlenecks" at those stops he recommends.

Brierley's 33 day structure is said to be his representation of the years that the Christ was on earth. Some might conclude that it was his desire to fit that schemata that produces some curious mileages. And you are quite correct in assuming that a scrupulous adherence to his 'stages' will find you in overcrowded towns and in overcrowded Albergues surrounded by many others clutching their St Brierley's and cursing under their breath. In the stop before or the stop after a 'Brierley' you will find tranquility (and a bed). Unless, of course, you happen to then be coinciding with a particularly popular French or German language guide and all the peregrinos clutching that. In which case you will find yourself in an overcrowded Albergue in an overcrowded town where nobody speaks english.

Please disregard the above.

Guidebooks are merely that and nothing more. The camino is something else entirely.[/QUOTE]

Ha ha, the Battle of the Guidebooks and their faithful followers. (just joking)

Communicating with my Deutsch should be fine and maybe I make progress with my unopened Español DVD. isiXhosa might be of little use except mumbling to myself and Afrikaans will just get me into trouble with the Dutch or Flemish.

 

[t2andreo]

IMHO and experience, Tincatinker nailed it. If you want all the bells and whistles, including philosophy, daily mediations, and to follow most other pilgrims on a "standard" 33 day schedule, go with John Brierley's seminal guidebook to the Camino Frances.

Recent editions have been reduced in size to better fit cargo pants pockets. IMHO, it is still the best one out there for rank beginners. Then again, if you are walking along the Camino Frances, someone within ear-shot will likely have one to borrow.

However, if you want all the facts, online map guidance, up to the minute updates, and portability, you cannot do much better that the Wise Pilgrim Guides. They are available in the Apple App Store and in the Android Store. The additional weight is zero if you already carry a smart phone using Android or iOS.

FYI, the Wise Pilgrim Guide to the Frances is now available in hard cover as well and available from Ivar.

The big advantage to the Wise Guides is that they do not lock you into standard stages. Instead all the information and distances between places is clearly laid out in a rolling format, in the usual line of march. If you turn on you phone's "location services," the app also tells you how far you are from the next named place. While it is nice to know that it is 8.7 Km from town A to town B, it is great to know you are exactly 2.3 Km to that point...

I happen to know that Mike Matynka, author of the Wise Guides is continually out and about, riding his bike using GPS to ensure that the distance numbers are accurate. When someone reports a discrepancy, Mike heads out from his home in Santiago to verify and make on-the-fly corrections. If you use the app, you benefit from frequent updates.

I have no commercial interest in the Wise Guides, beyond supporting Mike's effort to offer the best most accurate and thorough guides out there.

I hope this helps.

 

[DowtyCamino]

Ask yourself what you want the guidebook for and you'll narrow down the suggestions - also if you're walking the CF vs one of the other routes.
If this is for CF albergue lists you don't need a book, and electronic PDF or slip of paper will do, and to be honest, you don't actually need anything at all.
If you want a tourists guide (listing interesting things about each village), there's nothing better than "The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago". It's a great book to read at home while you plan and to bring along in E-form to reference - particularly if you are into the art, architecture, history and legend. Although its older, the history and architecture won't change. Caution, this book is HYPER detailed, but we enjoyed it immensely.
If you just don't want to get lost and need a map (again on the CF this isn't a concern) bring either the Brierly map book or an E-version of the same.
If you want an all-in-all, the regular Brierly guides are great, but I didn't find them useful before-hand - the towns all blur together. Also, I found them too shallow (from a background point of view) for my taste/desire. As others have noted, you'll have a better experience if you stay in Albergues "off-Brierly".

Whatever you do, if you bring an actual book, tear out the pages that you don't need before starting out, and continue tearing out the pages of places you've passed as you go. Books are HEAVY.

 

[SYates]

This one ;-) https://www.santiagodecompostela.me...oducts/wise-pilgrim-guides-the-camino-frances
BC SY

 

[David Tallan]

For a very different kind of guidebook, The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: the Complete Cultural Handbook by Gitlitz and Davidson is also available in a Kindle edition where it will add no weight to what you are carrying. It won't tell you where to eat or sleep or how far to walk in a day but it will tell you an awful lot about what you are seeing. For what it is worth.

 

[Northern Laurie]

@SeattleWoman I just finished the Norte relying on my phone alone. I had two apps:
1) Wise Pilgrim, which gave me a text description of the upcoming day's walk, and a different (broader) list of accommodations
2) Buen Camino, which allowed me to plan and track stages, as well as both online and offline maps. I used it heavily when in cities or trying to find an alternate route / alternate accommodations.

The advantages: less weight. Two apps, one with the same content as the book, the other with a GPS that didn't require wifi/cell data. Both up to date on the accommodation side, and really easy to navigate. Both had elevation profile and distance calculators. When I did want to make a same-day reservation (not too often, don't worry), I just had to click on the phone number. The Buen Camino app and stages planning was especially useful on the Norte because some days could be especially long and difficult. I could plan and tweak as I went along.

The disadvantages: My cell phone died repeatedly along the way. It turns out there is a little glitch that if I didn't pay attention to my camera settings, I'd chew through battery in an hour. I got stuck without a guide a couple of times. Was this an issue? Nope, not really. I got lost the first day out, and learned that if you don't see an arrow where you expect one, you've gone the wrong way. Go back to the last one you saw and start over. Also, the locals are really nice and will help a pilgrim as best they can. I realized I didn't need to worry too much along the way (and the maps in the guidebooks wouldn't have been that helpful when wondering where I was anyways).

The one thing I did miss when my phone went out of commission, was knowing how much further to the next bar/restaurant/albergue, particularly when I was tired. It made it feel soooo much longer when I didn't know. But then, I also remember a day I was compulsively checking my phone for progress, and the dismay when I realized just how slow I was walking. So, maybe not so much of a disadvantage.

Finally, I met a few people that didn't have a guide book at all! They did some research before hand, but really wanted to be open to whatever experience came their way, and didn't want to regret the things that they missed. In retrospect, this is not a bad thing either. Just depends on the comfort level of the pilgrim.

Before I walked, I read all kinds of guides and memoirs, mostly purchased through Kobo, several of which were self-published. They were delightful, and helped figure out where to spend time on preparing, but without being a "guide book" per se. "What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim" and "Slacker Pilgrim" were two favorites. I also read "Te Art of Pilgrimage: The Seekers Guide to Making Travel Sacred" by Phil Cousineau. This was an invaluable help with the spiritual and mental preparation - I am sad I didn't discover it earlier, because it added to my reading list, which in turn added to the richness of my pilgrimage. If I'd had more time, I would have read more about Santiago de Compostella.

Listening to stories, and hearing from other people is a really great way to help figure out what to focus on. And pick up little, helpful tips like how to order food in a bar. Seriously. Very helpful advice. Several people mentioned local camino groups in your area - if you can, meet up with them. I promise you, it is worth it!

 

[SeattleWoman]

Thank you!! That’s fabulous advice! I appreciate it!!!

 

[tpmchugh]

I’m looking to purchase a guidebook (in English) of the CF to use for preparing for the 500-mile trek and also to take with me. Any recommendations? Is this a good idea, or would you recommend only taking your phone to use as a resource during the hike?
Thanks!

Once I got going, my Brierley guide seldom came out of my pack and only in the larger towns for albergue locations. Pilgrim office in St Jean will give you a list of all the albergues with facilities, cost and phone number. The yellow arrows are then your best guide. But try the Brierley guide for planning before leaving home

 

[FionaMcG]

I’m looking to purchase a guidebook (in English) of the CF to use for preparing for the 500-mile trek and also to take with me. Any recommendations? Is this a good idea, or would you recommend only taking your phone to use as a resource during the hike?
Thanks!

I also used the Kindle version of Anna Dintaman's Village to Village guide which had been downloaded to my phone, and the Brierley map-only guide which I could easily keep in a pocket. This worked really well for me and I would happily take both with me again.

 

[Hiawatha]

The Michelin Guide to the Camino de Santiago is excellent . Eight euros at any newsagents or book shop in Spain or France .
Strip maps with elevations , accurate distances , water and rest locations and informative , albeit limited, accommodation listings .
I bought the Brierley , read it but never used it , to my mind it was bogged down with so many' extras ' it was unusable . I also bought the Wise Pilgrim's Guide , I used it , carried it and found it very useful but it became a little cumbersome after two weeks . The Michelin was just so handy , very light , easy to read and convenient to keep in a pocket without the weight of it pulling down my shorts from an ever decreasing waistline .