Guide Book for Camino Le Puy

[Florida Bill]

I’m walking the Camino Le Puy starting April 13th or 14th, 2023. This is the guidebook I’m considering purchasing:

2022 edition Camino de Santiago - Via Podiensis: Le Puy to the Py…by Dave Whitson

But, should I wait for the 2023 edition to come out or is it already available?
Thank you

 

[Former member 104756]

Hi @Florida Bill It depends on if/when a 2023 edition will be published prior to your walk in April. That's not far away so I think it's probably unlikely that a whole new book will be published so soon after July 2022 edition

But in any case you can contact Cicerone directly via their website. if you buy the 2022 edition (printed or ebook) - you can subscribe to receive any updates or corrections by email.

Via Podiensis GR65 pilgrim walking guidebook - trek the

Guidebook to walking the 735km Via Podiensis (GR65) pilgrim route from Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Includes Célé Valley and Rocamadour…

www.cicerone.co.uk

On another of your threads, I posted a link to a podcast with Dave Whitson the author of this guidebook - maybe he talked about updates / future editions in the podcast?

 

[Florida Bill]

Thanks so much and for pointing out the 2022 edition was as late as July. I will go ahead and purchase that edition.

 

[ThomasGross]

Thanks for sharing the 2022 edition.

 

[dfox]

Could someone shed ight on basic daily 'costs of accommodation, food, baggage transfer' of walking Camino Le Puy a day? For Camino Francis, it was 40 ~ 50 Euro.

Thanks,

 

[geraldkelly]

When I walked this (a few years ago) I used the Topo Guides from the French Hiking Association. They're in French, they have good maps and the info about accommodation is easy to understand. You can buy them in Le Puy and along the route or here https://boutique.ffrandonnee.fr/

 

[Keith H]

Seriously considering Le Puy to SDdC next year so thanks for the links

 

[Dave]

I’m walking the Camino Le Puy starting April 13th or 14th, 2023. This is the guidebook I’m considering purchasing:

2022 edition Camino de Santiago - Via Podiensis: Le Puy to the Py…by Dave Whitson

But, should I wait for the 2023 edition to come out or is it already available?
Thank you

Hi Bill,

I wouldn't expect a new printing for 2023. That one didn't even make it into all the North American bookstores until October! Fortunately, the GR65 is a pretty stable route, so most of the broad brushstroke info is going to be consistent from year to year.

The accommodation spreadsheet is up-to-the-moment. I queried accommodations over the last few weeks for 2023 updates and have gotten around 150 updates into the sheet. And Bronwen is relentless about gathering other details.

Along with that, I'm posting book-specific updates here.

Thanks very much!
Dave

 

[BillW]

I used the Cicerone 2022 book on my August walk and it worked well. (Thanks, Dave!)

The trail is really well marked, so no need for the directions part of any guidebook (IMO), but the town distances, lodging options, and historical/site info is very helpful.

FWIW... The Cicerone book includes sections on a couple variant routes too. The Cele Variant is fantastic (although I missed a bunch of it due to injury) so plan on doing that if you can. And if you take a rest day in Figeac, it's easy to catch a bus up to Rocamadour for some site seeing. Racamadour was the prettiest town I saw on my whole 1000 mile Camino.

I also carried the Miam Miam Dodo books when I started, but didn't use them. They are in French (which I don't speak), but they have a lot of symbols which don't require French knowledge, even so, I found I was just looking at the Cicerone guide, so I dumped the MMD books at a lodging along the way. That said, others swear by these books.

The other guidebook I saw a lot on the trail was "Michelin Chemins de Compostelle Le Puy-en-Velay – Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port." I can't speak to it's quality, but it has a really nice two page layout of each stage showing climbs and towns, which I think could help with planning. Cicerone also has this, but it's a little less detailed, I think.

(You need to buy an extra Miam Miam Dodo book for the variants. Not sure about for the Michelon book.)

 

[rob walks]

I walked in September this year and used the electronic version of Miam Miam Dodo loaded on my smart phone. Surprisingly that worked really well because the e-mails for most accommodation were included and I could just click on the link straight through to write my brief email requesting a room (my telephone French was.......confusing ) For the route guide I just used the Michelin booklet, as BillW says it has a very easy layout. Never got lost. I also took another more detailed english language guidebook, but never used it.

 

[kelleymac]

Could someone shed ight on basic daily 'costs of accommodation, food, baggage transfer' of walking Camino Le Puy a day? For Camino Francis, it was 40 ~ 50 Euro.

Thanks,

I walked carrying my own stuff, but accommodation and food in 2017 was about 30-40 euros/day. Accomodation usually came with dinner and breakfast.

 

[rob walks]

Could someone shed ight on basic daily 'costs of accommodation, food, baggage transfer' of walking Camino Le Puy a day? For Camino Francis, it was 40 ~ 50 Euro.

Thanks,

I walked in September as part of a group of 3. We mainly stayed in Gites, which provided dinner, bed and breakfast for an average 40 euros a head. Add lunch and drinks, and it worked out to about 55 euros per day. We also took a few nights in Air Bnbs and cheaper hotels.

 

[kelleymac]

There were also auberges that were more like camino albergues-- that had kitchens where we could make our own food.

 

[Former member 52467]

Seriously considering Le Puy to SDdC next year so thanks for the links

Me, too, but probably May 2024. Back to the Frances in 2023.

 

[Keith H]

I’m also thinking about Barcelona (Camino Catalan) up to the Frances at Puente La Reina and then Frances. Decisions decisions

 

[AlexB]

Hi Bill,

I wouldn't expect a new printing for 2023. That one didn't even make it into all the North American bookstores until October! Fortunately, the GR65 is a pretty stable route, so most of the broad brushstroke info is going to be consistent from year to year.

The accommodation spreadsheet is up-to-the-moment. I queried accommodations over the last few weeks for 2023 updates and have gotten around 150 updates into the sheet. And Bronwen is relentless about gathering other details.

Along with that, I'm posting book-specific updates here.

Thanks very much!
Dave

Thanks

 

[KFH]

I can attest that Dave's VP book is very well thought out and he is excellent at explaining things. I got the physical copy and the ebook. Not sure if it's on kindle yet.

I can't say how well it works out on the trail because I bought it during a few week fever of going on the Le Puy. You know how it is-- back and forth on which Camino to walk, thinking you are settled on one, then changing your mind to another one. In those days we just couldn't make up our mind because we had to cancel our 22CF and had plenty of time to decide on what's next.

We finally settled on CF this year and Le Puy in 2024. When it's time, I will use Dave's updates or buy the newest version.

Though I did see that Cicerone has a Sandy Brown VF1 coming in Feb-- hopefully that won't start the crazy process for us again lol