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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Best guidebook for beginners

Quelpolisson

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
November 2015
Firstly, apologies if this has already been discussed at great length, in which case feel free to delete the thread and point me in the right direction.

Is there any particular guidebook that is considered the 'industry standard'? I have seen the guidebooks advertised on the right column of this website and am considering buying one.

A few things I want to consider when buying a guidebook:
  • I will be walking in November (it's then or never and I am a keen mountaineer so I don't envisage the weather being as much of an obstacle as some peregrinos at this time of the year would find)... but I would still appreciate a guidebook that includes albergues and other amenities that are available year round.
  • I am interested in the history and other relevant interesting information about the places I am visiting - I do not really want to buy a guidebook that is purely designed for practical purposes (only maps, route descriptions, albergues etc) even if this is at the expense of keeping the weight to an absolute minimum
  • I will be walking alone. Probably not that relevant or important but who knows
  • The book doesn't have to be in English - I am fluent in both Spanish and French and would feel absolutely comfortable reading a guidebook in those languages.
Thanks! I look forward to your responses and helpful advice.
 
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A selection of Camino Jewellery
Guides are a personal preference thing. Along the way you will meet others with different guides, all thinking they have the best one? The Brierley is quite informative but the maps are somewhat strange as for some reason they are in some way oriented to the sun not north! But they work well enough for planning along with the pretty good signposting to be found on the ground. A bit heavier than some. Knowledge? Well "The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago" by David M Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson has an absolute cornucopia of knowledge. I rather weighty volume though. Organised geographically, the book covers aspects of terrain, places of interest, history, artistic monuments, and each town and village's historical relationship to the pilgrimage. Maybe if you could get a kindle version of both?
 
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Firstly, apologies if this has already been discussed at great length, in which case feel free to delete the thread and point me in the right direction.

Is there any particular guidebook that is considered the 'industry standard'? I have seen the guidebooks advertised on the right column of this website and am considering buying one.

A few things I want to consider when buying a guidebook:
  • I will be walking in November (it's then or never and I am a keen mountaineer so I don't envisage the weather being as much of an obstacle as some peregrinos at this time of the year would find)... but I would still appreciate a guidebook that includes albergues and other amenities that are available year round.
  • I am interested in the history and other relevant interesting information about the places I am visiting - I do not really want to buy a guidebook that is purely designed for practical purposes (only maps, route descriptions, albergues etc) even if this is at the expense of keeping the weight to an absolute minimum
  • I will be walking alone. Probably not that relevant or important but who knows
  • The book doesn't have to be in English - I am fluent in both Spanish and French and would feel absolutely comfortable reading a guidebook in those languages.
Thanks! I look forward to your responses and helpful advice.
If you get the Brierly, you can tear out the pages as you go along and put the pages for your route for the day in your pocket. Keep it until you are done with it, then discard. Very handy.
 
I walked late October to early December.

I purchased Brierley's Guide to Camino Frances, and when I got to Santiago I purchased his Guide to Camino Finisterre.

One shortcoming is that Brierley as a rule does not indicate dates of operation. I got a list of association albergues from the Pilgrim Office in SJPdP that included dates of operating that was as accurate as one can expect.

I relied heavily on the route information and the paper list for planning my days so that I never walked too far because of Albergues not being open. I never got lost but did spend some hours confused due to missing the arrow of direction and Brierley was sometimes of aid in getting back on the yellow brick road.

There is some information but not a lot about the cultural attractions ... else the book could be twice its weight.

I carried an e-book and downloaded Lonely Planet's Guide to Spain. The book and the e-reader I was using, a Kindle, didn't work well together. It works quite well on a tablet though.

Besides which, the attractions I would have liked to visit were typically closed for the winter or on reduced hours ...

I would suggest that carrying Lonely Planet or other tourist guide in conjunction to Brierley's camino guide would be the way ahead.

Oh yeah ... almost forgot ... Brierley pages are too slick for use as an emergency bog roll.
 
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The Brierley work just fine, but if you meet any Germans who ever writes there's keeps them very well updated. For 2 weeks I simply was spoiled by a German girl who was a very good navigator with that book. You will find alburgues run by different nationalities the Germans have nice ones. The one in Pamplona Casa Paderborn is a great location & comfortable. I walked the SJPDP to Santiago & continued on to Finnesterre I was wishing I had that Brierley book, as the pilgrim passport I got from the pilgrim office for the Finnesterre compestella had enough info/map. The book is much better.
Have a great time. Hopefully a snow cave won't be warmer than the albergues that time of year but if you can let us know.
Keith
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Al the Optimist got it right concerning "The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago" by David M Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson - I have carried the bulky book three times (no electronics for me please not even a phone) and it is falling apart-. No maps, no albergues, no pilgrim menus only a vast but concise historical, architectural, artistic summary on every place imaginable along the Camino. There are long entries on both the cathedrals, Leon and Burgos, detailed but transform them into much more then pretty lights and shiny objects. Amazon offers it on Kindle.
 
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Al the Optimist got it right concerning "The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago" by David M Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson - I have carried the bulky book three times (no electronics for me please not even a phone) and it is falling apart-. No maps, no albergues, no pilgrim menus only a vast but concise historical, architectural, artistic summary on every place imaginable along the Camino. There are long entries on both the cathedrals, Leon and Burgos, detailed but transform them into much more then pretty lights and shiny objects. Amazon offers it on Kindle.

Thanks for your reply

As great as a Kindle sounds, I won't be carrying any electronics either (not even a phone!) :)
I might buy The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago and read it before I go, and only carry the Brierley guide.
 
The Brierley work just fine, but if you meet any Germans who ever writes there's keeps them very well updated. For 2 weeks I simply was spoiled by a German girl who was a very good navigator with that book. You will find alburgues run by different nationalities the Germans have nice ones. The one in Pamplona Casa Paderborn is a great location & comfortable. I walked the SJPDP to Santiago & continued on to Finnesterre I was wishing I had that Brierley book, as the pilgrim passport I got from the pilgrim office for the Finnesterre compestella had enough info/map. The book is much better.
Have a great time. Hopefully a snow cave won't be warmer than the albergues that time of year but if you can let us know.
Keith
Will keep you updated. I'm hoping the camino has a certain charm in the winter months. As antisocial as this might sound, I often go on hikes and climbs where I don't see anyone else for days, and I'm not sure how well I would cope with the huge crowds in summer! ;)
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Will keep you updated. I'm hoping the camino has a certain charm in the winter months. As antisocial as this might sound, I often go on hikes and climbs where I don't see anyone else for days, and I'm not sure how well I would cope with the huge crowds in summer! ;)
Yep our location is the same were I live in The state of Montana not many people with thousands of square miles of wilderness. I think you will find parts of this walk were you will be very comfortable. Then walk like crazy to get out of the cities. In any case this will spoil you as the convenience of a beer at the end of a long day is very nice. The folks you meet will simply make it exceptional.
 
For stories, insights and histories of places along the camino, I have written 'Pilgrimage Spain' and 'Pilgrimage France'. My books are not guide books. They are written to encourage people to 'discover' the towns and villages along the way, each with wonderfully varied stories. My towns and places include St Jean, Roncevalles, Los Arcos, Najera, St Domingo, Belorado, Bridge de Orbigo and Astorga, Manjurin and Acebo, Molinaseca, Arzua and Santiago. I recently won an National Short Story Prize for my writing. If you'd like to know more, try my Walking France and Spain page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/535976469757492/ You can order one via utravel@optusnet.com.au
 
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Another one...not to carry but to peruse ahead of time or after the Camino is Jose Jaen's The Way of St James. It's full of information about the historical and religious roots of the Camino. And it comes with maps in a plastic sleeve that you can carry separately. [Edit-I got my copy in Spain]
For the road I liked Brierley's book...it was not too heavy, especially as the days went on and the pages got fewer and fewer as I tore them out. But my older version had some map errors; hopefully they've been corrected in the more recent editions. (Word to the wise...I ordered mine late last year online and didn't think to check which edition I was buying--assuming it would be the latest one, but it turned out to be the 2013 version. I only realized this on the road, when a friend and I were having an argument--each saying "But...Brierley says..." and having different information! She had the updated version. :confused: So...check before you push the buy button!)
 
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I have both the Brierley guide and the Dintaman and Landis one. Both are excellent. The Dintaman and Landis guide is probably more 'visually pleasing' and it covers the full route to Finisterre and Muxia (unlike Brierley, which ends in Santiago). D&L also has more information on landscape and regions, but Brierley also has a good bit of this too. Brierley is 1.5oz lighter, so not a big difference.

I also bought the Cicerone guide a couple of years ago. It has a lot of historical and geographical detail, but little or no information on accommodation. It's a good factual guide to the route/terrain and it turned out to be a great little book to leave with family members who were following our journey.
 
It seems to have OK maps, actually...and for those of us whose French is rusty, it exercises the mind as well!
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I have both the Brierley guide and the Dintaman and Landis one. Both are excellent. The Dintaman and Landis guide is probably more 'visually pleasing' and it covers the full route to Finisterre and Muxia (unlike Brierley, which ends in Santiago). D&L also has more information on landscape and regions, but Brierley also has a good bit of this too. Brierley is 1.5oz lighter, so not a big difference.

I also bought the Cicerone guide a couple of years ago. It has a lot of historical and geographical detail, but little or no information on accommodation. It's a good factual guide to the route/terrain and it turned out to be a great little book to leave with family members who were following our journey.

I too have both Breirley's and Dintaman and Landis's one called a village to "Village Guide to Hiking the Camino de Santiago" and prefer the latter. I like the way the lodging is presented in each town starting with the least expensive albergues to the hostels and a few Paradors in the larger cities. And if you intend to go to Finesterre and Muxia, it is all in one book. Check it out on Amazon and take a look at the sample.
 
Al the Optimist got it right concerning "The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago" by David M Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson - I have carried the bulky book three times (no electronics for me please not even a phone) and it is falling apart-. No maps, no albergues, no pilgrim menus only a vast but concise historical, architectural, artistic summary on every place imaginable along the Camino. There are long entries on both the cathedrals, Leon and Burgos, detailed but transform them into much more then pretty lights and shiny objects. Amazon offers it on Kindle.
Hi, I noticed that you are from Israel. I am preparing myself to go to the camino France's (in May next) and now I try to get information as much as possible, can we speak? Thanks and shalom Neomi
 
Check your mail I sent my email in a private conversation
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.

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